Anime doesn't see the same sort of advertising that movies, books, music or TV gets. It makes sense right now because anime is a much smaller market than what's available on TV or in theaters. While we love anime to death, we have to realize that there are budgets to work within. Of course, that makes for a catch-22. Not enough budget to put big advertising out there, but you can't reach a big market without bigger advertising.
I've been thinking about advertising of anime since my latest issue of Otaku USA came. On the back cover is an ad for the next Eden of the East movie, which is due out in August. I knew the movie was coming, but I honestly had no idea when it was due out. Without this simple print ad on the back of the magazine, I probably would have missed out on the release for awhile. Man am I thankful I caught this!
That's advertising aimed squarely at the anime fan, though. While that kind of advertising is extremely important, it's not really helping to reach a new market. You might bring an anime fan into a new series with that, but someone that isn't aware of anime won't ever get the chance to see that ad. It makes you wonder if there are better ways to get the word on anime products out, while hitting more than just the expected demographic.
How do you think anime houses could better advertise their creations/localizations in order to build awareness? Anime could stand to be a little higher up in the public view, and advertising is one way to do that. Smart advertising can be cheap and very effective, but you have to find the right methods and avenues to get that big impact. What would you like to see happen with anime advertising?
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