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PacRim Announces Launch of Official Hawaii Podcast for Japanese Listeners.  HONOLULU, HAWAII (August 22, 2007) - Peter Williams, ceo of Tokyo's Orbitune, Inc., Kamasami Kong, president of Nickong Enterprises, Inc., and Dave Erdman, ceo and president of Hawaii's PacRim Marketing Group, Inc. revealed today the inaugural episode of the Official Hawaii Podcast, a new, weekly, 20-minute audio show recorded in Japanese available for download for free at www.hawaiipodcast.jp. The Official Hawaii Podcast is owned by Orbitune, Nickong and PacRim. PacRim Marketing Group is also the exclusive sales agency for the Official Hawaii Podcast. Start-up figures for the project were not released.Visit Web site (Japanese): http://www.hawaiipodcast.jp Read Honolulu Star Bulletin article: http://starbulletin.com/2007/08/22/business/engle.html Content for the Official Hawaii Podcast will feature the best Hawaii has to offer from food, entertainment and special events to culture, shopping and lifestyle. The podcast is hosted by Akira Okada in Tokyo and Yuki Hata in Honolulu with various special guest segments such as Kalapana's Malani Bilyeu and his Hawaiian "Word of the Week". Okada is a Japanese FM radio personality who is also one of the main hosts of Lawson CS Hot Station heard by over 7 million Japanese each day while Hata, a bilingual Nikkei - Nisei is well know to Japanese FM audiences nationwide for her numerous appearances and programs in Japan emanating from studios in Hawaii. Programming for the podcast will also feature interviews and comments from some of Hawaii's best known recording artists courtesy of The Mountain Apple Company. According to Williams, "The Official Hawaii Podcast is a great way for Japanese fans of Hawaii to get their weekly "Aloha Fix" at their own pace. Once they download the episode, listeners can enjoy immediately or store on their personal audio device and play at their convenience; perhaps on their daily transit commute to work." Kong added, "Our audience will feel the magic of Hawaii and be able to imagine the sights, sounds and smells of the islands. Essentially, the podcast is a call to action to travel to Hawaii." The targeted demographic for the Official Hawaii Podcast are the highly sought after, well traveled, tech savvy, active listeners, 25 - 40 years old. The Official Hawaii Podcast merges the exclusive talents of each of its three partners to create a powerhouse of a product. PacRim, a seventeen year marketing veteran of designing customized integrated marketing solutions and pioneering on-line content about Hawaii for the Japanese market will use its skills to set the course of the podcast in motion first through content creation, then by building its listener base and lastly by pursuing sponsorship and advertising. Aside from the hawaiipodcast.jp URL, the primary portal to the Official Hawaii Podcast will be via links found on the Hawaii No Arukikata website, (http://www.hawaii-arukikata.com), the largest Japanese commercial web site about Hawaii. Created and managed by PacRim, the travel site receives over 100,000 unique visitors per month. PacRim's web division of bilingual editors, writers and staff hunt for news relevant to the Japanese visitor and update content daily. The dynamic nature and usefulness of the site is what attracts such a strong and faithful audience. PacRim's team will now also develop unique content for the podcast, and "push" Hawaii No Arukikata visitors to download episodes of the podcast. As a producer, Kong will oversee the Hawaiian musical content based on his successful career as a multi-national DJ and unofficial ambassador of Hawaii to Japan for over 30 years. Kong will also be a guest host from time to time sharing his experiences about Hawaii's lifestyle. Orbitune will produce the Hawaii podcast with its team of bi-lingual audio, radio and communications professionals and the latest internet architecture available. Orbitune currently produces one of Japan's most successful downloadable daily programs, the Yomiuri (Shimbun's) News Podcast, a 20 minute digest of the morning newspaper. Williams, a pioneer in the development of digital content for multiple blue-chip Japanese clients based on the concept of "narrow-casting" said, "The Official Hawaii Podcast has teamed some of the most creative marketing minds, fluent in both Japanese and English, to ensure it will be one of Japan's most successful to date. By utilizing Orbitune's narrow-casting philosophy in tandem with Kong and PacRim's content development knowledge, our listeners will consistently receive the information they are most interested in hearing about." Comparable to the rifle shot of a sharpshooter, narrow-casting defines and refines the message to serve the end receiver. Website statistics and user data will be analyzed regularly to measure the traffic between the Hawaii No Arukikata pages to hawaiipodcast.jp as well as to identify additional subset demographic groups. The consortium also intends for the podcast to become financially viable, which means selling advertising. Since podcast listeners are notoriously less tolerant of long commercial breaks as compared to those of traditional radio, the Official Hawaii Podcast is creating ways to include less obtrusive approaches to advertising such as special offers to exclusive listeners. For advertisers and sponsors, special segments and editorial support programs are in development by PacRim Marketing Group. Erdman, whose company has separate editorial and advertising divisions, believes now is the time for companies to consider the cutting edge medium where their advertising budget will go further. "This consumer group is an active, technologically savvy audience riding the wave of the Internet (ie: MIXI, a Japanese version of Myspace). Advertisers should now begin to integrate podcasting and on-line media into their traditional off-line media plans such as print or broadcast in order to create a new platform to connect with these consumers on multiple levels." he said. About Podcasts and the Official Hawaii Podcast: Podcasts, also known as "netcasts", are audio files that automatically download to your computer using software like iTunes or Juice. Subscribe to a podcast and you'll always have the latest episode. Listen to podcasts on your computer, or transfer the files to your iPod or any other MP3 player and take them with you anywhere. New episodes of the Official Hawaii Podcast will be available every Friday morning at 6 am Japan time and 11 am, Thursday Hawaii Standard Time. Subscribers will receive a download automatically. All episodes will be archived and available on demand from www.hawaiipodcast.jp. The most recent episodes will also be available on Apple's iTunes music store. All downloads of the Official Hawaii Podcast are free of charge. About Orbitune, Inc: With its roots firmly in the Japanese broadcast industry, Orbitune has evolved into one of that country's preeminent new media channel and content creation and delivery companies. In addition to supplying countless programs and broadcast services to FM stations nation - wide, Orbitune has become a "narrowcasting specialist", delivering in-store audio to 8,500 Lawson stores via satellite 24-hours per day as well as providing HMV, Japan's in-store signal. As a podcast creator, Orbitune produces one of Japan's most successful downloadable daily programs, the Yomiuri (Shimbun's) News Podcast, a 20 minute digest of the morning newspaper and has scored major success and acclaim with the Nikkei/TOEIC podcast. Founded in 1991, the Orbitune team brings together some of Japan's most experienced and creative voice and production talent, united in passion for what great audio-based media can do for clients and listeners alike. Orbitune prides itself on its ability to apply creativity to real business needs and opportunities, combining innovation and customization with real-world practicality. (http://www.orbitune.com) About NickKong Enterpises, Inc.: Longtime Island broadcaster and Hawaiian radio DJ icon for the Japanese market, Kamasami Kong brings over 30 years of experience of introducing Hawaii to Japan via radio waves. Kong's longstanding relationships with the Hawaiian music and entertainment industries and unique understanding of Japanese audiences provide invaluable creative input to the Hawaii Podcast. Kong has been active in radio since 1965 with his most notable success coming in Hawaii from stations such as KKUA and KIKI and in Japan on FM Yokohama and Osaka powerhouse FM 802. Currently, Kong is doing a variety of programs on the JFN network; a jazz program on TOKYO - FM sponsored by the Tokyo Cotton Club and a weekly syndicated program called the "KAMASAMI KONG SHOW" which is prerecorded and heard on FM stations throughout Japan. He is also the producer and host for a weekly podcast that he brainstormed for METROPOLIS magazine and produces in conjunction with Orbitune called the "Tokyo MetPod." (http://www.kamasamikong.com) About PacRim Marketing Group, Inc.: PacRim Marketing Group, Inc. is an international marketing firm specializing in connecting clients with Pacific Rim markets. With expertise and extensive resources in the region, PacRim uses integrated, multi-cultural marketing solutions to help clients navigate their way to marketing success. Since opening its Honolulu office in 1990, the firm has grown from a few employees to a "group" of over 35 full time marketing professionals in Hawaii, plus associates from Hawaii, the Continental U.S., and Asia. PacRim opened its Tokyo office in 1994; it officially became a corporation (PacRim Marketing Group, Inc. Japan) on September 1, 2006, and is staffed with travel industry, public relations, and Internet professionals. PacRim's highly motivated team of marketing specialists builds marketing programs aimed at Japanese travel trade and consumers traveling abroad. The firm serves as a resource for Japanese marketing dynamics including consumer behavior, media influences, travel propensity, and general economic, industry, and business trends. PacRim's clientele consists of U.S. and international organizations focused on business in and around the Asia-Pacific Region. These include businesses from different industries: travel, retail, entertainment, health care, high tech, real estate, and financial. Many clients have enjoyed heightened brand awareness and sales throughout the Pacific Rim using PacRim's services and contacts. PacRim's main service areas are Advertising, Integrated Marketing Communications, and e-Marketing Services. PacRim's affiliate, PRTech, is dedicated to enhancing e-marketing solutions by focusing on technological development, web site services, and software and system solutions, such as JpRes and Hawaii-Arukikata.com. (http://www.pacrimmarketing.com) (http://www.prtech.com) MEDIA CONTACT: Dave Erdman President & CEO PacRim Marketing Group, Inc. Tel: (808) 949-4592 x 811 Back | Current News News Archive
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