Toyama Information and Business CollegeAn international collaborative marketing class was held.With the cooperation of Etsushu Itosho Co., Ltd., in this class, students from Taiwan and Toyama Information Business College worked together to discuss "marketing ideas for expanding Motsu Nikomi Udon in Taiwan."

Program overview

On the first day, we deepened mutual understanding through self-introductions, ice-breaking activities, and local introductions. At first, the students seemed nervous, but as the program progressed, it was impressive to see them actively trying to communicate with the Taiwanese students.

In the middle of the program, students from Toyama Information Business CollegeInterviews with Taiwanese students to understand local needsLocal students gaveTaiwan's unique street food cultureSales possibilities tailored toPrice rangeInformation about,Local taste preferencesetc. were shared.

Before the final presentation, each group worked with the Taiwanese students to come up with a marketing plan to propose to Itosho. At the final session, each group presented the proposals they had come up with to the company, and they presented ideas such as collaborations with anime and sales at Taiwanese food stalls.Unique ideas tailored to local needsEach group proposed a proposal. The specific goals and targeting of the marketing were highly evaluated, and Group 1 was selected by the company as the recipient of the Best of Marketing Award.

The class was featured in the media

The final presentation was covered by Toyama Television, Toyama Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Kita Nippon Shimbun, Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun, and other media. Toyama Television also aired footage of students from Toyama Information and Business College tasting food at Itosho before the international exchange. The newspaper article also quoted a student who said, "I haven't had many opportunities to interact with people from overseas until now, so this was a great experience and I want to spread the word about Motsuni Komi Udon to people in Taiwan."

Reference: Yomiuri Shimbun, published December 14th

Reference: Toyama Television Broadcasting (Youtube)

Other media featured:

https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/970276#google_vignette

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a648ae8a0cfc4b128ac716078a7c1b74710e40e3

https://www.hokkoku.co.jp/articles/-/1949834

https://www.47news.jp/13553028.html

Student comments

・By proposing market ideas to the Taiwanese students, I gained the ability to understand other countries and cultures. Before the class, I didn't have much knowledge about Taiwan, and I didn't feel like I could come up with a good proposal for Taiwan's expansion into the Japanese food "Motsu Niku Udon." However, by deepening my interactions with the Taiwanese students, I was able to discover that the location, the needs of the Taiwanese people, and the local food culture may be a good fit for "Motsu Niku Udon." Through this class, I was able to not only communicate with the Taiwanese people, but also learn about the local situation, which was very educational. (Student, Toyama Information Business College)

・At first, I was nervous and anxious because I had never had the opportunity to interact with people from overseas or communicate online, but as the number of times we attended increased, we started to talk more and more, and I was glad that we were able to complete our presentation materials. (Student, Toyama Business College)

・I feel like my communication skills have improved significantly. Because the goal of this project was to complete a presentation in collaboration with people from overseas, I made every effort to become friendly with them, proactively sending messages on LINE and expressing gratitude in the comments section of CANVA, such as "Thank you for staying up late!" Thanks to this, the Taiwanese students started calling me "Macha" (Student, Toyama Information Business College)

・The event was very interesting. I was able to meet Japanese students, prepare the presentation together, and learn about their culture. Overall, it was a great experience.(Taiwanese student)

・Everyone was so wonderful and lovely. Their Japanese and English were excellent👍🏻. Everyone was so patient and never went quiet even during awkward silences, always maintaining a lively atmosphere! I hope we can hold more events like this in the future!(Taiwanese student)

It was very impressive to see the students, especially the Taiwanese students, actively interacting with students from overseas through the program and, in turn, becoming more proactive in English communication. I hope that they were able to learn something that will be useful for the future from the process of conducting business and marketing overseas while interacting with local people, and from the experience of working with people from overseas, which will be indispensable in the future.