Item: Magazines, Catalogs, Zines
Description: Japan's budget for their merchandising is simply mind boggling. The amount of detail and quality control over their products blows "Made in the USA" out of the water. The catalogs for their products are no exception. Books that look like they're bound copies of novels act as previews to shirts and pants for the following season. Not to mention some catalogs are even free. Magazines in Japan include some sort of gift (tote bag, pair of gloves, keychain, etc). People feel the need to want the item more than the magazine, hence purchasing it and bringing it home rather than reading the whole magazine in the store. Quite effective marketing, but again, how much money does it take to produce these items? If their dedication towards getting the word out about the product is already so high, what does that say about the product itself?