We targeted “otaku” or nerds, a perfect match for our demographic. Knowing that otaku famously compete with extreme zeal, we created a competition that would entice them to access data via their mobile phones. Focusing on Japan’s estimated 100,000 railroad otaku, we produced a stupendously hard 1,000-question quiz about railroad minutiae. We announced it via posters, placed at stations so remote and unusual that only true otaku would find them. We knew that once a single otaku saw the very first poster, word of the contest would spread like wildfire via blog.

Our low cost campaign reached Japan’s many railroad enthusiasts, said to number around 100,000. Over 70,000 railroad otaku participated, flocking to au’s mobile phone content to crown the Otaku King of the Railroad. Through the quiz, we formed the largest railroad otaku community in Japan. As a result, we achieved our aim: getting people who normally don’t use mobile data service to spend many, many hours experiencing the enjoyment of mobile phone content.