How Much Do Mobage Influencers Charge in Japan?
The Mobage platform was launched in 2010 by DeNA, a Japanese firm, and is currently Japan’s leading social gaming platform.
It has over 46 million monthly active users, more than 7 million daily active users, and around 1 million daily active users playing games at any one time.
In May 2021, it was reported that users spent 1.5 million yen ($14,000) on Mobage on average.
The popularity of Mobage has led Japanese brands to leverage the platform for influencer marketing.
Currently, Mobage influencers enjoy lucrative pay for their promotional posts with some charging more than brands would pay other influencers on more mainstream social media platforms.
📊 How Much Japanese Mobage Influencers Charge Brands for Promotions
Various factors affect how much Mobage influencers charge for paid promotions.
Usually, Mobage influencers with more followers command higher fees.
Top Mobage influencers charge a premium for their posts while some with a few thousand followers charge thousands of yen too.
The average price of posts made by Mobage influencers with 10,000 and below followers is more than ¥50,000 ($388) each, while those with up to a million followers charge between ¥100,000 to ¥2 million ($772 to $15,440) per post.
Average Price Per Post
- No. of Followers 10,000 and below - ¥50,000 ($388)
- Up to 100,000 followers - ¥100,000 ($772)
- 100,000 to 500,000 followers - ¥500,000 ($3,860)
- 500,000 to 1 million followers - ¥600,000 ($4,640)
- 1 million followers and above - ¥2 million ($15,440)
According to a survey conducted across Japan by the Mobage consultancy, 50% of Mobage influencers can charge brands between ¥50,000 and ¥100,000 ($388 and $772) for promotions.
26% can charge between ¥100,000 and ¥500,000 ($772 and $3,860).
Besides payment per post, Mobage influencers can also charge brands performance incentives.
Performance Incentives
Mobage influencers can charge brands that pay for promotions a 10% cut of in-game income earned from players introduced to the game via the influencer’s posts.
Mobage influencers can also charge brands a 5% cut of the in-game income made by other Mobage influencers in the influencer’s advertising network.
💡 The Payment Methods of Japanese Mobage Influencers
The main payment methods used by Mobage influencers to receive payments from brands are via their Mobage accounts or payment providers such as PayPal.
However, most Mobage influencers prefer to receive payments via their Mobage accounts.
Payments made via Mobage accounts are easy to convert to cash, thus Mobage influencers can immediately withdraw cash from ATM or buy goods and services with the funds.
When payment is made using their Mobage accounts, the Mobage influencer’s account balance is increased and they can later convert the balance into cash as follows:
- 1,000 Mobage Points = ¥800 ($6.19).
Thus, 100,000 Mobage Points becomes ¥80,000 ($618) when converted.
It’s worth noting that the conversion rate is lower than the purchase rate, which is 1,000 Mobage Points = ¥1,000 ($7.73).
When brands deposit Mobage Points into the Mobage influencer’s account, they can later convert the points into cash or spend them on Mobage games, goods, and services.
What’s more, Mobage is a large platform and has over 25,000 games from popular brands such as Bandai Namco, Capcom, and Square Enix.
Thus Mobage influencers can use the funds in their Mobage accounts for various purchases and enjoy Mobage’s wide variety of games, goods, and services.
Popular Payment Methods of Mobage Influencers
- Mobage account
- PayPal
- Credit and debit card
- Amazon Pay
- Rakuten Pay
- Japanese convenience store payments
❗ The Legal Status of Mobage Influencers
Mobage influencers engage in commercial advertising, which falls under the Japanese Advertising Act.
Article 2 of the Advertising Act defines advertising as “any act of a person who provides or causes to provide a product or service to be sold, provided, or performed to a third party, with the expectation of obtaining a pecuniary benefit, to influence the conduct of the third party.”
Thus, Mobage influencers who do not disclose that a post made on their Mobage account is sponsored commits an offense.
The Penalties
Persons found guilty of violating the Japanese Advertising Act are subject to civil and criminal penalties, including the confiscation and forfeiture of property.
The confiscation and forfeiture of property can include advertisement materials, accounts containing property derived from the proceeds of illegal advertising, and any medium used for illegal advertisement.
The penalties can involve fines of no more than ¥300,000 ($2,317) or imprisonment for no more than 3 years.
Protection Against Legal Actions
Because Mobage accounts are free, Mobage influencers who receive payments from brands to promote games on their Mobage accounts are not regarded as professionals under the Japanese Lawyer Act, thus they can promote games without the risk of being sued for unauthorized practice of law.
In Japan, various professional services such as accounting, legal counsel, and medical services can only be provided to the public by professionals registered with their respective licensing agencies.
Thus Mobage influencers are protected against legal actions because they do not require any license to operate and the revenue received from brands for promotions does not turn them into professionals.