Newton-John Tour pays dividends in Japan
TOKYO - The energy and attention to detail Olivia Newton-John put into a one-week promotional tour of Japan seems to have paid off handsomely and the evidence comes in sales of her “Physical” album and single here.
The product was expected to do well in Japan following its release late last year by Toshiba-EMI, but the promotional visit, coming in the year-end holiday season, really sparked sales and emphasized again the value of personal appearances. The singer was interviewed for a dozen major magazines, countless newspapers and nine leading radio stations. She also appeared on three key television programs.
By the end of the trip. Newton-John exposure was complete. The album and single each topped the 200,000 unit sales mark. At one point, the album sold 10,000 copies a day here, according to Kinji Ogino, A and R manager for EMI and Capitol at Toshiba-EMI.
A particularly shrewd promotion move was having the singer wear an orange Japanese kimono for her full press conference.
Many visiting artists dress up in kimono style, but Olivia Newton-John looked so much at ease in this national costume that Toshiba-EMI used a half lifesize poster of her wearing the garb as its New Year greeting poster.
Ogino says that “Physical” sales continued at a steady rate after the singer had left.
Photo caption: JAPANESE JOHN-Olivia Newton-John sports a traditional Japanese kimono during a recent press conference at the Tokyo Hilton Hotel.