THE BRIDGE

tag Tag Asia

Maipple ties up with Tokyo model agency, launches influencer matching platform for Asia

SHARE:

See the original story in Japanese. Maipple, the Japanese startup developing and offering a fashion marketplace app for Taiwanese consumers under the same name, announced last week that it has an influencer marketing platform for Asia called Tag Asia. As th platform gets its start, Maipple will partner with Asobisystem, the Tokyo-based model agency best known for managing J-pop artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, with the agency handling the management contracts for influencers. In December of 2015, Maipple launched the influencer marketing-powered fashion marketplace app through its Taiwanese subsidiary Stylepick, subsequently switched gears to a luxury fashion marketplace. The company has formed a network of about 500 influencers in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong for the marketplace app, but extracted the marketing function from the app so that companies which are not even using Maipple can take advantage of it, and this is Tag Asia. Maipple’s founder and CEO Kotaro Nagamatsu shared the following. We were originally doing influencer marketing, but it was only introductory-based. The release of Tag Asia stems from the growth of our marketing needs due to the effectiveness of Maipple and other projects leveraging influencers. Meanwhile, for Asobisystem, whose models are a driving force behind Tokyo’s Harajuku…

See the original story in Japanese.

Maipple, the Japanese startup developing and offering a fashion marketplace app for Taiwanese consumers under the same name, announced last week that it has an influencer marketing platform for Asia called Tag Asia. As th platform gets its start, Maipple will partner with Asobisystem, the Tokyo-based model agency best known for managing J-pop artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, with the agency handling the management contracts for influencers.

In December of 2015, Maipple launched the influencer marketing-powered fashion marketplace app through its Taiwanese subsidiary Stylepick, subsequently switched gears to a luxury fashion marketplace. The company has formed a network of about 500 influencers in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong for the marketplace app, but extracted the marketing function from the app so that companies which are not even using Maipple can take advantage of it, and this is Tag Asia.

Maipple’s founder and CEO Kotaro Nagamatsu shared the following.

We were originally doing influencer marketing, but it was only introductory-based. The release of Tag Asia stems from the growth of our marketing needs due to the effectiveness of Maipple and other projects leveraging influencers.

Active influencers from around Asia on Tag Asia
Image credit: Maipple

Meanwhile, for Asobisystem, whose models are a driving force behind Tokyo’s Harajuku and “Kawaii Culture” and attend events worldwide, and their own Rina Tanaka being appointed a Taipei City Tourism Ambassador, the desire to appoint models and influencers from Japan with a focus on Taiwanese companies as a way to reach all of Asia is increasing. It is in the mutual interests of both companies, then, to use Maipple’s management contracts with influencers with Asobisystem’s models for influencer marketing.

In June 2016, Maipple revealed that the company had succeeded in raising seed funds from GX Incubate, which operates Gaiax’s Sharing Economy Fund, and three angel investors.

Asobisystem recently partnered with e-commerce platform Base and Candee’s “Live Shop!” in the field of live commerce where performers introduce products in a livestreamed video. For some time now the company has also been cooperating with C Channel, a Japanese video fashion media for women expanding into various Asian countries, and with the new partnership between Maipple and Asobisystem we can expect to see more advancement of their models throughout Asia.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda