Today Pinterest Japan announced that it will ally with Japanese advertising giant Dentsu to expand its business in Japan, as the social image curation service would potentially offer a new marketing alternative to local advertisers. Pinterest recently localized for Japan a few months back, and CEO Ben Silbermann recently expressed a hope that Japanese people can try to express more about their culture (things like art, food, and architecture) through pinned images. Ostensibly, Silbermann has that very same hope for Japanese advertisers, who might more effectively reach global audiences in a more visual manner. Pinterest has tested promoted pins over the past year in the US market, and looks poised to charge top dollar from advertisers. Via Venture News
Today Pinterest Japan announced that it will ally with Japanese advertising giant Dentsu to expand its business in Japan, as the social image curation service would potentially offer a new marketing alternative to local advertisers.
Pinterest recently localized for Japan a few months back, and CEO Ben Silbermann recently expressed a hope that Japanese people can try to express more about their culture (things like art, food, and architecture) through pinned images. Ostensibly, Silbermann has that very same hope for Japanese advertisers, who might more effectively reach global audiences in a more visual manner.
Pinterest has tested promoted pins over the past year in the US market, and looks poised to charge top dollar from advertisers.
CTO of Xibao, Alex Farfurnik, on the right (photo cred) China’s top e-commerce site, Taobao, accounts for a whopping 80% share of the nation’s e-commerce market. But even with so many sellers setting up a shop on Taobao, most of them don’t adequately understand how to sell products on the platform. That’s where Xibao comes in. Xibao’s system helps optimize ads and use Taobao’s ad platform more effectively. According to co-founder, Alex Farfurnik, the company offers three plans at a monthly fixed rate. Pricing starts at 0–100 yuan ($0–17) for a freemium plan, 1000 yuan ($170) for a standard plan, and 15,000 yuan ($2500) for a VIP plan. 17 months have passed since the launch of its ad optimization platform, Super Driver, And the total customers subscribing to paid plans has surpassed 40,000. Advertisement fees paid by Taobao through Xibao have surpassed $150 million. At first, Xibao was launched as a service for small businesses. But the business grew because of a partnership with Taobao, and Xibao began offering the service to major companies as well. XiBao now has partnerships with internet giants like Tencent, Qihoo, JD.com, and Baidu. Generally, sellers place ads on Taobao to lead customers to their…
CTO of Xibao, Alex Farfurnik, on the right (photo cred)
China’s top e-commerce site, Taobao, accounts for a whopping 80% share of the nation’s e-commerce market. But even with so many sellers setting up a shop on Taobao, most of them don’t adequately understand how to sell products on the platform. That’s where Xibao comes in.
Xibao’s system helps optimize ads and use Taobao’s ad platform more effectively. According to co-founder, Alex Farfurnik, the company offers three plans at a monthly fixed rate. Pricing starts at 0–100 yuan ($0–17) for a freemium plan, 1000 yuan ($170) for a standard plan, and 15,000 yuan ($2500) for a VIP plan. 17 months have passed since the launch of its ad optimization platform, Super Driver, And the total customers subscribing to paid plans has surpassed 40,000. Advertisement fees paid by Taobao through Xibao have surpassed $150 million.
November 11th is widely referred to as ‘E-commerce Day’ on the Chinese internet. This year the sales on Tmall.com, the online retailer spun off from Taobao, reached 35.019 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) for the day. The above picture is from a monitoring room at Tmall.com.
At first, Xibao was launched as a service for small businesses. But the business grew because of a partnership with Taobao, and Xibao began offering the service to major companies as well. XiBao now has partnerships with internet giants like Tencent, Qihoo, JD.com, and Baidu.
Generally, sellers place ads on Taobao to lead customers to their shops. But it turns out that this is not necessarily cost-effective. For example, there was a case when a Tmall seller placed ads on Qihoo, leading viewers to Tmall from there. With this strategy, the cost performance of the ad was 50 times higher than ads placed directly on Tmall. Xibao looks at all the indicators including transactions and advertising ROI to manage the best ad space.
In the upcoming year, Xibao aims to release two apps and acquire 100,000 freemium accounts.
On November 11th, Xibao staff was working overnight at TechTemple. Every year on this day, all the staff work non-stop.
Based on our original article in Japanese United Inc. has announced that it will implement Metaps’ Exchanger, a network for user traffic exchange, into its popular smartphone homescreen decoration app CocoPPa. The newly released Exchanger service enables developers to optimize their Android app icons for best performance. With the implementation of Exchanger, CocoPPa is looking to bolster its profitability and advertising. Recently provided by Metaps as a beta release, Exchanger is a developer platform for monetizing Android apps. In line with the official release of Exchanger, it has been designated for introduction into CocoPPa. Metaps, as many of our readers may know, is a subsidiary of United, with investment from Venture United Inc. Apps which use Exchanger can have full screen advertisements displayed at any time. Icons are displayed as advertisements in other apps where Exchanger has also been introduced. By transferring customers reciprocally between apps in this manner, the platform allows developers to acquire users at no cost. Furthermore, when a user downloads a new app via a displayed Exchanger advertisement, the developer receives advertising revenue based on the number of downloads. To learn more about the platform, Metaps has recently published some informative slides which you can check…
United Inc. has announced that it will implement Metaps’ Exchanger, a network for user traffic exchange, into its popular smartphone homescreen decoration app CocoPPa.
The newly released Exchanger service enables developers to optimize their Android app icons for best performance. With the implementation of Exchanger, CocoPPa is looking to bolster its profitability and advertising.
Recently provided by Metaps as a beta release, Exchanger is a developer platform for monetizing Android apps. In line with the official release of Exchanger, it has been designated for introduction into CocoPPa. Metaps, as many of our readers may know, is a subsidiary of United, with investment from Venture United Inc.
Apps which use Exchanger can have full screen advertisements displayed at any time. Icons are displayed as advertisements in other apps where Exchanger has also been introduced. By transferring customers reciprocally between apps in this manner, the platform allows developers to acquire users at no cost.
Furthermore, when a user downloads a new app via a displayed Exchanger advertisement, the developer receives advertising revenue based on the number of downloads. To learn more about the platform, Metaps has recently published some informative slides which you can check out below.
On a related note, CocoPPa also recently announced that it would collaborate with Chinese search giant Baidu on the Japanese input method editor app, Simeji for Android.
See the original story in Japanese. There was a big move in the Japanese ad-tech market yesterday. Mediba, an ad-focused subsidiary of Japan’s second largest telco KDDI, announced its takeover of ad-tech startup ScaleOut. The purchase price was not disclosed but it’s reportedly worth more than 1 billion yen (10 million dollars). Some of our readers may recall that Mediba acquired smartphone-focused ad network startup Nobot back in August of 2011. ScaleOut’s CEO Daisuke Yamazaki previously worked with Yahoo Japan where he launched behavioral targeting and rich media ads. Yuzuru Honda, the founding CEO of competing ad-tech startup FreakOut is also known for having sold content-matching ad platform Brainer to Yahoo Japan. Yahoo Japan seems to have produced many men of talent in the space. There were very few platforms that could provide 10 billion monthly impressions when we launched our company When Mr. Yamazaki launched ScaleOut back in 2006, the market was not as mature as it is today. He explains: There were very few platforms that could provide 10 billion monthly impressions when we launched our company. Since the market has no concept about RTB (real-time bidding) advertising, we developed an ad distribution platform which can steadily provide…
From the left: Nobot CEO Kiyotaka Kobayashi, Mediba CEO Takashi Ohasa, ScaleOut CEO Daisuke Yamazaki, and ScaleOut CMO Kenichi Sugawara
There was a big move in the Japanese ad-tech market yesterday. Mediba, an ad-focused subsidiary of Japan’s second largest telco KDDI, announced its takeover of ad-tech startup ScaleOut. The purchase price was not disclosed but it’s reportedly worth more than 1 billion yen (10 million dollars). Some of our readers may recall that Mediba acquired smartphone-focused ad network startup Nobot back in August of 2011.
ScaleOut’s CEO Daisuke Yamazaki previously worked with Yahoo Japan where he launched behavioral targeting and rich media ads. Yuzuru Honda, the founding CEO of competing ad-tech startup FreakOut is also known for having sold content-matching ad platform Brainer to Yahoo Japan. Yahoo Japan seems to have produced many men of talent in the space.
There were very few platforms that could provide 10 billion monthly impressions when we launched our company
When Mr. Yamazaki launched ScaleOut back in 2006, the market was not as mature as it is today. He explains:
There were very few platforms that could provide 10 billion monthly impressions when we launched our company. Since the market has no concept about RTB (real-time bidding) advertising, we developed an ad distribution platform which can steadily provide ad impressions for media companies.
Subsequently we launched a RTB-enabled DSP (demand-site platform) service since the market trend was being shifting to RTB advertising. In terms of focusing our resources on our core business, we wondered if we should stop receiving outsourced business. Based on discussions with with Mr. Hiroyuki Watanabe [1], we made up our mind to concentrate on providing DSP services.
Scale Out was founded back in 2006, and launched DSP services back in 2012. That means they have been working on it for about five years. In terms of focusing on DSP services, B Dash Ventures helped them make the significant decisions. Yamazaki added:
Our system development didn’t proceed as expected, and we had some money problems. But Watanabe helped us a lot both mentally and financially. Up until we invited CMO Sugawara to our board, everything around our business was decided based on discussion with me and Watanabe.
Watanabe knows the ad-tech startup industry since he also helped other startups in this space, such as Nobot. Mr. Watanabe explained:
Prior to investing in the startup, I shared my perspective on the future of the Japanese ad business and ad-tech industry. Based on that, Mr. Yamazaki and I completed the startup’s management policy and business plan together. To bring more talent to the board, we invited Mr. Sugawara as a supervisor for sales and marketing.
Why has ScaleOut partnered with Mediba? Yamazaki raised the recent smartphone shift as a reason. He explained:
To date, online advertising has been targeting PC users, and smartphone ads have no big share in the market. A smartphone ad is typically placed in a limited space but shares much space on the screen. For users, you typically check information resources briefly with a smartphone, and maybe dig deeper on a PC.
If we can provide clients with solutions that allow them to see user behaviors across multiple platforms, that would be a significant differentiation point. For clients, in terms of drawing user attention, smartphones will definitely work better than PCs. We learned this after we’ve switched to DSP services, and also learned this meets the KDDI-Mediba ‘3M’ strategy [2]. That’s one of major reasons why we’ve partnered with Mediba.
To date, online advertising has been targeting PC users, and smartphone ads have no big share in the market.
We should also mention the company’s own technology called Data Management Platform, DMP for short. The startup formed a team focused on data analytics, and will launch an ad service using much accumulated user behavioral data. Yamazaki added:
I assume most ad networks will change ad distribution in the future. They will typically pick the best choice of available ads using behavioral data analytics. If we can launch a platform for ad distribution across multiple browsing devices, we can distribute the best ad optimization to every single user. Google is the biggest holder of big data accumulation, but KDDI-Mediba dominates the Japanese market in this space.
Ads may be noisy for users sometimes. And in order to provide users with ads that serve as useful information or recommendations, we need to evolve in partnership with KDDI-mediba.
Based on the analysis of enormous user data using the company’s DMP technology, their clients can distribute the best optimization of ads to their users through the platform.
Adtech startups don’t typically expose much about what they provide, but we’re glad to have a glimpse into that ScaleOut has in store. Let’s wait and see how this particular acquisition will impact the Japanese ad industry.
The CEO of B Dash Ventures. He invested in the startup and joined its board back in April of 2012. ↩
This represents KDDI-mediba’s business strategy, referring to multi-device, multi-network, and multi-media. ↩
See the original story in Japanese. Japan’s Nikkei reported earlier today that mobile ad company Mediba has taken over ScaleOut, a Tokyo-based ad tech startup. The purchase price is reportedly 1 billion yen, or approximately $10 million. Mediba is an ad-focused subsidiary of Japan’s second largest telco KDDI. Some of our readers may recall that the company acquired ad-network Nobot back in August of 2011. ScaleOut runs a demand-side platform (DSP) which allows digital ad buyers to do more through a single interface. For instance, when you place an ad the platform typically helps you determine which network yields the best cost performance. In this space, we’ve seen more than 20 companies already enter the market, including Japanese internet giants CyberAgent and GMO, as well as FreakOut which raised more than $5 million back in March from Yahoo Japan. To learn more about the acquisitions that have happened in Japan in recent years, you can find out more on our acquisitions timeline. We’re also preparing bring you a special interview with the startup’s CEO Daisuke Yamazaki, so please stay tuned for that as well.
Japan’s Nikkei reported earlier today that mobile ad company Mediba has taken over ScaleOut, a Tokyo-based ad tech startup. The purchase price is reportedly 1 billion yen, or approximately $10 million. Mediba is an ad-focused subsidiary of Japan’s second largest telco KDDI. Some of our readers may recall that the company acquired ad-network Nobot back in August of 2011.
ScaleOut runs a demand-side platform (DSP) which allows digital ad buyers to do more through a single interface. For instance, when you place an ad the platform typically helps you determine which network yields the best cost performance.
In this space, we’ve seen more than 20 companies already enter the market, including Japanese internet giants CyberAgent and GMO, as well as FreakOut which raised more than $5 million back in March from Yahoo Japan.
To learn more about the acquisitions that have happened in Japan in recent years, you can find out more on our acquisitions timeline.
We’re also preparing bring you a special interview with the startup’s CEO Daisuke Yamazaki, so please stay tuned for that as well.
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based startups Freak Out and Preferred Infrastructure (PFI) have announced a joint venture between the two companies, to be called Intimate Merger. The entity’s purpose will be to launch new ad solution businesses. For those not familiar with the two companies, Freak Out provides a RTB (real-time bidding) advertising platform for smartphone devices, and PFI provides a range of technologies like information search, recommendations, and machine-learning. By combining their services and technologies, they plan to provide practical solutions for their clients’ marketing or communication needs. Specifically, Freak Out will provide ad technologies including the startup’s flagship DSP (demand-side platform) solutions, and PFI will provide consulting services on optimizing ad performances using big data analysis. The two companies have appointed Ryoji Yanashima as president of this new joint venture. Prior to Freak Out, he worked at GREE and was involved in developing several new platforms. He subsequently joined Freak Out and has been focusing on building revenue. Our readers may recall that Freak Out received series B funding worth 500 million yen (approximately $5.3 million) from Yahoo Japan’s investment arm, YJ Capital, in March 2013.
Tokyo-based startups Freak Out and Preferred Infrastructure (PFI) have announced a joint venture between the two companies, to be called Intimate Merger. The entity’s purpose will be to launch new ad solution businesses.
For those not familiar with the two companies, Freak Out provides a RTB (real-time bidding) advertising platform for smartphone devices, and PFI provides a range of technologies like information search, recommendations, and machine-learning. By combining their services and technologies, they plan to provide practical solutions for their clients’ marketing or communication needs. Specifically, Freak Out will provide ad technologies including the startup’s flagship DSP (demand-side platform) solutions, and PFI will provide consulting services on optimizing ad performances using big data analysis.
The two companies have appointed Ryoji Yanashima as president of this new joint venture. Prior to Freak Out, he worked at GREE and was involved in developing several new platforms. He subsequently joined Freak Out and has been focusing on building revenue.
Our readers may recall that Freak Out received series B funding worth 500 million yen (approximately $5.3 million) from Yahoo Japan’s investment arm, YJ Capital, in March 2013.
What’s the first thing you do when you grab your mobile phone? Slide to unlock the homescreen. Here in Asia, there is an app and an reward advertisement platform that capitalizes on this action. It’s called Latte Screen. The app was first released in Korea where it was downloaded over 2 million times in the first three months after its release. And now AppDisco Japan, the company behind the app, has announced that it will be expanding service to a total of 13 countries, including Australia, Spain, France, and Germany. According to the company, Latte Screen ‘hijacks’ (so to speak) [1] a user’s lock screen with advertisements. Users are shown the most recent advertisements (updated once every hour) and can receive points everytime they unlock their lock screen. These points can be exchanged for gift cards or even can be exchanged for cash. The company also plans to add coupons for stores and restaurants, as well as goods from Korean cosmetic brands or relating to pop stars. AppDisco released its first app in Japan, Ad Latte, back in December of 2011. The app gives out points to its users for watching commercials, answering questions, and participating in campaigns. The two…
What’s the first thing you do when you grab your mobile phone? Slide to unlock the homescreen. Here in Asia, there is an app and an reward advertisement platform that capitalizes on this action. It’s called Latte Screen. The app was first released in Korea where it was downloaded over 2 million times in the first three months after its release. And now AppDisco Japan, the company behind the app, has announced that it will be expanding service to a total of 13 countries, including Australia, Spain, France, and Germany.
According to the company, Latte Screen ‘hijacks’ (so to speak) [1] a user’s lock screen with advertisements. Users are shown the most recent advertisements (updated once every hour) and can receive points everytime they unlock their lock screen. These points can be exchanged for gift cards or even can be exchanged for cash. The company also plans to add coupons for stores and restaurants, as well as goods from Korean cosmetic brands or relating to pop stars.
AppDisco released its first app in Japan, Ad Latte, back in December of 2011. The app gives out points to its users for watching commercials, answering questions, and participating in campaigns. The two Latte apps are integrated, allowing users to collect points from both apps.
The app will be available to U.S. users starting this summer. Latte Screen can be downloaded over on Google Play.
In their announcement, the company used the word ‘hijacks’, perhaps for creative effect. Obviously this has a negative connotation in English, but in Japanese it reads ok.↩
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Rick Martin
Masaru Ikeda
Junya Mori
Takeshi Hirano
Yukari Mitsuhashi
