Proposal-based advertising SP sales centered on our own media

「Specifically, the company adopted “Data Driven Innovation” as its slogan for the current fiscal year, implemented CAI (解), an AI-powered effective advertising production function, in its proprietary C-Brain system, and began full-scale operations. This has enabled compelling advertising proposals based on extensive practical data, as well as substantial improvements in the efficiency and productivity of sales activities.」

「今年度は特に地域行政キャンペーンでの活躍が目立ち、アクション率が驚異の6.5%を記録する例も出現。」

「The group's slogan for the current fiscal year is “Data Driven Innovation.” Based on the extensive practical data accumulated through the group's media and other channels, the company has worked to improve operational efficiency through DX in its sales activities, including advertising proposals optimized for advertisers' objectives and the production of compelling advertising copy through the full-scale operation of CAI (解), an AI-powered effective advertising production function implemented in its proprietary C-Brain system.」

「The group's slogan for the current fiscal year is “Data Driven.” Based on the extensive practical data accumulated through the group's media and other channels, it has promoted advertising proposals optimized for each advertiser's characteristics and objectives, including location, timing, business type and target audience.」

「As a result of promoting sales of hybrid advertising that contributes to the revitalization of regional economies, revenue for the current interim consolidated accounting period amounted to ¥5,479.486 million, up 19.5% year on year, reflecting an increase in standalone revenue of 1.2% and the consolidation of Kansai Pado Co., Ltd. and others. Gross profit increased 20.3% year on year to ¥2,430.712 million, reflecting a 3.5% increase in standalone gross profit and the effects of consolidation, while operating profit rose 4.7% year on year to ¥97.352 million.」

「The company is promoting proposal-based sales using hybrid advertising, which combines print and web advertising. As a result of promoting hybrid advertising sales and analyzing and utilizing advertising effectiveness, revenue for the cumulative second quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year amounted to ¥4,587.075 million, up 20.9% year on year, due in part to a 14.1% increase in standalone revenue and the contribution from the beginning of the period of Chuko Media Solutions Co., Ltd., K-Create Co., Ltd. and others, which were included in the scope of consolidation from the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.」

「As a result, revenue for the cumulative first quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year amounted to ¥2,257.740 million, up 34.7% year on year, reflecting a 13.5% increase in standalone revenue and the inclusion in the scope of consolidation, from the second quarter of the previous fiscal year, of Chuko Media Solutions Co., Ltd., K-Create Co., Ltd. and others.」

「In addition to enhancing the value of its owned media through the co-creation of print and the web, including improving the information content and convenience of the value-oriented coupon app Furimo, strengthening the MACHI JOB recruitment information service and Furimall, a nationwide selection of specialty products available by mail order, the company will continue to promote collaboration with government agencies on measures to address regional issues by strengthening sales to public-sector organizations, and enhance its DX offerings to help regional clients address management issues, thereby revitalizing regional economies and resolving regional issues.」

「Strengthening the measurement of advertising effectiveness and feedback to advertisers based on proactive responses and actions by readers and users, such as reader submissions, survey responses, prize applications, links to websites and apps, and coupon use, together with effective advertising proposals based on analysis of one of Japan’s largest reader-response datasets.」

「Our Group operates the Media Advertising Business as a single reporting segment, with the departments responsible primarily for planning, sales, editing and publishing our proprietary Happy Media(R) and the sales promotion departments responsible for broad-area sales of our proprietary media and sales promotion using third-party media and printed materials working together to contribute to the revitalisation of regional economies and resolve local issues.」

「The group set its management theme for the current fiscal year (the 45th fiscal year) as “Charge through the era of DX!” and promoted sales initiatives that contribute to revitalizing local economies under the slogan “Co-creating ‘print distribution’ and ‘the web,’” which continued from the previous fiscal year. Specifically, these included using QR codes in our own Happy Media(R) “地域みっちゃく生活情報誌(R)” (hereinafter, regional free magazines) to improve advertising effectiveness, strengthening links between print media and the “フリモ” coupon app, “まちJOB” and “フリモール,” proposing advertising SP solutions incorporating web initiatives such as “Japan Local Media Network/JLMN” (https://adnavi.info) and measures to support local shopping districts, and providing DX products to improve management efficiency. As a result, advertising revenue from our own media for the quarter was ¥1,096 million, up 4.2% year on year.」

「We also actively pursued sales activities aimed at supporting local communities and economies through our own Happy Media(R), including publicizing premium gift-certificate programs for local shopping districts using crowdfunding and being commissioned to operate those programs.」

「As a specific initiative, we held the “Half-Price Festival” simultaneously in the August issues of 82 company-owned magazines nationwide and on the “フリモ” app to support local stores. As a result, the “フリモ” app reached 100,000 downloads in September.」

「As DX accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed sales combining advertising centered on Happy Media(R), which was converted into hybrid advertising through QR-code placement, with management-efficiency proposals using DX products for municipalities, companies and organizations in the areas where regional free magazines are published, at our company and our consolidated subsidiary 株式会社アド通信社西部本社.」

「In addition to identifying advertising needs among companies, organizations and local governments related to COVID-19 measures, we actively developed proposals for management solutions, including DX.」

「As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the promotion of digital transformation, we developed management-efficiency proposal-based sales using the digital products described above, primarily to municipalities, companies and organizations in the areas where regional free magazines are published, in addition to advertising sales centered on Happy Media(R) at our company and our consolidated subsidiary 株式会社アド通信社西部本社.」

「As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the promotion of digital transformation, during the second quarter we began offering management-efficiency proposals using the digital products described above, primarily to municipalities, companies and organizations in the areas where regional free magazines are published, in addition to advertising sales centered on Happy Media(R) at our company and our consolidated subsidiary 株式会社アド通信社西部本社.」

「After the state of emergency was lifted, we gradually resumed sales activities, including some in-person visits and remote sales using various online systems, in line with the stage of economic reopening.」

「To roll out Happy Media(R), issued by us as our own media, nationwide, the media advertising business operates through integrated sales activities by the editorial offices that publish regional free magazines and the sales promotion division focused on broad-area sales.」

「We worked to restore earnings by strengthening and unifying the sales headquarters, including by integrating the development headquarters, the creative division, into the sales headquarters.」

「The advertising SP business clarified its role as the division handling our own Happy Media(R) media across broad areas. We also worked to expand new Happy Media(R) offerings, including by strengthening initiatives in the online advertising business.」

「The advertising SP business worked to expand earnings by integrating with the media business through proposal-based sales across broad areas centered on free magazines and other proprietary media, while taking the lead in launching the new Happy Media(R) “Start! [スタート！]”.」

「The advertising SP business continued working to expand earnings by integrating with the media business, including transitioning to a structure for proposal-based advertising sales across broad areas centered on free magazines and other proprietary media as its core products.」

「During the cumulative first-quarter period, we worked to recover performance, which had declined in the previous fiscal year, by strengthening the operating structure centered on the sales division. We also established the Kansai branch and worked to expand sales across the Kansai area, focusing on Kyoto, Nara and Wakayama prefectures.」

「We are integrating the advertising sales promotion business with the media business. During the fiscal year, we substantially transferred human resources to the media business and promoted the transition to a sales structure for broad-area proposals, with proprietary media centred on free magazines as the main products.」

「We are integrating the advertising sales promotion business with the media business. During the fiscal year, we substantially transferred human resources to the media business and promoted the transition to a sales structure for broad-area proposals, with proprietary media centred on free magazines as the main products.」

「The advertising SP divisions at the Gifu, Nagoya, Tokyo, Mie and Shiga branches are in the process of transitioning from conventional mass media to selling free magazines.」

「Although advertising orders for newspapers, television and other media in the advertising SP business continued to decline, we worked to expand orders by focusing on proposal-based sales centered on free magazines as media for advertising strategies in broad and limited areas through the sales promotion departments established in the main prefectures where our free magazines are published—Nagoya, Gifu, Mie and Shiga—as part of the organizational changes implemented in the first quarter.」

「In the first quarter, we also implemented organizational changes that integrated the free magazine and advertising SP divisions in each prefecture into a branch structure. By deepening collaboration between the media and advertising SP businesses, we established a structure capable of meeting the needs of large advertisers targeting broad areas, in addition to serving advertisers within each publishing area, and focused on expanding orders for free magazines.」

「In the advertising SP business, following organizational changes during the fiscal year, we developed proposal-based sales centered on the free magazine through sales promotion departments established for each prefecture in which our free magazines are published: Nagoya, Gifu, Mie and Shiga. At the Tokyo branch, we also pursued rationalization through the integration of operations with the consolidated subsidiary 株式会社エルアド, which was absorbed through a merger effective 1 April 2016, while developing proposal-based sales of free magazines to national clients and real-estate-related advertising.」

「In the advertising SP business, we focused on proposal-based sales centered on the free magazine at each branch—Gifu, Nagoya, Tokyo, Mie and Kansai—to deepen collaboration with the free magazine.」