BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 5. Japan's ITOCHU
Corporation has agreed to acquire additional shares in digital
marketing company Adways Inc., with the transaction set to make
Adways an equity-method affiliate of the Japanese trading house,
ITOCHU said on November 5.
The move comes amid growing demand for data-driven advertising
and services that enable companies to measure the effectiveness of
their marketing activities. More businesses are also bringing
advertising operations in-house to gain greater control over their
management and execution, increasing the importance of advertising
platforms and marketing technologies.
"Adways is a digital marketing company engaged in the online
advertising business, providing comprehensive marketing solutions
for smartphone applications and web services,” the company
said.
The company uses proprietary technologies, including UNICORN, a
fully automated marketing platform powered by machine learning, to
deliver advanced and efficient advertising solutions and improve
the measurement of advertising performance.
Adways' technologies are widely used by major advertising
agencies and advertisers in Japan and overseas, establishing the
company as a technology provider supporting marketing activities
through advanced advertising delivery capabilities.
ITOCHU said the acquisition is in line with its digital value
chain strategy, which aims to provide businesses with integrated
support ranging from consulting, data analysis and business
planning to IT system design, development and operations.
As part of this strategy, ITOCHU has been expanding its presence
in digital marketing through partnerships with several companies,
including ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation, which specializes in
IT system design and implementation; BELLSYSTEM24, Inc., which
provides business process outsourcing services, including customer
support and marketing; and AKQA UKA, Inc., which focuses on
customer experience design.
"Through the conversion of Adways into an equity-method
affiliate, ITOCHU will leverage the combination of Adways’ advanced
advertising delivery technologies and the ITOCHU Group’s customer
base and business assets to further enhance digital advertising
operations and data utilization services for corporate clients,”
ITOCHU said.
The companies also plan to deepen cooperation with business
partners, including advertising agencies, focusing on customer
behavior analysis and customer experience optimization based on
insights generated through digital advertising.
ITOCHU also intends to expand the use of Adways' advertising
delivery systems across its own group and introduce the solutions
to new customers, with the aim of developing additional business
opportunities in the digital marketing sector.
The company said the partnership supports its management policy,
"The Brand-New Deal: Profit Opportunities are Shifting Downstream,"
which focuses on identifying changing needs among sellers, buyers
and consumers and developing business opportunities through
downstream operations.
"Through this partnership, ITOCHU will continue to provide
marketing solutions that leverage data and technology and help
enhance the corporate value of its client companies while also
improving consumer experience."
