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This strategic unit spanning nine Hakuhodo DY Group companies brings together 1,000 specialists in different fields

Tokyo—October 29, 2021—Hakuhodo Inc., the world’s third largest advertising company, is pleased to announce that it and eight other Hakuhodo DY Group companies (see Note) have launched the Shopper Marketing Initiative. This strategic unit is designed to reinforce digital transformation (DX) architecture for distributors, retailers, and manufacturers and deliver new shopping experiences to sei-katsu-sha (shoppers) both online and offline. Having analyzed sei-katsu-sha behavior in depth by mining sei-katsu-sha data, the Shopper Marketing Initiative provides one-stop support with strategically designing and deploying a rewarding shopping experience, then actually delivering it in store by route sales reps. It thus helps distributors, retailers, and manufacturers grow their business.

Sales promotion and commerce marketing are rapidly going digital—from attracting customers (think fliers and other promotional materials) to the purchase process itself (think D2C and e-commerce). Digitally transforming this entire domain, and thus designing and delivering new shopping experiences where online merges with offline (OMO), is becoming key to boosting corporate competitiveness.

The new Shopper Marketing Initiative is a strategic unit spanning the entire Hakuhodo DY Group. It has evolved from such programs as Shopper Marketing and the Hakuhodo Institute of Shopper Insight, which were launched by Hakuhodo in 2003 and have long set the pace for the rest of the industry. Its forte is generating business success stories for distributors, retailers, and manufacturers by delivering a whole new shopping experience to sei-katsu-sha—one that puts their needs first. To that end it combines and deploys online and offline solutions by making sophisticated use of shopper marketing data (such as ID-POS and membership data).

Shopper Marketing Initiative designs the overall shopping experience while leveraging shopper marketing data. Here Hakuhodo plays the central role. In the areas of digitally transforming retail, digitally transforming commerce marketing, digital sales promotions, and offline sales promotions, the Initiative delivers solutions in partnership with Group companies possessing expertise in advertising and sales promotion, including Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, D.A.Consortium, Hakuhodo Product’s, and Hakuhodo DY Outdoor. CEREBRIX, Backs Group, and Experience D handle the part of the process from store staffing and dispatching route sales reps through store layout. They actually get your product in bricks-and-mortar stores, an important touchpoint with shoppers. Shopper Marketing Initiative is thus a one-stop source for value-creating, next-generation shopper marketing solutions. In addition, it builds a system of alliances optimized to the solutions it delivers.

■ Functions performed by the Shopper Marketing Initiative
(1) DX of retail (digitally transforming stores)
(2) DX of commerce marketing (digitally transforming purchase touchpoints)
(3) Digital sales promotions
(4) Offline sales promotions
(5) Leveraging shopper marketing data

■ About the Shopper Marketing Initiative
A strategic unit embracing nine members of Hakuhodo DY Group: Hakuhodo, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Hakuhodo DY Holdings, D.A.Consortium, Hakuhodo Product’s, Hakuhodo DY Outdoor, CEREBRIX, Experience D, and Backs Group. It pools all nine companies’ expertise and brings together some 1,000 specialists working in different fields. Transcending organizational and functional boundaries, it operates organically as a single seamless team.

Team Leader: Shinya Tokuhisa, General Manager, Shopper Marketing Business Division, Hakuhodo
Team Sub-leader: Takehisa Ogaki, Senior Executive Officer, Hakuhodo Product’s

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