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."
