Asatsu tooling up to be a top New Economy agency

<p>Asatsu-DK is striving to be the savviest New Economy advertising </p><p>agency in Japan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The country's third-largest agency, which is part of the WPP group, has </p><p>entered into a range of ventures to ensure a leading position in the </p><p>country. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The ventures include Motivation Marketing, a one-to-one Internet </p><p>marketing company; Digital Advertising Consortium, which specialises in </p><p>cyber advertising; Knot's, which focuses on Web consumer research; and </p><p>Dot Mobi, which handles technology that allows mobile phones to receive </p><p>TVC advertising and access the Internet for surfing or ecommerce </p><p>purposes. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Asatsu chairman and CEO Masao Inagaki said, "The IT revolution has made </p><p>the world a more connected and smaller place and these measures and </p><p>structures are needed to keep up (with the times)." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He told MEDIA that further similar ventures were likely because the </p><p>digital world was fast-paced and ever changing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Koichiro Naganuma, senior managing director and president of Asatsu </p><p>Worldwide, said the Internet would ultimately change people's lifestyles </p><p>as we know it now. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In the future, Internet penetration in most of the leading markets will </p><p>be very high and that will lead to changes in society because most </p><p>people in a population will use the Internet to shop, look for </p><p>information and watch television," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, Mr Naganuma said that the way in which technology developed </p><p>will be different for different regions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In the United States, the market will be dominated by personal </p><p>computers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Europe, it will be interactive television. And in Japan, it will be </p><p>interactive TV and mobile phones." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Inagaki said that as a result, the agency has to be innovative in </p><p>order to differentiate itself from the competition. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In this respect, our corporate philosophy calls for us to take the </p><p>leadership position. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"That is, take the first step in everything we do." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Although it is the third-largest agency in Japan after Dentsu and </p><p>Hakuhodo, Mr Inagaki claimed that Asatsu was, in fact, leading the </p><p>market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He underlined the point by saying that Asatsu has been a listed entity </p><p>since 1987 and entered into a partnership with a Western-based global </p><p>agency network, WPP, in 1988. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In sharp comparison, Mr Inagaki noted, Dentsu and Hakuhodo are only now </p><p>planning a listing in the stock market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In addition, it was only at the end of last year that Dentsu formed its </p><p>alliance with the Leo and McManus groups to form BCom3. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Hakuhodo remains the only top three Japanese agency without a </p><p>partnership with a major Western-based worldwide network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"If you are not number one, you have to be more proactive and strategic </p><p>than the market leader. If you cannot do this, and you are just </p><p>reactive, you lose your competitive edge and survival becomes more </p><p>difficult," Mr Inagaki said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>