Dentsu ties up with animation studios for branded content

Dentsu has formed an agreement with nine Japanese animation studios to produce bespoke anime content on behalf of brands. The studios include Bandai Namco Pictures, David Production, Lidenfilms, Mappa, Pierrot, Production IG, Studio Colorido, Sunrise and The Answerstudio.

Dentsu said it had established a “cross organizational team” called the Dentsu Japanimation Studio, which will work to address “branding-related marketing issues” in Japan and internationally. 

Dentsu noted that a growing number of companies are looking “beyond traditional product/service advertising and public relations to strike a chord with younger consumers”. It said anime is more flexible than live-action video content and works well online. It added that anime remains very popular internationally.

Dentsu’s move follows the acquisition of Havas by Vivendi, the French entertainment conglomerate. Earlier this year, Havas executives pointed to a shift from advertising to brand content designed to be more entertaining. In parallel, Dentsu is working to expand its content business, which operates independently of clients but has the potential for crossover.

ADK also has interests in the animation space as a joint-rights holder of Doraemon, among other properties. Bain Capital last year highlighted animation as an important growth area, while Sir Martin Sorrell said ADK’s animation investments had been “disastrous”.