The organisation, called the Premium Business Ad Network, aims to raise 300 million yen (US$3.3 million) within the first year, reports network member Agence France-Presse.
Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper and Jiji Press as well as Thomson Reuters and CNN are also reportedly participating in the alliance.
Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper and Jiji Press as well as Thomson Reuters and CNN are also reportedly participating in the alliance.
According to president and CEO of DDB Japan Takashi Takeda, the network comes at a crucial time as Japan’s media sector is in decline. Although Takeda notes that the industry in Japan has fared better than in the West, news organisations must reevaluate their strategies now before it declines as it has in the US, where publications have increasingly laid off staff or shut down their presses.
“I think news companies’ business models are in progress of transition and I’m sure this network is not their final destination,” he said. “Obviously the offline media is the biggest victim of this economic downturn for the media so I think this is one way for them to survive.”
However, CEO of McCann Worldgroup Asia-Pacific Kevin Ramsey said he is sceptical of the network’s immediate success because “now is a crucial time for the Japanese advertising industry on the whole and, frankly, it’s not limited to one business sector but to all clients all over the world.”
The network, which is slated to launch in April, will be hosted by online provider So-net Media Networks Corporations, according to local reports.
