January 18, 2017
To all the press
GMO TECH, Inc.
Pia Corporation
GMO TECH and Pia, publisher of JAL's in-flight magazine "Japan Expert," have agreed to a business partnership in the inbound market.
~Supporting local governments nationwide with marketing aimed at tourists visiting Japan~
GMO TECH, Inc. (CEO: Akihito Suzuki, hereinafter referred to as "GMO TECH"), a GMO Internet Group company that provides online customer acquisition services, has agreed to form a business partnership in the inbound market with Pia Corporation (President and CEO: Hiroshi Yanai, hereinafter referred to as "Pia"), which publishes the JAL in-flight free magazine "Nihon Tatsujin" for tourists visiting Japan as part of its media activities in addition to its ticketing business.
Through this partnership, GMO TECH will leverage its strengths in "Internet customer acquisition" and Pia's strengths in "media" to support companies and organizations conducting inbound marketing (tourists visiting Japan) both online and offline, such as local governments across Japan that want to attract tourists from Asia and companies aiming to increase inbound sales.
[Background and purpose of business partnership]
The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan has been increasing in recent years, reaching a cumulative total of 2,403 million in 2016, a 21.8% increase over the previous year, and is estimated to be a record high for the fourth consecutive year. In particular, the total number of visitors from the four East Asian markets of China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong reached over 17 million, a 23.1% increase over the previous year, and the East Asian region is strengthening its presence amid inbound demand that is expected to expand further in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.(※ 1).
In response to this growing inbound demand, GMO TECH has been offering "AsiAD byGMO," an advertising marketing service for inbound and cross-border e-commerce, since June 2016. "AsiAD byGMO" is a service that utilizes the web marketing know-how that GMO TECH has cultivated to date to support promotional development in major countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia, including Greater China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Greater China regions. It provides an integrated service that covers everything from creating multilingual advertising creatives for local media in each country, to selecting media including social media and search sites, advertising placement and management, and report analysis.
Meanwhile, Pia provides inbound consulting services to local governments across the country, supporting them with marketing, attracting customers, and promotions. In addition, Pia has a track record of producing a number of multilingual booklets for foreign tourists at tourist destinations across the country, including "Japan Expert," a free in-flight magazine for tourists visiting Japan, which is produced in collaboration with Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
Among them, "Nihon Tatsujin" provides tourist information and coupons for tourists from China, Taiwan, and Korea, and is published three times a year (March, July, and November), with 190,000 copies in simplified Chinese, 150,000 copies in traditional Chinese, and 100,000 copies in Korean (as of 2016).
Therefore, the two companies have decided to partner to provide inbound support by making the most of GMO TECH's accumulated know-how in "Internet customer acquisition" and Pia's strengths in tourist-oriented "media" content, editing, and recommendation capabilities. Going forward, the two companies will work together in media and sales to provide both online and offline support to local governments across the country that wish to revitalize their regions by attracting tourists to Japan, and to companies that wish to increase customer numbers and sales through inbound tourism.
Additionally, a joint seminar is scheduled to be held in March 2017 to explain the specific services and initiatives of the two companies. For details about the seminar, please see below.
▼Inbound Tourism Seminar co-hosted by Pia and GMO TECH
URL:https://goo.gl/7FaVLw
(※1) Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) "Number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2016 (annual estimate)"
[About GMO TECH] (URL:https://gmotech.jp/ ）
GMO TECH was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers in December 2014 and uses its proprietary technology to help companies attract customers. Its core business includes the smartphone advertising distribution service "GMO SmaAD," the easy-to-create smartphone app "GMO Customer Attraction Up Capsule," and the SEO strategy "SEO AIRLINES byGMO," as well as Facebook, listing, and retargeting operations.
Across all of GMO TECH's businesses, we focus on conversions (results) such as inquiries, purchases, and installations, which are the most important KPIs in our clients' web strategies.
[Reference URL]
・"AsiAD byGMO" URL:https://asi-ad.com/
・GMO Customer Attraction Up Capsule URL: https://upcapsule.com/
・"Inbound Consulting Service" URL: http://pia-inbound.pia.co.jp/
・“Japan Master” Facebook URL:https://www.facebook.com/nihontatsujin
[Contact information regarding services]
GMO TECH, Inc. Contact: Fukuhara
TEL:03-5489-7030 FAX:03-5489-6371
Email: asiad@gmotech.jp
[Press inquiries]
GMO TECH Inc. Public Relations Officer Mihara
TEL:03-5489-6370 FAX:03-5489-6371
Email: press@gmotech.jp
Copyright (C) 2016 GMO TECH, Inc. All Rights reserved.