※Position at time of interview
Using the power of videos to empower brands, TubeMogul offers a platform for fast-growing online video advertising.
online video ads are promotional messages that plays before a user views a video on YouTube and other Internet channels. The market for online video advertising constituted by this kind of pre-roll ad is rapidly expanding. Although the US is the largest market for this category, the Japanese online video ad market is also projected to grow to some JPY88 billion by 2017. Why this market is expanding so fast? According to Ms. Susan Salop of TubeMogul, “The infrastructure for Internet services and the viewing environment for devices are well-equipped now, and advertising contact points are diversifying. Amid this trend, Japanese advertisers become more aware that online video advertising helps a lot to change the attitudes of consumers.”
Founded in 2006 in the US, TubeMogul is one of the country’s largest software companies for video advertising. It launched in the Japanese market since 2013. The company’s mainstream appeal is in the category called Demand Side Platform. DSP is a service that allows advertisers to control ad campaigns and optimize ad spending through the Internet. TubeMogul’s DSP is able to place video ads on multiple sites across multiple devices regardless of the format, while optimizing the ad placement and getting exposure with target viewers.
The Founder Brett Wilson started TubeMogul after winning a business contest for the online video analytics tool he invented as a student. Based on this background, the company’s solutions provide competitive advantages in support services, including analyses, targeting schemes and advertising effectiveness measurement. “As a company operating globally, we are competitive both in inbound and outbound marketing. Our Japanese clients wishing to expand their business in overseas deliver video ads with us for Southeast Asia, the US, China, Europe and other destinations, while many foreign advertisers make use of our services when entering the Japanese market.”, said Ms. Salop.
Among various types of Internet ad formats, digital video advertising is said to better enable brand lift (an increase in awareness or purchase intention via branding), due to its powerful appeal. “Online video ads allow advertisers to segment their targets with great accuracy, so an edgy video created exclusively for digital advertising can bring positive eff ects. For this reason, we see more content made solely for online video advertising, which do not use the same content as TV commercials. At the same time, people require high quality. The online video ad market can provide benefits both for advertisers and media services. Our company works behind the scenes, but we hope to contribute to cultivate the market for the era of smartphones, and further advance the quality and value of this market”, Ms. Salop said of the company’s ambitions.TubeMogul decided to become a tenant of EGG JAPAN, because “Marunouchi is a good location for sales and has a brand power that can appeal to overseas customers. It also brings together players like us trying to embark on the Japanese market, which is also an attractive environment for us.” TubeMogul actually had opportunities to run a collaborative project and organized a joint event with other tenants for finding potential customers. All of these served as driving engines for TubeMogul to thrive in the Japanese market.
IMAGINE
Use both the right brain and left brain in the “authentic Japanese” environment.
When I need to contemplate by myself, I want to relax and let my imagination fl ow in the authentic Japanese atmosphere. Fortunately, EGG JAPAN has the meeting room furnished in a traditional Japanese style with wooden-fl oored “Horigotatsu”-like seats, so I often use it. What I find common in talented entrepreneurs is that they instinctively use the right brain for reaching a conclusion, and use the left brain for logical processes to get to the conclusion. I also try to use my brain in such way by relaxing in the “traditional Japanese” setting.
This content is the revised version of extract from "MARUNOUCHI THE PRESS",
which is the appendix of "Nikkei Business Associe" from May issue in 2015. All rights are reserved.
Photographer：Kiichi Niiyama
Writer：Masashi Kamijo
Ms. Susan Salop
Before joining TubeMogul, Ms. Salop worked for DELL, Google, and Ask.com. She spent 10 years in Japan and worked for Catalina Marketing Japan as Vice President, along with other posts. She received an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Founded in 2006, the US-based TubeMogul is a global leader of online video ad platforms,
which now has 15 offices worldwide including Tokyo. In Japan, over 200 brands and advertisers
already implement TubeMogul’s solutions for brand advertising in various fi elds of industries.
The company developed the online video ad platform based on DSP in 2011.
Boasting excellent performance in targeting, inventory optimization, brand safety, analytics and verifi cation,
it has grown to be one of the largest video ad platforms in the US. The company was listed on NASDAQ in 2014.
