On Thursday and Friday at a venue near Tokyo Station[J], IT news publisher and event organizer IDG Japan and Cymen, a Tokyo-based venture in search engine optimization(SEO) and web marketing for enterprise business, jointly held a conference combining three events on Internet cutting-edge technologies and its enabling web marketing solutions.
Next Ad & Marketing 2009
This event focuses on next-generation ad and marketing solutions that can be delivered by cutting-edge technologies and newly invented business schemes. In commemorating the first edition of the conference, its organizers set up an award and invited corporate nominees which can introduce something epoch-making.
The award winners are:
Mobile category
Won by CLON Lab[J] which develops an agent engine having the features similar to the artificial intelligence. By interactively repeating Q&As between you and your agent running on the system, you can let your agent learn more about your individual taste. Your agent may keep a web-diary instead of you.
Future category
Won by Mr. Senichi Kanemura from Kousei Inc.[J] with its augmented reality software “SR Engine Lite[J]“, which is a mobile app and allowing you to find associated information only by taking a picture that you wish to find about, without entering a long URL nor scanning QR 2D barcode.
Community category
Won by Poken with its Swiss-made USB key-like device allowing you to exchange personal profiles only by touching each other. It also makes you easier to connect on major SNSs with the persons you’ve met.
3D & AR (Augmented reality) category
Won by Geisha Tokyo Entertainment(GTE)[J] with Cyber Figure “ARis[J]“. Asiajin’s Akky Akimoto wrote a story covering details on that.
AD & Marketing category
Won by Fukidasystem[J] with a real-time speech-bubble projector in concert with passer-by’s motion. A movie below shows you an example of the system installed at a shopping complex, Akasaka Sacas[J], Tokyo.
Device category
Won by Mitani Corporation[J] with “Arios Copy”, a 3D display without wearing glasses. The screen surface of the device are specifically processed as to show different images to your both eyes, which creates a 3D images in the visual cortical area of your brain.
3D Internet Business Forum
This forum was a showcase exhibiting 3D graphic web technologies.
3Di, Inc. is a Shibuya-based tech start-up shareheld by NTT Investment Partners[J] and ngi group, and develops a 3D rendering application which can be easily embedded on your website. The example below shows you a virtual furniture shop which allows you to put an item virtually in your room to fit its size and color.
Eitarosoft is an Akihabara-based tech start-up shareheld by Japan Asia Investment, JAFCO and several VCs, and focusing on developing 3D virtual space platform for cellphones. The company exhibited Lamity, which allows simultaneously 4,000 users to participate in the virtual world and to enjoy chatting one another.
3D-GAN (3DGeometry Application Network) is a business consortium of 46 companies in 3D-related business including design, manufacturing, architects, jewelry & accessory design, medicare and animation studio. They exhibited several models of 3D printers.
Second Coa Corporation[J] is a Tokyo-based 3D content design studio for enterprise websites. They also have virtually set up the Edo-era scene of Tokyo on YouTube.
Plusplus Co., Ltd.[J], a company based in the northern part of Honshu island, is strong in developing web gadgets and 3D web content platform requiring no additional application other than a web browser. The below is an example of their 3D content platform called Web3D[J].
Business Blog & SNS World: Tsuruaki Yukawa’s Perspective
Senior staff writer for Jiji Press, Tsuruaki Yukawa[J], who is usually counted as an Internet visionary and introduces the world perspective and web business trends on his books and his blog, was invited to make a keynote speech at the beginning of this segment.
He pointed out recently developed web technologies, such as recommendation and digital signage, would create another style of virtual door-to-door business, as though you visited your customer’s home and asked “may I help you?” at the door. Mr. Yukawa introduced some U.S. companies are attempting to get collected customer profiles together in order to provide more efficient marketing results.
- Search advertising technology enables to recommend what your customer has not yet ordered but possibly wish to have.
- A combination of CRM (customer relationship management) and mail marketing allows you to predict when your customer will run of daily necessaries and need to buy next new one.
- Digital signage and mobile advertising allows you to approach to your customer in more ways than you used to have.
- Web analysis and behavior targeting allows you to suppose what each of your customers wish to have in accordance with his/her lifestyle.
Google has almost occupied the business in search advertising among seven keys described above. If someone takes the top of each of the rest, it can be another Google, he said.
If Japan brings the world’s most advanced mobile technology to Mainland China and Korea, those countries can be an innovation center and more progressive than Silicon Valley. The world entrepreneurs, including Softbank‘s CEO Masayoshi Son, think so.
Finally he wrapped up his speech with an optimistic perspective that digital media and social media would take important positions in ad industry when the world economy recovers from this recession.
Masaru IKEDA