Adding a little margin to seriousness: What is the “change” that former Hakuhodo employee Masaki Mikami is aiming for at XICA?

In December 2022, Masaki Mikami, former executive vice president of Hakuhodo Inc. and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc., was appointed executive officer of XICA.

Mikami joined Hakuhodo in 1982 and has led the company's marketing and digital divisions. For nearly 40 years, since the dawn of the Internet, he has been at the forefront of integrated marketing and data-driven marketing.

We asked Mikami about his role at XICA, the current challenges facing the marketing industry, and what keeps him constantly updating himself throughout his life.

Executive Officer, XICA Corporation
SVP of Product Strategy
Masaki Mikami

He joined Hakuhodo in 1982. After working in the IT department and in the business and promotion fields, he was involved in the establishment of Hakuhodo Dennotai, Japan's first dedicated internet organization at an advertising agency, in 96. Since then, he has practiced integrated marketing and data-driven marketing, leading the digital field. In 2010, he became an executive officer at Hakuhodo. In 11, he became executive officer in charge of the i-media field at Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. In 16, he became managing executive officer at Hakuhodo and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. In 18, he became managing executive officer, CISO and in charge of the Innovation Center at Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. He served as a judge for the Media Lion award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 13 and in the Innovation category in 16.

Connecting business reality to products

-- What kind of mission will you be taking on at XICA?

During my 40 years at Hakuhodo, I have seen many real-life situations at domestic and international advertising companies and in the marketing industry. At XICA, as SVP of Product Strategy,Acting as a bridge between business and marketing realities and the productI will carry the.

We would like to incorporate market realities into our development, hone XICA's development capabilities through discussions with PMs (product managers) and development team, and raise the resolution of the world we are aiming for.

── What vision do you have for the future?

In the world of marketing,We want to create an environment where advertisers can make decisions based on data and logic, and step on the gas with confidence, with XICA and its products always beside them..

I think that XICA is becoming able to play a part in car navigation in marketing. However, I think we are still at about 20% of our vision. I would like to go one step further and create a situation like Tesla's self-driving technology, where sometimes you can let go and other times you can drive together.

Of the 4Ps of marketing (product, price, place, promotion), promotion is the one that is easiest to control, and the one that you must control the most. So,First, we will thoroughly visualize and optimize the promotion area.

However, business is not determined by promotion alone. The other three Ps are also very important. I think that 3% of the difference will be filled by expanding the scope of our business in the future.

──Please tell us what you are currently working on to achieve that vision and mission.

We are currently working on the following actions: considering the ideal product and how to create value for customers, and building a foundation to gather the knowledge and information necessary for future non-linear growth.

The source of change for the industry

-- What was it about XICA that made you see potential and decide to join?

In my previous job, data-driven marketing and MMM (Marketing Mix Modeling) were also part of my mission.The importance of "positioning".

Advertising agencies are able to operate by receiving advertising fees from their clients. Therefore, in the position of a traditional advertising agency, there are rare occasions when they have to say, "You should step on the gas" even when it would be better to hold down advertising costs now.

Meanwhile, XICAThey take a neutral stance and their only success is their advertisers' growth.First of all, I thought this positioning was great.

The other one is,Excellence in human resources in data science, engineering, and consultingWhen I joined the company, I found that the company was better than I expected.Excellent members with diverse backgroundsI think that this manpower is a great source of growth. It is an asset that we should treasure as a company.

そ し て,The combination of superior engineering and data science capabilities is a major advantage that no other company hasWith these strengths,Changing the "industry norm"I expect

360 Degrees of Curiosity

── What made you decide to pursue a career in marketing?

I have beenMy curiosity is 360 degrees. There is nothing I am not interested in.Hm.

When I thought about what kind of job I could do that would allow me to use this curiosity and get involved in all kinds of things, the media and advertising companies came up as possibilities.

──And then you joined Hakuhodo.

I joined Hakuhodo because I wanted to do something cool that would satisfy my curiosity. But at first I wasn't able to get into the department I wanted, so I was a little depressed (laughs).

But Hakuhodo was an interesting company. I was depressed, but my boss asked me what I wanted to do, so I told him I wanted to work in computer graphics (which was virtually unknown in Japan at the time), and told him what I thought the future of CG would be like. He said, "I don't really know, but it sounds interesting, so give it a try." From then on, my life at an advertising company changed direction in an instant, and I would spend 40 years walking a path that most people don't walk.

I was put in charge of a project to research the possibilities of computer graphics, and my first job was to bring CG, which was still in its infancy, to the world.

At the time, the production costs of CG were so high that Hollywood was just starting to get involved. Around that time, an exhibition using CG was held at the Science and Technology Exposition held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1985. From then on, CG began to attract attention.

This led me to become involved in marketing support for what are now called IT companies. After that, in 1995, Hakuhodo decided to create a dedicated organization for the Internet, and I joined Hakuhodo Dennotai. Since then, I have had a variety of jobs in the digital and marketing fields.

We don't know the internet yet

── The role of the Internet has expanded significantly over the past 40 years. As someone who has been at the forefront of marketing since the dawn of the Internet, how do you think the role of a marketer has changed?

Until the early days of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, the traditional media (4 mass media and OOH) were combined with the Internet to be called the "6 media." As you can see from this, the Internet was considered to be just one of many media. So marketers have been thinking about what they can do with the Internet as a "new channel to deliver messages widely."

But in 2008, the iPhone was released.Smartphones revolutionize consumer behaviorAnd then,The emergence of social media platformsThese two changes have resulted in the goal of "widely reaching out" toWe have added elements that "connect" various things: people and other people, people and brands, people and services...

Perhaps there are still many people who are not 100% convinced of what this means in terms of marketing. However, we are now in the age of Web 3.0 and things are becoming more and more chaotic.

They understand the change, but haven't found the "winning formula."Although TV commercials are insufficient, they do have a certain "winning formula." However, while it is clear that Internet advertising can "reach people who could not be reached before" and "allow for more precise targeting," the moment it becomes a connection between people and people, and between people and brands, it becomes difficult to understand "how to incorporate it into business," and that is how it has remained until now. That's what I think.

── In the context of data utilization, what do you think are the reasons why companies are not able to make full use of data and logic?

Within companies, business operations in areas such as manufacturing are based on a data-first approach, but many organizations are not making full use of data in other areas, and marketing is a prime example of this.

There are a few issues:

First,Data issuesIn the digital age, it has become easier to collect data than ever before. However, in reality, there are many cases where there is no data. In many cases, people are not even aware that data can be collected or exists.

the other one is,Problems with visualizing advertising effectivenessIn particular, the role of "getting people to know about it and getting them to like it" isIt is unclear how much impact upper funnel advertising activities (such as TV commercials) have on sales.It is that.

John Wanamaker, known as the "department store king" in the 19th century, famously said, "I spend a huge amount of money on advertising every year, and I'm sure half of it is wasted. But I don't know which half." Although these words were spoken more than 200 years ago, some say that the situation has hardly changed since then.

I don't know if I'm making the most of the hundreds of millions of yen I'm spending on advertising, or if doubling my spending will double my sales. This area has always been a dark continent.

The reason why "I don't know" has been acceptable is because Japan's economy has generally been on an upward trend up until now.In Japan's shrinking market, we cannot survive unless we shed light on this dark continent.

I think this is why MAGELLAN, which visualizes the effectiveness of advertising, is needed and has been highly evaluated. And I think what is expected of XICA now is to illuminate the continent even more brightly and to make it more precisely understood.

The basis of human relationships is "empathy" and "respect"

── Mr. Mikami, you have grown a variety of businesses. Please tell us what you consider important in order to grow a business.

"Empathy" and "the ability to respect others".

Empathy and respect are the foundations of human relationships. They are two sides of the same coin. If you empathize with others, they will empathize with you, and if you respect others, they will respect you.

If you have experience and expertise,Even if we have different perspectives, there is always something to learn.If you approach them with this mindset, you will find things you can empathize with and respect for.

When I was younger, I didn't understand the importance of these things. "You can come up with better answers if you learn from others," "You can output because you have learned," "You can teach others because you have learned." These are skills I acquired later in life through the experiences that made me realize these things.

── I'm sure there are some people who think, "I can't empathize," or "I can do it better than them." If you could give some advice to those people, what would you say?

There is a man named Chip Conley who created a new category in the hotel industry called "boutique hotel". At the age of 52, he joined Airbnb, a major private lodging agency, as the head of global hospitality and strategy, and wrote "Modern Elder"I wrote a book called "

Airbnb was started by Brian Chesky, a recent college graduate, who started renting out his spare rooms, and most of the employees were in their 20s.

Chip initially joined the group with the intention of teaching them something. However, he soon realized that he had a lot to learn from these guys, who were more than 20 years younger than him and worked at technology startups. Brian and the others also learned a lot from Chip, whose experiences were completely foreign to them.

Chip describes this relationship in his book:"Mentorship"Eur-lex.europa.eu eur-lex.europa.euBoth are interns and mentorsI thought this was a great way of thinking, and since joining XICA, I've realized this every day.

── What is your source of motivation for continuing to update yourself?

on second thoughts好奇心I think so. AndI like new things

From TV, newspapers, and conversations with friends,Take action immediately when an idea strikes you.We live in a very convenient and fun age. There are countless opportunities to stimulate our curiosity and tools to put that curiosity into action, and I feel very happy right now.

However, like "I buy a book and then read it" or "I reserve a book and then go to the place,"We are also living in an age where taking action is becoming more important than ever.With the development of the Internet, I feel that the value of being outside of the Internet has increased.

Give seriousness and logic a little space

── What was your first impression of the XICA members?

I thought, "There are such serious people in the world!" (laughs) They are serious and excellent. The meetings were also efficient, and I wonder how much more work could have been done if we had held these meetings at Hakuhodo (laughs).

But I also think they're too serious. Hakuhodo is said to have a "chatter culture." I'm just chatting about random things,There was a lot to learn and a lot of hints to glean from chatting, which stimulated me and broadened my horizons.

It's a very difficult balance,It would be better if we could incorporate a little more conscious space into our organizational culture.I think so. The Development Division is consciously challenging itself to create such space.

── What kind of person do you think would be suitable for XICA?

When I joined XICA, I found it to be a company with a surprisingly wide capacity.There is a wide variety of backgrounds, everyone is calm and logical, and the culture is conducive to lively discussion.I like.

I think this is because the president, Mr. Hirao, himself speaks and acts in a way that shows respect for everyone, but the company has a very flat atmosphere and there is almost no culture of "fitting into a mold."An environment where each person can easily develop their expertise, curiosity, and aspirationsI think it 's.

So, there is no such thing as "I can only be with this kind of person."It gets even more interesting when some eccentric people join the team, or when hidden eccentrics who are not visible due to remote work come out into the open.Maybe (laughs)

*The affiliation and title of the interviewee are those at the time of the interview.

[Interview and text] Yuko Kawabata (XICA)
[photograph]Daisuke Koike
[Planning and editing] Yuko Kawabata (XICA)