Aeon Entertainment Co., Ltd. operates AEON CINEMA movie theaters nationwide in Japan. AEON CINEMA’s official website provides information on screening schedules, film information, ticket reservations, and promotions. The site also provides information on access to theaters and membership benefits.
AEON CINEMA leveraged on support from FourM to improve the profitability of the official AEON CINEMA website, and as a result of implementing AnyMind Group’s media and mobile app growth platform, AnyManager, the company was able to reduce the man-hours required for advertising operations by 99%, which greatly contributed to the improvement in profitability. In this case study, we will look at the details of the Group’s efforts with FourM and the project’s behind-the-scenes success.
- Challenges
Slow on industry trends
Slow PDCA cycle for profit improvement
Time-consuming to implement measures due to the large number of man-hours required to check both internally and externally - measure
Introducing AnyManager
Support for setting up and managing the distribution of advertisements
Support for setting up and operating distribution to external platforms
Implement ad-blocking tools - effect
99% reduction in man-hours for ad operations 400% increase in the number of direct ads and external platform distribution deals Improved usability
Interviewer Profile
Mr. Ryo Imai
Please tell us briefly about the challenges you faced
In order to provide a user-friendly website, AEON CINEMA’s official website relies on advertising revenue to cover a portion of its development and operation costs. Therefore, advertising revenue is an important part of the site’s operation.
In the past, we were not solely responsible for our own advertising revenues, but also asked other partners to help us. However, in the rapidly changing market environment, we did not have sufficient knowledge of whether our revenue level was high or low compared to the market standard, or how to identify market trends. In addition, the company had outsourced multiple ad spaces on its official website to different companies, which delayed the PDCA cycle for improving profitability and the effectiveness of improvement measures.
What made you decide to work with FourM?
At that time, when selecting a partner company, we received proposals from several companies. Among them, we chose FourM for the following three reasons.
The first is the company’s extensive track record in Asia. FourM provides a wide range of media support to a variety of clients, mainly in Asia, and we were greatly attracted by the company’s extensive knowledge. The fact that FourM has a track record of monetizing media not only in the Japanese market but also in overseas markets was very appealing.
Second, we monetize advertising mainly through Google Ad Exchange, we need to keep up with Google’s updates. In this respect, FourM is certified as a Google Certified Publishing Partner (GCPP) and can also drive demand from various other partners, and because of Google’s high reliability, we felt that we could trust them with our ad operations.
The third is a site maintenance function using tags within AnyManager. When we changed the placement and specifications of ad spaces for revenue generation, we used to spend a lot of man-hours updating the HTML code, but we heard that the tag functionality on AnyManager enables us to quickly and easily change specifications and conduct tests, and we felt that we could expect a reduction in man-hours.
In addition, when considering partner companies this time, we were told by an acquaintance that “there are many companies that operate with a bias toward their own SSP (Supply-Side Platform),” and to be honest, we were very careful in our deliberations.
However, in communicating with FourM’s representative, they were able to objectively sort out and present the good and bad points of various advertising sources.
As we talked, I felt a great sense of trust in the fact that they not only solved my corporate issues, but also listened carefully to my concerns and goals, and proposed concrete solutions.
In addition, although our request was related to improving ad revenue, we were also told about the importance of setting up and operating distribution to various platforms. We believe that this was also a major point in helping us realize the possibility of expanding the scope of our media operations. Even after the start of the support, their attitude remained the same, and our trust in them has deepened even further.
Have you been able to resolve any issues since the start of FourM’s support?
All three of the aforementioned points were resolved at the expected level. Initially, we had provided just a portion of our ad inventory, but six months later, we had confidence with FourM and they now support us for our entire ad inventory.
The best part of the support we have received has been the generosity of the daily support.
Thanks to their speedy response to our detailed requests, we were able to speed up the PDCA cycle of our measures and realize what we wanted to do one after another, which was very good. We also felt very confident in the fact that they did not proceed unilaterally, but carefully explained the objective advantages and disadvantages to us, allowing us to proceed with a sense of confidence.
What features of AnyManager have you found to be particularly effective?
Through AnyManager Tag Service, the ability to insert ad spaces and change specifications with a single tag is a unique feature. This has been very effective in increasing the speed of our revenue improvement tests and reducing the man-hours required to change the code.
As a result, through the assistance of AnyManager and FourM, we were able to reduce the man-hours by 99%.
The reduced man-hours have really helped us to focus on other important tasks, such as acquiring users and acquiring projects for distribution on our platforms.
What is the most impressive support you have received from FourM?
There are many reasons, but the first is that they have our best interests at heart. The users who visit our site want an enjoyable experience. Therefore, we take great care not to spoil their experience. However, this is a difficult challenge to balance with ad monetization. FourM is really helpful because they are a partner that does not only prioritize maximizing ad revenue, but also works with us from our perspective to find ways to increase revenue sustainably while preserving the user experience. Thanks to FourM’s usually attentive and speedy response, we are seeing an increase in repeat projects in private marketplace (PMP) deals as well.
Currently, regarding direct ads, we are often consulted by advertisers who wish to advertise movies scheduled for release. On the official website of AEON CINEMA, the “page after ticket reservation completion” is particularly popular among advertisers due to its high click-through rate (CTR). Regarding the distribution of direct ads, we basically ask advertisers to set up submission settings and prepare distribution reports.
Some advertisers have requests or consultations that are difficult to handle with the existing AEON CINEMA site structure, and we are happy to provide support in such cases. For example, we have used AnyManager’s single-tag functionality to create new ad spaces for direct ad serving and to create special settings to serve direct ads only on specific theater pages.
In terms of distribution to external platforms, we use audience data from users of the official AEON Cinema website and users who purchase tickets to target our clients’ advertisements to specific demographics through Google Ads and Meta. YouTube ads are particularly popular and are doing well, with an increasing number of repeat advertisers. FourM handles the submission settings, day-to-day operations, and post-submission reporting.
We often receive various questions and requests from advertisers during proposal and delivery, and thanks to FourM’s prompt response, advertiser satisfaction has improved, leading to repeat business and a number of external platform delivery projects – an increase of 400% compared to before the support.
Finally, tell us about your company’s future prospects and what you expect from FourM.
The trends in the advertising industry change on a daily basis, and I hope that we can continue to receive support that leverages the latest knowledge, and together we can develop a framework to increase revenue without compromising the user experience and measures to revitalize the film industry. We look forward to continuing our relationship as partners aiming for mutual growth.
