15 Years of Experience in the Internet Industry

Please tell us a brief history.

I am in my 15th year in the internet industry.
I have changed my career approximately every three years, and until recently (September 2020), I was running a business in the HR Tech field.
I started a company as a joint venture between Recruit and CyberAgent, developing and selling a tool called "Geppo" that visualizes the conditions of organizations and individuals through a pulse survey.
This is what you call the currently popular B2B SaaS.
Before starting this company, I was responsible for HR across CyberAgent, especially for recruitment and development.
I was particularly focused on "recruitment marketing".
I think terms like "recruitment PR" and "recruitment marketing" have gained a certain recognition now, and I believe I was one of its pioneers.

By the way, I have been able to organize my thoughts around this, so if you're interested, please take a look.
■Recruitment Marketing Accelerates Encounters with Excellent Talent
■How Does CyberAgent Attract Excellent Talent? An Interview with the Head, Daisuke Watanabe

(By the way, during this time, I met the COO Ando, who was a university student then, so you never know what life holds for you (laughs). If we hadn't been interested in each other back then, I might not have joined Zeals like this, so I'm glad I was actively engaged in recruitment. I feel that when you are dedicated, something will eventually connect.)

Back to the topic, before that, I had launched several new businesses.
I was in charge of several BtoC services for business people, one of which was a service similar to Newspicks where experts could comment on news. I feel frustrated every time I see Newspicks (wry smile). I think this was also a test, and since I believe it’s important to speak honestly, I encourage you to check out the interviews from that time (An Interview with the Producer: The True Aim of Intely Development). However, I truly failed spectacularly during that time (laughs).

■Services Watanabe was Involved In
https://speakerdeck.com/zeals/zirusu-du-bian-da-jie-gaguan-watutasabisu

After that, I launched a marketing team handling social media, and at that time, I had some negotiations overseas. From the beginning of my career, I also experienced sales in advertising.

I have really walked various career paths! And starting my career in advertising...!

I actually joined CyberAgent because I wanted to do advertising.
During my university days, I was a student who really loved advertising, even submitting a paper for the "Dentsu Paper Award".
After joining, I earned the company MVP award as an advertising salesperson for two consecutive terms, so I had solid results, and I was supposed to be work in the "advertising industry" (laughs).
You may not know this now, but I wrote a blog called "Adman 2.0" from my early days and it was quite famous (laughs).
It had monthly views of 100,000.

Over 100,000 monthly views is amazing!

I believe it was similar to the young marketers who hit big on Instagram or TikTok today, but in blog form.
Anyway, I was lucky, and it felt like I hit the jackpot right when I needed it.
Looking back now, I realize I was mostly sharing trivial posts, but at that time, there weren’t many people sharing that kind of content, especially among the young; so I was fortunate to get some attention.
Because of that, I was able to be involved in impactful work that moves a lot of money in society from a very young age.
That time was extremely challenging but incredibly fun. I think I grew tremendously while enjoying those youthful days.

Advertising professionals will definitely develop a "desire to do business" at least once.

I believe it was around my 4th or 5th year after joining.
I was facing stimulating advertising projects every day and had an absolutely fun time, but at the same time, I began to feel quite a bit of "frustration".

I think anyone who has seriously engaged in advertising has felt this way, it's the
"grass is greener" debate specific to the advertising industry.
In other words, I wanted to do business.
Advertising companies basically work on predetermined projects within the rules of those projects. The client always makes the decisions, and we go and create the materials to help them decide.
As a result, even if we think we have a great idea, it may not be adopted.

We keep struggling to be creative while abiding by the rules, which leads to fantastic plays like killer passes. However, when my best ideas are not accepted, or when the outcome doesn’t align with my expectations due to client factors, I often feel the urge to switch to the side that makes the rules.
I think many advertisers would empathize with this.

Furthermore, during this time, when I looked at global advertising examples, there were many cases that blurred the line between advertising and business.
For instance, a certain automobile brand began creating a full-fledged game as part of its advertising promotion or companies started using social media to maintain ongoing communication with users……
Many of the inquiries we received from advertisers increasingly sounded like "is this a business request?" and there was a moment when I deeply pondered "What is advertising?".
From there, I began to consider a career not just as a player in an advertising company but as a business side that hires an advertising company.

DX is Evolving Advertising and Marketing.

As mentioned in my self-introduction, I've been involved in business creation and recruiting as a product to promote the company, and I have been the CMO of a joint venture. Was this exactly as intended?

Yes, it was exactly as intended. It was truly enjoyable and very educational.
Fortunately, I learned how to create B2B and SaaS businesses, which are currently the focus of attention, and since it was also an HR-related data venture, I was able to install various organizational frameworks.
In that sense, it was meaningful, and I thought, "Is this career path really good?".
However… advertising industry work seems so interesting (laughs).
It's a job that connects with consumers and creates revenue. There are always many challenges that need solving, and we resolve them with ideas and systems. That kind of organic advertising industry was truly attractive, and I felt there was an enormous tectonic shift going on.

To avoid misunderstandings, I’d like to say that the history of digital marketing seems to be progressing in a way that repeats "great inventions" and "crises", almost like a caterpillar.
The invention of the internet, the invention of the ad server, the emergence of targeting and data exchange technology, media devices that become like television such as smartphones…… there have been significant inventions.
Alongside such timelines, there have been major earthquakes, the Lehman Shock, and now the COVID-19 pandemic, which have forced changes in the media environment, creating a dynamic where advertising has to change shape every time.

I believe that’s how marketing has flexibly evolved in response to "environmental changes due to technology and crises".
Moreover, this flexibility and swift adaptation represent an appealing aspect of the advertising industry, and I find this industry has talented people capable of responding to such changes.

Is that massive tectonic shift the DX that is accelerating due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

That's correct, 100 points! (laughs)
This tectonic shift DX might be the biggest wave we've seen throughout history, comparable to the advent of the smartphone, or perhaps even more significant.

Since the advent of smartphones, everyone has been searching for what the next media will be, what the next invention will be, and I think everyone was trying to invent it as well.
It has been more than a decade of exploring various possibilities, including wearable devices with formats such as clocks or glasses, VR/AR, and so on.

However, nothing has quite surpassed the smartphone, which is a media that "exists within a 30cm radius of yourself for 24 hours a day".
Personally, I think to surpass that, we might need to think about embedding chips or layers like that.

The unexpected factor was the acceleration of DX due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I thought the wave of DX would come gradually, but I am surprised to see it being constructed in front of us at a speed several times faster than expected. It’s astonishing how this revolutionary impact arises from such a shift from "gradual" to "rapid," and I believe this has never happened before on such a scale, and it will not end as a FADS (temporary trend).

DX Startups Are a Comprehensive Martial Art of Careers and a Mixed Martial Arts Competition

What is DX and what is not DX?
Or are the main players of DX consultants, IT solution vendors, or marketers? Honestly, I’m not sure.
There are many chaotic aspects, and that is why possibilities are expanding.
The chaos created by the advent of the internet, and the chaos born from the emergence of smartphones, I think the companies that quickly jump into that chaos and establish themselves, creating rules, are the ones that structurally transformed the advertising and marketing industry. I encourage you to take a challenge during the once-in-a-decade or once-in-twenty-year opportunity when advertising and marketing are undergoing transformation.

I couldn’t sit still and joined Zeals.

Thank you very much!

The DX that is rapidly spreading due to the COVID-19 pandemic
is thought to be comparable to the emergence of smartphones.
At Zeals, we sincerely await your challenges.