//

Hitoshi Maruyama reveals his key learning about Indonesian netizens’ unique behaviour, and key strategy to tackle the market

The past few months saw the entrance of various Japanese companies working in the field of adtech, with Geniee being one of them.

Launching its Jakarta office in September 2015, the platform solution provider aims to provide technology ‘that people really need and can use … and also price sensitive’.

“It is our mission to maximise publishers revenue and we would do anything to lower the cost of using the platform which directly impacts on their profit. We would like to communicate with each publishers more closely to provide advice from local account managers,” explained Hitoshi Maruyama, CEO of Geniee Technology Indonesia.

Prior to leading the Indonesia team, Maruyama led the team in Singapore and Vietnam. He also worked in the US for years, after graduating with degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry from University of Massachusetts.

e27 spoke to Maruyama about his key learnings from the Indonesian market, and some strategies to win it.

Below is the edited excerpt of the interview:

Also Read: Beyond market size: The Japanese investment boom in Indonesia

More and more Japanese investors and companies are coming to Indonesia to do business here. What is the most attractive thing about this market for Japanese companies and investors?

Indonesia and Japan have had good relationships for a long time and have good understanding of each other … Also Japanese companies are becoming more sensitive in population growth as its own is decreasing fastest and the average age is dramatically increasing. Many studies predict that one-third of [the] population will be over 60-years-old in the near future.

On the other hand, the average population in Indonesia is under 30 which would contribute to rapid growth in any industry. Especially in IT industries.

The penetration rate of smartphone is quite amazing. In a few years, half of people here will have smartphones and the quality of life will improve dramatically.

What are key insights about Indonesian users’ behaviour, that affect companies’ online advertising strategy?

Currently the access to Internet increases during 12AM to 1PM and 5 to 6PM which suggests people are accessing to the Internet from companies’ computer.

If everyone can surf the web from mobile devices, any business related to internet would grow and this is an opportunity for everyone in online business.

Another example is that the trend shows a search combination of food and locations are very common in Indonesia. We’ve seen local apps are developed in this area.

As for online advertisement strategy, focussing on users are definitely a key. This is how programmatic has its strength as well. It important to know who to target from vast varieties especially when the pie is growing so rapidly.

Also Read: Consolidation is the new normal for Japanese mobile gaming

What are the challenges that brands are facing related to digital advertising? I’m aware that Internet users are often ‘allergic’ to ads …

Targetting right users could definitely improve user experience. Like native ads are shown in the contents match the category, if users see ads with their interests they would pay attention.

Completion rate for video ads are much higher compare to banner ads which suggests that a user with intention to watch videos feel comfortable seeing video advertisement, although contents of video not necessary much advertisement.

We have had an opportunity to conduct survey on multiple advertisement agencies in Southeast Asia and found out that advertisement has lots of cultural components in each country. For example, the colour red can be attractive or too aggressive in some countries.

Our mission is to enhance the performance of advertisement in each country with our advanced technology.

Echelon Indonesia returns to Jakarta this April! Save over 35% off your tickets with promo code Empower10 exclusive to e27 readers only! Tickets available at http://ift.tt/1T0g7ts

Image Credit: Hitoshi Maruyama

The post Indonesians access Internet from work, don’t mind video ads: Geniee ID CEO appeared first on e27.

from e27 http://ift.tt/21CeiZO