Factual Announces Strategic Partnership With Mitsui & Co. to Bring Location Data-Driven Offerings to Japan

Digital marketing expertise from Mitsui to accelerate Factual’s entry into the Japanese market

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Factual, the location data company, today announced a strategic partnership with Mitsui & Co. (“Mitsui” head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga) to bring Factual’s location data-based offerings to Japan. Mitsui, which has also made a strategic investment in Factual, will assist with the integration of Factual data into local programmatic ad buying, social and publisher platforms, and will also drive adoption and usage of Factual’s products among Japan’s largest advertising agencies and corporations.

Factual’s location data platform helps leading global companies use data to better understand and acquire new customers, measure the effectiveness of their investment in data, enrich their data offerings and improve the customer experience. Today, Factual’s global customers include 49 of the 50 largest global brands, all of the worldwide media agencies that represent them and leading global companies in retail, ecommerce, automotive, CPG and many other verticals.

“The Mitsui team has a deep understanding of the digital marketing industry in Japan, and are experienced at introducing innovative data and technology companies to the Japanese market,” said Rob Jonas, Chief Revenue Officer, Factual. “Factual’s existing global partnerships already extend into the region and, with Mitsui’s support, Factual will further develop its presence with local partnerships in Japan. The market has a history of innovation, and as one of the largest markets globally, we expect our Japanese business to drive revenue and product development over the coming years.”

Factual expanded into the Asia-Pacific (JAPAC) region in 2018 after raising an additional $42 million. Factual now operates an office in Singapore, and this partnership with Mitsui will help Factual serve partners and customers within the more than $16.2 billion Japanese digital advertising market. Factual data is already available in region via platforms including Adobe, AdTheorent, Amobee, Dataxu, Google DV360, Knorex, Liveramp, LoopMe, MediaMath, MiQ, Oracle, The Trade Desk, Verizon Media and Xandr, and with Mitsui’s support, will become available within local Japanese platforms in 2020.

“We at Mitsui have long been strategic investors in companies within the international digital marketing industry, and Factual is among the best, most innovative global tech companies with which we have partnered,” said Kiichiro Takanami, SVP of IT & Communication Business Div., Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. “Mitsui will collaborate with Factual not only in Japan, but in the global market as well, as together we share and can reach our global affiliates and partners in diversified industries.”

While location data is not entirely new to the Japanese market, Factual has brought its global leadership and expertise in this category to a nascent market and seen immediate returns. In showcasing examples from dozens of markets around the world, Factual has quickly found opportunity working with both global and local customers in a short period of months.

“By using Factual for our key client’s campaigns, we were able to target ads to our core audience, the affluent segment living in luxury neighborhoods, based on real behavioral attribute data,” said Hiroki Ito, Head of Cadreon Japan. “This helped us to achieve impressive results. As a programmatic, data-only solution, we were able to use Factual with our usual ad delivery platforms, allowing us to swiftly implement it into ongoing campaigns. Moving forward, we plan to utilize Factual in a wide range of compatible platforms, including Facebook.”

“There is an untapped opportunity for companies in Japan to incorporate location, and Factual is the right leader to help implement a location strategy across their businesses,” said Takuya Sugiyama, General Manager of Digital Marketing Business Div., Mitsui & Co. “Mitsui will support companies in understanding and engaging their customers to make more strategic business decisions by leveraging Factual’s location data and through partnership with our subsidiary Legoliss Inc, which offers consulting and support in building customer data platforms (CDP) to enhance data utilization.

Factual’s device-driven location products are built upon Observation Graph, Factual’s proprietary, responsibly sourced dataset that interprets the movements of 300 million monthly active devices globally and filters billions of inputs daily, including place visitation and activity detection. Factual’s data is always neutral and never bound to specific media, targeting or attribution providers. It is integrated within most major marketing platforms, which together represent more than 80% of all programmatic spend.

To learn more about how Factual’s location and device data enables the world’s leading marketers to better understand consumers, reach audiences with precision and measure campaign effectiveness, visit www.factual.com.

About Factual

Factual is the location data company that helps marketers and their organizations use location to better understand, reach and engage consumers. Customers use Factual’s insights, targeting, measurement and data enrichment products to build and execute digital advertising strategies, understand audiences, measure success, and support innovative business solutions.

Factual’s customers and partners include Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Snap and Uber, and Factual data is used by more than 6,000 leading brands around the world, including all 50 of the top U.S. national advertisers per AdAge. For more information, visit www.factual.com, read our blog and follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About Mitsui

Mitsui is one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises in the world, with 135 offices in 66 countries / regions as of Nov.1, 2019. Utilizing our global operating locations, network and information resources, we are multilaterally pursuing business that ranges from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields: Iron & Steel Products, Mineral & Metal Resources, Infrastructure Projects, Mobility, Chemicals, Energy, Food, Food & Retail Management, Healthcare & Service, IT & Communication Business, Corporate Development Business. Mitsui is actively taking on challenges for global business innovation around the world. For more information, visit http://www.mitsui.com.

Contacts

Allison Champion

achampion@factual.com
(419) 230-7357