Technology has finally caught up with the ideal! CRO is now about optimizing the total experience.

 

Riding the Demand Potentially Created by Television

──It seems possible to accurately pinpoint user interests based on their online behavior.

Yamamoto: That's right. However, there's information that's quite difficult to obtain from web data alone. It's the atmosphere of the world that isn't yet manifesting as explicit behavior but is potentially ingrained in people's minds. For example, in late November, there's the release of Beaujolais Nouveau, so there's a certain atmosphere where people start thinking about wine.

Wada: Fundamentally, the atmosphere created by television often isn't reflected on websites. For instance, there's a hypothesis that if a product featured on a TV program is sold on an e-commerce site, reflecting that content on the web increases conversion rates.

At Dentsu Inc., we have a complete stockpile of TV program data, enabling us to create websites that ride the wave of the buzz and atmosphere generated by television.

Yamamoto: TV program features carry significant influence. While many people tune out commercials because they're messages from sellers, people tend to think items featured within the limited time of a TV program must be good. There's talk about TV's influence declining, but it's still the largest-scale media platform, right?

Wada: For example, while a DMP can identify health-conscious individuals, what interests them right now might be influenced by TV. Like heatstroke in summer or influenza in winter.

Yamamoto: Take a certain soft drink manufacturer. They had the surefire summer keyword "heatstroke" and increased sales because people get thirsty. But they struggled with winter sales. They focused on the "dry weather advisory" information, noting that in winter, it's not just the throat but the whole body that dries out. So, they launched a message targeting the dry winter body. Reportedly, their sales grew compared to competitors.

Listing ads are highly effective because "searching for that keyword = there's demand." Similarly, the timing when something is featured on TV coincides with a surge in demand, so capitalizing on that timing is extremely effective.

 

Our strength lies in optimizing the total experience

──Please tell us about Nextedge Dentsu Inc.'s strengths and competitive advantages.

Wada: CRO isn't just about tweaking input forms or landing pages. It's crucial to comprehensively understand the client's marketing activities and design communication strategies accordingly. Dentsu Inc.'s strength lies not only in possessing TV data but in supporting clients across all marketing touchpoints. We can analyze budget allocation across channels, including TV, enabling us to optimize strategies holistically.

Yamamoto: If you look up "landing page optimization" on Wikipedia, the concept includes "optimizing the total experience." Actually, this is something we translated from an overseas site back in 2007. What was being discussed then is finally becoming achievable now.

Wada: Total marketing optimization is an area we're currently challenging ourselves in. CRO isn't something designers should handle alone; it requires understanding the core of the entire marketing strategy.

Earlier we discussed serving different content based on visit frequency. Indeed, repeat visitors often have higher conversion rates. Creating a customer journey using a concept diagram and determining which messages resonate is fundamental to scenario design.

We break things down at a high level by attributes, then examine finer granularity. For example, conversion rates for women in their 40s on their second visit.

Furthermore, there's the larger funnel of converting potential customers into actual customers. What can we do to increase the number of people doing branded searches among potential customers? How can we increase website visits beyond just TV commercials? Achieving both strategies—increasing potential customers and maximizing conversions—will have a significant impact.

Yamamoto: CRO is about optimizing the total user experience, which has been our goal. Thanks to technological advancements, we're finally starting to achieve it.

The competition going forward will be about optimizing not just landing page buttons and creatives, but entire scenarios and experiences. I believe few companies besides Nextedge Dentsu Inc. can achieve this level of capability. We aim to build successful case studies through various initiatives moving forward.