Amnet Lands in Japan: Global President on the State of Programmatic

Amnet, the programmatic buying trading desk of Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network (DAN) operating globally, launched its Japan base on May 27. Kohei Ohto of Dentsu Digital Inc. Platform Center spoke with Ashwini Kalandikar, Global President of Amnet.

Ohto: Ashwini, you've been involved in programmatic buying from a very early stage.

Kalandikar: I experimented with programmatic buying from its very inception at the advertising agency that preceded Amnet. When we were acquired by Aegis Networks before partnering with Dentsu Inc., I proposed to Nigel Morris (CEO of DAN Americas & EMEA) that we establish a trading desk. That led to Amnet's launch in October 2011. Japan now becomes our 42nd service location. My university major was computer science, and I later earned an MBA. My career background allows me to view things from both technology and business perspectives, or from both the client and advertising agency sides. Over the past five years, our focus hasn't been on developing new products, but on delivering results for our clients.

Oto: What sets your trading desk apart from competitors?

Kalandikar: Trading desks under major advertising agency groups operate as subcontractors under their holding companies. Clients have no other choice. But if I were in the client's position, I would feel strong resistance. When we founded Amnet, we were determined not to adopt that model.

Over the past five years, we've advanced our integration with Aegis and Dentsu Inc., and this approach is highly unique. When we won a major client away from a competitor's trading desk, the client representative had never actually met the person handling the work at that trading desk. At Amnet, when pitching major clients, we collaborate and complement each other with companies like Kala and Bizium, which handle media services under the DAN umbrella, and we all engage directly with the client together. This point is our greatest advantage.

Regardless of scale, delivering new value to clients is the very essence of our existence. No matter how sophisticated our data platform may be, it holds no meaning unless we can process data in ways that benefit the client and translate it into actions that drive performance. It's incredibly simple, yet profoundly important.

Oto: There's currently a lot of discussion about transparency regarding trading desks.

Kalandikar: We've maintained our fee-based business model, and I believe that's because we've always kept the client at the center. What matters is whether we're generating revenue for the client. Fee transparency becomes an issue when there's a lack of understanding about the value we're delivering in exchange for those fees.

The media landscape continues to change at a tremendous pace. Even major global clients are in a state of trial and error. Furthermore, the programmatic buying space has seen the entry of various players—media companies, technology firms, and others—each making different claims, which only serves to complicate matters further.

Our job is to present the value to the client as clearly and simply as possible. We shouldn't strive to appear clever; instead, we should focus on ensuring they correctly understand what is being provided. And if there are questions, we should discuss them directly.

Oto: As screens multiply and users' media consumption behaviors grow increasingly complex, programmatic transactions become even more crucial. How do you view attribution analysis?

Kalandikar: Attribution reporting has been practically a buzzword for about a decade now. Of course, DAN and Dentsu Inc. are addressing it, but fundamentally, its purpose is to decide who allocates the advertising budget and where it's spent.

Attribution reports themselves aren't magic solutions that boost sales, and they cost money. For example, if you don't plan to cut TV spending, knowing TV is inefficient is meaningless. It's crucial to return to the perspective of how to use the budget effectively.

For instance, if you want to sell cars, strengthening dealerships is paramount. For cosmetics, getting as many people as possible to try the product is key. If the focal points are clear, prioritize them first and work backwards. Above all, it's crucial to clearly define the communication objectives and pursue them numerically, avoiding "analysis for analysis' sake."

Oto: How do you approach global platform players?

Kalandikar: Global platform players now erect massive walls to enclose users, aiming to provide everything within their ecosystem. Users cannot take their data outside these walls. It's almost like returning to the days when a single major portal site was the sole gateway.

Today, all information is converging onto mobile devices. I'm constantly connected to Google via my smartphone, so Google knows everything about me—my schedule, my children, my school. In the near future, we'll have chips implanted in our arms, eliminating the need to carry smartphones altogether.

By 2020, the ability to evolve Tokyo into a connected city will likely be limited to the Dentsu Group, the aforementioned global platform players, and perhaps three or four other companies. Rather than competing with them, it's crucial for the Dentsu Group to adopt a collaborative approach to achieve things on a grander scale.

Oto: You've now established a base in Japan. Please share Amnet's aspirations for the future.

Kalandikar: Japan's media landscape is changing at a pace that clients and media companies struggle to keep up with. Just two years ago, if we told broadcasters that programmatic buying was coming, they would have laughed it off.

By integrating Amnet's proven technology and data capabilities with Dentsu Inc.'s organizational strength and functions, we can provide clients with services that offer scale advantages. Adapting to the mobile era and building close relationships with consumers. We, the Dentsu Group, already possess this capability and share the same vision. I see my role as working together to figure out how to achieve this.