Dentsu Inc. and NTT East Japan launch trial to verify business viability of one-stop service addressing data utilization needs for inbound marketing

The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on December 20 is as follows.

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December 20, 2017

Dentsu Inc. and NTT East Japan Launch Trial to Verify Business Viability of One-Stop Service Addressing Data Utilization Needs for Inbound Marketing

― Implementing Marketing for Inbound Tourists Using Foreign Language SNS Analysis with AI Translation ―

Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto; hereinafter "Dentsu") and NTT East Japan (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Masayuki Yamamura; hereinafter "NTT East Japan") will commence a joint trial in January 2018 to verify the business viability of a service that provides a one-stop solution for data utilization needs in inbound marketing.

Until now, when conducting inbound-related marketing or implementing specific measures, diverse data such as SNS data, location information, and payment information has been used individually. Mechanisms to integrate, analyze, and utilize each data type as a unified resource have not been sufficiently established. Particularly, with the increase in foreign tourists visiting Japan and the resulting diversification of languages and nationalities, "accurate multilingual translation" has become a critical challenge in both the data collection and dissemination phases.

Against this backdrop, both companies will utilize NTT East's AI translation engine specialized for cultural tourism as a trial to verify the business viability of a one-stop service, aiming to solve the "multilingual support" challenge. By analyzing foreign-language SNS, they will extract tourism routes and resources more faithful to foreigner insights. With the cooperation of Peach Aviation Limited (Headquarters: Sennan-gun, Osaka; CEO: Shinichi Inoue; hereinafter "Peach"), they will reflect analysis-based content on Peach's travel platform for inbound tourists, "COMOMO" (*1). They will then verify effectiveness by observing changes in the consumption behavior of inbound tourists who view this content.

In this trial, Dentsu Inc. leverages its accumulated expertise in social media analysis for local governments and businesses to design the foreign-language social media analysis and provide insights for attracting foreign visitors and encouraging their travel. NTT East Japan utilizes its AI translation engine "Hikari Cloud cototoba" (※2), specialized for cultural tourism, to translate large volumes of foreign-language social media data into analyzable Japanese. By utilizing its proprietary training data, NTT East Japan handles the analysis, including the extraction of previously difficult-to-identify tourist destination names.

Based on insights gained through this trial, Dentsu Inc. and NTT East Japan Inc. will explore ways to enhance hospitality for international visitors and expand multilingual marketing services, contributing to Japan's goal of becoming a tourism-oriented nation.

≪Trial Overview≫

≪Analysis Result Example≫

○ Tohoku Tourism: Analysis of Hidden Gem Tourist Spots. Discovering underrated yet highly rated tourist resources.
Shimogo Town (Ouchi-juku) has few posts, but a very high proportion of positive content, suggesting it is a hidden gem for foreign visitors.

○ Identifying opportunistic sightseeing. Discovering recommended tourist resources near popular areas.
Based on "positive co-occurring words" posted on SNS by foreign visitors to Matsushima alongside their Matsushima posts, ferry tours of Matsushima Bay, Zuiganji Temple, and kamaboko (fish cake) grilling experiences are anticipated to be spots/activities that significantly boost satisfaction when experienced together.

≪Analysis Content in the Trial≫

・Analysis Target: Word-of-mouth reviews regarding Tohoku tourism by foreign visitors to Japan, primarily from Taiwan
One year's worth (October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017)
・Analysis Sources: Twitter: approx. 16,000 posts, Other SNS Data Total: approx. 41,000 posts
(Data for marketing purposes was provided with the cooperation of NTT Data. Other SNS platforms include Plurk and Weibo)

End

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※1 COMOMO launched on September 22, 2017, commemorating Peach's base establishment at Sendai Airport. It is a new girls' travel platform where female independent travelers visiting Japan share and discover "KAWAII (cute)" information about Tohoku and Miyagi. https://comomo-japan.com/jp/

※2 NTT East's AI translation service specialized for the cultural tourism industry. Launched in July 2017. https://www.ntt-east.co.jp/release/detail/20170703_01.html

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Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2017/1220-009418.html