──Suga GO, how do you see the future of media business?

dentsu Japan (the domestic Dentsu Group) has established the position of Growth Officer (GO) to spearhead case creation in key focus areas. For fiscal year 2025, seven individuals were selected from various domains. This series delves into the future-oriented perspectives and thinking of the GOs who embody Dentsu Inc.'s vision of being a "True Integrated Growth Partner."

This installment features Hisaya Suga, GO in charge of Media Business Innovation. How does the current state and future of the media business appear through his eyes, having been involved in media business for nearly 30 years, primarily through work surrounding television? How is he responding to the rapidly changing media environment?

Innovating the media business while adapting to change

──First, could you tell us about your current role as Growth Officer?

Suga: As Growth Officer, I'm responsible for media business innovation. This role was newly established this January, so I'm still figuring out what the right approach is. Amidst a rapidly changing media landscape, the challenge is how to innovate media business while adapting to these changes.

The term "media business" encompasses a wide range—from traditional mass media like newspapers and TV, to the rapidly growing internet, and even recent phenomena like communities and fandoms that could be considered media. The organizations and companies involved are also diverse. Within Dentsu Inc., there are departments handling TV and radio, as well as those focused on newspapers and magazines.We also have group companies like Dentsu Digital Inc., which excels in digital domains like the internet. Additionally, Dentsu Inc. holds stakes in companies such as radiko, celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, TVer, marking its 10th anniversary, and LIVE BOARD, which handles OOH (out-of-home) advertising. My role involves supporting these departments and companies to invigorate their businesses, while also providing strategic recommendations to media entities like broadcasters, focusing on the future evolution of media business centered around advertising.

──What do you particularly emphasize when engaging with media and advancing media business?

Suga: I believe "the ability to adapt to change" is crucial. Traditional media has valued consistency as a source of trust, and in a sense, there was a notion that "value lies in not changing." However, given the rapid changes in today's media landscape, both media entities and those of us working with them must not fear change. Instead, we need to embrace it and turn it into a strength.

During my time at Dentsu Inc., I was involved in numerous new initiatives within the television business. To name a few examples: launching a company handling IPG Inc. (Interactive Program Guide) services, developing business models using data broadcasting during the launch of BS Digital, and launching video streaming services like TVer. While these are now commonplace services and features, each was a trial-and-error endeavor back then, with no guarantee of success.

Even now, as Growth Officer responsible for media business innovation, my fundamental approach remains unchanged. I believe it's crucial to adapt to change while initiating new ventures. While each individual attempt may be small, and each change may be incremental, I firmly believe that accumulating these efforts will lead to the evolution of the media business.

The concept of "mass" has been shaken by media fragmentation

──From a media business perspective, how do you view the changes in media over the past few decades?

Suga: First, the impact of the internet has undoubtedly been significant. When I joined Dentsu Inc. in 1996, SoftBank and Dentsu Inc. established Cyber Communications (which was absorbed into CARTA HOLDINGS, INC and dissolved in January 2022), launching Japan's first internet advertising. Nearly 30 years have passed since then, and today, a society without the internet is almost unimaginable.

As for recent major changes, video comes to mind. The environment where individuals can easily create and post videos has matured, and video-based communication has become commonplace, especially among younger generations. In advertising too, we've entered an era where video ads on platforms like YouTube and TVer are planned alongside TV commercials.

──How do you think the media environment will change going forward?

Suga: I believe media will become even more fragmented than it is now. This means new entities like communities will emerge as media players, diversifying the media landscape. But I also think existing media will undergo further segmentation.

Take newspapers, for example. While which articles a reader chooses to read is a personal preference, traditionally readers encountered the same set of articles through the printed pages. However, when reading via apps or the web, the system is shifting towards readers freely selecting articles or articles being displayed tailored to the reader.This leads to a situation where the articles reaching one person can be completely different from those reaching another. The same applies to television. Whereas people used to choose from programs broadcast by TV stations, now they might watch TV programs streamed via TVer on their TV screens, or they might watch YouTube, or Netflix programs. The information people get from their TV screens is becoming different for each individual.

This signifies a departure from the conventional wisdom of advertising: that placing ads in newspapers or on TV would reach a large audience. In other words, the concept of "mass" that mass media has always assumed is now being challenged. For advertisers, this means the information they want to convey doesn't easily reach consumers, or the pathways to reach them have become more complex. I believe marketing has become more difficult compared to the past.

Furthermore, the advent of generative AI has made it easy for individuals to become information creators, producing text, images, videos, and more. As this progresses, we may enter a world where the sheer volume of information—though mixed with both valuable and worthless content—could increase a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand times over current levels.

──How do you think consumers' attitudes and behaviors toward media will change in such a world?

Suga: As AI and recommendation systems evolve, I imagine we'll move toward a world where information automatically flows to users as they go about their daily lives, rather than them having to actively access specific services to get the information they want.

I believe that when users find something convenient, they'll naturally gravitate towards it, much like water flowing from high to low. From the consumer's perspective, there's no particular need to consciously change their mindset.Suppose someone was using ten services yesterday. If they discover an eleventh service and find it more convenient, they'll naturally reduce their current ten to nine. It won't involve deliberate choosing or constant searching; rather, they'll learn about something new, find it more convenient, and switch over. This cycle will repeat. Given this environment where new services emerge continuously, media and platforms must constantly evolve to remain viable choices for users.

Furthermore, as media becomes increasingly fragmented and diverse, we inevitably must consider the reliability of information. Shared access to foundational information for discussion is one of the pillars of democracy.In the past, everyone shared information by engaging with what was called mass media. However, as media becomes more fragmented, individuals may find themselves living in their own information silos, potentially unaware that other information spaces exist beyond their own. Even if they learn of these different spaces, they might immediately dismiss them, thinking, "That's just nonsense." This is the so-called "divide."

Established media recognize this problem and believe that when differing opinions exist, both sides should be properly presented. This also ties into media credibility. From an advertiser's perspective, placing ads in low-credibility media poses a risk to their products and brands. Therefore, we believe it's also the job of advertising agencies to make credibility-related proposals to existing mass media and platform operators.In the age of the attention economy and recommendation systems, ensuring credibility is an extremely difficult challenge. Observing discussions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and government review panels, it's a topic experts are passionately debating. While I'm not a media theory specialist, as someone involved in the media business, I consider keeping up with these discussions part of my job.

It is precisely because we live in such chaotic times that taking initiative holds meaning.

──How do you view dentsu Japan's strengths in the media business?

Suga: I believe our greatest strength lies in our deep understanding of consumers. Dentsu Japan possesses a wealth of foundational media contact data and consumer awareness survey data. Based on analyzing this, I believe we are consistently the most knowledgeable entity about "what motivates people to act" and "what drives attitude change," and we aim to remain so.

dentsu Japan possesses numerous ways to understand consumers and maintains strong relationships with media. Furthermore, dentsu Japan has many talented individuals rich in ideas. On the other hand, looking beyond the group, we could potentially collaborate with existing media players to launch something new, or partner with foreign platforms. Considering this, "collaboration" may become the key going forward, both within and outside the group.

──Finally, how do you envision your mission and role as Growth Officer moving forward?

Suga: First, having been involved in television for a long time, I want to continue helping pursue new possibilities for TV. I want to question the conventional wisdom of television, change what needs changing, initiate new experiments, and ultimately create a situation where people say, "Wow, it's gotten so much better."

I also believe that as media evolves, advertising must evolve alongside it. There was a time when advertising itself became a major topic of conversation or was even perceived as a cultural phenomenon. Compared to that, there are moments now when I feel advertising is increasingly becoming something people avoid. Perhaps we need to redesign advertising to make it a better user experience.

The media environment will continue to change. How it changes is, in a sense, unpredictable. Look at generative AI: within just the last two years, it's become widely recognized. Now, people ask generative AI questions without hesitation and use it confidently to create images and videos. It's permeating society at a pace unlike when the internet became widespread 30 years ago.

However, even with this rapid pace of change, past insights aren't entirely useless. For example, dentsu Japan possesses accumulated know-how and research data—there should be plenty of valuable assets to leverage when considering the future. That's why I believe we can quickly gain momentum when attempting something new.

A chaotic era also means opportunities to create something new. Personally, I view this very positively and am incredibly excited about the potential of media business innovation.

Suga GO, who has worked with television as a medium for nearly 30 years, surprisingly comes from a science background. His first assignment after joining the company was in the System Development Department. But perhaps precisely because of this, he was able to contribute to the success of new initiatives like TVer, navigating between calmness and passion through trial and error. His attitude of embracing change and taking initiative remains unchanged even now as a Growth Officer.