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WHY TRANSLATION ALONE WON'T WORK Japan’s mobile gamers are known for their high Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). Based on a recent study , 41% of users worldwide would prefer learn more or to download the first app they see in the ranking, even when actually searching for other apps. Indeed, making your app stand out in a competitive market is highly challenging. With 65% downloads coming directly from the App Store Search , App Store Optimization (ASO) now becomes a critical tool for app discoverability and conversion. Farewell lost user growth and welcome revenue gain! In this article, Septeni Global Experts have rounded up some key points on optimizing your ASO to unleash the app’s full potential.
Localized ASO = Improved CVR Tired of optimizing on User Acquisition campaigns with various media channels using different creatives and targeting, yet facing low Conversion Rate (CVR) and high Cost Per Install (CPI)? Maybe it’s time to reconsider your marketing strategy. After all, that is the storefront for your users and the last step before they click the “Install” button. Since most of the people in Japan are not good at English, your App Store page should be localized in Japanese, and a simple direct translation won’t do the job right either. ASO is a combination of art and science that requires a deep understanding of the local culture and art preferences, in addition to the user journey from ad impressions to the final download. Unlike English, which consists of roman letters, the Japanese language (as illustrated below) consists of kanji, hiragana and katakana, and it has multiple ways of saying the same thing using various language components. For example, a simple search keyword “food delivery” in English would have multiple counterparts in Japanese because people’s language preferences differ based on their generation, gender and cultural background.
Furthermore, even though the Japanese use the same alphabetic numbers as the rest of the world, the spacings between the numbers are different, and they also have a kanji version of the numbers as well. Therefore it is crucial to have the local team analyze the right keywords for your app. In order to maximize the benefits of search optimization, a curated keywords selection should also pair with localized texts and designs to streamline the user experience. 5 TIPS ON ASO LOCALIZATION IN JAPAN #1 AESTHETICS MATTER We explained Japanese preference on ads design in general in this previous article , similar rules will be applicable to ASO as well. In addition to the screenshots and video designs, it is important to comprehend the App Store ranking rules inside out and incorporate the knowledge into composing the app description for improved results. For example, the Japanese prefer reading descriptions with lots of catchy subtitles that naturally divide the content in blocks. This way, it saves them time because they are accustomed to glance over the overall content in bullet points first before reading the details further. Also, the highlighted subtitles give the creator another chance to emphasize keywords and appealing points to increase CVR.
#2 SPEAK YOUR TARGETS' LANGUAGE Localizing the App Store in Japanese is not enough. The screenshots and descriptions should be easily comprehensible to the target audience as well. What is this app used for? What benefit will it provide? How to highlight this throughout the process? As users quickly scroll down their screen, the screenshots, preview video and descriptions for the app need to truly stand out to improve your CVR. Below is a quick example of how you can customize the order and content of the screenshots for best results. Since the first screenshot is the most prominent one, in this case we recommend using video first to target all three tiers of audience to prevent churning. Then follow up with screenshots to target the core and main audience to increase CVR among high quality audiences. Of course, each app has different appealing points and target audiences, and the best practices for such genres in Japan vary as well, so we always endeavor to perform deeper analysis on the overall strategy before jumping into the details.
#3 DON'T FORGET THE ADS! The ASO not only improves CVR for organic downloads, it contributes greatly to paid user acquisition campaigns as well. Before visiting the AppStore, target users would have already clicked certain ads, and if the advertisers can reinforce the appealing points that brought in the target audience in the first place, it will complete their emotional journey and enhance their CVR. For a certain city-building app, we already know from our media consultants that static images featuring the city-building elements tend to have better performance, so with that in mind, we designed the screenshots with the assumption that core users have already clicked those ads and want to learn more. Before the ASO, the previous advertiser used the following screenshot vertically and placed it on the second page. However, we proposed dividing the appealing points of city building into two elements, namely from zero to one (build new), and one to one hundred (upgrade existing), and highlight these in a horizontal format so that the image can take up a larger space of the screen for stronger message delivery. With a combination of improvements in title, preview video, screenshots and description, we were able to increase the CVR by 27%.
#4 LET ASO ACT AS A SPOKESPERSON FOR YOUR BRAND ASO as your storefront reflects the brand identity. With all the bells and whistles available at our disposal for localization, in the end it should also adhere to the advertiser and stakeholders’ brand identity and tone manners for brand consistency and recall. This is especially true for IP titles since the ASO localization needs to adhere to the brand’s global standard. Therefore, understanding the brand’s regulations and design experience accumulated on a practical basis are becoming more important. The most versatile experts will strike a balance between creativity, best market practice and brand prerequisites for a smooth and efficient process.
#5 LOCALIZE WITH BOUNDARIES AppStore has its strict regulations. No matter how great the localization is, if it is against the regulations, one cannot succeed. Don’t spend your time and resources on the ASO only to find out in the end that it will not get approved.

For example, unlike Google Play Store, AppStore requires the actual gameplay screenshots to make it a true reflection of the game itself. This limits the design options, but also presents a test for the designer’s creativity. The designer should take into consideration regulations such as cutoff zones and safe area trimming, so that the new design can convey the right message across devices. We recommend working with the experts to start the project right and avoid unnecessary revisions and setbacks. This sums up the 5 tips that we think are essential when it comes to ASO localization. Hope this will help your ASO localization efforts as well. If you want experts’ advice, please feel free to reach out to us. We have various know-hows in Japan’s culture and language, expertise in advertising design, in addition to knowledge related to keywords, search logic and copyright writing.
If you are interested in localizing your ASO for the Japanese market, feel free to reach out to us at hello@septeniamerica.com for a free ASO consultation. KOTARO // CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joined Septeni (Now Septeni Global) in 2018. Has previous experience as a TV program director, TV commercial director and designer. As a Creative Director at Septeni Global, Kotaro has been leading creative operations for a variety of campaigns focusing mainly on global gaming clients, leveraging his experience in video creation and graphic design. His area of expertise is creatives that require film production for user acquisition. ABOUT SEPTENI GLOBAL Septeni Global is a global organization that specializes in digital marketing. With end-to-end services, we are committed to providing solutions from strategic planning to creative production that centers on brand awareness and user growth in the digital domain.

Septeni Global’s Expert shares the tips! Awareness promotion is usually associated with TV commercials and OOH billboards, but as digital advertising rapidly evolves, we can now reach out to similar audiences through digital awareness promotions methods. In this article, our expert, Rei Yamamoto, will share some tips on how to set the KPI to measure the effectiveness of your campaign. ■Awareness promotion with digital ads is becoming increasingly important We think that there are two reasons why the demand is on the rise. First, due to the barriers to measuring the effectiveness of user acquisition ads caused by privacy restrictions by iOS14 and others. iOS 14 disables the conversion tracking by default. Although alternative tracking measures are available, many advertisers nevertheless found it difficult to deliver ads to target audiences in an effective way, and many have shifted more budget towards awareness-focused ad delivery. Second, existing popular In-feed, SNS and video platforms now have awareness options and adoption of connected TV is fast in Japan as well. Many may associate linear TV with the older generation and mobile for the younger generation. However, over the past few years, SNS and video media have successfully penetrated the Generation X (born before 1980), and are further expanding their reach. Furthermore , since audience targeting and tracking of ad effectiveness are easier to do with these media compared to linear TV, more and more advertisers are now equipped with tools to secure successful digital awareness campaigns. In addition, with a rapid growth rate, connected TV has already penetrated half of all Japanese households in 2021, and has an especially high adoption rate among younger generations. CONSUMER USAGE OF CTV Source: 1 https://www.statista.com/statistics/294654/connected-tv-penetration-rate-usa/ Source 2: https://www.screens-lab.jp/article/27940 Source:3: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1310154/connected-tv-users-age-us/ With respect to ad delivery, while linear TVs use viewing ratings by age for each program, connected TVs offer more precise targeting, including age, geographic targeting (zip code) and interest targeting (program genre), depending on the streaming service that delivers the ad. ■ What is Digital Awareness Promotion? There are two main advantages of digital awareness promotion over liner TV. First, there are a wide variety of delivery methods which allow you to take advantage of the characteristics of each media. Second, it is possible to measure and evaluate the effectiveness and implement a PDCA cycle if planned well. However, it is sometimes difficult to set comparable indexes to evaluate the contribution to Brand Likeability. ■ How to set KPI to measure effectiveness? There are two major elements in setting KPIs for digital awareness promotions: (i) setting evaluation criteria, and (ii) selecting media and menu. (i) How to set evaluation criteria for digital awareness promotions? Thanks to the reporting and measurement tools on the media dashboards, it is now possible to visualize the effectiveness of awareness promotions, but it’s more important to determine consistent KPIs across platforms when setting evaluation criteria unless there are various KPIs. The table below shows some frequently used KPIs in ad delivery for awareness purposes. Since user behavior and sales points vary by industry and product, each company should determine which KPI is appropriate based on available information. Here are some examples that illustrate how to pick the right KPIs: Example 1: Company A Industry wide, the time spent between consideration and purchase is short, making it difficult to differentiate the product from competitors. We want the consumers to recall our products first. →Choose “First recall” from “Psychological change” Example 2: Company B We want users to consider our products at the consideration phase, when they examine information on their own between consideration and purchase. → Choose “Site visit” from “Behavior modification” ■ Combining online with offline awareness promotion When running a 360 campaign that includes both digital and traditional media (such as TV commercials), we recommend integrating online and offline measurement for consistent performance tracking. By utilizing STADIA, a Dentsu Group’s tool that holds TV viewing logs, wecan link the IDs it holds to allow advertisers to conduct integrated analysis of TV viewing logs, web contact logs and offline purchase data. Furthermore, using the new measurement tools, we can now visualize behavioral change, ad index and reach, and other metrics. With regards to psychological changes, which are usually difficult to quantify, we would recommend measuring it by calculating CPB (Cost Per BrandLift), which refers to the cost per attitude change, using the results of the results of the Brand Lift Survey. There are mainly two ways to carry out the Brand Lift Survey: based on the actual contact logs by the media or through research firms surveys. 1. Actual contact logs Users are divided into two groups: one group will be exposed to the ads and the other will not. After the awareness campaign, the media will distribute questionnaires to measure attitude change toward the brand. *BrandLift Surveys can be conducted on Google, Instagram, Twitter, etc., but availability and requirements vary by media. 2. Research firms like KANTER, Macromill, etc. The method is similar to the above, where viewers are divided into two groups, either with or without prior exposure to the digital awareness ad. The survey is carried out by third party independent research firms. ■ How to select media and menu Now that we have chosen the right KPI to measure campaign performance, let’s start selecting the media and menu to achieve the goal. Generally, when making decisions, we need to take into account two factors: target audience and objective for ad delivery. Target audience Choose media and menu based on media-specific user attributes, types of available targeting, etc. Objectives (KPI) for ad delivery. Select the right media based on the objectives, ad placements, format, etc. and the types of measurement tools that can be implemented. Here is an overview of how to make the decision based on the media menu. [In-feed and SNS menu for awareness] The objectives are mostly reach-based, Brand Lift Survey is usually available, and the audience target varies from platform to platform. Make the selection according to the main target audience and budget. [Video menu for awareness] Objectives can vary and may include reach, engagement, viewing, consideration, etc. Use KPIs (complete views, reach, promotion of understanding, etc.) and creatives (format, seconds) to determine the menu. We believe that digital awareness promotions will become more and more in demand in the near future and we hope this article can guide you along the way! If you would like to learn more about how to do digital awareness promotions in Japan, please email us at hello@septeniamerica.com REI YAMAMOTO MEDIA PLANNING, MANAGER She joined Septeni Global in April 2018 and has been actively involved in numerous large scale UA and branding campaigns. She is committed to achieving advertisers' goals with her knowledge of media optimization. 2019: Annual Rookie Award 2020: Annual Consultant Award 2021: Annual Company-wide Grand Award 2022: Became the youngest to be promoted to managerial position. ABOUT SEPTENI GLOBAL Septeni Global is a global company specializing in digital marketing. We provide a full range of services from strategic planning and creative production to brand awareness to user growth, mainly in the digital ads, to achieve a one-stop solution to our clients' challenges.

THE ROLE OF AN AGENCY Septeni Global has been building marketing solutions for mobile gaming app companies to succeed in the Japanese market for over 10 years. As an agency business manager of Septeni Global, I am honored to have the opportunity to explain the role and the value of agencies in the Japanese market, while diving into the latest game app market trend in Japan. CHAPTER 1 - JAPANESE GAME APP MARKET According to the latest data.ai report, the Japanese game app market has hit a plateau in both spending and download growth. The total population of Japan is small relative to the rest of the world and hence the number of game downloads in Japan is low on a global ranking. However, what is most unique about Japan's mobile game app market is that it ranks second globally after the United States in terms of in-app purchases volume. This means that there is a large number of core users with extremely high literacy in Japan despite a smaller total number of gamers. Also, “mobile game in-app purchase” is strongly rooted in the national gaming culture. In addition, our own data indicates that CPI (cost per install) of the game app in general is gradually increasing every year. In summary, the Japanese market has two main characteristics. CURRENT STATE OF THE JAPANESE GAME MARKET 1) Both the literacy of gamers and their in-app purchase rate is high, but the number of downloads has hit a plateau. 2) CPI (cost per install) is increasing every year, and the advertising unit price is also rising. In other words, Japan's mobile game app user base is saturated and the pie is limited, leading to rise in the advertising unit price as companies compete for the same small number of users. In the midst of this, the number of foreign game apps entering the Japanese market has accelerated in recent years. Below is a list of the top 100 titles in sales in Japan in 2020 based on our own research. 34 titles out of all 100 titles were released by publishers outside of Japan. Septeni Global is helping with most of these company's marketing strategies. And I would like to share what challenges overseas players are facing when entering the Japanese market, and what kind of solutions we are providing to solve those challenges. CHAPTER 2 - CHALLENGES IN THE JAPANESE MARKET While we have been helping overseas clients' business expansion into Japan for over 10 years successfully, one of the biggest challenges our clients always had to overcome was understanding the unique culture of Japan to connect with the local audience. In my opinion, the following three cultural aspects unique to Japan are the key obstacles for overseas clients. 1) Language 2) Creatives 3) Concept of media buying Let's talk about these three aspects.
1) Language Needless to say, the language barrier is still extremely high in Japan. According to the English proficiency index , Japan ranks 78th out of 112 countries in the world, and there are many Japanese who do not understand English. There are also many cultures unique to Japan, and when launching a game app for the Japanese market, it is very important to optimize the language and localize the app with the Japanese culture in mind.
2) Creatives Language and cultural barriers are also critical for success in advertising creatives. Many app publishers outsource the localization of their apps to specialized vendors, whereas the marketing is carried out by the person in charge of marketing in their home country. Advertising creatives that have localized languages ​​and expressions for the Japanese market yields far better results than distributing the creatives created in English for the global market in Japan. 3) Concept of media buying The larger the promotion, the greater the number of media will be used. In Japan, there are many placements where advertisements cannot be secured without going through an ad agency, and TV commercials are the most representative of this practice. Even in digital media, there are some branding menus that are exclusive to agencies. CHAPTER 3 - SEPTENI GLOBAL'S STRUCTURE TO OVERCOME THE BARRIER 1) An organizational structure specialized in marketing support for overseas gaming companies Septeni Global is an organization that specializes in overseas business within the Septeni Group, which has approximately 2,000 employees. This year marks the 10th anniversary, and we have offices around the world. We mainly support marketing activities in Japan for overseas clients, and we have a lot of great track record in marketing support for game apps in particular. 2) Creatives The trends in creative design in English-speaking countries and those in Japan differ greatly. Our company's track record has proven that there is a big difference in CTR and other key metrics when actually distributing advertisements. English UA vs Japanese UA Creatives As part of the Septeni Group, we have led the digital marketing industry at the forefront of digital marketing in Japan for nearly 20 years, and based on our extensive track record, we have a vast database of case studies of effective and efficient creatives. In addition, Septeni Global's creative team has built a team structure that can be optimized for multiple languages, so we produce creatives not only for Japan, but also for South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, etc. We have an organizational structure in place that allows mass production based on our deep understanding of the marketing context. 3) On-Off Integration As mentioned above, the Japanese gaming app market has hit a plateau, and multiple titles are competing with each other on a daily basis for a limited number of users. For this reason, the marketing budgets of each company are increasing year after year, and nowadays, almost every title with great success is making a large investment in TV commercials around grand launch. Thanks to the capital and business alliance with Dentsu Group , Japan's largest comprehensive advertising agency, we are also strong in large-scale promotions including TV commercials and offline events. So far, we have explained the current condition of the Japanese gaming app market and the role of agencies in Japan. There is still a lot of information that cannot be shared here. Also, for the success of our clients, the most important thing for us is to have a firm understanding of them as a partner, and I believe that everything starts from there. If you happen to read this article and have even a little interest in the Japanese market and Septeni Global, please feel free to reach out to us. RYUTA IRISAWA VICE PRESIDENT Ryuta Irisawa has successfully managed many overseas clients, mainly from Greater China, into Japan. He has been in charge of the strategy of many large-scale promotions and has a wide range of experience from branding to user acquisition, mainly in the digital domain. After joining Septeni in 2013, he spearheaded the Social Media advertising management team as a founding member. In 2014, as a consultant, he was instrumental in establishing the advertising management team for supporting Twitter. After joining the global sales team in 2017, he worked as a sales representative for many large-scale clients. In 2018, he received the annual MVP award. ABOUT SEPTENI GLOBAL Septeni Global is a global organization that specializes in digital marketing. With end-to-end services, we are committed to providing solutions from strategic planning to creative production that centers on brand awareness and user growth in the digital domain.

Utilizing manga-style expressions rooted in Japanese culture proves to be highly effective in resonating with Japanese audiences. In recent years, reading manga on smartphones has surged, further enhancing its impact. This article will delve into why manga-style expressions are effective and how to make the most of them for advertising purposes. 【The Importance of Embracing Japanese Culture】 As shown by the results of the survey above, nearly 80% of Japanese people engage with manga in some form, regardless of their reading frequency. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that manga culture has taken root among the Japanese. With manga culture deeply ingrained in the Japanese society, advertisements utilizing manga-style expressions can resonate well with the Japanese audience. By incorporating manga into advertisements, the reach can be expanded to a wider range of users, thus gaining more followers. Furthermore, for Japanese individuals, the inclusion of manga-style expressions can enhance appeal and improve information retention. 【Products that are well-suited for Manga UA (User Acquisition) creative】 Puzzle x Manga Casual x Manga RPG x Manga Tower defense x Manga HAKONIWA x Manga In these game genres, we created 'How to' guides and various ways to play using manga-style expressions, and improvements in effectiveness were observed across all game genres. Additionally, manga creative is effective in the following genres: ・Beauty-related products ・Trading apps such as FX ・Curated media 【Effectiveness of Manga Expressions in Game Advertising - Our Company's Example】 Manga-style expressions can convey information that cannot be fully expressed in text ads or regular static image banners. Even complex messages can be conveyed succinctly and clearly by incorporating storytelling through manga expressions. Additionally, the use of manga expressions in video ads tends to result in higher viewership rates. Manga ads can adapt to various KPIs and target audiences by altering the storyline, allowing for a wide range of applications, including not only awareness campaigns but also acquisition-focused ads. In our company, we have created and operated advertisements using manga, resulting in approximately a 2-fold increase in Conversion Rate (CVR) compared to banners that were previously being used. 〈Royal Match Acquisition Advertisement〉 Average CVR for Video Ads: 1.15% CVR for Manga Ads mentioned above: 2.08% Furthermore, there have been cases where acquisition efficiency improved in a certain entertainment app and where it continuously contributed to the awareness of customers using payment services. ▼Certain entertainment app 【Utilizing Manga Expressions】 When using manga expressions, it's important to keep in mind the following points. ・Be conscious of panel arrangement in manga and create a layout that is easily understood by users. Place impactful panels at the beginning for a strong opening. ・Illustrate things that are difficult to express in words or challenging to capture through photography. Text alone may not convey the difficulty, but adding expressions makes it easier to visualize. ・Organize the information you want to emphasize, and convey it using speech bubbles, composition, and other techniques. Place the actual screen in the center, and have manga characters provide supplementary information. ・Be mindful of creating a storyline with an engaging continuation, and build the composition. By adding ups and downs to the story, create content that remains engaging without becoming monotonous. By paying attention to these points, you can create more effective advertisements using manga-style expressions. However, when creating manga advertisements in-house: ・Securing illustrators for manga creation → Limited availability of personnel proficient in foreign languages for communication. ・Securing Japanese voice actors for video adaptation → Requires searching for voice actor agencies and dealing with processes like NDA agreements. ・Understanding the schedule and cost range for manga production → Manga production cost range: ¥300,000 to ¥1,000,000. Production timeline: 1 to 2 months, plus localization. ・Creating a proposed structure for manga advertisements ・Localizing for the Japanese audience ・Choosing an illustration style that resonates with Japanese preferences Apart from the mentioned points, it's a fact that the production of manga advertisements also involves high barriers. In our company, we have established a partnership with a manga production company of high quality, enabling us to create manga advertisements with a quick turnaround and at a reasonable cost. We offer a workflow that allows for detailed adjustments such as illustration style, and beyond creating manga advertisements, we are capable of providing a wide range of services including turning your company's services into manga, creating mascot characters, and more. 【Summary】 Manga expressions are a culturally ingrained form of communication in Japan, and utilizing them in advertising can help acquire a larger user base. When using manga expressions, it's important to pay attention to key points and create more effective advertisements. Our company boasts a diverse team with members fluent in English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, allowing us to provide native support in these languages. With a track record including games, cosmetics, matchmaking, financial products, and more, our experienced staff can offer insights and solutions across a wide range of industries. If you're facing challenges in marketing, please don't hesitate to reach out for a consultation. We're here to provide comprehensive support for your company's marketing needs.

The global digital advertising market in 2022 is valued at over 500 billion, consisting of 63% of the overall expenditure on media ads. If we look at the historical desktop vs mobile trends, it has become clear that mobile advertising has seen a tremendous increase as Millennials and GenZ are born into the digital era. Based on a recent report by IAB, within the rapidly growing mobile advertising market, programmatic advertising revenues continue to grow as well. With an increase of 39%, the programmatic revenue alone is close to $100 billion in 2021. What is so attractive about programmatic buying and how to add programmatic into the media mix in the most effective way? We sat down with Ralph Camus, Senior Manager at Septeni Global, to share some advice. Q1: The programmatic space is very crowded. There are thousands of companies representing millions of ad networks, all saying they can bring good traffic. Identifying the most suitable traffic is liking finding a needle in a haystack. How should I decide? A1: Admittedly, adnetwork and programmatic advertising is sometimes associated negatively with ad fraud and poor user quality. This is a problem the industry as a whole is trying to combat, which Septeni is actively involved as well. My suggestion is to find a reputable business that has a long and good track record, and choose appropriate fraud detection tools to measure the success of the campaign. Setting specific install rejection rules based on past fraudulent traffic would help as well. Q2: Despite the possible risks, why should the advertisers add programmatic buying to their media mix? A2: There are multiple good reasons to involve programmatic inventories, for example, to reach a larger audience at a cheaper CPM on a larger scale. With regards to CPI networks, which is the area that I’m most familiar with, advertisers opted for this because it’s well suited to several key metrics. First of all, the volume. Since the CPI network aggregates large in-app inventory sources, the user base reached is a wide swathe of all mobile users, when connected with the right combination of sources. The cost per install is competitive as well, compared with other named media platforms. Furthermore, as privacy is becoming more important, CPI network traffic is privacy safe in the sense that it does not collect or use personal information or data, unlike other larger platforms. In summary, the biggest benefit for the clients would be the ability to achieve reach and volume goals at scale and with efficiency (price wise). Reasons to utilize CPI network: volume, low CPI, Privacy Q3: With greater opportunities comes greater risks! Then how should advertisers mitigate the risks and have a more effective campaign? A3: I would recommend working with a trusted partner that knows the inside out of the business, is capable of navigating the complications of CPI ad networks and is honest about it at the same time. Since there are multiple layers of media and networks, the right partner should be able to monitor the traffic on a daily basis, and do hands-on management to directly optimize the campaigns so that the KPIs are met. For CPI buying, since the cost is already set so the advertiser does not need to worry about cost fluctuations. However, ad networks are equipped with less feature-rich targeting options, in most of the cases, they can only target Operating Systems or Geos, which makes effective traffic management vital to the success of any campaign. The optimization is less based on targeting, but more related to the right traffic source, as there are millions of in-app inventories out there and a responsible and versatile optimizer will try to find the most suitable traffic within a short period of time for the better ROAS. Q4: Can CPI campaigns achieve both cost and quality at the same time? Seems too good to be true. How do you optimize? A4: Septeni Global has its in-house CPI Management service called Perry, which has been integrated with over 20 global networks. In our team, we aim to deliver on higher user quality versus other self-run or media optimized CPI networks. Our campaign managers will evaluate and optimize the campaign performance through data analysis and direct media communication to ensure the success of the campaign. To avoid fraudulent installs, after a user clicks on the ad and installs the app, the data will be passed to Perry’s system first. Our system scans traffic to filter out undesirable traffic in advance, before that traffic can proceed to advertiser servers or the app store. Then based on the SDK data, our operation team will further analyze the data and optimize based on Site IDs at a very granular level. To share some case studies. For a well known mobile gaming app that has been released for almost 2 years, the target D30 ROAS was 15%, but we were able to achieve 21% in April 2022. For a strategy MOBA game, the D1 retention reached 179% of the client’s KPI and D30 ROAS hit 115%. Through deep understanding of the traffic and diligent optimization, we were able to continuously drive results for direct response campaigns. At the same time, we also monitor the traffic source and optimize the platform to safeguard both campaign results and user quality. Q5: So for Perry, you are optimizing the CPI network, similar to CPC media? How does it work? A5: Yes, indeed! Most of the CPI networks will deliver installs with simple volume targets and a fixed cost. That’s the end of it. We are different in that we commit to the further post-install KPI events, achieving both CPI and other key metrics goals at the same time. Just like other CPC media that we run in-house, we have CPI ad network consultants monitoring and optimizing the campaign toward the KPI on a daily basis as well. Most traditional CPI ad networks are built based on the assumption that the overall quality of the CPI is of good quality and they optimize by eliminating low quality media through blacklisting and other methods. However, Perry thinks otherwise. Instead of spending time blocking the bad ones, we devote our resources in finding the most effective traffic to acquire high quality users. Thanks to our extensive expertise in advertising operations and our network of media, Septeni Global’s Perry team is able to flexibly set optimal KPIs for each client and perform quality management with our unique know-how for higher client satisfaction. If you are interested in learning more about Perry, please feel free to reach out to us at hello@septeniamerica.com . RALPH SENIOR MANAGER Joined Septeni (Now Septeni Global) in 2013. Previously in Brand Advertising, Ralph made the shift to digital in Septeni and has previous experience with social media tools, campaign management and programmatic advertising. As Senior Manager of the Product Division at Septeni Global, Ralph has been leading the business, and the technology sectors of the Perry product with a focus on leveraging the deep experience of Septeni in Direct Response advertising and working with both advertisers, media and technology partners to drive superior performance for the advertisers of Septeni Global. His area of focus is the platform and industry technology that powers digital and programmatic advertising. ABOUT SEPTENI GLOBAL Septeni Global is a global organization that specializes in digital marketing. With end-to-end services, we are committed to providing solutions from strategic planning to creative production that centers on brand awareness and user growth in the digital domain.

PINPOINT YOUR MESSAGE TO CONNECT WITH THE JAPANESE AUDIENCE IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. Japan's technologically advanced population has the highest annual app install rates world-wide and consistently impressive usage rates . As one of the most important mobile app markets, overseas app publishers often deem Japan a significant opportunity to explore. However, with its unique culture and language, it has been a real challenge to successfully penetrate the Japanese market. Literal translations don't work in Japan and can be misleading. Understanding the culture is key to truly making a connection that catches the attention and meets the needs of Japanese users. In this article, we share some insights on how to come up with the localized creatives, from ideation to production. Some of the UA creatives often seen in Japan are those with multiple characters lining up, a split view of actual gameplay, imitation style, profile style, live-action materials, and many more. There are many different ways to communicate with the users but which one should you choose for your brand? Septeni Global Experts shares best practices and processes from their own practical localization experiences of executing UA ad campaigns for multiple brands successfully in Japan. Let’s take a look at what kind of creatives actually work for Japanese users! Septeni’s ways of thinking for creatives First of all, creativity needs to be cultivated every day and Septen’s approach is to gather creative ideas on a daily basis to create powerful ideas that improve ads’ performances. There are two key methods to get inspired by ideas. First, we promote a culture of creativity in the organization by building a community where each member exchanges ideas. Art directors will share interesting UA and branding ads they are inspired by. Brainstorming, regular reviews and discussions help us keep abreast of current ad trends and utilize this knowledge for future creatives for campaigns. The other one is using idea-sharing sites. One of the most popular sites in Japan is Pinterest. You can curate ideas by searching by keywords or you can also curate similar designs. After ideation, we explain how to apply these ideas into making the UA creatives. First, please choose the type of presentation methods base on the KPIs. Do you want to acquire new users or re-engage with inactive users? Next, adjust the creatives based on the characteristics of the media platforms. Lastly, what kind of users you target makes a great impact on the scheme of creatives as well. 1. CAMPAIGN PURPOSE Creating creatives based on a variety of KPIs The kind of creatives created varies based on the purpose of each campaign, but you can refer to some specific cases below. Branding (Awareness): Attempting to complement mass-reach and interlinked with TV commercials. Install: Messaging to encourage to install Retention: Appealing new features and events to existing users Brand awareness ads: In order to increase awareness, ads need to be exposed to many users. Picture your targets’ thought process (“Want to click it” -> “Want to read it to the end” -> “Want to share it”) when you create creatives for this kind of ads. Brand awareness ads: Make new users understand and feel attracted by the appeal points of your game (Worldview, characters and how to play) in order to have them download the game. The targets’ thought process would be similar to “Attention-grabbing” -> “Interesting” -> “Want to download”. Retention ads: This type of ads target inactive users who once downloaded the game but are not currently playing it. Using terminology which only people who have played the game would understand is essential to create the “insider privilege” and grab their attention. Further, emphasize on the new features and ongoing time limited events to encourage them to re-download the game. 2. CAMPAIGN MEDIA Are you producing the creatives with the correct understanding about media’s characteristics? You might need to re-create your creatives in some cases based on the characteristics of some media. There are appropriate and inappropriate creatives for each media. For example, Twitter and TikTok are both social media but the characteristics of their platforms are totally different. Twitter focuses on how to grab users’ attention in the first 2~3 seconds of the video. On the other hand, for TikTok, it is important that music and video are synced well. You need to think through how to maximize the effect of visuals of the video for the first 2 to 3 seconds for TikTok creatives. The most appealing features of the game should be prioritized in the beginning because it is important to think about what kind of beginnings the viewers want to keep watching. For example, we often see roulette-style video ads on Twitter. They present multiple characters, quickly switching between them in a short period of time which is eye-catching and gets users’ attention. Also, question-style copy in static image ads get more attention from the viewers, which is often deployed to encourage the viewer to keep watching or clicking the ad. 3. TARGET AUDIENCE Are your creatives talking to the needs of your target audience? Ultimately, you need to connect with your audience. Taking a Sangokushi-style game as an example, the chart below showcases the differences in creatives based on the target audience. It is better to highlight military commanders and character relationship charts for users who are interested in the storyline of Sangokushi. This type of user knows the story and characters' relationship inside out, so you can appeal to them emotionally by showing creatives with names of military commanders or main characters. For strategy gamers who are also interested in the storyline of Sangokushi, highlight the strategic gameplay mechanism instead. For example, even with a conventional strategic interface, you can attract users and get their attention. This type of users simply want to win and might also be committed to climbing up the career ladders to improve status at workplace, so you need to clearly present their needs such as “PVP” and “strategic” when you produce creatives for them. Your creatives can be effective only when you they clearly understand the audience and complex needs of the Japanese audience. Reach out to us at hello@septeniamerica.com if you would like to know more information or actual cases of the Japan market! KASHIN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joined Septeni (currently Septeni Global) mid-career in 2019. In her previous job, she worked as a creative designer for social media ads and also operated Chinese social media accounts. After joining Septeni Global, she took charge of creative production and delivery management for both gaming and non-gaming clients, with a focus on major Chinese clients.。 ABOUT SEPTENI GLOBAL Septeni Global is a global organization that specializes in digital marketing. With end-to-end services, we are committed to providing solutions from strategic planning to creative production that centers on brand awareness and user growth in the digital domain.

TikTok has reached 1 billion monthly active users and is ranked No. 1 in downloads worldwide in the first quarter of 2022 , becoming one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide. Also, more than half of TikTok users watch gaming-related videos every day. Needless to say, TikTok has become one of the most important platforms for gaming companies looking to acquire new users. However, many gaming companies have found it challenging to leverage TikTok as an ad platform. TikTok’s unique content format makes regular creatives that are efficient in other media not perform well on its platform, and companies often find it hard to effectively localize their ads for the Japanese market. In this article, we will provide tips for creating successful Tiktok ads for user acquisition in Japan. Tip 1: Selecting the right music The immersive format of Tiktok, which features short full-screen videos with audio on, makes it important to select the right music for your ad. According to TikTok's latest report, regardless of the generation, the percentage of users who turn audio on on TikTok is overwhelmingly higher than the average of the other three major platforms. Watching with full attention Audio on Full screen Watching while doing other things Housewives 231% 176% 33% Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) 199% 187% 51% Millennials (born between 1981 and 1995) 152% 156% 62% Generation Z (born after 1996) 139% 109% 46% By adding music that expresses the worldview of the game and impactful sound sources that attract people to the creatives, viewers will be able to easily imagine the game’s universe. However, cultural and generational differences in musical taste in Japan mean that gaming companies need to choose music that caters to the local culture. Music over 120 BPM is generally recommended for any genres and generations. Tip 2: Add Japanese narration Additionally, adding Japanese narration in addition to music can make your creative more effective, as many TikTok users in Japan watch videos with audio on. It is also important to create multiple versions of narrations and verify their effectiveness. ※Septeni Global has more than 100 narrators in the network. Tip 3: Use appropriate Japanese language and select texts that resonate with Japanese users, incorporating slang if necessary. Translating content into Japanese is not enough to engage Japanese users. It is crucial to create content that resonates with them on an emotional level. Depending on the age of the target audience, using slang may be necessary to establish a sense of relatability and connect with them effectively. Example: Internet slang Meaning Descriptions www Laugh, funny Short for warau (to laugh in Japanese) 垢 (Aka) Account 垢 means grime, but borrowed for its sound only. Pronounced aka and it is the same pronounciation as the beginning of the word “account” (akaunto). 無理ゲー (Murigee) Almost impossible to achieve Murigee is an abbreviation of “Muri na Game (the video game that is too hard to clear)”. In turn, it is used as a metaphor when we feel “something is too hard to do.” Tip 4: Hook viewers in the first 3 seconds to keep their attention On TikTok, viewers can easily skip ads, so it's crucial to grab their attention with a catchy phrase within the first three seconds of your video. Use engaging text and video content that will make them want to watch the rest of your ad. For example, the videos above use different texts to hook viewers: 1) "It is worth 2800 Japanese yen now", 2) "Stop at just the right timing", and 3) "The game streamer is the blue mushroom". Although they all convey the same message, their contents are different. To maximize your creative’s potential and test effectiveness, we recommend creating at least three different patterns for each script. Tip 5: Create a video that resembles user-generated content. ※especially for gaming companies To make your video ad more relatable to users, it's recommended to simplify its structure and make it look like a piece of user-generated content (UGC). This approach can potentially increase the number of impressions and conversions. Here are some tips for the structure of the video: Use a simple horizontal layout with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Display game player's comments in a plain white font to make it look like UGC. Make the video more locally relevant by using spoken language, including slang, by Japanese narrators. Tip 6: Utilize Casting to Enhance Appeal By utilizing Japanese actors/actresses to convey the appeal of your products or content in a way that resonates with Japanese culture, you can create a sense of personal relevance for the viewer. Septeni Global has a proven track record of producing user-generated content-style casting videos that are optimized for TikTok. We can provide a wide range of casting options to suit your specific needs and goals. After outlining the characteristics of TikTok ads in Japan, let us present an example of UA creatives and their validation results. Which of the two creatives do you think is more effective? Video Creative A　　 　 Video Creative B　 The answer is A, with a 0.01% higher CTR and about 1.2% higher CVR than B. The reasons for A's higher effectiveness are A catchy copy and casting lines added at the beginning A longer video that covers more of the game features and appeals The action element appealing to flying in the sky, which seemed to resonate with the TikTok user base. These are the tips for creating effective TikTok ads. Thank you for reading. In addition to creative production, we also excel in ad optimization and recently won the Platinum Award in General Category, the highest rank at the TikTok For Business Japan Agency Award 2023. If you encounter challenges with Japanese localization, please feel free to contact us at hello@septeniamerica.com today! We will support your localization needs for the Japanese market as your one-stop destination. KOJI TAKI CREATIVE DIRECTOR Septeni Global has welcomed Koji as a creative director, responsible for producing innovative and effective creatives with his knowledge of both domestic and overseas markets. Prior to joining Septeni Global, Koji served as a producer at a company that assisted major Japanese companies with their overseas public relations. He also worked for five years at a company that facilitated Japanese localization for a major US tech firm and developed its own AI technology. With his diverse background and expertise, Koji is an excellent addition to the creative team at Septeni Global. ABOUT SEPTENI GLOBAL Septeni Global is a global organization that specializes in digital marketing. With end-to-end services, we are committed to providing solutions from strategic planning to creative production that centers on brand awareness and user growth in the digital domain.