Delivered on August 4, 2025
How to Utilize Location Data in the Digital Age: ONE COMPATH's Vision of the Future of Marketin
Rei Hayakawa, President and CEO
Affiliation and position information is as of the time of distribution
ONE COMPATH, Inc. has long provided information tools essential to everyday life. In the podcast "Location Weekly Japan," the company's president, Mr. Hayakawa, spoke about the company's strategy and outlook for combining location data it has cultivated over many years with new technology, AI, to provide value to both users and businesses.
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Leveraging Location Data in the Digital Age: ONE COMPATH's Vision for the Future of Marketing
ONE COMPATH's mission is to make everyday life more convenient and exciting, and it offers a wide range of in-house services. These include the following three representative services:
・Shufoo!: One of Japan's largest digital flyer services, with a history of over 24 years. Even as newspaper subscriptions decline,
the service continues to meet users' strong desire to view flyers. Recently, it has begun providing coupon information and niche sales information not found in paper flyers, making it widely used by users who gather information before shopping.
Mapion: A mapping service with a history of approximately 30 years. Currently focusing on solutions for businesses, Mapion offers services such as the "Shopping Map," which allows manufacturers to guide users to stores that carry their products. This groundbreaking service solves the challenge of manufacturers not being able to fully grasp the final sales outlets when selling products through wholesalers.
・aruku&: Now in its eighth year, the fastest-growing walking app. By incorporating gamification, even those less interested in health can develop a walking habit through fun activities like earning points as they walk and collecting characters. The service also offers team walking and corporate participation features, creating new value in line with the era of well-being.
・The evolution of digital flyers and Mapion's innovative initiatives
The podcast also discussed in detail the specific evolution of each service.
"Shufoo!" has evolved from simply scanning paper flyers to delivering a diverse range of digital content. By sharing content with other media, such as in-store signage, it is creating more efficient points of contact with users.
Mapion's "Shopping Map" service is a unique service that uses shipping information provided by manufacturers to guide users to nearby stores where they can purchase the desired product. It uses data and technology to solve the long-standing challenge faced by manufacturers: not knowing where their products are sold.
Next-Generation Marketing Enabled by Data and AI
ONE COMPATH is leveraging the data accumulated through these services to move into the next generation of marketing.
One of its key strengths is the "Shufoo!" visit tracking tool. This tool uses GPS data to visualize which flyers customers viewed, the type of people who visited a store, when, and from which areas. This allows for data-driven analysis of flyers that resonate with women in their 30s and flyers that lead to new customers.
In addition, ONE COMPATH is combining this with AI to develop a service that models "resonant flyers" and automatically generates flyer drafts and content. This initiative is expected to not only optimize retailers' promotional activities, but also enable the provision of information tailored to each user's preferences, leading to further personalization.
Summary
ONE COMPATH's strength lies in the vast amount of location and behavioral data it has accumulated through its long-established services, such as "Shufoo!", "Mapion," and "aruku&." Going forward, by combining this unique data with AI, the company plans to evolve its business model beyond simple "internet services" to become an "AI marketing business."
This transformation will provide users with more personalized information and experiences, and enable more efficient and effective marketing for companies. ONE COMPATH's challenge to maximize the value of location data has the potential to dramatically change the future of digital marketing.