INNOCEAN Begins Expansion into Japanese Market Together with ADK

INNOCEAN CEO William Lee (Left) and ADK HD president and group CEO Toshiya Oyama (Right)

INNOCEAN global CEO William Lee announced that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for strategic collaboration with ADK, a major Japanese agency with a 67-year history.   

At the MOU signing ceremony, which took place at the ADK headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, executives of both companies, including Lee and ADK HD president and group CEO Toshiya Oyama, celebrated the strategic partnership to explore new businesses and joint investment opportunities and exchange creative capabilities. 

Founded in 1956, ADK is a large comprehensive advertisement agency with 11 offices throughout Japan in addition to its Tokyo headquarters, as well as global affiliates in 13 countries around the world. ADK is known to offer a full range of marketing services with its rich experience and know-how in creative planning/production, brand consulting, UI/UX, web design, space design, digital marketing, media planning/purchasing, content planning/production, IP and loyalty business. 

INNOCEAN and ADK will establish a dedicated collaboration team based on this MOU, and both companies pledged to actively engage in exchanges of core creative resources and capabilities, explore new businesses, and seek joint investment ventures. INNOCEAN plans to undertake a leading role for not only Korean but also European companies looking to enter the Japanese market and actively develop newbiz opportunities in Japan.

Furthermore, Japanese clients of ADK are also expected to enter the Korean market through INNOCEAN. 

Meanwhile, the partnership is also part of INNOCEAN’s 'Asia Creative Hub' project, which the company is aggressively implementing. Recently, INNOCEAN has signed MOUs with leading agencies in Singapore and Thailand in order to reinforce its creative alliance in Asia. With this partnership with the Japanese agency ADK, INNOCEAN has successfully expanded its network into East Asia. 

The synergy between ADK and INNOCEAN is also expected to expand as ADK is concentrating its capabilities on expanding in the Asian market with its recent acquisitions of VietBuzz, a Vietnamese digital agency, and Rage Communication, an Indian digital agency.

Lee stated, “It is critical to establish a partnership with a capable company when entering the Japanese advertisement market,” and added “INNOCEAN and ADK are planning to offer unprecedented global service by combining the strengths and unique capabilities of the two agencies.”

Sam (Wooksang) Ryu, CEO and president of INNOCEAN Europe, added, “This strategic partnership is more than a business move; it is a commitment to unlocking the limitless possibilities that arise when diverse cultures converge. And this does not confine itself to Asian brands in any way; it is a promise to our European clients of Asian-infused creativity and unparalleled access to important markets such as Japan."