The leader of Japan's largest marketing agency says the company will grow by consulting clients on business transformation and technology, not just traditional advertisting and public relations.
Igarashi made the comments in an discussion with Hiroyasu Koike of Nomura Asset Management, published on Sept. 27.
"We are generally perceived as an advertising company, but the reality has changed dramatically," Igarashi said. "There is no change in the fact that television and other forms of mass media make up a certain portion of our business. This is not enough to meet the needs of our clients."
Igarashi said that non-advertising technology and consulting firms are now competing for traditional advertising business, as the practices have converged competitively. He said Denstu is adapting to this change.
"Clients are looking more closely at the effectiveness of their marketing investments, and we need to be more responsive across our marketing-service platforms, which includes data, technology, and analytics," he said. "It is our responsibility to solve our clients' challenges, such as the improvement of marketing effectiveness. We aim to remain a committed partner in their business growth."
In June, Dentsu announced it would be expanding its business transformation practice to offices and clients outside of Japan, starting in the U.S., U.K, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, China, Taiwan and India.
Tokyo-headquartered Dentsu has more than 11,000 customers across its 145 offices worldwide.
According to Statista Research Service, Dentsu ranks as the seventh-largest advertising agency group worldwide.
Approximately 60 percent of Dentsu revenue is generated outside of Japan. The company bought UK media planning giant Aegis in 2013 for $3.5 billion and U.S.-based digital agency Merkle for $1.5 billion in 2016.
In 2023, Dentsu officially integrated what was previously Dentsu International with its Dentsu Japan Network into a single organization.