Four Hakuhodo DY Group Companies Jointly Establish Hakuhodo DY Group i-Business Center

Tokyo － February 03, 2006 － The four operating companies of the Hakuhodo DY group, namely Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc., Hakuhodo Inc., Daiko Advertising Inc. and Yomiko Advertising Inc., together established Hakuhodo DY Group i-Business Center on February 1. The new unit is set to develop next-generation advertising communication for digital media for the entire Hakuhodo DY group.

With the spread of digital media in recent years, sei-katsu-sha* no longer obtain their information solely from the mass media. By actively accessing and compiling information by means of their computers and mobile phones, sei-katsu-sha have affected a radical change on their “information lives.” As a result of this change, advertisers’ marketing and communication strategies are also becoming more sophisticated and complex. To augment mass media advertising, marketers now look to their advertising agencies to deliver advertising planning and solutions that create an interactive brand experience, one where sei-katsu-sha response forms an integral part.

The Hakuhodo DY group’s new i-Business Center will integrate production of advertising creative, media plans and content for a digital media environment that incorporates the Internet and digital broadcasting, aiming to pioneer a new platform for advertising communication and provide higher quality solutions than ever before.

Specifically, i-Business Center will develop branded entertainment fusing advertising with content; create strategies to build buzz via blogs, social network services (SNS) and other consumer generated media (CGM); and develop new advertising space in collaboration with new media platforms like web feeds of video files. It will work with Hakuhodo DY group companies to plan and produce advertising campaign proposals that go beyond traditional advertising models to leverage emerging opportunities.

Viewing the changes in the information lives of sei-katsu-sha through digital media as an

* Sei-katsu-sha = Sei-katsu-sha are more than simply consumers; people’s lives and lifestyles include more than shopping. Hakuhodo introduced this term in the 1980s, to emphasize our commitment to a comprehensive, 360-degree perspective on consumer’s lives.

opportunity for integrated advertising agencies, the Hakuhodo DY group envisages i-Business Center becoming an information hub for actively considering different ways of working and cooperating with media owners, technology providers, content holders and production houses, with a view toward possible future investment in or collaboration with such entities. Bringing together creative and art directors, web and media producers, and specialists from various other disciplines within the Hakuhodo DY group, i-Business Center will span existing group competencies and corporate structures, contributing to the realization of new advertising communication that produces real value for marketers and sei-katsu-sha alike.

Overview of Hakuhodo DY Group i-Business Center