iKala Announces Appointment of Tsuchiya Ryuji as Country Manager of iKala Japan
Tokyo, November 11th, 2022 — iKala, Asia's leading Human-Centered AI company headquartered in Taiwan, announced today that Tsuchiya Ryuji has been appointed the Country Manager of iKala Japan Co., Ltd. (head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter "iKala"). Along with the announcement, the company also pledged to significantly expand the number of global influencers on its AI influencer data marketing platform KOL Radar to one million before the end of 2022. iKala aims to create Asia's largest influencer database to facilitate the acceleration of AI-driven digital transformation for Japanese industries.
As the global economic, trade, and consumer market environment continues to experience volatile changes, businesses around the world are accelerating the pace of digitalization to move towards a data-driven operational strategy. In Japan, the demand for digital transformation and export has increased significantly. To meet market demand and demonstrate the company's commitment to Japan's market, iKala has recruited Tsuchiya as the Country Manager of iKala Japan to advance the implementation of iKala AI digital transformation solution. Tsuchiya has more than 20 years of industry experience. Having held key positions at Universal Studios Japan, Warner Bros. Japan, and Coca-Cola Japan, Tsuchiya led his team in market forecasting and analysis to formulate marketing strategies. Before joining iKala, while formulating operational strategies for Universal Studios Japan in response to the impact of the Covid-19, Tsuchiya also conducted market response analysis and consumer demand forecasting to continue to realize mid to long-term business plans. In his new role, Tsuchiya will utilize his local perspective to grow iKala's sales in the Japanese market.
Since the company's establishment in Taiwan in May 2011, iKala has been developing and offering cloud and AI technology services and AI data-driven influencer marketing services in Asia. Among them, the AI influencer data marketing service "KOL Radar" is widely recognized by the Taiwanese and Asian markets, with many companies already utilizing the platform's services. iKala Japan also started offering KOL Radar services at the beginning of its establishment in September 2021. Companies use AI-driven influencer marketing services to promote Japanese exports to Taiwan. So far, clients from the retail, beauty, household appliances, baby and children, and apparel industries have signed up or renewed contracts with KOL Radar. With Tsuchiya joining as the new Country Manager for iKala Japan, iKala will be fully committed to helping Japanese businesses accelerate customer acquisition and expand their international presence. iKala has also announced an expansion plan to include one million international influencers on KOL Radar's list by the end of 2022, of which, 700,000 are Japanese influencers.
KOL Radar is a one-stop service that facilitates proprietary AI technology and big data analysis to analyze massive amount of real-time influencer data across Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, which can be used to identify the best "matching" between an influencer and a company's product or service. AI is used to analyze and filter influencers to find the best candidate match for D2C companies to create performance-based influencer marketing with data driven marketing strategy.
"I am delighted to announce the exciting news of the appointment of the Country Manager of iKala Japan, which reflects iKala's commitment to future expansion in the Japanese market," said iKala Co-Founder & CEO Sega Cheng.
"Mr. Tsuchiya Ryuji has a wealth of marketing experience and is familiar with the Japanese market. I believe his expertise can provide the support and services that Japanese companies are looking for. Our team in Japan will continue to grow as iKala enhances our services and R&D capabilities. Our target is to reach more than 10 times the revenue growth for Japan in 2023 compared to this year. We look forward to seeing our AI digital transformation solution help more Japanese companies expand their market presence," added Cheng.
iKala Japan Country Manager Tsuchiya Ryuji said: "I look forward to using my experiences in marketing and business development, along with my understanding of Japanese companies' needs for digital marketing, to help Japanese enterprises accelerate customer acquisition and cross-border business expansion through the use of digital solutions. iKala empowers businesses through AI solutions, and the company's vision resonates with mine. Moving forward, I will work closely with the Taiwan office to promote the advancement of Japanese industries' digital transformation. My goal is to help more Japanese brands to export their high-quality products to Taiwan and Southeast Asia."
In addition to providing cross-border solutions, iKala will launch a SaaS subscription service on KOL Radar in the Japanese Market on November 14. The subscription service provides Japanese companies with the most comprehensive influencer data while offering effective influencer recommendations through AI technology that provides a one-stop solution for influencer screening, data tracking, and performance evaluation. Looking ahead, iKala will focus on its expansion in the Japanese market and continue to increase its service capacity. The company aspires to help Japanese brands strengthen their use of data-driven decisions through KOL Radar's cross-border influencer marketing service and SaaS subscription service.
