Takuya Masuda, Group Manager, Technology Content Group, Omni-Experience Promotion Department, DX Headquarters, Shiseido Interactive Beauty Co., Ltd.

The fusion of real and digital creates new value in marketing

Shiseido Interactive Beauty Co., Ltd. DX Headquarters Omni-Experience Promotion Department Technology Content Group Manager　Takuya Masuda(Masuda Takuya)

■ Profile
In 2008, he joined Rakuten as a new graduate. He worked on service development as a web director, and has experience in launching multiple businesses, including service operations and mobile businesses. In 2017, he moved to Uniqlo, where he was responsible for online site service development, UI/UX improvement, and product search and recommendation engine development. In 2019, he joined Shiseido, where he is primarily involved in improving the makeup experience using beauty tech, including virtual makeup using AR and skin measurement using image analysis.

Shiseido is celebrating its 150th anniversary. To mark this occasion, the company has launched Shiseido Interactive Beauty as a joint venture with Accenture to accelerate its digital transformation. How will Shiseido promote digitalization in the future? We spoke to Manager Masuda of the DX Headquarters about their marketing strategy.

Our company is a new company established in 2021. It is a joint venture between Shiseido and Accenture, and is a strategic subsidiary for strengthening Shiseido's digital transformation. I am in charge of promoting omniexperience in the DX Headquarters of our company.

■ Promote sales through omni-experiences

As the name suggests, OmniExperience aims to provide customers with a new experience that combines the real and digital worlds. In particular, the digital content called "Hada Pasha" allows you to take a photo of your skin with your smartphone or tablet to check your skin condition. This is also used by beauty consultants in stores when giving skin consultations to customers.
Initially, it was intended to be used digitally only, but after launch, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was introduced in stores as well, as contactless environments could be maintained in stores.
Currently, the purchase rate of "Hada Pasha" users is increasing not only through e-commerce but also in-store, and we believe that we have been able to promote sales in both the real and digital realms.

■ Digital marketing is interesting

We believe that flow-type marketing methods, where sales are dependent on commercials, are not enough. First, we use stock-type marketing methods that utilize social networks, and we think it is important to approach customers in detail from various angles and make Shiseido feel close to them at all times. We are currently exploring new methods that will allow us to visualize the number of purchases while skillfully linking flow-type and stock-type methods.
We use a variety of media, but we are particularly interested in platforms like LINE and Twitter, which allow us to post links, and influencer marketing using beauty consultants, which allows us to measure effectiveness in detail. Also, cosmetic product model changes take longer than other products, so it's important to approach customers by suggesting different ways to use the same product and by coming up with creative ways to display it. There is no right answer for any approach. That's why we have to keep exploring, and I find that very rewarding.

■ Utilizing the image of a long-established company

Shiseido celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2022. I believe the reason the company has been around for 150 years is because it is constantly innovating, supported by a wealth of sales data and various sales channels. We also have talented people who can process and interpret this data appropriately. We also have channels that allow us to collect big data, such as skin data, purchasing data, and behavioral data, and provide it in a multifaceted way to e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores, making it extremely easy to create value, and its impact spreads in many directions.
In particular, because IDs (memberships) span multiple brands, it is easier to get a sense of the customer. Going forward, we would like to use this wealth of data to integrate digital technology while prioritizing speed and preserving Shiseido's corporate image of safety and reliability.

＊message＊

I think it's important to always question various things in society. For example, in recent years, many companies have been promoting e-commerce, introducing products digitally, and there is a movement to abolish paper catalogs.
This direction seems like the right move when you consider the current digitalization and customer trends, but that wasn't the case between me and a certain company.
I wanted to choose products while looking through a paper catalog with my children. Using a paper catalog was a really fun experience for me, but now that time is gone. What decision should this company have made in this situation? Since there aren't many people like me, was it the right decision to eliminate the paper catalog in favor of digital? What do you think?
In this way, it is important to deeply consider how you and your company are involved in a certain event and how you think about it. By making world events your own, your perspective will be broadened. By increasing such opportunities, the view you see will naturally change.

Student Newspaper April 1, 2022 Issue Tsuda University 10th Year Student Miyata Ayako