AnyMind Group, a technology company that provides software for the advertising, influencer marketing, and human resource industries, has today announced the establishment of a joint venture between AnyMind Group and SUNNY SIDE UP, a Japan-based integrated communications firm that represents enterprises, celebrities, talent, and athletes.
AnyUp will look to form a new breed of public relations-tech companies in Japan, leveraging on CastingAsia’s influencer marketing expertise, network and technology, and SUNNY SIDE UP’s content discovery and public relations capabilities.
AnyUp will offer marketers and spokespersons for enterprises in Japan with efficient support for public relations and promotion capabilities whilst leveraging on a scaled influencer network, and provide integrated services such as strategy planning, influencer selection, content production, and campaign analysis. Additionally, marketers and spokespersons for enterprises can now tap on deep analytics and campaign insights through the CastingAsia platform to further integrate influencer marketing with public relations activities. The joint venture will also accelerate the business development of AnyMind Group in Japan.
For celebrities, athletes, content creators, and personalities in Japan, AnyUp will offer services including account set-up and operation, content production and editing, monetization support and matching with advertisers.
On the joint venture formation, Kosuke Sogo, CEO, and co-founder of AnyMind Group said: “The influence of video content on social platforms, including YouTube, has been steadily increasing year by year. We are now in the era of video. At the same time, we’re also looking at a shift in how celebrities and athletes connect with their audiences, moving from ‘blogs’ to ‘vlogs’, and we will see further growth in the future. On the other hand, there are still issues such as knowing where to start, developing and editing video content, and connecting and collaborating with brands. Leveraging on the expertise of both companies, we decided to establish AnyUp.”
Arising from this joint venture, AnyUp has today also announced plans to launch the official YouTube channel and Instagram account for global football personality, Hidetoshi Nakata – his first attempt at sharing content officially on YouTube and Instagram. As a creative director, Nakata will supervise his YouTube channel “NIHONMONO by HIDETOSHI NAKATA“, sharing the attractiveness of the 47 prefectures in Japan.
Since starting off in April 2016 as AdAsia Holdings and the subsequent expansion into AnyMind Group, the company has grown its online advertising and influencer marketing businesses into 11 markets and 13 offices in Asia. In March 2019, the company acquired Moindy Digital, a multi-channel network business in Thailand, and launched the CastingAsia Creators Network. The CastingAsia Creators Network now includes over 36,000 influencers and content creators across 17 markets, with resources to help content creators and social media influencers grow, including teams for video production, channel optimization, content strategy consultation, and production studios and video editors available for the network.
SUNNY SIDE UP was established in 1985 and is currently ranked 20th in the “Global Top 250 PR Agency Ranking 2019” of the Holmes Report. Leveraging on over 30 years of marketing and communication expertise, SUNNY SIDE UP has propelled Japanese celebrities and athletes such as Hidetoshi Nakata to a global scale, and operating the restaurant “bills” from Sydney, bringing the group as a global brand and achieving many groundbreaking results.