Rakuten eyes doubling of ad revenue by 2021 via new movie studio

Internet services provider Rakuten has revealed plans to synergise its joint venture with film production company, The H Collective for the various businesses under its wing, including its advertising arm. According to Nikkei Asian Review, it looks to double its advertising revenue in 2018 to US$1.88 billion by 2021 by leveraging production of TV commercials based on scenes from Rakuten movies.Leveraging the new co-owned Rakuten H Collective Studio, which was first announced at the start of August, it also aims to benefit its other business units such as retail, television, telco and travel.  In the news report, Rakuten’s group executive VP Makoto Arima explained that the intellectual property (IP) created by the studio will create a “significant impact” in expanding the company’s ecosystem. He added that Rakuten aims to distribute the movies produced by the studio globally, including adapting IP into merchandise that can be sold at its online marketplace.Meanwhile, the original programming can also be added to its video platform Rakuten TV. The company, which plans to roll out its own 5G mobile network in 2020, aims to tap on the expanded movie library to acquire new customers for the service when released. Rakuten Travel, on the other hand, plans to offer tours to locations featured in the movies.Earlier this month, Rakuten said the joint venture is a move to contribute to the “revitalisation of the entertainment industry around the world”.Read more:Rakuten Marketing names MD of international to lead digital advertisingRakuten and Lagardere Sports join forces to live stream J.LEAGUE matches