Vistar Media expands operations in Japan

Vistar Media, the leading global provider of technology solutions for out-of-home (OOH) media, and part of T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, today announced the expansion of its operations in Japan, bringing its full suite of technology solutions to the market. As part of a significant investment in one of the world’s most advanced OOH markets, Vistar is establishing a dedicated local team to support media owners, advertisers, agencies and partners across the country.   

With a highly developed transit media ecosystem, premium digital inventory, and an advertising industry that embraces innovation in media and technology, Japan is strategic to Vistar’s APAC expansion. Vistar’s expansion introduces Vistar’s full suite of cutting-edge solutions to Japan, including a digital OOH dedicated demand-side platform (DSP), supply-side platform (SSP), ad server, player, device management system and traditional OOH planning software.   

 Ben Baker, APAC Managing Director, Vistar Media said, “Expanding to Japan is a significant milestone for Vistar. Over the past year we’ve seen strong momentum across Asia Pacific, with advertisers and media owners moving to programmatic and digital out-of-home faster than we’ve seen in other markets. Japan is one of the most advanced OOH markets in the world, so this is a natural and important step for us. It also reflects how committed we are to the region more broadly. I’m excited to work with Yosuke Maekawa and the team as we continue building genuine, long-term partnerships across the region.” 

“Japan has long been recognized as one of the most advanced out-of-home markets in the world,” said Michael Provenzano, Co-Founder and CEO of Vistar Media and SVP of T-Mobile Advertising Solutions. “We see tremendous opportunity to help accelerate the next phase of growth by bringing together local expertise, proven technology and scale of Vistar’s global marketplace. Our investment in Japan reflects our confidence in the market and our commitment to supporting advertisers and media owners in the years ahead.”  

As part of expansion, Vistar has announced the appointment of Yosuke Maekawa as Country Manager. Maekawa brings more than two decades of experience across digital media, advertising technology and business development, having held leadership roles at Amazon, Expedia Group, PubMatic and comScore. He will oversee Vistar’s growth strategy and operations in Japan.  

“Japan is home to some of the world’s most sophisticated out-of-home media environments and presents a significant opportunity for continued programmatic growth,” said Yosuke Maekawa, Country Manager, Japan, Vistar Media. “I’m excited to bring Vistar’s technology, expertise and global marketplace to advertisers and media owners across Japan while helping accelerate the next chapter of growth for the industry.”  

Vistar has also appointed Akinori Inoue as Supply Partnerships Managers, Japan. Inoue will lead Vistar’s efforts to expand publisher and media owner partnerships across the Japanese market.