SUNNY SIDE UP Inc. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Ryu Si-chau; hereinafter referred to as “the Company”), which is responsible for the core business of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc., is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Voicy, Inc. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kentaro Ogata; hereinafter referred to as “Voicy”), which develops and operates an audio platform, as of October 24, 2023 (Tuesday), in order to further expand its brand communication business based on PR ideas.

■Starting “Audio-Based” Influencer Marketing in the Ever-Growing Audio Content Market

With the slogan “Let’s Have Fun!”, we have been providing a variety of brand communication services based on PR ideas to various companies and organizations. In July 2023, we announced the integration of three group companies and established a new Influencer Marketing Division. By appointing Shuzo Ohira, a social media influencer representing Generation Z, as an SNS marketing producer, we are expanding our business into the “Beyond PR” domain, which goes beyond PR, through collaborations with influencers and companies developing other businesses.

On the other hand, Voicy, with its mission of “Creating an exciting society with audio x technology,” is developing and operating “Voicy,” an audio platform with 1.8 million registered members, as well as brand solutions that solve corporate communication issues through audio, planning and production of audio content, planning and operation of audio events, and communication DX tools such as “voice in-house newsletters.” As a leading company in the audio market and voice technology industry, Voicy is creating a future that enriches people’s lives.

The audio content market has grown dramatically in recent years, and the market size, which was 1.6 billion yen in 2020, is estimated to grow to 42 billion yen by 2025. (*1) This is said to be due to the emergence of diversified digital devices and the expansion of the “listening while doing something else” demand, especially among Generation Z, who place importance on “time performance.”

With the diversification of communication methods due to the evolution of smartphones, social media, and AI, the way advertising is done is changing, and it is becoming increasingly important to disseminate information based on “trustworthiness,” rather than simply conveying functional information that companies and organizations want to promote. In particular, information delivered by influential personalities (=influencers), especially information conveyed through audio, is considered to be easy to build trust. Therefore, by making full use of Voicy’s voice technology, which leads the audio industry, and disseminating information using “audio” by the diverse influencers that SUNNY SIDE UP has, we will expand the service area in brand communication and help build the credibility of companies and organizations and create brands that are loved.

*1 Survey by Digital InFact Co., Ltd.

■Focusing on the Uniqueness of Information Received Through the Ears! Strengthening Solutions Using Audio for Companies and Organizations

It is said that “information received through the ears,” including audio content, is more likely to be remembered by “stimulating the imagination” for visual information such as text and images. “Voicy” offers a channel sponsor plan in which personalities call out the names of sponsoring companies in their broadcasts. According to a listener survey conducted in 2022, 95.2% of listeners answered that they remembered the sponsor after six months. It is thought that habitually listening repeatedly while stimulating the imagination leads to memory retention. The survey also found that listeners who listened to the same broadcast with a sponsor call more than four times a week had a higher level of favorability than listeners who listened one to two times a week.

This time, SUNNY SIDE UP is focusing on the uniqueness of information that enters through the “ears.” The method of disseminating information in which a “trusted third party,” a personality, introduces information that companies and organizations want to promote in audio is considered to be one of the information transmission methods suitable for the brand communication of companies that handle products and services for which information is difficult to convey through visual means alone, as it is easy to remain in the ears as objective and favorable information. With this partnership agreement as an opportunity, we will develop effective solutions using audio for a variety of projects.

■Comment from Ryu Si-chau, President and Representative Director of SUNNY SIDE UP Inc.

Voicy is an indispensable part of my daily life, as I listen to it during my morning routine of running, and I realize the characteristics of this medium, that “information from audio is easy to get into my head.” The power of “audio,” which can convey not only the characteristics of products and services but also the thoughts and philosophies of companies, is particularly suitable for companies that develop BtoB services that do not have visualized products, and I feel great potential as one of the new solutions. Please look forward to the new audio communication service that Voicy and SUNNY SIDE UP will co-create to connect companies and society.

■Comment from Kentaro Ogata, President and Representative Director of Voicy, Inc.

I am pleased to be able to start working with SUNNY SIDE UP.

In recent years, when it has become difficult to differentiate products and services in terms of functionality, the criteria for consumers to choose products and services have become whether or not they are close to their own values. For this reason, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to express their thoughts and visions in addition to the features of their services. Because audio focuses on the “voice,” it has the characteristic of being able to easily convey thoughts, visions, and ideas that are difficult to convey through direct advertising. By forming a partnership with SUNNY SIDE UP this time, we hope to become a bridge between companies and consumers by providing a place for communication through audio.

■Overview of Voicy, Inc.

Voicy, Inc. is a leading company in the audio market and voice technology industry. The company is engaged in the development and operation of audio platforms, brand solutions that solve corporate communication issues through audio, planning and production of audio content, planning and operation of audio events, and closed communication services such as voice in-house newsletters. With the mission of “Creating an exciting society with audio x technology,” we are changing the way people and information interact with audio and technology to create a future that enriches people’s lives.

Company name: Voicy, Inc.
Representative: CEO Kentaro Ogata
Established: February 2016
Head office location: 2-17 Minami-Aoyama, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Website: https://corp.voicy.jp/