AFO

What AFO does

A'FO合同会社 (A'FO LLC) is a privately held Japanese digital marketing and advertising company headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, with a branch office in Fukuoka (Hakata). Founded in August 2015 by representative director Kashihara Takatsugu (柏原 誉嗣雄), the company operates four service lines: (1) advertising operations agency services covering Google/Yahoo! search ads, SNS advertising, and display ads with daily data-driven optimization from monthly budgets of tens of thousands of yen; (2) the REVERSE suite of performance-based services including REVERSE Affiliate (ASP platform), REVERSE NOW (SMS/email form abandonment recovery), and REVERSE AFTER (multi-channel dormant customer re-engagement); (3) SmartCall, an AI-powered 24/7 automated phone answering service with vertical-specific variants for retail, chiropractic, dental, restaurant, office, D2C e-commerce, and salon businesses; and (4) MEO (Map Engine Optimization) services targeting top-3 Google Business Profile rankings for physical stores.

The underlying technology stack combines third-party AI voice and text processing for SmartCall, SMS/email automation infrastructure for REVERSE NOW/AFTER, Google Business Profile optimization tooling for MEO, and standard ad-platform integrations (Google Ads, Yahoo Japan Ads, social ad APIs) for advertising operations. The SmartCall AI is the most technology-intensive product, providing automated reservation handling, inquiry response, and call routing without human staffing. The REVERSE suite functions as a multi-channel marketing automation and affiliate network platform.

AFO's revenue model combines subscription/recurring fees (advertising operations retainers, SmartCall, MEO) with transaction/performance fees (成果報酬型) across the REVERSE suite. The company employs a sales-led GTM, handling inquiries through corporate forms, phone (03-6869-1195), and email, with service-specific landing pages for each offering. Customers are distributed across Japanese SMBs, retail/store businesses, medical/healthcare providers, and select large enterprise clients. The company is bootstrapped with ¥5 million registered capital, no disclosed institutional investors, and operates from leased office space in Tokyo and Fukuoka.

Name

AFO

Legal name

A'FO合同会社

Website

https://a-fo.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

A'FO合同会社 is a privately held Japanese digital marketing firm offering advertising operations, an AI-powered phone answering service (SmartCall), performance-based recovery and affiliate services (REVERSE), and Google Business Profile optimization (MEO) to SMBs, retail stores, healthcare providers, and enterprise clients across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising Agencies (54181), Media Buying Agencies (54183)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Services (BPAFAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Marketing Automation & Campaign Management CRM (HDAEAFAB)

Keywords

• Digital advertising services
• AI call automation
• Performance marketing
• Local SEO services
• Search advertising agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising Agency Services (広告運用代行): Full-service digital advertising operations including search ads (Google/Yahoo!), social media ads, and display advertising. Provides strategic planning and daily optimization with performance measurement.
2. AI Call System (AIコール): AI-powered telephone automation service for businesses. Revenue likely generated through subscription or usage-based pricing for 24/7 automated call handling.
3. MEO Services (MAP上位表示): Local search optimization service for Google Business Profile to achieve top 3 map rankings and drive foot traffic to physical stores.
4. REVERSE Services (成果報酬型): Performance-based services including affiliate marketing, form abandonment recovery (REVERSE NOW), and dormant customer re-engagement (REVERSE AFTER). Revenue generated on成果報酬 (results/performance) basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AFO is a Japanese digital marketing agency that sells advertising operations management (search, social, and display ads), an AI-powered 24/7 phone automation system (SmartCall), performance-based REVERSE marketing services (affiliate, form abandonment, and dormant customer re-engagement), and Google Business Profile (MEO) optimization for local store businesses. Its offering targets Japanese SMBs through enterprise clients seeking data-driven, outcome-aligned marketing across customer acquisition and retention touchpoints.

Product overview

AFO operates a multi-service digital marketing and AI solutions portfolio consisting of: (1) advertising agency services offering search, social, and display advertising with data optimization; (2) SmartCall AI phone system with vertical-specific variants for retail, chiropractic, dental, restaurant, office, e-commerce, and salon businesses; (3) REVERSE affiliate and re-engagement services including cart abandonment recovery (NOW) and dormant customer re-acquisition (AFTER); and (4) MEO services for local business map visibility. The company positions these services as integrated touchpoint optimization spanning customer acquisition through conversion and retention.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• REVERSE: A performance-based (成果報酬型) affiliate and re-engagement service platform, including REVERSE Affiliate (affiliate ASP), REVERSE NOW (form abandonment recovery via SMS/email), and REVERSE AFTER (dormant customer re-acquisition via multi-channel outreach).
• SmartCall

Products and services

• Advertising Agency Services (広告運用代行事業) Full-service digital advertising agency offering search ads (Google/Yahoo!), SNS advertising, and display ads with systematic data-driven optimization. Plans and daily ad operations are executed from monthly budgets starting at several tens of thousands of yen for SMBs through large enterprise projects.
• SmartCall AI Call System (AIコール) AI-powered 24/7 phone answering service that automates reservation acceptance, customer inquiries, and call routing for retail businesses. Includes vertical-specific variants for stores, chiropractic clinics, dental clinics, restaurants, offices, D2C e-commerce, and salons, reducing staffing burden and capturing after-hours leads.
• REVERSE Affiliate Affiliate ASP platform connecting clients with web, app, and influencer media partners to drive performance-based customer acquisition and conversions on a results (成果報酬) basis.
• REVERSE NOW Results-based form abandonment recovery service that sends SMS and email reminders to users who abandoned purchase or signup forms, prompting them to resume input and complete conversions on a performance-pricing basis.
• REVERSE AFTER Dormant customer re-acquisition service combining SMS, HTML email, phone, direct mail, and chatbot outreach to reconnect with past service users, mid-funnel dropouts, and incomplete sign-ups on a performance-pricing basis.
• MEO Services (Map Engine Optimization) Google Business Profile optimization service targeting top-3 rankings in Google search and Google Maps results via keyword selection, article posting, review monitoring, and ongoing GBP operations, designed to drive foot traffic to physical store businesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• MEO services target top 3 Google Business Profile rankings
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu: Global advertising holding company with deep Japan operations; competes with AFO on enterprise digital campaigns and represents the dominant incumbent in the same broad category.
• HAKUHODO: Japan's second-largest advertising agency, providing full-service digital and traditional advertising; overlaps with AFO's advertising operations across the broader Japanese advertising landscape.

Direct peers

• Septeni Holdings (Digital Holdings): Japanese digital advertising and marketing group offering paid-media operations, creative, and performance marketing — directly comparable to AFO's advertising operations and REVERSE-style performance services.
• ADWAYS: Japanese digital marketing company operating affiliate networks, app advertising, and performance-based services; comparable to AFO's REVERSE Affiliate offering and SMB advertiser focus.
• IRIS Inc. Japanese digital marketing agency providing SEO, paid ads, content, and creative services to SMBs and mid-market clients; comparable in customer segment and full-service digital offering to AFO.
• VALUE COMMERCE: Japan-listed affiliate marketing and digital advertising platform; comparable to AFO's REVERSE affiliate and performance-based services in operating model and advertiser focus.
• FAN Communications (A8.net): Operator of A8.net, Japan's largest affiliate ASP, directly comparable to AFO's REVERSE Affiliate service in business model and target customers.
• IVRy: Japanese AI telephone answering service for SMBs and clinics; the most direct competitor to AFO's SmartCall AI call product, with a similar SMB/clinic customer profile and 24/7 automated call handling positioning.
• GMO AD Partners: Japan-listed digital advertising agency offering search, display, affiliate, and performance marketing through GMO group infrastructure; comparable scope to AFO across paid media and affiliate channels.

Emerging players

• Repro: Japan-based marketing automation and customer engagement platform; comparable to AFO's REVERSE suite in re-engagement and CRM-style automation for digital customer bases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AFO