MADS
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersShibuya, Japan
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
MADS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MADS
- Legal name
- 株式会社MADS
- Website
- https://mads.co.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MADS industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising
- NAICS
- Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185), Advertising Agencies (54181), Media Buying Agencies (541830)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising (MPAAAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Screens & Networks (BPAFALAB), Out-of-Home (OOH) Media Buying (Billboards, Transit, DOOH) (BPAFABAE), Transit & Transport OOH Advertising (Bus, Rail, Airport) (MPAAAKAC)
Keywords
Where MADS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Shibuya
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
MADS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Digital OOH Advertising Network: MADS operates a digital out-of-home advertising network spanning drugstores, supermarkets, beauty salons, taxis, elevators, sports gyms, restrooms, and outdoor media. Advertisers purchase ad placements across this network, with pricing based on impressions, duration, and location. The company offers both reserved (reservation-based) and programmatic (real-time bidding) ad delivery.
- MONOLITHS CMS / Media Monetization Services: MADS provides CMS and advertising monetization solutions to location owners (retailers, media owners). They help stores and facilities digitize their signage infrastructure and monetize available ad inventory through the MONOLITHS platform, taking a platform/management fee or revenue share.
- Mass Communication / Marketing Support: MADS expanded beyond pure DOOH to offer integrated marketing support combining TVCM, SNS, PR, and OOH. This includes supporting advertisers with cross-media planning and buying, including traditional mass media, in partnership with top advertising agencies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Sugi Pharmacy in-store signage: from ¥500,000 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Inbound tourist drugstore signage: from ¥1,800,000 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Talent licensing package (Skettt): from ¥5,000,000 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Famitsu game content restroom signage: ¥4,000,000 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | TikTok × retail media package: from ¥3,000,000 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | LIVE BOARD × MADS cross-network package: from ¥3,000,000 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | ITUKA TikTok × retail media creative testing package: from ¥3,000,000 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
MADS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MADS operates Japan's largest digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising network spanning more than 50,000 displays across drugstores, supermarkets, beauty salons, taxis, elevators, restrooms, and outdoor media. The company sells ad placements to consumer goods brands, pharmaceutical companies, and other advertisers, and provides its proprietary MONOLITHS content management system (CMS) to retailers and media owners for managing conditional ad delivery by time, location, day of week, and weather.
Product overview
MADS（株式会社MADS）は、日本最大級の運用型デジタルOOOH（Digital Out of Home）广告ネットワーク事業者。主力CMS・広告配信プラットフォーム「MONOLITHS（モノリス）」を中心に、全国5万ディスプレイ超の生活動線上サイクリネージ・タブレットを网络化し、广告・コンテンツをリアルタイムに一元管理・配信する。主なメディアネットワークには、ドラッグストア（约3,900万人/月・ウエルシア中心）、スーパー（约3,800万人/月）、美容 salon（约170万人/月）向け「OCTAVE（オクターヴ）」、出租车（约770万人/月・GROWTH/TokyoPrime）、個室厕所「toiv（トイビー）」、大型屋外ビジョン（新宿・渋谷・名古屋）等を含む。MONOLITHSのオプションとして店铺侧個別配信対応の「MONOLITHS Plus」、Sony製ブラビア接続の「MONOLITHS for BRAVIA」を提供する他、广告効果測定・POS分析・クリエイティブ制作・体験型プロモーションなどの付随サービスを提供。DSP/SSP平台（京王DSP/SSP・OneGATE・LIVE BOARD）との接続により програмマティックOOOHを実現し、电视CM・TikTok・屋外广告などオンラインメディアとオフラインリテールメディアを統合したクロスメディア戦略を支援する。
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OCTAVE: Beauty salon-specific tablet-based interactive digital signage service providing entertainment video content and advertising to salon customers during their visits.
- MONOLITHS
- MONOLITHS Plus
Products and services
- MONOLITHS Proprietary content management system (CMS) for managing digital out-of-home advertising delivery. Networks drugstore, supermarket, beauty salon, taxi, restroom, and outdoor digital signage nationwide, and lets advertisers set ad-delivery conditions by location, time of day, day of week, and weather, then distributes creative in real time across the network.
- OCTAVE by MADS Interactive tablet-based digital signage media installed at beauty-salon stations. Customers use the tablets to view ABEMA and other video content during an approximately 90-minute visit, while MADS delivers advertising and product sampling. Network exceeded 2,000 stores in October 2024.
- toiv (Restroom digital signage) Restroom-indoor digital signage media for amusement facilities (pachinko/slot halls) and restaurants. Approximately 550 screens across 70 venues at launch, enabling operationally managed ad delivery via MONOLITHS in a captive ~2-minute dwell environment.
- Drugstore digital signage advertising network In-store digital signage advertising across ~3,200 drugstore locations led by Welcia and including Sugi Pharmacy, Create SD, and others. Supports programmatic ad delivery via MONOLITHS and effectiveness measurement via POS data correlation; cited as effective for unplanned and reminder purchases.
- Taxi digital signage advertising (TokyoPrime / GROWTH) One of Tokyo's largest taxi digital signage networks, centered on GROWTH and including TokyoPrime, reaching approximately 7.7 million monthly viewers in business-district populations. Supports programmatic delivery and day-of-week / time-of-day targeting.
- MONOLITHS for BRAVIA (SoC digital signage) STB-less digital signage using Sony BRAVIA commercial displays (SoC type) with MONOLITHS connected directly, eliminating external set-top boxes to reduce power consumption, hardware cost, and installation space while enabling cloud-based content management.
- Sento / bathhouse digital signage (ふろまど) Japan's first sento (public bathhouse) specialized digital signage media, operated in partnership with SENSE. Currently deployed at 55 sento facilities reaching 600,000+ consumers in a relaxed dwell environment as a complement to traditional in-store signage.
- Nagoya Scramble × Vision 3D billboard Nagoya's first 3D-capable digital billboard operated on the MONOLITHS CMS for programmatic and reserved ad delivery, located near Nagoya Station.
- Retail media advertising effectiveness measurement and POS analysis service Effectiveness measurement service for retail media campaigns. Combines brand-awareness/attitude change surveys (outsourced to research firms) with POS sales data correlation from drugstore and supermarket partners to verify sales impact, then feeds insights back into delivery planning on a daily/time-band basis.
- Advertising creative production service End-to-end creative production service for advertisers on the MADS network, covering static and video creative proposals tailored to delivery location and target, including ABEMA-tied video ads for OCTAVE and TikTok influencer-type video creative.
- TVCM × retail media cross-media package
- Experiential promotion (sampling / touch-and-try) service Experiential promotional service that combines OCTAVE or sento/bathhouse signage with sample distribution, touch-and-try events, in-store pop-ups, and collaborations to drive attitude change and brand loyalty for advertisers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Kao Curél new product: 40.5% sales increase in drugstore digital signage campaign
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use MADS
Customer profileNamed customers24 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MADS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration14 records
Feature5 records
MADS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
26 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- Keio Agency (京王エージェンシー)coreMADS connected its MONOLITHS DOOH platform to the Keio DSP/SSP platform, enabling advertisers to programmatically buy ad inventory across MADS's network of retail, beauty salon, taxi, and other digital signage endpoints through the Keio platform. This enhances monetization support for location owners and enables more seamless cross-channel advertising.
- Cambias (株式会社カムビアス)minorCambias features MADS's services on its digital signage-focused media website as a related company, providing additional media coverage and visibility.
- AEON (イオン株式会社)minorAEON participated in a co-hosted webinar discussing the evolution of retail media beyond促销 (promotion) to become 'reach media' for brand awareness, not just point-of-sale activation. AEON shared its cross-group retail signage network vision.
- CyberAgent (サイバーエージェント)majorCo-hosted webinars on SNS × retail digital signage cross-media strategy. CyberAgent brings social media promotion capabilities; MADS provides in-store digital signage networks to connect online social buzz with offline retail purchase.
- FinT / ココクリ (FinT株式会社)minorCo-hosted webinar specifically on SNS × supermarket digital signage, focused on food and beverage brands. FinT provides ココクリ short video content service; MADS provides supermarket entrance and in-store digital signage for connecting online food/beverage discovery with in-store purchase.
- Spice Box (スパイスボックス株式会社)minorCo-hosted webinar on influencer casting analysis combined with retail POS data, helping brands identify which influencers drive actual in-store purchases vs. social engagement only.
- Women's (ウーマンズ)minorCo-hosted webinar on women's healthcare market marketing strategies. Women's provides market trend analysis and marketing strategy expertise for female consumers; MADS provides digital OOH targeting capabilities for reaching women in pharmacies and beauty salons.
- GRAND (株式会社GRAND)minorCo-hosted webinar on B2B marketing using GRAND's elevator signage (largest in Tokyo) combined with MADS's taxi signage network to reach office workers and decision-makers.
- FinT / ココクリ (FinT株式会社)minorCo-hosted webinar on SNS × supermarket digital signage strategy. FinT operates ココクリ short-video service for food/beverage brands, combined with MADS's supermarket retail network to connect social media discovery with in-store purchase.
- Store Management Conference 2025 Organizers (店舗経営カンファレンス2025)minorMADS participated in the Store Management Conference 2025, a large-scale event for retail business operators. MADS contributed expertise on store digital transformation and digital signage utilization for store operators.
- Hakuhodo DY ONE (博報堂DY ONE)majorRegular co-hosted seminars and joint solution development. Hakuhodo DY ONE brings extensive retail media expertise and client relationships; MADS provides digital OOH network and MONOLITHS technology. Multiple co-branded webinars on retail strategy and cross-media planning.
- Tokyo Century (東京センチュリー株式会社)majorThree-party partnership with Sony Marketing and Tokyo Century to offer sustainable DX solutions for retail stores. Tokyo Century provides carbon credit-attached leasing for digital signage hardware, Sony provides energy-efficient BRAVIA displays (SoC type), and MADS provides MONOLITHS CMS management, enabling retailers to achieve carbon neutrality goals while modernizing in-store signage.
- Sony Marketing (ソニーマーケティング株式会社)majorPartnership providing Sony BRAVIA commercial displays (SoC type) for MADS's MONOLITHS-powered retail digital signage network. The STB-less design reduces power consumption and hardware costs, supporting MADS's sustainability-focused DX solutions. Available at Welcia pharmacies and other retail locations.
- SENSE / ふろマド (株式会社SENSE)minorふろマド is Japan's first sento (public bath)-specialized digital signage media, operated by SENSE. MADS promotes ふろマド through its website and co-hosted seminars as part of its specialty media network. ふろマド reaches consumers in a relaxed 'off-mode' state, complementing traditional in-store digital signage. Currently deployed at 55 sento facilities with 600K+ reach.
- PPP STUDIO (PPP STUDIO株式会社)coreSubsidiary of TORIHADA, PPP STUDIO manages 1,500+ content creator groups (330M+ total followers). Partnered with MADS to enable influencer co-created content on the OCTAVE beauty salon tablet network, enabling brands to seamlessly reach beauty-conscious consumers from online awareness to in-salon consideration.
- TORIHADA Inc. (株式会社TORIHADA)coreMADS enhanced OCTAVE with TORIHADA's TikTok influencer content integration, allowing advertiser-created TikTok tie-up videos to be displayed on OCTAVE beauty salon tablets. TORIHADA operates the ITUKA short-video marketing service and its subsidiary PPP STUDIO manages 1,500+ creator groups with 330M+ total followers.
- Welcia Yakkyoku (ウエルシア薬局)coreWelcia Yakkyoku is the largest drugstore chain in Japan by sales (¥1.144T/year) and serves as the anchor retail partner in MADS's drugstore digital signage network. MADS operates digital signage in ~1,850 Welcia stores across Japan through its STB-less MONOLITHS for BRAVIA solution.
- PDC (ピーディーシー株式会社)coreMADS entered a capital and business alliance with PDC, which owns the OneGATE digital signage content management platform. The partnership enables cross-network ad delivery: OneGATE-connected displays can now monetize through MADS's ad network, expanding reach for both companies. The alliance also strengthens development capabilities for both partners and enables new DOOH network expansion.
- PDC (ピーディーシー) - OneGATE PlatformcorePDC's OneGATE content management platform integrates with MADS's MONOLITHS, enabling PDC's existing digital signage deployments (commercial facilities, transportation, stores) to participate in MADS's ad network and monetize their display inventory programmatically.
- Meiwa Kousan (明和興産株式会社)minorMONOLITHS deployed on the 'Nagoya Scramble × Vision' 3D display at Comtech Tower near Nagoya Station (111M+ daily passengers). This is Nagoya's first 3D-capable digital billboard, managed through MONOLITHS for programmatic and reserved ad delivery.
- NEL Inc. (NEL株式会社)coreMADS and NEL jointly sell a retail digital signage package combining NEL's osina UGC platform (brand fan content) with MADS's drugstore and supermarket digital signage network (~3,200 stores). osina-generated content proven to drive POS is deployed on MADS's retail network, creating an OMO (Online Merges with Offline) marketing solution.
- Wunderbar / Skettt (株式会社Wunderbar)minorPartnership with Wunderbar's Skettt talent licensing platform to offer celebrity/influencer imagery as an optional add-on for MADS's retail digital signage campaigns. Enables brands to use recognizable talent faces in their digital OOH creative, with credits not required and color/pose compositing available.
- toiv / Toybee (株式会社トイビー)minorMADS connected its MONOLITHS CMS to toiv restroom digital signage media at amusement venues (pachinko/slot halls) across Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama (70 stores, 420 units at launch). Enables programmatic ad delivery on toiv's captive-audience restroom screens.
- Sugi Pharmacy (株式会社スギ薬局)coreMADS connected its MONOLITHS CMS to Sugi Pharmacy's (~1,700 stores, primarily in Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Hokuriku, and Shinshu regions) in-store digital signage system, enabling programmatic ad delivery across approximately 800 Sugi Pharmacy locations. This adds ~16M monthly visitors to the MADS network.
- Major Japanese TV Stations (Television CM)majorMADS expanded beyond pure DOOH to offer integrated TV × retail media packages, purchasing TV spot inventory from major Japanese broadcasters to combine with its digital OOH network. This enables advertisers to run coordinated mass + retail media campaigns.
- LIVE BOARDcoreLIVE BOARD × MADS co-developed a combined outdoor/station area × drugstore retail media advertising package. LIVE BOARD brings outdoor and station OOH networks (using NTT DOCOMO data for programmatic targeting), while MADS provides drugstore in-store digital signage, enabling seamless consumer journey from outdoor awareness to in-store purchase. Joint case studies showed 2.1x store visit rate improvement.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MADS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Broadsign: Provider of DOOH CMS software (Broadsign Platform) used by digital out-of-home network operators worldwide. Closely comparable to MONOLITHS as a CMS/management layer for DOOH networks — same customer profile (DOOH network operators, media owners) and similar feature set (scheduling, conditional delivery, programmatic enablement).
- LIVE BOARD: Japan's leading outdoor and station digital OOH operator, offering programmatic DOOH inventory powered by NTT DOCOMO mobile data. Direct competitor to MADS for digital OOH spend in Japan, with a complementary outdoor focus vs MADS's in-store retail focus. MADS and LIVE BOARD also co-sell bundled outdoor + retail media packages.
Emerging players
- VIOOH: Programmatic DOOH exchange platform connecting buyers and sellers of DOOH inventory globally. Provides SSP/DSP capabilities for DOOH comparable to MADS's integrations with Keio DSP/SSP and OneGATE. Represents the buy-side counterpart that competes for the same programmatic DOOH wallet share.
- Vistar Media: US-headquartered programmatic DOOH platform providing ad serving, inventory management, and audience-based buying for DOOH networks globally. Competes with MADS in the broader DOOH programmatic space and represents the type of global platform that could enter Japan.
- Hivestack: Global programmatic digital OOH (pDOOH) advertising platform. Operates a full-stack supply-side and demand-side solution for buying and selling DOOH inventory programmatically. Competes with MADS's MONOLITHS programmatic capabilities internationally and increasingly in Asia-Pacific markets.
- Place Exchange: Programmatic DOOH SSP focused on the US market, with growing international expansion. Provides supply-side technology for DOOH networks, comparable to MADS's MONOLITHS SSP integration with Keio DSP/SSP. Represents the global competitive set for programmatic DOOH monetization.
Broad incumbents
- Dentsu Group: One of Japan's largest advertising agency groups and a global advertising holding company. Operates across the full advertising value chain (planning, creative, media buying, programmatic). Acts as both a MADS channel partner (Dentsu/DAC) and a broader competitor for integrated retail media budgets.
- Hakuhodo DY Holdings: Japan's second-largest advertising agency group, parent of Hakuhodo, Hakuhodo DY ONE, and others. A frequent MADS co-marketing partner and a competing destination for advertiser budgets. Comparable as a strategic partner/advisor layer above the DOOH network in Japan's ad stack.
- CARTA HOLDINGS: Japanese digital advertising holding company operating multiple digital media and ad-tech businesses including CARTA COMMUNICATIONS, CARTA ZERO, and others. Comparable to MADS as a Japan-based digital advertising platform with both agency and technology components.
- Septeni Holdings (now D2C/DAC Group): Japanese digital advertising services group operating DAC (digital advertising agency), Septeni, and D2C (joint venture with Dentsu). Comparable to MADS in the Japanese digital advertising ecosystem and a potential channel partner or competitor depending on advertiser needs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MADS social profiles
Digital presenceMADS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MADS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
MADS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MADS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MADS
What does MADS do?
MADS operates Japan's largest digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising network spanning more than 50,000 displays across drugstores, supermarkets, beauty salons, taxis, elevators, restrooms, and outdoor media. The company sells ad placements to consumer goods brands, pharmaceutical companies, and other advertisers, and provides its proprietary MONOLITHS content management system (CMS) to retailers and media owners for managing conditional ad delivery by time, location, day of week, and weather.
Is MADS a public or private company?
MADS is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was MADS founded?
MADS was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MADS based?
MADS is headquartered in Shibuya, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does MADS make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Digital OOH Advertising Network is the primary driver. The others are MONOLITHS CMS / Media Monetization Services and mass Communication / Marketing Support.
Who are MADS's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Broadsign and LIVE BOARD. Emerging players are VIOOH, Vistar Media, Hivestack and Place Exchange. Broad incumbents are Dentsu Group, Hakuhodo DY Holdings, CARTA HOLDINGS and Septeni Holdings (now D2C/DAC Group).
Does MADS have an API?
No public API is recorded for MADS.
What industry is MADS in?
MADS's product category is Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAKAB, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising, with a secondary code of BPAFALAB, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Screens & Networks. Its NAICS code is 54185 and its SIC code is 7311.