Sun-Ad Co.

What Sun-Ad Co. does

Sun-Ad Co., Ltd. (株式会社サン・アド) is a privately held, full-service Japanese advertising agency founded in September 1976 and headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, with 46 years of operating history. The company operates three integrated service pillars: Paper Media Solutions (newspaper ads, flyers, direct mail, and free-paper advertising), Sales Promotion Solutions (printed promotional goods, catalogs, POP, novelty items), and Web Solutions (SEO, SEM, DSP, social media advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and LINE, plus website and landing page production). Sun-Ad is the exclusive long-standing advertising agency for Sankei Living News media, granting it distribution access to Living Newspaper (6.26M+ copies across 43 areas), City Living (407K+ copies to 27,552 offices across 5 metro areas), Living Web (8M+ monthly PV, 570K+ members), and City Living Web (4.5M+ monthly PV, 450K+ members).

The company serves a dual customer base: local small-to-medium businesses seeking regional customer acquisition through print and digital channels, and large Japanese enterprises (financial services, real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, consumer goods) requiring integrated cross-media campaigns. Customer logos include SMBC Nikko Securities, Daiwa Securities, Nomura Securities, Sony Life Insurance, Tokyo Gas, Mitsui Fudosan, Sekisui House, NTT, and Hoya Corporation. Sun-Ad monetizes through agency commissions on ad placements, project-based production fees for print and digital creative, productized website packages (initial setup from 330,000 yen with monthly retainers of 16,500 yen, minimum 24-month terms), unit-priced SEO diagnostic services (9,900–66,000 yen), and a results-based SEO offering that charges only when target keywords reach top-10 rankings.

Sun-Ad's go-to-market is sales-led, combining direct in-person consultation at its Tokyo headquarters with self-service website inquiry forms. The company operates a wholly-owned production subsidiary, Ad Plan Co., Ltd., spun off in 2010 to specialize in DTP and web production. In 2012, it established a dedicated Web division, and in October 2020, it launched CoCoIta, a proprietary low-cost smartphone advertising display service—the company's first self-developed digital product targeting local SMB customers. Technology infrastructure is conventional: WordPress-based website production, standard SEO/SEM tools, Google Analytics and Search Console for analytics, with no proprietary AI/ML stack disclosed.

Name

Sun-Ad Co.

Legal name

株式会社サン・アド

Website

https://san-ad.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sun-Ad Co. is a 46-year-old Tokyo-based full-service advertising agency offering integrated cross-media campaigns across print, digital, and promotional goods for Japanese SMBs and large enterprises, with exclusive agency rights to Sankei Living News media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising Agency Commissions: Core revenue from acting as a comprehensive advertising agency, placing ads across newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, internet, and various print media. Commissions are earned on ad placements for clients across Living newspapers, City Living publications, and other media channels.
2. Print Production Services (DTP): Design and production of printed materials including flyers, catalogs, DM, posters, and logos as part of advertising agency services.
3. Web Design and Production: Website production, banner design, and landing page creation services. Includes responsive website packages with monthly management fees.
4. Web Promotion and Digital Marketing: Digital advertising services including SEM, SEO, social media ads (Facebook, Instagram, LINE), DSP, newsletter ads, and press release distribution.
5. Homepage Diagnostic and Analysis Services: SEO diagnostic services and homepage analysis services offered as one-time or package diagnostics, with ongoing analysis and improvement proposals.
6. Website Hosting and Maintenance: Monthly website management fees for WordPress-based sites, including operational support and content updates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sun-Ad Co. is a Japanese integrated advertising agency offering cross-media promotional services spanning paper media (newspapers, flyers, direct mail, magazines), sales promotion materials, and digital/web solutions including SEO, SEM, social media advertising, and website production. The firm holds representation rights for the Sankei Living media family (Living Newspaper, Living Web, City Living, City Living Web) and operates its proprietary mobile advertising service CoCoIta (ココイタ), which delivers geo-targeted smartphone ads verified by in-store receipt data.

Product overview

Sun-Ad Co. is a comprehensive advertising agency offering a multi-channel marketing platform under three core service pillars: Paper Media Solutions (newspaper, flyer, DM, free papers), Sales Promotion Solutions (printed promotional goods), and Web Solutions (SEO, SEM, social media advertising, website/lp production). The company also developed its own original product — the smartphone advertising display service 「ココイタ」(CoCoIta), launched in 2020. Sun-Ad acts as a long-standing advertising agent (40+ years) for the Sankeiliving Shimbunsha media network, representing publications such as リビング新聞 (Living Shimbun, ~6.26M copies nationwide), リビングWeb (Living Web, ~800K monthly PV), シティリビング (City Living, ~408K copies to offices), and シティリビングWeb (City Living Web, ~450K monthly PV), which it uses to offer cross-media promotion combining print and digital advertising to local and national clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Paper Media Solutions (紙媒体ソリューション)

Quantifiable outcome

• Living Newspaper achieves high readership rates with government public notices published; City Living shows 90% reader response rate (2016 survey)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ad Plan Co., Ltd. (株式会社アドプラン)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Production department was spun off as Ad Plan Co., Ltd. in January 2010 to specialize in DTP design and web production. Located at the same address as Sun-Ad (1F Lumiere Ochanomizu, 2-23 Kanda Awajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo). Provides design services including flyers, catalogs, DM, posters, logos, and web design/banners. This is a group company spun off from Sun-Ad for production specialization.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/c7wluykzfpdukfz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 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 Sun-Ad Co.