Marketing & Associates Co.

What Marketing & Associates Co. does

Marketing & Associates Co. (株式会社マーケティングアンドアソシェイツ, "M&A") is a Tokyo-based, privately held marketing research firm founded on May 2, 1975, that provides end-to-end custom research services to Japanese corporate clients. The company serves three primary customer segments: corporate marketing and product development departments, advertising agencies, and individual planners/consultants — with an enterprise-tilted horizontal segmentation approach. It executes more than 1,000 research projects per year, each managed by a single dedicated researcher from study design through final report, and holds a JIPDEC Privacy Mark certification (since July 2006) for personal-data handling.

The firm's service portfolio spans 12 core research methodologies (interview, street, CLT, HUT, exit, postal, event, web, face-to-face surveys, data aggregation, multivariate analytics, and graph/report creation) plus a distinctive workshop-based methodology called FaciliSearch (ファシリサーチ) that combines pre- and post-research workshops with survey execution. Underlying these services is a proprietary technology stack developed continuously since 1986 — the M&A Aggregation System (1986, upgraded 1998), the M&A Research Quick Delivery System and Network (1987), and the M&A Graph System (2002) — which internalize data processing, tabulation, and report generation. In 2026 the company also began publishing its own syndicated research report ("System Construction Market 2026").

The business model is project-based professional services revenue, priced per project on a unit basis that scales with sample size and methodology (e.g., web surveys from ¥600,000 for 100 respondents to ¥1.3M+ for 1,000; face-to-face surveys from ¥1.2M to ¥9M). Distribution is direct consultative sales targeting enterprise clients, with nationwide Japanese coverage (including Kansai/western Japan) achieved through a partner network rather than owned offices — partners include MR Business, Ideation, Asmarq, Cross-Marketing, Macromill, and Rakuten Insight. The company has 62 employees, ¥10M in registered capital, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed external funding.

Name

Marketing & Associates Co.

Legal name

株式会社マーケティングアンドアソシェイツ

Website

https://mxa.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Marketing & Associates Co. is a Tokyo-based, private marketing research firm (founded 1975) that delivers end-to-end custom qualitative and quantitative research services — using 12+ methodologies and proprietary data processing systems — to Japanese corporate marketing departments, advertising agencies, and consultants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Market Research, Analytics & Consumer Insights (BPAFAAAM), Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

Keywords

• Marketing research services
• Consumer survey research
• Market data aggregation
• Multivariate statistical analysis
• Qualitative and quantitative research

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Research Professional Services: Full-service marketing research firm offering quantitative and qualitative research services including survey design, field execution, data aggregation, analysis, and report creation. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees, with pricing varying by survey method, sample size, and scope of work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Marketing & Associates Co. is a 50-year-old Japanese marketing research firm that designs, executes, and analyzes qualitative and quantitative surveys across multiple methodologies, including internet, street, central location (CLT), home use (HUT), postal, face-to-face, and group/personal interview formats. The firm provides end-to-end research services from questionnaire design and fieldwork through data aggregation, multivariate statistical analysis, and graph and report creation, with one dedicated researcher assigned per project from start to finish.

Product overview

Marketing & Associates Co. (株式会社マーケティングアンドアソシェイツ) is a marketing research consultancy offering a structured portfolio of qualitative and quantitative research services. The core offering spans 12 primary research service types: interview surveys (group and personal), street surveys, CLT (central location tests), HUT (home use tests), exit surveys, postal surveys, event surveys, internet/web surveys, and face-to-face surveys. These are supported by data aggregation, advanced analytics (multivariate analyses), and graph & report creation capabilities. The company also delivers specialized solutions including web survey coordination, POS data analytics, urgent survey support, outsourced survey operations, survey design, data entry, and dedicated graph/report production. The firm operates a distinctive workshop-based methodology called "FaciliSearch (ファシリサーチ)" that combines pre-research and post-research workshops with standard survey execution to improve research quality and strategic outcomes. Each research engagement is handled by a single dedicated professional from study design through final reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ファシリサーチ: ワークショップからはじめる調査サービス。対話と調査で生産性向上を支援する独自メソッド。

Products and services

• Internet/Web Survey Quantitative online consumer survey service covering questionnaire design, panel recruitment, response collection, and basic tabulation; used by corporate marketing departments and agencies for consumer insight, segmentation, and tracking studies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ years operating as a marketing research specialist firm
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• 中央大学理工学部 酒折文武 准教授 (Associate Professor Sakaori Fumitake, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Academic advisory partnership with Chuo University Faculty of Science and Engineering. Professor Sakaori specializes in mathematics and provides academic advisory support to the company since October 2019.
• 株式会社MRビジネス (MR Business)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTraditional research company based in Osaka, providing fieldwork support for surveys in Kansai region and western Japan.
• 株式会社アイディエーション (Ideation)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorQualitative research company with many young moderators, collaborating on qualitative research projects.
• 株式会社アスマーク (Asmarq)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternet research company with strong recruiting capabilities for panel respondents (CLT, group interviews). Provides panel recruitment services.
• 株式会社クロス・マーケティング (Cross-Marketing)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternet research company with strong track record in commissioned internet research, high-quality screen creation, and support for complex survey setups.
• 株式会社マクロミル (Macromill)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarket share No.1 internet marketing research company in Japan, providing high-quality and rapid market research services.
• 楽天インサイト株式会社 (Rakuten Insight)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRakuten Group company operating the largest panel in the industry with approximately 2.2 million monitors. Provides low-incidence target research and big data analysis leveraging Rakuten Group data.
• 有限会社フォーユープランニング (For U Planning)minorOthersWebsite design company based in Gunma Prefecture, serving Kanto-north area (Tochigi, Ibaraki) and Saitama/Tokyo. Created the company's official website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos Japan: Global market research and consulting firm with a Japan office, offering qualitative, quantitative, and social intelligence research. Comparable on mixed-method research and analytics services.
• GfK Japan: Global market research firm with a Japan practice covering consumer durables, retail, and technology research. Comparable on custom research methodologies and multinational client mandates.
• Kantar Japan: Global research and insights consultancy with operations in Japan covering brand, advertising, and consumer research. Comparable on advanced analytics, brand tracking, and shopper insights.
• Nielsen Japan: Global measurement and data analytics firm with a strong Japan presence across consumer and retail research. Comparable on enterprise-scale consumer insights and analytics engagements.
• Intage: Japan's largest domestic market research firm, offering consumer panel, retail audit, and custom research across a much broader portfolio. Comparable on full-service custom research and frequently bid against for enterprise Japanese clients.
• Video Research: Established Japanese media and marketing research firm known for TV audience ratings and broader consumer research. Overlaps with Marketing & Associates on survey and consumer insight work for advertisers and agencies.

Direct peers

• Macromill: Japan's largest internet-based market research firm, offering online panel research, global research, and marketing solutions. Directly comparable to Marketing & Associates for survey-based research work and is also a named subcontracting partner.
• Asmarq: Japanese internet research firm specializing in panel recruitment for CLT and group interviews. A named partner of Marketing & Associates and a direct competitor for online sample and fieldwork work.
• Cross Marketing: Tokyo-headquartered marketing research firm with strong internet research capabilities and complex survey design. A named partner of Marketing & Associates and a direct competitor for online research engagements.
• Rakuten Insight: Rakuten Group's research arm operating the largest consumer panel in Japan (~2.2M monitors). Competes in the same survey-based research space and is also a panel supplier to Marketing & Associates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

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 Marketing & Associates Co.