Osaka Metro Adera

What Osaka Metro Adera does

Osaka Metro Adera Co., Ltd. (ADERA) is the dedicated advertising subsidiary of Osaka Metro Group, operating as the exclusive house agency for transit media across the Osaka Metro rail network (133 stations), Osaka City Bus vehicles, and related out-of-home inventory. Founded in 2021 via a spin-off from Osaka Metro Service, the company sells digital signage (including the Guinness World Record-holding Umeda Arch Vision), train media (posters, window stickers, full-train takeovers), station billboards, bus wrapping, and taxi advertising to corporate advertisers, agencies, and government/tourism clients.

The company's core technology stack is the Osaka Metro DOOH Ads Platform — a programmatic digital OOH platform built with Flywheel — which supports weekly-updated audience data, CPM-based demographic targeting, and impression-based delivery reporting across the 249-screen Network Vision and 14 key stations. The platform integrates with the LIVE BOARD SSP for marketplace distribution and is layered with an in-house attention measurement framework (co-developed with Perion Japan) that combines VR eye-tracking, Vision Transformer-based saliency analysis, and memorability models to produce the APM (Attention Per Mille) metric.

ADERA generates revenue through quote-based direct advertising sales across multiple media formats, programmatic DOOH transactions on the Osaka Metro DOOH Ads Platform, and the Osaka JOINER inbound-tourism guide and consulting service launched in March 2024. The company also bundles cross-channel packages combining DOOH with audio (via Otonal/Spotify/radiko), metaverse (via Admix), TikTok, LINE, and QR-driven conversion. Operations are headquartered in Osaka with a Tokyo regional office serving the Kanto market, and the company is governed as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Osaka City Rapid Railway (Osaka Metro Group).

Name

Osaka Metro Adera

Legal name

株式会社 大阪メトロ アドエラ

Website

https://osakametro-adera.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Osaka Metro Adera (ADERA) is the exclusive advertising subsidiary of Osaka Metro Group, selling digital signage, train, station, bus, and programmatic DOOH media across Osaka's transit network and operating the Osaka JOINER inbound-tourism guide service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Transit and Out-of-Home Advertising

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Transit Advertising (Bus, Rail, Subway, Taxi, Airport Transit) (BPAFALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Out-of-Home (OOH), DOOH & Ambient Advertising (BPAFAAAI), Static Billboards & Posters (Roadside, Wallscapes) (BPAFALAA), Mobile OOH Advertising (Vehicle Wraps, Mobile Billboards) (MPAAAKAG)

Keywords

• Transit advertising
• Digital out-of-home
• Programmatic DOOH
• Station media advertising
• Inbound tourism services

Headquarters

HQ city

Osaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Digital Signage Advertising: Revenue from digital signage advertising at Osaka Metro stations, including the Umeda Arch Vision (4m x 40m screen recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest underground digital signage) and network-wide digital screens.
2. Train Media Advertising: Revenue from in-train advertising including overhead posters, door-side posters, window stickers, and full train takeovers across Osaka Metro lines.
3. Station Media Advertising: Revenue from station advertising including walkway wall displays, multi-station postings, and billboard advertising with long-term placement options.
4. Bus & Taxi Advertising: Revenue from Osaka City Bus vehicle interior and exterior advertising, including vehicle wrapping.
5. Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH): Revenue from programmatic digital OOH advertising via the Osaka Metro DOOH Ads Platform, enabling CPM-based targeting delivery with weekly-updated audience data.
6. Osaka JOINER (Inbound Tourism): Revenue from the Osaka JOINER local guide and experience service targeting inbound tourists, providing guided tours, consulting services, and promotional support for local businesses and government entities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Osaka Metro Adera (ADERA) is the dedicated advertising subsidiary of Osaka Metro Group, selling out-of-home (OOH) and digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising inventory across the Osaka Metro subway and Osaka City Bus networks. It monetizes digital signage (249 screens across 14 major stations including the Guinness-certified Umeda Arch Vision), in-train media, station billboards, bus and taxi media, and a programmatic DOOH platform. The company also operates Osaka JOINER, an inbound local-guide tourism service.

Product overview

Osaka Metro Adera (ADERA) operates as the advertising subsidiary of Osaka Metro Group, offering a comprehensive OOH (out-of-home) and DOOH (digital out-of-home) media portfolio. Its core media products include the Osaka Metro Network Vision digital signage (249 screens across 14 stations), train media (hanging posters, door-side, window stickers), station media (billboards), and bus media. These are supported by the Osaka Metro DOOH Ads Platform — a programmatic DOOH platform built on Flywheel data solutions that enables weekly-updated audience data, CPM-based demographic targeting, and delivery reporting. The company extends its offering with specialized sub-products including flat naked-eye 3D advertising, pDOOH × voice advertising (via Otonal), In-Play/metaverse advertising (via Admix), LINE Touch integrated ads, TikTok anime packages, and CGI/surreal OOH content. The product portfolio also encompasses AI-powered OOH attention measurement services (VR eye-tracking, saliency analysis, memorability models), VR eye-tracking research, QR code digital signage, and the Osaka JOINER inbound guide service. The company is also active in OOH measurement standardization through the Digital Signage Consortium and publishes the Osaka Metro MEDIA GUIDE annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Osaka Metro Network Vision (Digital Signage) Network of 249 digital screens across 14 major Osaka Metro stations, including the Umeda Arch Vision (4m x 40m). Sold to corporate advertisers and agencies for network-wide reach or single-station full-jack campaigns.
• Train Media (In-Train Advertising) In-train advertising including hanging posters, door-side posters, window stickers, full-train jack of the Midōsuji Line (10-car formation), and car-body wrapping, sold to advertisers seeking commuter reach.
• Station Media (Station Billboard Advertising) Billboard and large-format display advertising along station passage walls, with multi-station deployment options and single-unit posters, enabling long-duration visibility campaigns.
• Bus & Taxi Media Advertising Advertising on Osaka City Bus vehicles, both interior and exterior, including vehicle wrapping. Supports route-based targeting for regional coverage.
• Osaka Metro DOOH Ads Platform (Programmatic DOOH / pDOOH) Data-driven programmatic DOOH advertising platform enabling CPM-based demographic targeting, weekly-updated audience data, flexible creative delivery, and delivery reporting. Connected to LIVE BOARD Marketplace via SSP integration.
• OOH Attention Measurement Service AI-powered OOH advertising quality measurement using VR eye-tracking, saliency analysis, memorability models, and Vision Transformer-based computer vision. Provides APM (Attention Per Mille), memory retention rates, and cross-environment comparison data.
• Osaka JOINER Inbound Guide Service Inbound tourism service providing local guided tours, consulting services, and promotional support for local governments, tourism businesses, and inbound visitors, targeting Western tourists.
• QR Code Digital Signage Advertising QR code-enabled digital signage advertising that connects offline OOH exposure to online content, AR experiences, and conversion tracking on station screens.
• Osaka Metro MEDIA GUIDE Annual downloadable media guide documenting Osaka Metro advertising inventory, formats, pricing references, and specifications for advertiser evaluation.

Quantifiable outcome

• APM (Attention Per Mille) showed strong positive correlation with memory retention rates (r=0.45-0.88), supporting the use of attention metrics as KPIs for brand recall.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability10 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Perion JapancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Perion Japan and Osaka Metro Adera, serving as secretariat for the OOH Audience Measurement Standardization Study Working Group of the Digital Signage Consortium, conducted an empirical experiment comparing advertising attention and memory retention rates across four different OOH environments. Perion Japan provides the OOHAI attention measurement technology, AI modeling, and serves as working group secretariat. Results are being used to support the DSC's 'OOH Attention Measurement Guidelines (Draft).'
• Estee Corporation (エステー株式会社)minorOthers · 31 March 2026Estee Corporation provided product creatives (Mushudazu and Shoshoryoku brands) for the OOH attention and memory retention experiment conducted by Osaka Metro Adera and Perion Japan. Their brands were used to compare creative effectiveness across station, in-train, outdoor, and living room TV environments.
• Dentsu (株式会社電通)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2024Joint research partnership with Dentsu and other industry partners on attention measurement for OOH advertising. The project used VR eye-tracking, neuroscience, ML, AI, and generative AI to analyze advertising effectiveness beyond traditional survey-based methods.
• Hakuhodo DY Media Partners (株式会社博報堂DYメディアパートナーズ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2024Joint research partner in the OOH attention measurement research project. Contributed to the study of saliency (visual prominence) and its impact on advertising attention, along with Dentsu, Hivestack Japan, Path Communications, and the Japan Advertising Associations Association.
• LIVE BOARDcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2022LIVE BOARD SSP (Supply-Side Platform) integration connects Osaka Metro's 249 digital screens (Osaka Metro Network Vision) to the LIVE BOARD Marketplace, enabling programmatic DOOH ad delivery. This enables audience data-based flexible delivery and impression-based sales, with expanded sales channels through LIVE BOARD DSP connections.
• Otonal (オトナル)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 July 2022Partnership to provide combined 'pDOOH × Voice Advertising' solutions integrating Osaka Metro's programmatic DOOH with digital audio advertising on Spotify, radiko, and YouTube Music. Enables cross-channel campaigns targeting commuters using both visual and audio channels.
• AdmixminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2022Partnership for In-Play advertising combining real-world DOOH with virtual world/game advertising. Admix provides programmatic DOOH advertising from Osaka Metro combined with In-Play ads in games and virtual worlds, offering viewability, brand safety, and international-standard measurement.
• Flywhee (フライウィール)coreTechnology or Integration · 19 May 2021Flywhee was partnered with to build the 'Osaka Metro DOOH Ads Platform' — a data-driven programmatic DOOH advertising platform. Flywhee provides data infrastructure, dashboard construction, and system integration expertise enabling weekly-updated audience data-based ad planning and CPM-based targeting.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Place Exchange: Independent programmatic DOOH SSP operating in North America and expanding internationally. Comparable in providing supply-side programmatic infrastructure for OOH media owners.
• LIVE BOARD: Japan's leading programmatic DOOH marketplace/SSP. Operates the same DOOH trading infrastructure that ADERA connects into via its SSP integration, making it both a partner and the dominant competitive platform for programmatic OOH budgets in Japan.
• Hivestack: Programmatic DOOH demand-side platform with Japan operations. Participated in ADERA's attention-measurement research and competes for the same advertiser-side pDOOH wallet.
• JR East Marketing & Communications (jeki): Advertising subsidiary of JR East Group, monetizing transit media across the largest rail network in the Kanto region. Direct competitor for transit-OOH advertiser budgets at national scale.
• Tokyo Metro (advertising operations / Metro Ad Agency): Operates subway advertising inside Tokyo Metro stations and trains. Closest comparable to ADERA in terms of business model (transit OOH/DOOH monetization via in-house sales arm) but in a different (Tokyo) geography.
• Vistar Media: Global programmatic DOOH supply-side platform. Direct technology competitor in pDOOH infrastructure and SSP services that ADERA both partners with and competes against for cross-market programmatic deals.
• Hankyu Hanshin Advertising: Advertising arm of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, monetizing Kansai-area rail and bus media. Regional transit-OOH peer competing for the same Osaka-based advertisers as ADERA.

Emerging players

• Admix: In-Play/metaverse advertising partner of ADERA. Adjacent emerging player extending OOH campaigns into virtual worlds — comparable in exploring cross-reality ad inventory, though on a very different medium.

Broad incumbents

• Hakuhodo DY Holdings: Second-largest Japanese advertising agency group and ADERA's research collaborator. Acts as a major agency-side intermediary that buys transit-OOH inventory on behalf of clients across multiple media owners.
• Dentsu: Japan's largest advertising agency group and joint research partner with ADERA on OOH attention measurement. Represents both an upstream buyer of ADERA's inventory and a broad incumbent that bundles OOH into full-service campaigns.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=-OD1zRfzWDs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/osaka-metro-adera-co-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Osaka Metro Adera