Release of 'Owned Media Management Agency Chaos Map [2026 Edition]'

Overview of the Release StockSun Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Keisuke Iwano) has released the 'Owned Media Management Agency Chaos Map [2026 Edition]', co-created with Search Rank Pirates, which categorizes 34 companies specializing in owned media management into 6 distinct segments.

This chaos map is provided free of charge as a guiding resource for corporate managers considering outsourcing owned media operations to select the best partner for their needs.

Background: Increasing Difficulty in Choosing Agencies According to the '2024 Japan Advertising Expenditures: Detailed Analysis of Internet Advertising Media Expenditures' by Dentsu, search advertising expenditures in 2024 reached 1.1931 trillion yen, a 111.2% increase from the previous year. Owned media is increasingly being adopted, particularly by mid-sized and large enterprises, as a sustainable customer acquisition model that does not rely on advertising costs.

However, due to the increase in agencies and the complexity of services, the following failures have become common: - Increased costs without growth in search traffic - Inability to internalize know-how due to over-reliance on agencies - Poor content quality due to lack of SEO knowledge by the staff - Content published that conflicts with brand image - Opaque fee structures - Ambiguous definitions of KPIs

Features of the Chaos Map: 6 Category Classification This map classifies companies into the following 6 categories:

1. **Major SEO/Comprehensive Content Marketing (6 companies)** - Consider when you want to entrust all areas of digital marketing comprehensively. - Includes companies like CyberAgent, Members, PLAN-B, Lightup, Nile, and FullSpeed.

2. **Specialized SEO/Content Production (9 companies)** - Consider when you want to outsource SEO strategy planning and article production together. - Includes companies like Willgate, Sakurasaku Marketing, Geocode, IOLIX, CINC, and media, JADE, WebCocol, and Search Rank Pirates.

3. **Editorial Production/Content Production Specialized (6 companies)** - Consider when you are particular about content quality and editorial standards. - Includes companies like Note, CINRA, Fairground, Appmart, Director Bank, and Site Engine.