Have you ever wondered how video and rich media advertisements appear when you are scrolling through a web article? Do you know that this feature is a product of an innovative format called inRead®️ and that it was invented by Teads?
Because our purpose is to “bring skilled people together to build the future”, Computer Futures partners with leading companies within the technology and digital space in Japan to help tech professionals and organisations grow. And one of our partnerships is with Teads, a leading global media platform. We recently had an opportunity to interview Kenzo Selby, Head of Sales at Teads Japan K.K., about how they have introduced new technology into the Adtech market, how this has changed the Adtech landscape, and what it means to work in Teads.
Kenzo Selby
Head of Sales, Teads Japan K.K.
Who is Teads?
Kenzo: Teads is the global media platform. We started our business by developing ‘inRead’, which was an in-article placement used specifically for video advertising. Ten years on, Teads has become a full-fledged media technology platform that combines creative support, AI technology, and premium inventory that is market leading not only in Japan but around the world.
How has Teads changed the world of online web advertising?
Kenzo: Until 2011 the media market was stuck with video ads known as In-Stream (pre-roll advertising). These are what you usually see on YouTube, where the video ads show before, during, or after your chosen video content. In this situation, many news publishers were struggling to adequately monetise from pre-roll video ads because the advertising income would not cover the cost of the video content.
However, Teads invented the ‘inRead’ unit allowing not only a new way of monetizing editorial content for publishers but also helping advertisers to reach a lot more people. When we launched our Japanese business in 2015 the first publisher to work with us was Nikkei - one of the most trusted publishers in Japan. This partnership delivered a message to the market that Teads' technology was proven and was used by the world’s premium publishers. Since then, in Japan, we've grown from 5 to 30 employees to meet the needs of our growing clientele. Today, we have at least 400 websites where our product is embedded, and our list of clients continues to grow with the top brands in Japan and overseas.
What is different about Teads and what is your mission?
Kenzo: One element - that is a key to our approach - is respecting the user experience. For example, our ads are always skippable. By focusing on advertising innovation that achieves a better user experience, we have been able to bring a positive change into the media ecosystem and a cleaner advertising environment.
How can potential candidates join the Teads team?
Kenzo: There are three elements we always look for: an entrepreneurial mind-set, curiosity, and team spirit.
When we talk about innovation, we need people with energy to learn and grow. Our Chairman Pierre Chappaz always likes to say that Teads is a group of entrepreneurs. We give a lot of trust and responsibility to our employees, so everyone is expected to be proactive in order to achieve our common goals.
As a business, we are always innovating and upgrading our product. It is therefore important to have curiosity and have a sense of awareness in terms of how our customers – both users and clients, are using our service alongside their changing requirements. To respond to an ever changing environment we need to ask questions – of both users and clients - to know more about their needs and think about how our technology can support them.
Last but not least, having a strong team spirit is highly valued at Teads. We evaluate combined group experience and efforts, rather than only individual performances. This is quite specific to Teads and for our Japanese team.
What is it like to work for Teads and what kind of benefits can employees expect?
Kenzo: We are truly global in our approach. Out of 30 people in our Japan office, 10 of us are from overseas. Teads is a French company but not only do we have French nationals in the team, we also have Korean, Norwegian, American, Australian, Russian, German and Indian. This allows us to foster an environment which is comfortable for everyone as we respect all cultures, and each of us has a unique set of skills with which to contribute to, and complement the rest of the team.
On top of that, we have a very strong connection with our teams that serve clients in other parts of the world. Before Covid-19 we had an annual global summit where all employees gathered at one location including Thailand, Columbia, and Brazil. As I mentioned, we put a lot of value on team spirit, and I believe these experiences help foster stronger bonds among teams both in Japan and internationally.
Another benefit is our fast-paced environment because of the strengths in our product. For example, this May (2021), we’ve more than doubled the revenue compared to the same month last year. We’re achieving higher numbers than we did before Covid-19. This reflects the efforts of everyone in our teams to bring to market an ever improving product.
We also like to keep ourselves level-headed, respecting equality and rewarding effort, an approach which encourages every member of every team to be accountable and perform better.
How is it like to work at Teads Japan?
How has your experience with Computer Futures been?
Kenzo: We are delighted with the progress that’s come from working with Tommy from Computer Futures. In 2015 (the beginning of our business in Japan), we were struggling to attract good talent because we were unknown. We are a B2B company so introducing Teads as a brand and company wasn’t easy despite being well-recognised by many prestigious publishers and marketers.
To solve this, Tommy suggested we create a guidebook to show what it’s like to work in Teads Japan and why people should join us. We’ve worked together with Computer Futures to increase our brand presence so we are now able to hire most of our new talent for sales through Computer Futures.
Our priority is to build our business quickly. But at the same time, we’re proud of our premium product and do not want to compromise on the quality of those we hire. To achieve both of our requirements, Computer Futures has been finding the right people for us.
Are you interested in working for one of the fastest growing Adtech companies in Japan?
AdTech (advertising technology) is a rapidly growing industry within IT. As users and consumers adopt new technologies very quickly, the challenge is always to do better. Working in an AdTech space means keeping up with leading-edge technologies and acquiring versatile skill sets.
If you are looking for the next step in your career and would like to try a fast-growing and exciting environment, Computer Futures is here to help. Our recruiters will be able to guide you to suitable companies as well as give tips on improving your online profile to get into some of the most difficult-to-enter organisations. Feel free to contact us using the form below or find your next opportunity on our job search page.
