Personal care giant Procter & Gamble has called for greater media transparency in Japan following a decline on its return on investment (ROI) into media, according to a report in The Drum.

The company is continuing its plight for clearer advertising operations, with Japan known for issues regarding its transparency and overcharging, such as Dentsu overcharging customers and having to refund around $2.3 million.

Stanislav Vecera, President, Representative of Procter & Gamble Japan, spoke at Advertising Week Asia to highlight the four-step plan previously unveiled by CMO Marc Pritchard, which focuses on media transparency.

Vecera stated, “It is important to look at the ROI of advertising and nowadays we see ROI decreasing and it’s very concerning. We see the money put into media is actually not getting returns. We encourage every one of us to put our business hat on because it’s cool and nice to create some great ads and messaging, but it needs to deliver business objectives.
“If you look at what’s happening, the current media landscape is very complex and the media supply chain is fragmented. There are lots of companies and agencies and sometimes for an advertiser it is not transparent enough. The whole chain is too complex and it creates potential risks in the media industry, so if I would say what I would expect simplicity and basics: focus on reach, which is critical, and target audience. Then focus on effectiveness and efficiency, so the ROI. Sending a message at any cost won’t work, so we need to reduce complexity and focus on end-to-end, which is visibility from the time that we create ads and know where the ads are going, to then seeing the efficiency and effectiveness.”

Vecera stated that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was a good benchmark to work towards in terms of working towards a clearer media outlook, and used initiatives such as the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) as an example of how to clean up the digital media world.