Mobile measurement firm Adjust has acquired Force Operation X (F.O.X), an advertising effectiveness measurement tool for smartphone apps, from Japanese marketing agency CyberZ.
The move is Adjust‘s fourth acquisition in a year, and it represents its expansion in Asia and the Japanese mobile economy. I’m heading to Adjust’s Mobile Spree conference in San Francisco today to moderate a panel on user acquisition for games.
F.O.X was the first tool developed in Japan for in-app ad tracking and measurement and is recognized as a Facebook mobile measurement partner and a Twitter official partner. Existing F.O.X customers include many global leading brands and Japanese success stories. Both CyberZ and Adjust said they will ensure a smooth operational transition for its partners and customers in the following months.
“There are a lot of clear synergies between Adjust and CyberZ, and the company’s international outlook and commitment to innovation makes it a natural fit for Adjust,” said Naoki Sassa, country manager for Japan at Adjust, in a statement. “As one of Japan’s leading advertising agencies, it’s an honor to enter into a strategic partnership with CyberAgent Group and further cement our position in the Japanese market.”
Adjust established its Japanese operations in 2014, and Japan is now one of the company’s fastest-growing markets. Rakuten, Line, Mercari, and DeNA use Adjust’s services to improve their mobile marketing performance.
Adjust also acquired data aggregation platform Acquired.io on December 2018 and cybersecurity and AI startup Unbotify in January. In June, the global tech player secured one of Europe’s largest funding rounds in 2019 so far, raising $227 million. It will use the capital to invest in the product, bolster talent acquisition, and strengthen market share in new and existing regions — including the Japanese market.
“Since founding CyberZ in 2009, we have been helping clients in Japan and abroad to achieve their goals in smartphone marketing,'” said Akira Ichikawa, director at CyberZ, in a statement. “We’re looking forward to working closely with Adjust, and move toward our shared goals of unifying marketer’s activities and helping them build the best apps in the world.”
Established by Takahiro Yamauchi in 2009, CyberZ specializes in mobile marketing, offering a range of solutions from media buying to products such as a live video streaming platform. CyberZ is a subsidiary of CyberAgent Group, one of Japan’s leading advertising agencies.