Dentsu Entertainment Eurasia Partners (DEEP)

Dentsu Entertainment Eurasia Partners (DEEP) is a Russian branch of the international holding Dentsu Group, created as a joint venture with OKS Group, an investment and management company.

History

2021: Appointment of Antonenko Roman as CEO

Dentsu Entertainment Eurasia Partners (DEEP) - a subsidiary of Dentsu Group Inc., April 8, 2021 announced appointments to top management. On April 8, CEO DEEP Antonenko Roman begins work. Mikhail Voshchinsky, who previously oversees the launch of DEEP as a CEO, will join the company's board of directors. More details here.

2020: Creating DEEP

Dentsu Group Inc. announced the start of a subsidiary in Russia: Dentsu Entertainment Eurasia Partners (hereinafter - DEEP) to expand the ecosystem of the Japanese holding in the local market beyond advertising. This became known on July 28, 2020. DEEP was established as a joint venture between Dentsu Group Inc. and OKS Group, led by Mikhail Voshchinsky, a partner of OKS Group, who oversees the project and joined the company as CEO.

Due to the combination of global presence and diversification of the Dentsu Group business in Japan, as well as the presence of a professional local network OKS Group, DEEP can act as a partner for any Japanese-Russian business relations and cultural exchange. DEEP's mission is to be a catalyst for change and create added value to individual industries and ecosystems, filling them with smart solutions and technologies.

At the first stage of its development in 2020, DEEP will focus on finding business opportunities in content and entertainment segments, as well as B2B technologies, in particular in the retail and trade tech segment, which are developing and showing double-digit growth even against the background of the economic situation caused by COVID-19. DEEP's content direction will initially focus around adapting and monetizing its own and partner library; technology vector includes the search for smart solutions in the field of entertainment and throughout the chain of consumer interaction with the product in sales channels.

It is expected that the demand of Russian platforms for a variety of relevant content will continue to grow. In 2019, online cinemas occupied 61% of the online video market in terms of revenue, and the latest viewing indicators show stable growth due to a change in the media consumption model. Dentsu Group has long-standing relations with Japanese intellectual property owners, is an animation manufacturer, is engaged in talent development and film production.

DEEP is open to creating partnerships with players who build their own ecosystems or contribute to the development of specific industries. The first such partnership with Skolkovo Ventures in the direction of B2B technologies will be announced in the near future.

Kazuyasu Suzuki, business producer, Dentsu Group Inc., commented on the launch:

Dentsu is a global business that pays great attention to diversification, and we intend to strengthen this component with the help of our subsidiary. Together with DEEP, we plan to expand the Dentsu Group ecosystem in Russia beyond the marketing services offered by the Dentsu Aegis Network. With 880 companies outside Japan as of July 2020, Dentsu aims to expand business domains and launch assets and services that will bring best practices to global markets. Our corporate venture capital fund - Dentsu Ventures - also allows us to invest in companies with high potential for innovation both in Japan and beyond. We are also interested in bringing content production and rights management in the Russian market to a higher level. It is very important to create value in an ever-changing environment. That is why we believe DEEP is suitable for leveraging the diverse capabilities of the parent group in Japan and the OKS Group's connections to benefit Eurasian businesses.

Mark Hanney, CEO and managing partner of OKS Group, said:

We appreciate partnering with a diversified global player like the Dentsu Group. OKS Group has always been interested in investments that provide value to the market and are complementary assets in our line with a focus on the technology and media industry. DEEP's ambitions are not limited to these segments, which will give impetus to the development of our portfolio. I work together with Mikhail within the Board of Directors of OKS Group and am confident that his experience in management, investment and partnerships in the marketing and technology business creates an advantage for DEEP.

Mikhail Voshchinsky, chief executive officer (CEO) and curator of the DEEP project, shared his opinion:

It is extremely valuable and important for us to represent the Dentsu Group and be a guide for the development of any kind of Russian-Japanese business relations outside the advertising world. The key features of DEEP can be formulated as follows: 1. DEEP is conceived as a partner company that helps, through its expertise or investment, develop or create from scratch the solutions needed by industries and individual ecosystems, where the Dentsu Group has its own business verticals. 2. DEEP will advocate a flexible approach that brings together experienced and accomplished top-level professionals in the relevant market segment. 3. A first-class network of experts, the opportunity to reach any source of financing through the Dentsu Group and OKS Group, openness to investment syndicates and strategic partnerships with relevant players, will allow DEEP to be a universal platform for solving almost any business problem. Relying on founder resources and its own capabilities, DEEP will act as a conduit between the two markets. Thanks to such advantages, we have the opportunity to test and help in the development of the most promising projects.