It has been 10 months since the test release of m19, which has been used by 20 Amazon agencies and sellers and has been very well received with zero contract termination. However, there are still some parts that are still under wraps, so we asked Mr. Shirai, a representative of Amazon seller “ieneko” who has been using m19 to automatically optimize Amazon sponsored ads since May 2022, for his honest opinion on m19!

(Question 1) Could you please briefly introduce yourself as well as ieneko?
After graduating from university, I joined a general trading company in Japan. After gaining experience in international trading there, I moved to a strategy consulting firm to learn how to read corporate strategy and learn market research methods, and here I am today. Originally, I wanted to fulfill all of my most important values in life: curiosity, freedom, and change, experience working with colleagues to shape business plans, and retire a little early to spend time with my family. I knew that the only way to achieve all of these things was to “start my own business,” so this year, when I turned 25, I launched a cat circle/goods brand called “ieneko.”

The reason why I launched the cat circle/goods business is because my relative already had a pet goods business in Japan, and his main product was cat circles, which he only sold to businesses, so I thought I would try to do the business for consumers.

(Question 2) What kind of strategy did you come up with when you launched the ieneko brand? Could you focus on your product and marketing strategies at the time of your launch!
We analyzed the market for cat circles, our main product line, and found that “price-competitive products” dominate the market. We are aiming at the high-end, focusing on natural materials and functionality, and hope to first create a brand that says, “When it comes to cat circles, ieneko is the name of the game.” We plan to work hard on branding and turn our own e-commerce site into media commerce, with e-commerce as the main focus. We want to create a co-creation type media commerce site by uploading not only our own content but also content created by users.

(Q3) You originally inquired about our other product, AdScale, didn’t you? Could you tell us how you came to us?
Actually, as part of my consulting work at my current job, I had decided to research “automatic optimization solutions for digital advertising,” and I wanted to gather information on AdScale and two other third-party tools, so I contacted three companies at the same time! I don’t have any background from a web/performance advertising industry background, but in the following three points
1) AI technology that can improve results
2) Responsiveness of the person in charge
3) Pricing plans
I felt that AdScale was very superior when I compared against the other two. Since we don’t even have our own website yet, we wanted to try m19’s trial that it can automatically optimize the Amazon ads we are running.

Q4) Thank you! We are very happy to hear that you have implemented m19 not only on a trial basis but also on a paid basis. With almost no experience in ad management, please frankly tell us if there are any inconvenient aspects!
Without any compliments, I think m19 is the best product and service in the market. There are two reasons: full automation and performance. Even I can complete the initial setup in about 30 minutes and then leave it alone. And even though I leave it alone, because of the fully automated optimization feature, sales are increasing and the advertising cost to sales ratio (ACOS = advertising cost/sales) is decreasing.

(Question 5) (Holding back tears of joy) I am so glad we brought m19 to Japan! Do you have any plans to further utilize m19 in the future, such as how much you want to grow your Amazon store sales?
I would like to increase annual sales of cat cages to 100 million yen within two years. I also plan to expand overseas!

(Q6) I have a feeling we will achieve that. Laughs Finally, is there anything you would like to say about m19 or SOPHOLA?
I would be happy if you could support us as an expert in the advertising and promotion strategy part of our business, since you understand our business well through m19!

(Thank you very much for taking time out of your very busy schedule to do this interview!)