Hakuhodo DY Group Develops an Influencer Marketing Tool,ENGAGEMENT BLOOM WAVE
〜Launch of planning solutions with IQS, its proprietary AI-powered assessment criteria〜

Tokyo, June 17, 2026 – We are pleased to announce that Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc., Hakuhodo Technologies Inc. and Hakuhodo DY ONE Inc. have developed an influencer marketing tool “ENGAGEMENT BLOOM WAVE” as a new product from CREATIVITY ENGINE BLOOM, our integrated marketing platform.

Timed with the development of this tool, we also started offering planning solutions to assist upgraded influencer marketing, featuring Influencer Quality Scoring (IQS), our proprietary AI-powered assessment criteria. With this launch, we are now poised to maximize return on investment (ROI) for corporate marketing activities.

Background

With the generalization of social media and video-sharing platforms, influencer marketing has evolved from a simple buzz-making tool into a technique to drive full-funnel business growth from awareness to purchase. This development has also resulted in the diversification of influencers hired, ranging from mega influencers with an overwhelming reach to micro and nano influencers capable of maintaining high levels of engagement by building deep relationships of trust with their followers.

Meanwhile, actual campaign operation faces emerging issues including dependence on personal capabilities in influencer selection and the scattering of effectiveness measurement data. Operation relying on existing superficial indicators such as the number of followers makes it difficult to perform accurate forecasting or verification of effectiveness, reducing campaigns to one-off initiatives in many cases. These realities are a growing concern and potential risk that could lead to brand mismatches or brand damage, in addition to hindering coordination with the entire marketing strategy.

Overview of ENGAGEMENT BLOOM WAVE

ENGAGEMENT BLOOM WAVE is an influencer marketing tool for centralized management of the entire process, from influencer selection to campaign operation and effectiveness measurement. As part of the Hakuhodo DY Group’s cross-Group AI expert initiative HCAI Professionals, it delivers accurate performance forecasting and optimized ROI, as professionals in various AI-related disciplines combine scoring based on our proprietary AI-powered criteria with the latest AI technology while working on development. One of the key features of our tool is the visualization and verification of full-funnel outcomes including purchase, not limited to increased awareness. We have adopted an outcome model that is supported by a huge volume of performance data as a foundation for this sophisticated analysis in order to improve the efficiency of the whole working process, from the selection of optimal influencers to campaign operation and reporting.

Sophisticated planning solution with IQS, our proprietary AI-powered criteria

This solution is a planning service leveraging insights derived from IQS to turn influencer selection, which used to depend on individual capabilities, into a strategic decision-making procedure.

IQS represents proprietary assessment criteria of the Hakuhodo DY Group to integrate multiple performance indicators with the help of AI for calculating a single, reliable score. Not relying on superficial numbers such as followers and engagement, we perform multifaceted analyses based on a total of six criteria, including “Passion” to visualize the latest activities of influencers and the energy of their audiences, “Contextual” to measure precise brand affinity based on factors such as the language used and the distribution of locations, “Trust” to ensure the authenticity of audience and the safety of content, and “Budget” to determine cost-effectiveness and fair pricing in an objective manner.

Building on these hard data, and combining them with the knowledge of strategy development and planning of the Hakuhodo DY Group, we deliver accurate matching optimized for the brand by eliminating uncertainties in influencer selection and minimizing risks for the campaign.

See our webpage on the solution at:

https://www.hakuhodody-one.co.jp/service/marketing/creative/influencer-marketing/engagement-bloom-wave　(Japanese)

Next Steps

Going forward, ENGAGEMENT BLOOM WAVE will extend to the visualization of life-time value (LTV) in partnership with e-commerce and retail media and the implementation of a sophisticated ROI prediction model based on performance data, among others, in addition to coordination with the Hakuhodo DY Group’s unique planning method and strategy planning support function. We will also enhance the brand safety feature powered by image-analyzing AI and build a one-stop framework for integrated and efficient management of hundreds of influencers. This will help generate engagement in support of business growth by connecting influencers, brands and sei-katsu-sha* on an ongoing basis from a longer-term perspective, and not as part of one-off campaigns.

We are thus determined to contribute to the sustainable business growth of clients through further evolution of influencer marketing.

※ “Sei-katsu-sha” is a term we use to describe people not simply as consumers, but as fully rounded individuals with their own lifestyles, aspirations and dreams.