Marketing Researcher - Data Solutions Department, Marketing Solutions Business(A&M)

Job Description:

Business Overview
Rakuten's Advertising & Media Company provides a wide range of advertising and marketing services, including digital advertising, research, and influencer business. Our strength lies in our ability to provide end-to-end solutions, from marketing strategy planning to execution, effectiveness measurement, and data analysis. Specifically, we solve customers' marketing challenges through the following businesses:

• Rakuten Marketing / LinkShare: Provides comprehensive digital marketing solutions.
• Rakuten Data Marketing: Provides marketing solutions leveraging Rakuten's big data.
• Rakuten Insight: Provides marketing research services.

This is an environment where you can grow and advance your career by being part of an organization that forms the core of the Rakuten Group.

Department Overview

Rakuten Insight is a company that provides marketing research to customers both inside and outside the Rakuten Group. By combining the Rakuten Group's vast data assets with AI technology, we deepen consumer understanding through "Research × Data × AI" and contribute to solving customers' business challenges. Through the development and provision of research products incorporating AI, we are creating new industry standards.

Position: Why We Hire

With the increasing complexity and acceleration of marketing and the rapid penetration of AI, the research industry is entering a period of major transformation. We view this change as an opportunity and are strengthening the following initiatives by leveraging Rakuten's data and AI knowledge:

• Expanding data-driven business beyond the framework of traditional research
• Developing and providing research products incorporating AI

We are seeking individuals with the passion to create next-generation research together, while providing high-quality research as researchers, with "research knowledge and skills" at the core to accurately identify and solve customers' marketing challenges. We welcome those with limited experience as marketing researchers or even those with no experience. If you have the desire to solve customers' marketing challenges as a researcher, please apply.

Attractive Features

Rakuten Insight is an environment where you can steadily grow as a marketing researcher even from scratch. After joining, you will start with basic research skills and tool training, and through OJT-style mentoring, you will work on actual projects with senior researchers and acquire practical skills. After growing as a researcher, you can draw diverse career paths by combining research, data, and AI.

• Opportunities to work with diverse customers and projects: A wide range of clients including business companies such as manufacturers, advertising agencies, and media companies Diverse businesses within the Rakuten Group, such as Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Mobile, and Rakuten Travel
• Speed that encourages challenge and growth: Rapidly promoting service improvements and product development Abundant opportunities for researchers themselves to be involved in planning proposals and creating new services
• Challenges in next-generation research through AI and data utilization: Expanding AI utilization promoted by the Rakuten Group to research and data business Opportunities to experience cutting-edge technologies such as report creation support and analysis automation using generative AI
• Diverse career paths and growth options: Enhancing research expertise and working as a senior researcher Expanding into new model development using AI and data specialist areas Career development as a marketing manager in other Rakuten Group businesses is also possible

Position Details

Our areas of activity are broadly divided into three domains: corporate clients (such as manufacturers), The main areas of activity are "business company area (manufacturers, etc.)", "advertising agency/media area", and "each business of the Rakuten Group (Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Mobile, Rakuten Travel, etc.)". In each area, sales and researchers form teams and contribute to solving customer issues by leveraging research and data utilization knowledge, centered on internet research.

Main Responsibilities

• Research planning and proposals: Collaborating with sales to plan and propose optimal research based on customer issue hearings
• Research operations: A series of tasks from questionnaire creation, tabulation/analysis, report creation, to presentations *Since survey screen creation and data collection are handled by separate specialized departments, researchers can focus on planning and analysis
• AI and data utilization promotion: Analysis support using AI, report creation, operational efficiency improvement (report creation using generative AI, analysis automation, etc.) Challenges in next-generation research combining internal and external data (purchasing, behavior, EC data, etc.) with asking data

Sample Projects

• Collaboration with beverage manufacturers: We propose effective research for a wide range of marketing challenges and provide actionable insights while communicating closely with clients. Our strengths include having a large number of survey monitors and being able to make proposals incorporating products using AI.
• Collaboration with advertising agencies: There is an increasing need for advertising effectiveness measurement using advertising contact logs. There are many opportunities to experience cutting-edge advertising technology, and it is stimulating work to have discussions with clients beyond the framework of research.
• Collaboration with Rakuten Group businesses: We support decision-making as research professionals while working alongside marketing managers of each business within the Rakuten Group.

Work Environment

Organization Structure

Number of researchers: Approximately 50
Age range: 30s to 40s are the main demographic (many members with extensive experience as researchers)
New graduate/mid-career ratio: 10% new graduates, 90% mid-career At Rakuten Insight, mid-career hires from diverse industries and occupations are active. In addition to those with research experience, many members who have newly challenged research from business companies or other departments within the group are also present.

Backgrounds of Mid-Career Hires

• Sales and researchers at research companies
• Research managers, brand managers, and marketers at business companies such as manufacturers
• Members who have transferred or transitioned to researchers from other Rakuten Group businesses

Career Path Examples of Active Mid-Career Hires

• Enhancing skills as a researcher within Rakuten Insight and working as a senior researcher
• Transferring to a group within Rakuten Insight that handles big data and expanding expertise in the data area
• Concurrently working in the AI product development group within Rakuten Insight and participating in the development of new services combining research × AI
• Developing a career as a marketing manager in other Rakuten Group businesses

Mandatory Qualifications:

• 2 or more years of work experience (those who have performed work while smoothly communicating with customers and internal collaborators on a daily basis) Examples: Experience in proposing solutions by hearing customer issues in sales positions / Experience in making data-based proposals in consulting work / Experience in advancing projects in collaboration with research departments in marketing work, etc.
• No practical experience as a marketing researcher required
• Those with the desire to grow as a researcher and a strong passion to solve customers' marketing challenges

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience studying marketing or being involved in marketing activities
• Experience studying statistics or data analysis, or work experience handling numerical data
• Experience using research data in work (e.g., planning or improvement proposals based on research results)
• Those with experience in creating materials or analysis work using PowerPoint or Excel

Desired Candidate Profile

• Those confident in logical thinking and problem-solving abilities
• Those who can flexibly perform work with a sense of speed while handling multiple projects in parallel
• Those with the desire to actively utilize AI to improve operational efficiency and the quality of deliverables
• Those who view change as a growth opportunity and have the desire to actively challenge new areas and fields and learn on their own

Other Information:

Additional information on Location
Rakuten Futako Tamagawa Rise Office 2-21-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
Additional information on Secondment
Rakuten Insight, Inc.
Additional information on Transfer
Additional information on English Qualification
English Requirement: Yes *TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, etc. *Details will be provided if you proceed to the selection process.

Rakuten Group, Inc. Homepage Link - Benefits:https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/careers/benefit/ - Recruitment Information:https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/careers/information/ * Employment type is detailed - Rakuten Culture:https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/careers/culture/

#business #researcher #commerce #RakutenInsight

Languages: English (Overall - 3 - Advanced), Japanese (Overall - 4 - Fluent)

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