ABOUT

Time flies---it will soon be two years since becoming the president of Aoi Advertising Promotion Inc. in April 2010.
Upon taking this role, I set out to achieve these three primary goals:
1. Cultivation of human resources and affiliated companies with effective sales, marketing, and management capabilities, along with the technical skills and cross-media competency necessary to increase market shares in the field of commercial film production.
2. Expansion of our areas of business by using the film production know-how we have gained throughout the years.
3. Development of new businesses through the collaborations of creative minds in various professional fields.

Overcoming countless challenges, revenues from our core business of commercial film production have at last surpassed those set prior to the Lehman Shock and continue to grow strongly.

In addition over the past two years, the number of subsidiaries in the AOI Group has increased from 6 to 11. To further reinforce our cross-media compatibility, we have welcomed Business Architects Inc. and tko Inc. We have also established our first B-to-C business with Hollyhock Inc., which owns hollyhock photography studio located in Tokyo Midtown. Also, in order to further expand into the Asian markets, we set up our first AOI ASIA office in Jakarta, Indonesia. Rounding off the list of recent additions is ParGolf Inc., a publishing-based multimedia company that publishes "Weekly ParGolf", a magazine with 40 years of history. AOI Group now has a solid foundation to take on new challenges. For instance, we have been actively developing new digital-based communication businesses, such as the creation of smartphone applications with universities through an academic-industrial partnership project, as well as the planning and production of social games.

Thankfully, the above factors have all worked positively for us, and AOI Group’s annual revenue at the period of March 2012 is expected to exceed 20 billion yen, marking an overall increase of over 40% in the past two years.

This April, we are proud to begin celebrating our company’s 50th year in business. In preparation for taking even further significant leaps forward, we have set up “The 50th Anniversary Project.”
With Aoi Advertising Promotion Inc. at the center, AOI Group is comprised of 12 companies and nearly 600 employees.
I feel confident that each company will continue to grow in its own unique way. However, I intend to implement a management structure that encourages stronger synergy between the companies.
At the end of last year, the “AOI Group – We Are All Craftsmen” project was created. As a company with almost a half-century history of “craftsmanship,” it is important for each one of us to go back to our roots, and invest time and effort into excelling at our skills that span across multiple professional fields. I firmly believe that achieving this goal will make us more powerful as a whole.

I would like to take this opportunity to assure our valued stakeholders --- stockholders, business partners, employees, and society --- that we will continue building relationships upon mutual trust.
Finally, I sincerely ask for your long-lasting understanding and warm support as we at AOI Group strive to succeed in our respective fields.

February 10, 2012
Aoi Advertising Promotion Inc.
Tsugihiko Fujiwara, President