"What exactly does advertising management involve?" "Can I start from no experience?" Many people have such questions. As the web advertising market continues to expand, advertising management has become an essential specialized area in corporate marketing activities. In this article, we will comprehensively explain the entire picture of advertising management, from its definition and business content to necessary skills, how to choose an operational structure, and the latest trends in AI-driven automation to watch for in 2026. This information is summarized for beginner marketers looking to start advertising management, business leaders considering in-house operations, and those interested in a career in advertising management.

What is Advertising Management? Definition and Overview

First, let's grasp the basic definition of advertising management and the overall scale of the market. Correctly understanding advertising management is the starting point for everything.

Definition of Advertising Management

Advertising management refers to the continuous planning, management, and improvement of web advertisements (internet ads) to maximize advertising performance. Specifically, it involves setting targets, budget allocation, creating creatives (the appearance and text of advertisements), analyzing data post-delivery, and executing improvement measures on advertising platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram Ads).

The biggest feature of advertising management is that it is not merely about "launching and finishing," but about continuously improving based on data. By monitoring metrics such as CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) and ROAS (Return On Advertising Spend) daily, adjustments to delivery conditions and creatives are made continuously. This ongoing improvement process is what is referred to as "management."

Differences Between Managed Advertising and Pure Advertising

Web advertising can be broadly divided into two types: "managed advertising" and "pure advertising."

Pure Advertising refers to a format where specific advertising slots are purchased for a fixed period and amount. Examples include banner ads on major news sites, where the posting period and number of displays are predetermined. While effective for increasing awareness, the feature is that flexible adjustments are difficult after the campaign starts.

Managed Advertising operates on a real-time auction system where the display of advertisements is determined. Advertisers can freely set and change targeting (who to reach), bid amount (how much to pay), and creatives (what to show). This allows for daily adjustments based on performance data, making it easy to improve cost-effectiveness, which is the biggest advantage. Currently, managed advertising is the mainstream in web advertising management.

Market Size of Advertising Management

The rapid growth of the market is the background for the increasing attention on advertising management. According to a survey by Dentsu, Japan's total advertising expenditure reached 7.673 trillion yen in 2024. This is a 4.9% increase from the previous year and marks the highest record for three consecutive years. Notably, the growth in internet advertising expenses is significant, and the budget shift from mass advertising such as television and newspapers to digital is accelerating.

An expanding market means increased demand for advertising managers. Advertising management is an area expected to continue to grow, holding great potential as a career.

Business Contents of Advertising Management | Understanding the Workflow Through PDCA

The business of advertising management can be easily understood using the PDCA cycle (Plan→Do→Check→Action). Continuously revolving this cycle at high speed is at the core of advertising management work.

Plan: Strategy Formulation and KPI Design

The first step in advertising management is the formulation of strategies and the design of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

• Clarify the purpose of advertising: Is it to expand brand awareness, attract customers to a website, or gain purchases or inquiries? The media and delivery methods chosen will change significantly depending on the purpose.

• Define the target: Design who the ads will reach based on age, gender, region, interests, and behavior history.

• Set KPIs: Establish specific numerical targets such as target CPA, target ROAS, CVR (Conversion Rate), and CTR (Click Through Rate).

• Allocate the budget: Plan how to allocate the monthly budget across different media and how to set daily budget limits.

If the strategy’s accuracy is low at this stage, it becomes difficult to achieve results even with improvements in later stages. In advertising management, the Plan phase is one of the most critical phases.

Do: Submission, Delivery Settings, and Creative Production

Once the strategy is solidified, move to the preparation and execution for actual advertisement delivery.

• Design account structure: Design the hierarchical structure of campaigns, ad groups, keywords, etc.

• Create creatives: Produce ad banners, text ad copy, video materials, and so on. It is common to prepare multiple patterns of copy and visuals that resonate with the target audience and conduct A/B testing (testing comparing two or more patterns).

• Submission and delivery settings: On the ad management screen, set targeting conditions, bidding strategies, delivery schedules, budgets, etc., and submit the ads.

• Install tags: Install conversion measurement tags and remarketing tags on the website to create an environment for accurately measuring advertising effectiveness.

Check: Performance Measurement and Data Analysis

Once the ad delivery begins, check daily performance data and conduct analyses.

The main metrics to check are as follows:

• Impressions (the number of times ads are displayed)

• Clicks and CTR (the number and ratio of clicks on the ad)

• CPC (Cost Per Click)

• Conversions and CVR (number of conversions and conversion rate)

• CPA (the cost incurred to acquire a single conversion)

• ROAS (the ratio of revenue to advertising costs)

These metrics are analyzed from various perspectives, such as by media, campaign, ad group, keyword, and creative. The goal of this phase is to identify where the bottleneck is.

Action: Implement Improvement Measures and Accelerate PDCA

Based on the analysis results, specific improvement measures are implemented.

• If CTR is low → Replace ad copy or creatives

• If CVR is low → Improve the landing page (the page linked by the ad)

• If CPA is high → Adjust bid prices or narrow down targeting

• If specific keywords are inefficient → Add negative keywords or stop delivery

The difference between people who achieve results in advertising management and those who do not lies in the speed and accuracy of turning this PDCA cycle. Observing data to formulate hypotheses, quickly implementing measures, and then re-evaluating the results. The essence of advertising management work is revolving this cycle weekly or even daily.

Key Advertising Media and Features

In advertising management, selecting the appropriate media according to the purpose and target is crucial.

Search Ads (Google Ads, Yahoo! Ads)

Search ads (listing ads) are text advertisements displayed on the search results page when users input keywords into a search engine.

• Google Ads: Can be delivered to Google, which accounts for the majority of domestic search engine share. In addition to search ads, it offers a variety of menus including display ads, shopping ads, and app ads.

• Yahoo! Ads: Can be delivered to Yahoo! JAPAN, which has a certain user share in Japan. It is especially strong in reaching PC users and seniors.

The biggest strength of search ads is that they can approach the latent audience who are "currently looking for information." Since it can directly appeal to users with high purchase intent, it tends to result in a high CVR.

Social Media Ads (Meta Ads, LINE Ads, X Ads, TikTok Ads)

Social media ads are advertisements that enable highly accurate targeting based on user attribute data and behavioral data.

• Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram): Its strength lies in precise targeting utilizing detailed user attribute data. It is used across a wide range of industries, both BtoB and BtoC.

• LINE Ads: Can be delivered to LINE, which boasts over 97 million monthly active users in Japan. It can reach demographics that are difficult to approach via other social media.

• X (formerly Twitter) Ads: It has high real-time capability, excelling at delivery that aligns with trends and topics. It is also expected to create secondary effects through sharing (reposting).

• TikTok Ads: It is strong in reaching younger audiences, particularly Generation Z. Creative that leverages short video formats is in demand.

Video Ads (YouTube Ads)

YouTube ads are video advertisements delivered on YouTube, the world's largest video platform. There are multiple formats including skippable in-stream ads, non-skippable short ads, and discovery ads.

Videos hold more information compared to still images or text, allowing easier and more intuitive communication of a product or service's appeal.

Points in Media Selection

In practice, it is common to combine multiple media for delivery. Understanding the characteristics of each medium and designing the optimal media mix according to budget and purpose is where an advertising manager can show their skills.

Six Skills Required for Advertising Management

What skills are required to achieve results in advertising management?

(1) Data Analysis Skills

Advertising management is a job that involves making decisions based on numerical data. The ability to correctly interpret metrics such as CTR, CVR, CPA, and ROAS is essential to understand "what is happening" and "why those results are occurring." Proficiency with BI tools such as Google Analytics and Looker Studio can broaden the scope of analysis.

(2) Hypothesis Thinking and Logical Thinking

Merely looking at data is not enough. The ability to formulate hypotheses from data and derive logical action plans is required. For example, if "CTR is high but CVR is low," one may hypothesize, "Is there a mismatch between the advertising and the landing page appeal?" and verify that assumption. This cycle of hypothesis validation greatly influences the results of advertising management. The ability to quickly form high-precision hypotheses and actions even during downturns in performance remains essential, even as automation progresses.

(3) Advertising Media Operation Skills

Skills to accurately navigate management screens for Google Ads, Meta Ads, and others. Familiarity with operational tasks at the practical level, such as campaign creation, bid settings, audience settings, and report generation, is necessary. As each media platform frequently updates, it's important to maintain an attitude of always catching up with the latest information.

(4) Creative Planning and Direction Skills

Advertising results are significantly influenced by the quality of creatives. While one does not necessarily need to design or produce videos themselves, the ability to plan what kind of appeals will resonate and what visuals will be effective is essential. Providing accurate direction to designers and video creators is crucial.

(5) Communication Skills

Advertising managers work with a diverse array of stakeholders, including clients, internal stakeholders, creative teams, and engineers. Presentation skills to clearly convey analysis results and improvement proposals, as well as listening skills to accurately understand stakeholders’ intents, are needed.

(6) Skills in Utilizing AI and Automation Tools [Essential Skill for 2026]

As of 2026, skills in utilizing AI and automation tools in advertising management have become not just "convenient" but a "must-have" skill. The ability to appropriately set and utilize AI features across each platform, such as Google Ads' P-MAX campaigns and Meta Ads' Advantage+, is required.

According to a BizReach survey, job openings for AI personnel with annual salaries over 10 million yen have increased approximately 4.2 times compared to three years ago. Understanding the characteristics of AI algorithms and being able to instruct optimal strategies has rapidly raised the market value of such talent. In the future, what is sought in advertising managers is not just the role of a management screen operator, but someone who can leverage AI to maximize results.

Three Structures for Advertising Management

The structure of advertising management can be broadly classified into three categories: "outsourcing to agencies," "in-house operations," and "utilizing freelancers."

Outsourcing to Agencies

This is a form where advertising management is entrusted to an advertising agency. The operational structure of the agency includes two types: "division of labor" (where different representatives handle sales, operations, and creatives) and "integrated approach" (where one person handles everything). Generally, the industry norm is to pay about 20% of advertising costs as a fee.

In-house Operations

This is a form where a person or team for advertising management is placed within the company to operate it on their own. In recent years, the move toward in-house operations has accelerated. Benefits include cost reduction of agency fees, quick changes in measures, and the accumulation of know-how within the company. However, securing personnel who are well-versed in advertising management remains the biggest challenge.

Hiring Freelancers

This is a form where tasks are entrusted to freelance advertising managers. It is easier to keep costs down compared to agencies and is expected to offer flexible responses that leverage individual expertise. However, dependency on individuals can also lead to a lack of stability.

Comparison of Each Structure’s Merits and Demerits

Recently, the number of companies adopting a "hybrid model", where they progressively advance in-house operations while partnering with agencies, has been increasing.

The Future of Advertising Management Automation

2026 is said to be the year when AI agents will be assessed for ROI (Return On Investment) in live environments. In advertising management, the automation by AI is rapidly advancing.

Tasks that Can and Cannot Be Automated by AI

Tasks that Can Be Automated by AI:

• Automatic adjustment of bid prices (automatic bidding strategy)

• Optimization of delivery destinations and targeting

• Automatic report generation and standard reporting

• Automatic generation of creatives and automated execution of A/B tests

• Budget pacing

• Automatic detection of anomalies and performance declines with alerts

Tasks Requiring Human Judgment:

• Formulation and decision-making of marketing strategies

• Designing brand messages and worldviews

• Advanced cause analysis and formulation of countermeasures in cases of deteriorating performance

• Communication with clients and stakeholders

• Decision-making on utilizing new media and new functions

• Decision-making on budget allocation considering the overall business

Types of Advertising Management Automation Tools

Currently, advertising management automation tools can be broadly categorized into three types.

1. Official Automation Functions of Media: Such as Google Ads' P-MAX and Meta Ads' Advantage+

2. Reporting and Dashboard Tools: Automation of centralized management of data from multiple media and report generation

3. AI Agent Type Tools: Next-generation tools where AI supports and replaces the decision-making process for advertising management

AI Agent Type: Next Generation of Advertising Management

AI agent types aim to go beyond mere automatic bidding or report generation to autonomously handle the entire PDCA cycle of advertising management. The AI agent comprehensively supports the series of processes from data analysis to hypothesis formulation and execution of measures.

For instance, AI agent-based services like Cascade aim to automate advertising management tasks, providing an environment where managers can concentrate on more strategic tasks. The AI agent handles routine analysis and adjustment work, allowing humans to focus time on formulating marketing strategies and determining creative directions. This is why AI agent types are gaining attention.

In 2026, AI agents will enter a phase where they are evaluated based on actual business results (ROI). The automation of advertising management is no longer an "experimental endeavor" but has entered a phase where it plays a central role in operations.

Conclusion

This article clarified the complete picture of advertising management, from its definition and business content to major advertising media, necessary skills, selection of operational structures, and the latest trends in AI-driven automation.

• Advertising management is the continuous planning, management, and improvement of web advertisements to maximize results.

• The flow of work can be understood through the PDCA cycle (Plan→Do→Check→Action).

• Major advertising media include search ads, social media ads, and video ads, and it is essential to use them appropriately according to the purpose.

• There are six necessary skills. In 2026, skills in utilizing AI and automation tools will be paramount.

• The operational structure comprises agencies, in-house operations, and freelancers. Choose the optimal form based on your situation.

• Automation through AI is rapidly advancing, shifting the role of advertising managers from "operators" to "strategists."

As Japan's advertising market surpasses 7 trillion yen, and the practical application of AI agents progresses, advertising management is entering a significant turning point. Seize changes as opportunities, equip yourself with new skills, and strive to be an advertising manager who continues to deliver results.