Embracing Discontinuous Growth in the PayPay Marketing Strategy Department

In this edition of our Professional Series, which delves into the lives of the extraordinary professionals working in the PayPay group, we spoke with Shunsuke Morita, the Senior Manager of the Marketing Strategy Department, who plays a pivotal role in the strategic planning at PayPay. We spoke with him about the satisfaction and immediate challenges in his work, as well as the principles he holds dear.

Embracing Change and Constantly Updating Oneself

Could you walk us through your career path and what led you to join PayPay?

I’ve always been intrigued by the mechanisms behind product sales and new services, sparking my interest in marketing since my student days. At Sharp, where I started my career, I worked in the marketing department. As I honed my skills as a marketer, my interest in research gradually grew.

I then moved to Macromill, where I spent several years in corporate sales, launching a joint venture and overseeing marketing and business planning. Supporting diverse industries such as IT, web services, and food service was fascinating. However, I found the aspects I could influence from an external consulting position were somewhat limited. To build a stronger career path, I realized the need to enhance my ability to derive insights from data analysis that could connect to planning and product improvement. I sought to shift perspectives and immerse myself in marketing strategy within a business company. My decision to transition was also influenced by my penchant for embracing change and continually challenging myself (laughs). I was particularly drawn to PayPay for its vast data pool and the widespread adoption of its services, leading me to focus exclusively on joining this company in April 2024.

Did you experience any disparities after joining the company?

I haven’t encountered any negative discrepancies between my expectations and reality post-joining. In a positive sense, I found the company to be exceedingly “data-driven.” From my previous experiences observing various corporate marketing organizations, I noted that few companies, like PayPay, have engrained a data-centric culture from management to field operations. It was a pleasant surprise. Capturing facts from data, interpreting the underlying intentions and insights, and applying them to marketing strategies and product development are rigorously embedded, making the workflow more seamless.

Pursuing Data-Driven and Thoroughly User-Centric Practices

Could you elaborate on the role and mission of the Marketing Strategy Department?

The Marketing Strategy Department is dedicated to upstream strategy development within PayPay’s marketing framework, comprising three teams: “Strategy Promotion,” “Marketing Analysis,” and “Marketing Research.”

Marketing Analysis and Marketing Research function as “the eyes and ears of PayPay,” tasked with continuously capturing evolving user behaviors and sentiments and effectively communicating this information within and outside the marketing division. Strategy Promotion takes actionable insights identified by the analysis and research teams to strategize on expanding user numbers and improving LTV, collaborating with planning and communications teams to drive these initiatives. These three teams work in unison to propel PayPay’s upstream marketing strategies.

What are the strengths of PayPay’s marketing organization?

I believe it boils down to “Understanding the User” and “Communicating with the User.”

Firstly, the Marketing Strategy Department conducts multifaceted analyses of data owned by PayPay and external entities. Significant resources in terms of time and investment are dedicated to this understanding the user endeavor, marking it as a strength in both scale and quality. Insights derived from data often surprise us, diverging from our expectations or offering unprecedented perspectives.

When it comes to the latter, there’s an acute attention to detail. Our touchpoints with users span TV commercials, landing pages, banners, PR, and more. In each case, we meticulously consider questions such as “Can the user understand this correctly?” and “Are we conveying what we intend to?” This attention to detail is crucial, as it shapes the PayPay brand image.

This focus on these two strengths is possible because the core values of “data-driven” and “user-first” are deeply instilled within our members. Interpreting meanings from the abundance of data, and deriving specific segments, can be challenging but also profoundly rewarding. This aspect is one of the most engaging parts, which is then reflected in the comprehensive marketing strategy of PayPay and launched into the world. Experiencing this firsthand is the unique delight of the Marketing Strategy Department.

Drafting and Propelling Upstream Marketing Strategies

Could you share any recent initiatives that left a lasting impression on you?

One significant undertaking was the formulation of a comprehensive set of marketing strategies. We set the KGI for fiscal year 2025 and considered ways to achieve it. With perspectives on “User Base Expansion,” “User Value Enhancement,” and “Group Synergy,” we identified about ten strategic items for this year.

Simultaneously, for each strategic item, we engaged in discussions around specific tactics and measures, identifying actionable segments while analyzing PayPay’s challenges and competitors. This enabled us to craft a strategy to broaden the user base and enhance each individual’s LTV.

Implementing these strategies required a robust framework, including the deployment of analysis tools and marketing automation, along with streamlining organizational efficiency. In parallel, we collaborated with various departments to align marketing budgets with the company’s revenue and profit targets, conducting comprehensive communication to finalize spending on initiatives and advertising.

In strategizing across user understanding, issue identification, strategy development, and budget allocation, this undertaking stood out significantly since my joining.

What challenges does the strategy department face?

Even with a widely adopted service like PayPay, numerous challenges persist. We continuously weigh efficiencies and profit contributions in choosing our focus areas.

While PayPay has infiltrated the 20-50 age demographic quite effectively, we perceive room for improvement in reaching younger audiences, such as teenagers. We’re currently deliberating strategies to expand initiatives like the “Allowance Campaign,” launched in December 2024, aiming to increase PayPay’s usage among younger demographics.

Could you describe the atmosphere within the Marketing Strategy Department?

Our team consists of professionals from various industries, including finance and consulting firms. This diversity fosters a robust environment where individuals view matters from multifaceted angles and drive initiatives with self-guided excellence, creating a positive cycle.

In terms of workflow, for each strategic item mentioned earlier, we designate strategy, analysis, and research leads and collaborate with relevant planning units to manage projects effectively. The teams work closely together, maintaining a close-knit working relationship.

While it’s rare for us to spearhead individual campaign measures directly, the Marketing Strategy Department uniquely undertakes projects focused on “expanding the young user base,” recently leading initiatives like the Allowance Campaign.

Making PayPay an Unrivaled Service

What mindset do you prioritize in your work?

Among the “5 senses,” I prioritize “SPEED is our bet on the market.” I strive to deliver outputs swiftly, even if they’re 60-70% complete, within the time constraints. Increasing the number of attempts and gaining feedback from both others and the market is crucial to our success.

When do you feel the most motivated in your work?

Since I became involved in marketing within a corporate setting, I’ve adopted an increasingly user-centric perspective. I’m constantly thinking about our PayPay users. This allows me to tangibly feel the societal impact of our work, which is my primary motivation and source of fulfillment. The feedback from users at checkout or during social gatherings, when I hear, “I use PayPay,” “PayPay is convenient,” or “It would be great if it had this feature,” is simply heartening.

What are your future goals and vision?

While we’ve secured a decent position in the code payment space with a growing user base, there’s still room to enhance the LTV per customer. In the broader payment and financial realms, we’re still journeying toward our ultimate goals.

My vision is for users to experience seamless convenience with PayPay Group’s offerings like PayPay Card and PayPay Bank, enabling easy adoption of services starting from PayPay.

To establish PayPay as a unique and irreplaceable service, I aim to foster a relentless cycle of learning new insights and delivering quality outcomes, always updating strategies and marketing initiatives rather than adhering strictly to precedents.

Lastly, do you have a message for the readers?

PayPay offers an attractive environment for marketers, with over 68 million users (as of March 2025), continuously improving products, and an expanding merchant network. Yet, PayPay remains positioned as a challenger, seeking further discontinuous growth. Opportunities as exciting and appealing as this are rare, so if you’re someone who believes you can catalyze change at PayPay, let’s embark on this journey together!

*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.