What Are the Remarkable Outcomes of the AI Workshop Experienced by Platformers in Mongolia?
Dentsu Digital, in collaboration with Dentsu Data Artist Mongol (DDAM), has been conducting workshops with various platformers in Mongolia. Meaningful discussions are taking place across the vast grasslands, leading to a wide range of achievements. We spoke with Satoru Yamamoto, CAIO, and Yuki Ogishima, Head of the Platform Division to learn more about these initiatives and the feedback received from participating platformers.
Astonishing Speed: Prototypes Completed Overnight
— What kind of workshops are you conducting with platformers in Mongolia?
Ogishima: To put it simply, we bring our respective challenges to the table and explore how to solve them using AI. The workshop lasts for two days: on the first day, we share and refine the issues and then develop concepts. By the morning of the second day, a prototype based on those ideas is already complete, and we discuss concrete operations using it. By the end of the workshop, the solution is polished t to a level ready for practical use.
Yamamoto: The number of participants varies each time, but each team consists of fewer than ten people, including members from Dentsu Digital and Dentsu Data Artist Mongol (hereafter, DDAM). For every workshop, we create original DDAM T-shirts featuring each platformer’s logo printed on the back, and all participants wear them during the workshop. The T-shirts we’re wearing today are from one of those workshops.
— So you foster a sense of unity by wearing matching T-shirts. Still, it’s astonishing that a prototype is completed by the morning of the second day. That’s incredibly fast.
Ogishima: I was quite surprised at first as well, but it’s not that they take the discussions from the first day back and rush to build them overnight. Instead, DDAM members create the prototypes in real time, continuosly moving things forward. Along the way, they share progress—saying, "This is what we have so far, what do you think?"—which helps us refine ideas even more.
Yamamoto: This is actually a major reason why we hold these workshops in Mongolia—DDAM has outstanding agility in AI development. For example, they developed the "People Model" announced in May 2025, which virtually simulates 100 million AI personas, equivalent to Japan’s population. DDAM is also in charge of technical validation for the "Integrated Marketing AI Agent," which autonomously delivers optimal responses through interactions with users.
Ogishima: Another major strength of DDAM is their high level of Japanese proficiency. They can grasp even the subtle nuances between the lines, making communication extremely smooth. That’s why they can build prototypes on the spot. Platformers have told us things like, "This was my first overseas business trip where I barely needed to use English," and "I was amazed by DDAM's technical skills, speed, energy, and capabilities. There are hardly any companies in Japan operating at this level."
Why DDAM Excels in AI Technology Development
— Why does DDAM have such advanced AI technology development capabilities and high proficiency in Japanese?
Yamamoto: One reason is that Mongolia has a young population and is focusing on STEM education—including mathematics—for national development. Overseas study is also highly encouraged, and through the “1,000 Engineers Project (M-JEED)” in collaboration with JICA, many students have studied at universities and technical colleges in Japan. More than half of DDAM’s employees are graduates of this project, which is a big factor in their high Japanese proficiency. Currently, over 75% of employees speak Japanese, and several are medalists from the International Mathematical Olympiad.
Additionally, more than 90% of the team speaks English. They stay up to date with the latest papers and maintain direct contact with global AI development communities, constantly absorbing new knowledge and techniques.
On a daily basis, DDAM gathers information on the latest AI trends and develops technologies—for example, they continue concrete evaluations like “use this model for interpreting novels, and this model for solving mathematical problems.” For over two years, they have been sharing research reports summarizing their findings within the group every other week. So whenever a new project starts, they already know exactly which models to use. That’s why they can create prototypes in real time while discussing ideas during workshops.
Ogishima: It’s like having a toolbox ready on site. Instead of just discussing concepts, we can look at actual working examples as we speak. This leads to conversations like, “Let’s train it with more of this type of data” or “Maybe we should link it with this API,”—dialogues that rarely happen in rarely happen in an office or web meeting in Japan.
Realizing that "Innovation Is Proportional to the Distance Traveled"
— Is that effect also a result of holding the workshops in an extraordinary place like Mongolia?
Ogishima: I think it has a huge impact. On the first day, we welcome participants to DDAM’s office in Ulaanbaatar, but on the second day, the workshop takes place in a “ger” (traditional Mongolian tent) located within Terelj National Park. It’s about an hour’s drive, and the wide-open grasslands stretch out the whole way. The ger at Terelj is also extremely large and set right in the midst of the vast steppe; the extraordinary setting really brings out sides of people and honest feelings that you don’t usually see. The sense of freedom there is refreshing, and it’s not uncommon for people to be moved to tears while surrounded by the expansive grasslands.
Yamamoto: In management theory, the importance of “exploration of knowledge” is often discussed, with the saying that “innovation is proportional to the distance traveled.” I feel this truth every time we hold a workshop in Mongolia. The vast Mongolian steppe—something you’d never see in Japan—truly stimulates the mind, sparking fresh ideas and helping bring them to life. I believe these workshops provide a real opportunity to foster true innovation.
— Specifically, what kind of outcomes have these workshops produced?
Yamamoto: For example, one such achievement is the “IG AI Creative Studio (Japanese) ,” launched with Meta in June 2025. This workshop dramatially improves the efficiency of vertical video production for Instagram using AI, allowing the generation of vertical videos in as little as half a day.
When using videos as advertising creatives, simply generating content isn’t enough. It’s necessary to analyze insights about target users, design personas, and incorporate the appropriate marketing messages. By integrating Dentsu Digital’s marketing solution, “∞AI (Mugen AI),” we streamlined the entire process.w
Ogishima: Video is a prime example, but as the functions offered by platformers become more sophisticated, advertising operations are becoming increasingly complex. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in questions from clients, placing even greater burdens on the platformers. We’ve heard from partners that “business process optimization is a key growth strategy” for them, and the workshops in Mongolia are effectively functioning as a place to co-create solutions tailored to their challenges.
Yamamoto: From a business process optimization perspective, DDAM is uniquely developing “BPO x AI,” combining business process outsourcing with AI—a rare initiative for an agency. Platformers have expressed their surprise at this, and I feel there are high expectations for us as a partner who can help address resource challenges that come with business expansion.
Ogishima: These days, all platformers are centering their product strategies on AI. However, they face the dilemma that what they can deliver to clients is limited to the product itself. Implementing solutions that are widely and deeply accepted by clients is an important role for us as an agency. That’s why we want to further strengthen our collaboration with DDAM, which has advanced AI development capabilities.
The Benefits of Dialogue Amidst Nature
— Since these workshops take place in such an extraordinary setting, do you ever encounter any unexpected events?
Ogishima: One unforgettable moment was when two platformers who joined us began openly exchanging and challenging each other’s business issues inside the ger That’s something that would never normally happen, so I was surprised sitting next to them. However, as the conversation continued, a unique synergy gradually began to form between the two companies. In the end, they listened to each other's presentations and shared their achievements with one another.
— So Dentsu Digital and DDAM served as a hub, connecting the platformers. If such unprecedented synergies were created, it seems it would also bring benefits to advertisers and general users alike.
Yamamoto: Especially on the second day, during the ger workshop, discussions often naturally evolve into topics offering a higher-level perspective on society. Immersed in nature, people think more deeply., Conversations that started with business efficiency sometimes shift to issues like sustainability before we even realize it. People start saying things like, “Seeing this landscape really makes you feel there are things we must protect.”
Ogishima: I think interacting with DDAM members also has a significant impact. There’s a tremendous energy among these young people, all passionate about developing their own country, so you can really feel the vibrant startup atmosphere even out in nature. This often leads to conversations about “what it means to be human.” I’m also always impressed by their deep respect and warmth toward Japan. Many platformers have commented that they were “moved by the hospitality.”
Envisioning a “Celebration of Humanity” Beyond Optimization and Technology
— So, in addition to developing highly effective AI solutions, these workshops also serve as a forum for discussing the future.
Yamamoto: Exactly. I believe these workshops are extremely meaningful when we consider the evolution of AI. As AI continues to advance and take over many of the tasks we’ve had to do up to now, we’ll increasingly need to pursue what it truly means to be human and what we should be focusing on as people.
Conducting workshops in Mongolia—a country deeply invested in STEM education and rapidly developing IT talent, while still having over 10% of its population living as nomads in harmony with nature—has significance in this context as well. Together with platformers and clients, Dentsu Digital and DDAM aim to create opportunities to envision a ‘celebration of humanity’ that transcends optimization and technology.
Ogishima: We also produce recap videos summarizing each workshop’s outcomes, which platformers can share internally.. This system allows the strategies developed in Mongolia to be quickly shared within their organizations. Regarding these initiatives, we’ve received comments from platformers expressing their hopes for us to continue creating “meaningful innovations for advertisers and society,” as well as “AI services that energize Japan.”
— Could you tell us about your future prospects?
Ogishima: Platformers expect us to be their partners not only for AI challenges in Japan, but globally. Through workshops and other initiatives, I’d like to continue developing projects with Mongolia as a starting point.
Yamamoto: We’ve been fortunate to receive feedback from one platformer saying, "There’s no other agency in the world combining such depth and speed in AI development." In fact, there are very few cases in the AI world where business and development are so closely integrated.
Within the Dentsu Group, we are advancing our original AI strategy, “AI For Growth (Japanese) ,” which aims to contribute to the growth of clients and society by combining "human intelligence" with "AI intelligence." In May 2025, we launched its updated version, “AI For Growth 2.0 (Japanese) .” This initiative seeks to deepen our unique “AI models” by fusing extensive data—such as proprietary large-scale surveys of about 150,000 people across 30 industries that Dentsu conducts twice a year—and in-house expert knowledge, with advanced AI technology. The goal is to build a new marketing platform and rapidly deliver solutions incorporating these models.
To achieve this, we’re strengthening collaboration with DDAM as our prototyping and PoC base, inviting platformers and clients to witness and experience the creation of AI solutions firsthand. We hope you will look forward to what’s next.
For inquiries regarding the Mongolia workshop, please contact us here.