Nice to meet you. We're Harajuku Kawaii Lab!

Nice to meet you. We're the Harajuku Cuteness Research Lab!
Starting today, we launch our new series "The Real Teenage Girl," delving into the genuine feelings of teenage girls today!

Harajuku Kawaii Lab is a research team launched in December 2012 through a collaboration between Dentsu Inc. Gal Lab and Mynavi's " JOL " service, which supports girls' dreams. We specialize in investigating the "now" of teenage girls in junior high, high school, and college. While based in Harajuku, our research extends beyond the neighborhood to study the real lives of girls nationwide.

For our first installment, Asami from Dentsu Inc. Gal Lab will share the story behind the launch of Harajuku Kawaii Lab and its activities.

Logo mark. The diamond, favored by girls, is based on the motif of research graphs.

❤Explore what today's teenage girls find "cute"!
The name "Harajuku Kawaii Lab" embodies our desire to base our activities in Harajuku, the epicenter of Japanese "kawaii," research what today's girls find "lovable" (beloved things and trends), and share our findings with the world.

❤Making the challenging "teen girls' feelings" survey possible
At Dentsu Inc. Gal Lab, where I work, we've handled a wide range of projects targeting women: marketing strategies and advertising for companies, products, and services; business and product development; promotions; and even TV programs and magazine/newspaper features.
As Dentsu Inc.'s specialized women's team, we continuously analyze and research female insights from the Gal Lab's unique perspective to maintain a keen understanding of what moves women's hearts and to keep our intuitive grasp of their sensibilities.

However, we felt we couldn't quite grasp the sensibilities of teenage girls.

While we still had some connection with university students, who were already working adults, we had almost no contact with high school students or those younger, even for us at Gal Lab. Opportunities to speak with them directly or interact were rare.
Furthermore, since it's difficult to collect responses from teenagers in general surveys, there was almost no data available.

We didn't want to plan without knowing the real lives of our target audience.
Driven by this desire, we partnered with JOL to establish the 'Harajuku Kawaii Lab.' Together with today's junior high, high school, and college girls, we aim to capture authentic teenage insights through the lens of Dentsu Inc. Gal Lab.

❤Capturing the current reality of teens to inform planning
JOL boasts a nationwide membership of 60,000 teenage girls.
Additionally, we operate " Dream Station JOL Harajuku " on Takeshita Street in Harajuku, featuring a makeup space, event space, and food court. It has become such a staple spot for teenage girls that they say, "If I go to Harajuku, I absolutely have to stop by!"

The Harajuku Cuteness Research Lab has consistently conducted seasonal surveys several times a year, gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. It also provides insights to media outlets like TV programs and corporations, forms product development teams with teenage girls and the Gal Lab for promotional campaigns, hosts girls' gatherings at Dream Station JOL Harajuku featuring Gal Lab-planned events, and involves junior high, high school, and college-aged girls in corporate promotional projects.

Through these activities, Harajuku Kawaii Lab discovers changes unique to today's teens that weren't present in our own youth. We revisit nostalgic feelings from adolescence—sensibilities that fade as we grow older—while constantly being inspired by their reality. This ongoing interaction fuels our evolution.

Next time, we'll bring you the latest seasonal survey: the feelings of today's teenage girls toward the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Stay tuned!

Illustration: Hanako Takii (Dentsu Inc.)

This series features

featuring image illustrations! Stay tuned for more.

Dentsu Inc. News Release: "Dentsu Gal Lab" Launched[March 15, 2015]

Dentsu Inc. News Release: "Harajuku Kawaii Lab" Launched[2012.12.12]