Who Creates the Dentsu Inc. Person? (Part 1)

Joined Dentsu Inc. in 1977. As a creative director, he handled numerous campaigns. After becoming an executive, and until his retirement as Dentsu Special Advisor this March, Kenji Shiroto was involved in work for many companies, NGOs, and NPOs—spanning management and business strategy, brand communication, and corporate culture transformation.
Reflecting on his 38-year career at Dentsu Inc., where he encountered senior creators and corporate leaders with strong personalities and worked alongside them, he delivered his final lecture as a message to young Dentsu Inc. employees.
We present a digest of his lecture, where he introduced 50 individuals who contributed to his personal growth, over two installments.

Planning & Production: Aki Kanahara, Dentsu Inc. Event & Space Design Bureau

 

　

 

Practical Wisdom Gained Through Serious Competition

Today, under the theme "Who Shapes Dentsu Inc. People?", I'll share how the people I've encountered have shaped my growth. I believe sharing what they taught me and what I learned from them is the best way to repay their kindness. I'll refer to them by their titles at the time.

When applying for university, I failed twice to get into Kyushu Institute of Design, Japan's first science and engineering-focused art university, and ended up enrolling in Rikkyo University's Faculty of Law.
During my student days, I also enrolled in a copywriter training course, only to drop out after just two days. These failures—the exam setback and the training course dropout—led me to believe I lacked creative talent.

However, after two years of retaking exams, the only field where I could even take job interviews was media. I applied to ten companies, and the only one that hired me was Dentsu Inc. I joined Dentsu Inc. in 1977 and was assigned to the Second Creative Department. To someone who felt they lacked creative talent, it felt like nothing but bullying. I thought I might get fired immediately.

What nurtured me after such an extremely negative start?
It was the professional people I encountered along the way. They never tolerated half-hearted work. I believe the "real-world knowledge" (insights gained directly from the job site) I acquired through serious battles with them became my power and nurtured me.

 

Using excellent proposals as models

—The mentors who built my foundation

As a new employee, I was completely lost, struggling to figure out how to get my proposals approved in presentations.
So I asked around the 2CD division who was the best presenter. Almost everyone said it was Creative Director Yoshio Masuda. So, even though it was our first meeting, I went to see him and asked if I could get one of his proposals, even an old one. Mr. Masuda smiled shyly and said, "They're nothing to show," and didn't give me one.
So, I asked a planner who had worked with Masuda-san and managed to get a proposal for a cosmetics company from them.

That proposal was about two centimeters thick in A4 size. Social conditions, trends, market analysis, product concept, media plan, promotion plan... Seeing every conceivable detail written out, I was shocked that people could think this deeply just to sell one lipstick.
After that, whenever I got a new job, I made sure to incorporate the structure of Masuda-san's proposal. As a result, people started praising my presentations for being easy to understand.

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Another person who laid the foundation for my presentations was someone from the advertising department of a major electronics manufacturer. At the time, that department was doing outstanding work in collaboration with competitors, and I just couldn't compete. Among them, this particular person had a reputation for disliking Dentsu Inc.
As a newbie, I asked him how I could give a good presentation. He handed me a key to a room and told me to spend an hour thinking there.
That room was a storage archive filled with presentation materials created by star creators over the years.

After spending an hour going through every single document and leaving the room, that person handed me a proposal.
He said, "A good presentation must boil down to one line. You also need to think from the perspective of the salespeople who actually sell the product. If you constantly check whether your expressions motivate sales and whether you can express the outcome in one line, you'll become an excellent planner. So keep at it."

From that day on, I meticulously copied everything in that proposal—from the number of characters in the copy to the layout—mastering that "template" perfectly. I believe copying excellence exactly is the absolute foundation.

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That manufacturer back then was full of powerhouses. For about ten years after joining the company, I handled all the radio commercials for that company single-handedly. One day, I was summoned by the person responsible for developing the company's flagship product. He said, "For the next three years, our AV division won't produce any outstanding new technology. However, you must ensure we decisively win the business battles against our rivals." I pointed out that winning decisively against rivals without superior new technology seemed contradictory. He replied, "Breaking through contradictions is what creativity is all about. Anyone who can't do that has no right to call themselves a creator." I worked with him on various projects afterward, but I was completely outmatched by him.

 

Building Trust Through Honest Engagement

――A Serious Battle with the Client

Among all clients, the one who surprised me the most was the president of a major distribution company.
That company's commercials required final approval from the president before airing. On the day of the first preview, the president sat directly behind the projector. I said, "That spot is hard to see from there. Please take a seat over here."
The room froze. I became the first person to ever give the president an order.
Moreover, as soon as the preview started playing, the president jumped up and yelled, "Who made this awful thing?!" "Do you think it's good?!" "No, I don't." "Exactly! Rework it immediately!" Then he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
I thought I'd never see him again, but then an executive called to say, "The president wants us to continue working with you." Surprised, I asked why. Apparently, he said, "Those people admitted their mistake without a single excuse when told it was terrible. They're incredibly trustworthy." I realized that while you must be careful how you say things, telling the truth is always crucial.

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Then, about 12 years ago, I met the chairman of a major retail company. It was right when their sales had plummeted, and the media was reporting that they were "in trouble."
I told the chairman, "You've stated you'll restore the plummeting profits to ¥500 billion within a few years, but I believe that's impossible," and explained my reasoning. After outlining a broad strategy and specific plans, the chairman invited me to join as a consultant with the status of a vice president.

Over the next year and three months, we implemented various countermeasures, but ultimately, I failed to deliver any tangible results. So, I analyzed the reasons for this lack of success and submitted a report of about 50 pages.
I included both things that were my responsibility and things that weren't. I believe it was because of this report that the chairman trusted me. That chairman isn't afraid of failure at all, nor does he blame people for failing. The chairman reprimands those who fail to learn from their mistakes. Later, the chairman approved the reforms proposed in the report and implemented them, doubling the quality and speed of the supply chain.