A business name is also copy. -The case of TOKIMEKU JAPAN-

I'm Hideaki Morohashi, a copywriter and CM planner. It goes without saying that for a startup to scale, it must embrace society's desires (needs). What kind and scale of desires should the business embrace?

In the work I'll introduce with TOKIMEKU JAPAN, we put that definition into practice through words.

<Table of Contents>
▼A startup founded by a cancer survivor.
▼Society's desires are essential for growth.
▼ Redefining the "Business Name".
▼What redefining the business name brings.
▼Many Startups Lack the "Society" Element.

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A startup founded by a cancer survivor.

TOKIMEKU JAPAN is a startup operating "KISS MY LIFE," a fashion brand for hospitalized patients. It offers items like colorful hospital gowns, care hats, and wheelchair skirts that combine high fashion with functionality.

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The founding of "KISS MY LIFE" is deeply connected to President Shiozaki's personal background as a cancer survivor.

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During her battle with cancer, her greatest stress came from being deprived of fashion.

For her, who ran an apparel shop, being forced to wear the same hospital gown every day was unbearable. Amidst this, the desire to "create a society where even hospitalized patients can enjoy fashion" became the spark that ignited her entrepreneurship.

What growth needs is society's desire.

Yet, when I met President Shiozaki through a connection, she seemed vaguely anxious.

Her business was gradually gaining traction, and her vision was taking shape. Yet, she felt uneasy. Would employee motivation hold? Could the business truly scale? What should she focus on now? She seemed to be wrestling with vague anxieties, unsure of their source.

So, we invited her to Dentsu Inc. several times to delve deeper into the nature of that anxiety. What emerged during this process was that the root of her various anxieties might lie in the fact that the scale of desire TOKIMEKU JAPAN could currently accommodate was too small.

TOKIMEKU JAPAN was primarily addressing the desires of President Shiozaki or others in similar circumstances. While this is deeply respected, the realization that this scale wasn't sufficient for business purposes was the source of the anxiety.

Ultimately, for a company to sustainably grow and expand, it must embrace "society's desires." Optimizing the scale of desires the company embraces. We concluded this was the fundamental challenge facing TOKIMEKU JAPAN.

Redefining the "business name."

I felt words were necessary to solve the highlighted challenge.

Words to define and declare the types and scale of desires the company embraces. However, what troubled me was the format of those words.

Should it be a corporate vision, a tagline, or perhaps the president's greeting on the website? Where should it be placed, and how should it be written to convey the message most accurately and powerfully?

We arrived at the "business name." We proposed rethinking the core words of the business as a communication tool and updating them. The idea was to make the business name function as copy.

A fashion business for hospitalized patients

might make the business seem micro-focused and less capable of capturing broader desires. President Shiozaki also stated that fashion is merely a means to provide "the ability to be oneself in any situation."

Therefore, by establishing this very concept as the business name, we could engage with society on a much broader level. The customer base needn't be limited to patients. By defining it as for all people whose sense of self is being threatened, we could embrace a wider range of desires.

This concept was synthesized and proposed as

Creative Care Business

.

We structured it so that caring for human creativity became TOKIMEKU JAPAN's business name, with the fashion business being one means within the Creative Care Business.

Below is the statement I wrote as supplementary material when proposing the business name.

Furthermore, I proposed prominently displaying the business name by always placing "CREATIVE CARE COMPANY" above the company logo.

What redefining the business name achieves.

This redefining of the business name served purposes beyond gathering societal desires.

One was to make it easier to generate business ideas internally. With Creative Care, it doesn't necessarily have to be about fashion. It creates an ideal state for generating ideas—one where you can think freely while keeping your focus grounded.

Another was to enhance the company's presentation capabilities, particularly effective during fundraising. The non-generic business name exudes a freshness and spirit of challenge, signaling the potential to pioneer new markets.

Many startups overlook the "society" aspect.

I believe startups should incorporate this kind of exercise—defining and articulating "the desires they aim to fulfill"—early on.

This is because, in meeting many startups, I often encounter cases where the type of desire is too niche or the scale too small. The perspective of "society's desire" is missing.

Clearly define the type and scale of desires you want to capture, and even how you will capture them. Ideally, incorporating an external, objective perspective or viewpoint is best.

This concludes our series exploring "Words in Management." Next time, as a special edition, we'll feature a conversation with Ms. Ogawa from Ietty, who appeared in our first installment.