As a value creation partner

We live in an era of profound change across all industries. An era where the future is unpredictable.
Even within the advertising industry, various new job roles are emerging.

This time, we introduce the "Business Producer" role, a position gaining attention within the Dentsu Group.
How can we enrich our clients' businesses? Each of them tackles this challenge in their own way, using every trick in the book.
We asked them about their work and the future they aim to create.

In the fourth installment of this series, we introduce Mr. Ichiro Kudo.

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Client Expectations Shift Toward Consulting

I handle a wide range of clients, from consumer goods to pharmaceuticals, social infrastructure, and everything from B2C to B2B. My role also varies significantly—sometimes I'm a producer, other times a consultant. Since each client requires a customized approach, I strive to keep my own role flexible at all times.

Over the past few years, I've noticed a significant shift in the role clients expect Dentsu Inc. to play. There's a growing demand for end-to-end support, not just in advertising communication, but extending upstream into business/product development. Recently, new business development has also been requested.

In other words, they seek solutions that directly impact their business and strategies that influence the business itself for growth—essentially, consultation services.

What value creation demands is ideation

In consulting work, three factors are essential: ① speed of thought, ② depth of thought, and ③ ideation. I interpret ③ as the ability to generate non-linear, disruptive ideas.

Among these, I believe factor ③ is where Dentsu Inc. truly stands out when competing against other consulting firms. There are many instances where we are impressed by the unique frameworks and analytical capabilities of other consulting firms. However, Dentsu Inc.'s strength lies in transforming analytical results into ideas, crafting strategic narratives, and then seamlessly executing from strategy to implementation, taking full responsibility to the end.

What clients seek is not just upward-trending business plans, but "growth with an increased angle." This requires more than data analysis and formatting; it demands tangible outputs.

That said, this ideation process is never easy. It can't be handled by formulaic processing. Every day, every time, I constantly experience the agony of creation.

What I constantly focus on is maintaining deep insight into the client's condition. From the president and executives down to the responsible staff, and even extending to stakeholders surrounding the client. I gather information relentlessly by asking questions. Then, I organize the intertwined challenges and share them with all responsible staff at the same time. Clearly communicating the timeline is also crucial. This allows new ideation to emerge from all team members, each with their role, sitting at the same table. We create the essential value needed to remain a trusted partner to the client.