Grasping the big picture with a multifaceted perspective, and leaving no stone unturned.

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 world they aim to create.

In the seventh installment of this series, we introduce Takuya Sugawara.

---

Creating products and services best suited for the digital age

For me, Dentsu Inc. is my third company. I joined in 2008, coming from another advertising agency and then an internet venture. I work in marketing communications centered around digital.

Today, digital is the very fabric of society, business, and daily life. My job is to help clients' products and services permeate society and reach users in the most effective way within this environment. Or, to digitize products and services themselves. To achieve this, I devise and propose various systems and methods, then execute them using every possible means.

I have supported initiatives such as developing communication strategies and building systems for customer creation at a credit card company, developing an in-house e-commerce service for a food manufacturer, and executing ongoing integrated marketing communications to expand user base for an e-commerce platform provider.

The combination of projects tackled without narrowing our scope,

and accumulated experience fuels the next move.

There are two things I value deeply.

First, viewing the whole with multiple perspectives. This work involves the intersection of many viewpoints: clients, staff, consumers. Therefore, I strive not to cling to my own preconceptions or limited knowledge, but to observe things as they are and grasp the overall picture with a multifaceted perspective.

The second is the admonition: "Never give up, never run away, never blame others." Sounds old-fashioned, doesn't it? I fundamentally believe giving up is wrong. If you don't give up, even tough, exhausting things can be managed. And even if the outcome isn't what you hoped for, you can look back on it later and laugh.

Working this way, I see, learn, and notice new things, expanding what I can do. I meet people I admire and can trust. That process itself is enjoyable and fulfilling. I want to keep broadening my professional scope, crossing boundaries toward what's needed and what interests me, without narrowing my field. If the role of a business producer is to exhaust every possible means toward a goal, then perhaps the seemingly disparate combinations and accumulation of work actually lead to the next step.

Personally, I've been profoundly influenced by "The Theory of Decadence." It's a famous essay by Ango Sakaguchi, known for the line "Live and fall." I encountered it during a modern Japanese mock exam in high school, and it hit me like a punch to the head. After all, "fall" means to crash.

No matter what happens, life is worth living. His words radiate a complete affirmation of "living" – a resolve and philosophy that gives me courage whenever I need it.