What we want to sell is the athlete's "brain" ~ The challenge of "Turning Athletes into Brains" ~

December 9, 2020. As part of the 'Athlete Brains' project, which creates new businesses based on athletes' insights, an internal Dentsu Inc. webinar titled 'Athlete × Business: Current Status and Future Potential' was held. This series, linked to the webinar's first and second parts, aims to sharply examine the essence of athlete business revealed through the webinar, along with the true feelings and ambitions of those driving this field, from an editor's unique perspective. This first installment introduces the origins of "Athlete Brains" and its current initiatives.

Editorial Responsibility: Dentsu Inc. News Editorial Department

"You Can't Run a Business with Just Sports Spirit" (Hiroshi Tamesue)

Part 1 of the webinar featured a discussion with Dai Tamesue, a central figure in Athlete Brains, and Akimichi Hibi from Dentsu Inc.'s Creative Planning Division 3, who has been involved since the project's early days, joined by Yukiko Matsue from Dentsu Inc.'s Business Producers Division 17.

Mr. Tamesue responding to an interview (from "Tamesue Dai's Flexible Pace")

From the outset, Tamesue's observations were blunt. For instance, when people hear "collaboration between athletes and companies," the typical image might be an athlete passionately sharing "motivational speeches" based on personal experience, while the company leverages that athlete's image (i.e., likeness or portrait rights) for business. "While that is certainly one aspect," Tamesue calmly emphasized, "I believe it's insufficient on its own." As a business owner himself, Tamesue does not believe that image-based strategies alone can drive sales or build genuine trust with fans.

Over five years have passed since the launch of "Athlete Brains." The conviction behind its core slogan, "Bringing athletes' knowledge to everyone," remains unwavering. Knowledge here refers to concrete strategies and methodologies for achieving goals. It is absolutely not about image. Furthermore, and this is key, the project aims to deliver that knowledge to "everyone." The project's target isn't aspiring athletes, but rather people who face ordinary work challenges and wish for the health of themselves and their families – people just like you and me.

"No one has ever become a swimmer without swimming. That's a great quote. Hmm, who said that again?" (Hibiki Akimichi)

Hibi-san playfully addresses his long-time "ally," Tamesue-san. This phrase actually appears in the founding declaration of "Athlete Brains," an initiative aiming for co-creation with businesses and society. The next line leaps out: "No one has ever become a rugby player without tackling." Of course, the words were penned by Tamesue-san himself.

Mr. Tamesue and Mr. Hibi at the recording venue

Tamesue-san frequently uses the term "practical knowledge." The sports arena is, above all, a place of practice. While knowledge, theory, and experience are important, the wisdom cultivated through practice itself is paramount—that is where "value" truly resides. Here, "value" does not derive from records, medals, or honor. Simply put, it boils down to whether project members like Mr. Hibi, partner companies, and the consumers who use those companies' services or products will say, "That's great."

"If there's no textbook, then we have to create one, right?" (Hiroshi Tamesue)

How can we make people understand that "value"? How can we make them empathize with that "value"? After pursuing this relentlessly, Mr. Tamesue arrived at the answer: visualize the value of athletes, and further, abstract (generalize) it. To put it simply, it's like incorporating a little essence of Mr. Tamesue's training methods into your daily life and thinking, "Huh? My legs and hips feel lighter somehow." "With our corporate partners, we repeatedly work backward from that goal image, asking: What is the 'essential value' of this service, of this product? We discuss it over and over. It's like creating a textbook. Since no such textbook exists in the world, we just go with the flow and say, 'Well, let's just make it together!'"

"I think the true nature of 'specialness' is a sense of security" (Yukiko Matsue)

Here, the third panelist to appear was Ms. Matsue from Dentsu Inc. BP Bureau. She is a partner who has worked alongside Mr. Tamesue and Mr. Hibi on product development for a certain company. "To be honest, initially, we approached the client hoping to capture a certain 'special feeling' embodied by world-class athletes like Mr. Tamesue and Ms. Ikue Teshigawara, who pioneered short track speed skating," Ms. Matsue reflected. "But as we worked alongside the client, I realized that what I perceived as 'special feeling' was actually a sense of reassurance."

Mr. Tamesue and Mr. Matsue at the recording venue

Matsue vividly remembers the moment the project, which began with the challenge of "How can we build strong, healthy bones like Tamesue's?", made significant progress. "The key point was daily posture. When the keyword 'posture' emerged during our discussions with the client about the test product, everyone seemed to see a glimmer of hope, or felt a sense of relief. Their expressions naturally softened."

Matsue also energetically pursues activities as a family education advisor. "To borrow Mr. Tamesue's words, it's all about visualization and abstraction (generalization), right? This applies perfectly to family education too."

"If you can't land it, it's just a pipe dream." (Tamesue Dai)

"I'm very happy to hear you say that, Ms. Matsue," Tamesue continued, slightly embarrassed. "But, not speaking as an athlete, if you can't land it, it means nothing."

This brings us back to Tamesue's opening statement: "We all worked so hard, we sweated so much—isn't that enough?" That mindset won't foster true co-creation. "We athletes tend to focus solely on functionality. What we need is the ability to 'translate' that discussion—not into abstract theories or vague imagery, but into clear language and compelling visuals that everyone can understand and feel confident about. What we athletes truly expect from Dentsu Inc. and our clients is precisely that kind of ability.

In fact, when Mr. Tamesue first heard Mr. Matsue's "everyday posture" story, his initial reaction was, "Well, that's just common sense." But as the team discussed it further, the realization began to grow: "Wait a minute? This might be a really important discovery. Actually, paying attention to everyday posture is something every athlete is mindful of."

Everyone wants a push when they're hesitating, and it feels great when someone gives you that push. It reassures you that "this path is the right one," and a glimmer of hope appears. As an ordinary person, I was greatly encouraged by the business potential of selling an athlete's "brain." And from an athlete's perspective, projects like this must be a huge push forward.

Commemorative photo session with webinar speakers (Part 1 / Part 2)

"Athlete Brains," spearheaded by Dai Tamesue.
For details on the team leveraging athletes' cultivated knowledge to solve societal (corporate/social) challenges, click here.

This series was edited from the unique perspective of Web Dentsu News, under the supervision of Akimichi Hibi (Dentsu Inc., 3CR Planning Bureau) and Kohei Shiraishi (Dentsu Inc., Business Co-creation Bureau), the organizers of the webinar held on December 9, 2020.