What can we learn about future-creating planning from the new town development "Hokkaido Ballpark F Village"?

Dentsu Inc.'s cross-functional creative organization, the Future Creative Center (FCC), is a group that supports future-building beyond advertising through creativity. This series introduces actual initiatives under the theme "Future × Creativity."

This time, we bring you an original program, "Breakthrough Thinking," which delves into the untold stories of how breakthrough ideas that drive transformation for companies and entire industries are born and what kind of future they bring, offering insights for tomorrow's business.

We explore "the future of value creation" through the case of "Hokkaido Ballpark F Village," which is bringing transformation to the sports business.

Moderated by Norihiko Sasaki (Principal, NewsPicks NewSchool). Guest MC: Yoshiki Ishikawa, preventive medicine researcher. Also appearing: Noritaka Obuse, Director, Future Creative Center, Dentsu Inc. and Taro Ogawa, Head of Sports & Entertainment Business Division, Fighters Inc.

※This article is reprinted from NewsPicks.

Creating New Value Through "Conceptual Shifts"

Sasaki: As various businesses undergo transformation, "creating new value" is absolutely essential. Today, as one example, we'd like to focus on "Hokkaido Ballpark F Village," which is bringing change to the sports business. What image comes to mind for you, Mr. Ishikawa, when you think of a ballpark?


Ishikawa: When I was studying abroad in the U.S., I lived right near Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.
Ballparks aren't just baseball stadiums; they're literally combined with parks. It was striking to see so many families visiting during the day. It's a place to engage with sports in a different way than before, isn't it?

Yoshiki Ishikawa. Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1981. Graduated from the Department of Health Sciences, University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine. After completing the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, earned a Ph.D. (Medicine) at Jichi Medical University. Specializes in preventive medicine, behavioral science, computational creativity, and more. As a researcher in well-being, he conducts interdisciplinary research with companies and universities. His publications include The Power to Keep Asking Questions (Chikuma Shinsho), Lifestyle Habits for a Brain That Doesn't Get Tired (President Inc.), and The No-Rebound Diet (Hoken).

Sasaki: In Japan too, ballpark construction is progressing in places like Hiroshima and Hokkaido, gradually expanding.

Mr. Ishikawa, you serve as an advisor to Dentsu Inc. FCC (Future Creative Center), which is developing "F Village" alongside the Fighters. Could Mr. Obuse briefly explain what kind of department Dentsu Inc. FCC is?

Obuse: When people think of Dentsu Inc.'s creative work, they often imagine TV commercials or newspaper ads. FCC, however, is a team of about 80 people focused on supporting the conceptualization and planning needed to create the future.

Noritaka Obuse. Director, Future Creative Center, Dentsu Inc. Leveraging "creative power" born from dual creative and marketing thinking, he discovers breakthrough points for business growth and handles branding planning, activation design, and experience development. Recipient of numerous domestic and international awards. Summited Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak.

For example, we recently assisted with the promotion for Lotte's "Sō" ice cream. "Sō" is a product that has existed for decades, so its existence and deliciousness are already well-known to many people.

Therefore, rather than aiming to increase product awareness, we sought to transform the eating experience. We incorporated a spoon designed with a pencil-like tip at the handle end, which led to a surge in consumers drawing pictures on the ice cream's surface.

It's human nature to want others to see your artwork, and indeed, countless creations drawn on Sō are still being shared on social media today. In other words, by shifting the battle from "taste" to "eating experience," we boosted sales through an approach distinct from traditional commercials.

Ishikawa: I think FCC's unique characteristic is well reflected in Mr. Obuse's approach of incorporating ideas from multiple creators indiscriminately. Because there's fertile ground for accepting ideas, simply working together satisfies a kind of need for recognition, and everyone enjoys it.

Sasaki: I see. So it's a method of developing ideas by incorporating the best parts from the whole group, rather than relying on the skills of a single influential creator.

Obuse: Envisioning a new future is incredibly difficult, but I believe the insights or discomforts each person holds often become valuable hints. That's why, even in our daily discussions, we consciously try to pick up on those individual thoughts.

Ishikawa: Even if you envision a future far removed from reality, if you can't work backwards from it, it often ends up just being proclaimed without action. On the other hand, if you think strictly grounded in reality, only commonplace ideas emerge. That's where the conceptual shift Kobushi-san just mentioned becomes crucial.

For example, the shift from the concept of "an 80-year life" to "a 100-year life" has profoundly changed how people plan their lives and think about them. At FCC, we constantly strive to identify such core concepts.

Creating a Common Language in the Ballpark

Sasaki: I believe Hokkaido Ballpark F Village is precisely the kind of initiative that brings about change in such core concepts. Why did you focus on the ballpark in the first place?

Ogawa: From a team management perspective, there are two major reasons.

Ogawa Taro. Group Leader, Ballpark Design Group, Sports & Entertainment Business Headquarters, Fighters Co., Ltd. Graduated from Keio University's Faculty of Policy Management. Worked for approximately 7 years at Marubeni Corporation on overseas plant construction projects, handling the structuring and execution of plant construction projects in Vietnam and Singapore. Subsequently obtained an MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. While a student, served as the Japan marketing agent for RCD Espanyol (La Liga), realizing multiple projects including partnerships between the club and major domestic travel agencies. Assumed current position after graduation.

First, owning our own stadium is crucial for achieving further growth for the team. Second, by contributing to the development of the surrounding area, we aim to reach audiences beyond baseball fans, creating a growth scenario resilient to the impact of the rapidly declining number of players.

For this F Village project, we're adopting the concept of a "co-creation space," collaborating with diverse entities to develop the surrounding area centered around the new stadium. While opening is scheduled for spring 2023, the plan isn't to implement all envisioned functions—like restaurants, lodging, residences, and educational facilities—at that point. Instead, we'll grow the town in phases.

Sasaki: By the way, what about the economic impact after F Village is completed?

Ogawa: Various estimates exist, so it's hard to generalize, but one projection suggests ¥150 billion over 10 years for Kitahiroshima City in Hokkaido, and ¥800 billion over 10 years for Hokkaido as a whole.

Sasaki: So, what is the biggest challenge in advancing the plan?

Ogawa: As a co-creation space, especially for the surrounding urban development, we must collaborate with diverse business partners moving forward. Our immediate challenge is how to broaden understanding and increase the number of partners.

Obuse: Dentsu Inc. is one such partner. I immediately sensed this sports-centered town development project is brimming with potential. So much can be achieved through sports, from early childhood sports education to alleviating loneliness among seniors.

Ishikawa: In fact, sports fans tend to have high levels of well-being. It's interesting that this remains high regardless of whether their team is winning or losing. The reason is that sports are one of the few things that can foster connections across generations.

Simply sharing a favorite team creates a common language regardless of age or gender. In that sense too, I feel this project holds tremendous potential.

What is the "Breakthrough Idea" that shares our future vision?

Sasaki: So, what is the breakthrough concept to realize such a ballpark? We have an illustration showing the first breakthrough concept, so please take a look.

Obuse: This is the future vision we collectively created when building the ballpark – our shared image of "the kind of future we want to create."

Precisely because this is a project with such great potential, each stakeholder has their own individual vision for this project. However, simply gathering all those visions together wouldn't work well. This illustration was created to share the future we should aim for.

Ogawa: Visualizing it like this was hugely meaningful. Even though we were all saying things like, "Let's build a new ballpark," "Then we'll build housing and commercial facilities," and "Well, we'll need schools too," initially, no one had absolute confidence about how to properly integrate all these ideas.

But this Future Vision gave us a shared image of what kind of experience we aim to provide in this town and what's needed to achieve it, making things much clearer.

Obuse: We also established another concept for this project: "PLAY HUMAN."


This encapsulates the value this town offers in a single phrase. Simply put, it embodies the wish for this town to be "a place where people can live as people." I believe this is an important message for making this a town that attracts people beyond just baseball fans.

Sasaki: Having clarified our goals through illustrations and distilled the concepts we aim to realize into a single phrase, the next step is assembling the talent needed to advance the project.

So, how to gather that talent is the second breakthrough idea. For this project, you've prepared a release titled "To All Families: Consultation on Transferring to the Fighters." What is the aim behind this?

Obuse: We want people who are interested to come to Hokkaido from all over Japan. But when you think about it, this is a very high hurdle.

To actually relocate to Hokkaido, you'd need to convince your family, and we felt this would be difficult to achieve with a standard job posting. That's why we started with "To Our Families" – we want them to use it as material to persuade their families.

Ishikawa: This really went viral on social media, didn't it? I saw the slide initially without knowing whose work it was, but as I scrolled through the page, I immediately thought, "This must be Kobuse-san." He's truly skilled at crafting slides with a narrative structure.

Obuse: The key is the order of the information. For example, we carefully arranged details about how sports business will become more attractive in the future and the benefits of moving to Hokkaido in the sequence that potential candidates would want to know.

Ogawa: As a result, it was a huge success as a recruitment tool. For 7 open positions, we received over 5,000 applications. It was great to get so much response from demographics the team hadn't reached before when they'd advertised.

Sasaki: That's incredible. In Europe and America, these kinds of sports-related jobs are popularly called "dream jobs," but in Japan, perhaps due to a lack of transparency, I think it's an industry that often makes people feel uneasy.
This approach seems perfectly suited to dispel those concerns.

Ishikawa: To unite a large number of people and direct them toward a single destination, a clear, easily understood future vision and a concise message like "PLAY HUMAN." are essential. Furthermore, I believe it's only when a clear story is presented alongside this that a significant wave of momentum can truly be generated.

How can we ensure the success of future-creating businesses?

Sasaki: Finally, could you share a concrete vision of what kind of town is actually emerging around this ballpark?

Ogawa: First, residence sales will begin simultaneously with the ballpark's opening. After considering what lifestyle living in the ballpark would create, we decided to offer residents free access to the ballpark for 10 years.

Additionally, to create new spectator experiences, we'll build a roughly four-story floor behind left field, featuring guest rooms, hot springs, saunas, and a food hall. Watching a game while soaking in hot springs inside a stadium is a world-first initiative. We expect these facilities to attract visitors even on non-game days.

Sasaki: I see. It truly feels like touching upon one facet of the future creation Dentsu Inc. champions. Let's have Mr. Ishikawa summarize today's discussion.

Ishikawa: To summarize, I believe it boils down to "conceptualizing ideas in a single word, a single glance, and a single impact."

The key to creating the future lies in how we distill the concepts that everyone involved generally holds in their minds into something that can be understood in a single word, at a glance, and in one shot. Of course, that is extremely difficult.

Sasaki: Thank you. We've gained truly diverse insights into the new customer experiences demanded of companies in our transforming society. I look forward to the future F Village will create.

Watch the program here.
Learn more about Dentsu Inc.'s business transformation here.