Company Song Contest 2023: The Theme is Diversity and Storytelling

The " NIKKEI National Company Song Contest " (commonly known as the Company Song Contest) determines Japan's best company song. Many companies, local governments, and educational institutions participate, recognizing it as an initiative that enhances communication among employees and with business partners, while also boosting corporate PR.

The upcoming 4th edition will feature significantly updated judging criteria and prize lineup, along with new judges. (Scheduled for announcement in July 2022)

What are the key evolutions for the 2023 contest? What are the underlying goals and new benefits for participating companies?

Dentsu Inc.'s Kohei Morimoto, the contest's founder, interviewed Keiichi Shibata from Nikkei Inc. (the contest organizer), and Hatsu Teranishi and Chie Kato from XING (JOYSOUND), the special collaborators.

The finals are entertainment filled with laughter and tears

Morimoto: The third edition saw participation from 142 companies, with votes reaching approximately 1.5 million—a 150% increase from the previous year. This demonstrates the growing passion and unity among participants year after year. The finals featured passionate presentations from 12 companies. Looking back on the event, could you share your honest impressions?

Shibata: Like last year's finals, we had to implement infection control measures and attendance limits. However, thanks to the employees and supporters of the participating companies who came out to cheer them on, I could really feel the high level of passion and strong unity everyone has for the contest.

Teranishi: This was my first time seeing the finals in person, and I was genuinely moved by everyone pouring their souls into delivering their company songs to the world. It was truly entertainment with laughter and tears.

Kato: You could really feel the love for the company songs coming from the supporters, not just the presenters. I also watched the videos of songs that didn't make it to the finals, and it made me realize all over again how many fascinating companies there are in Japan.

Shibata: You could really feel how much effort each group put into crafting their entries. With fewer opportunities for employees to meet face-to-face during the pandemic, we've seen more companies using this contest as a way to boost communication and share their purpose.

Morimoto: Our company survey also showed many companies felt effects like "increased employee communication" and "enhanced team unity." Some even used the videos for corporate PR, and a few leveraged them for recruitment activities.

Teranishi: I imagine everyone must have discussed and consulted on many things before reaching the final output. That process is also part of the appeal of company songs, isn't it?

We believe that the combination of companies and music can energize Japan.

Morimoto: The third competition featured impressive performances from non-corporate groups too, like Showa Women's University, which won the Grand Prize, and Iruma City, which took third place and received the Organizer's Special Award.

Shibata: That's right. While it's called a "company anthem," we're seeing new developments like participation from educational institutions and municipalities, and activities involving local communities. For Nikkei, which aims to boost the Japanese economy through the power of content, the expanding potential of company anthems is very encouraging.

Kato: We at XING also believe in energizing Japan through music and entertainment, so we deeply resonate with the "corporate x music" concept of the company anthem contest.

Teranishi: We're distributing the finalist songs on JOYSOUND for karaoke, and we've received feedback like, "We're truly happy to be able to sing our own company song at karaoke." It fills us with joy to think that people are actually using these songs to connect and communicate through karaoke.

Morimoto: Being featured in the Nikkei newspaper and having the songs distributed for karaoke are significant benefits for the companies, and we hear this is a major motivator for participation.

Kato: It's wonderful that it doesn't end with just submitting an entry. Companies are using their songs to spread their messages and aspirations both internally and externally, and the karaoke distribution is further boosting the popularity of their company songs.

Morimoto: Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, where horizontal connections are strong, we're seeing friendly companies collaborating during the voting period. It's truly becoming more common to use company songs as a communication tool.

Evolving into a contest emphasizing greater diversity and storytelling

Morimoto: For the fourth "NIKKEI National Company Song Contest 2023," we've decided on several updates, including the judging criteria and the lineup of awards. First, regarding the judging criteria, we've added the item: "Can you feel the employees' (members') love for the song?"

Teranishi: We received many outstanding entries again this year. What particularly stood out were those where you could see the faces of the employees, or rather, where you could feel the employees had put their heart and soul into creating it. Ultimately, the employees are the stars of the company song. It's precisely because employees unite to express their company's spirit, message, and affection that it becomes a truly unique company song that stays with people. Adding this perspective is the intent behind the change in judging criteria.

Morimoto: So the passion and appeal of the employees themselves are what lead to effective corporate PR, right?

Teranishi: Yes. Therefore, it's not about having a larger number of participants being advantageous; what's important is that the passion of each individual comes through clearly.

Kato: While a highly polished song is appealing, people are truly moved when they feel the story behind the work. We'd be delighted if you could infuse your entries with genuine affection and passion for your company.

Morimoto: Another major change involves how finalists are selected and the lineup of entries and winners.

Shibata: Regarding the finals qualification rules, since selection based solely on votes tends to favor larger organizations, we've slightly reduced the number of spots allocated to top vote-getters and increased the number selected by the judges. Also, as Kato-san mentioned, because we want to value the story behind the song and video, we'll select finalists that focus on the story of the company anthem. Furthermore, we plan to introduce new awards based on the number of views and likes for the company anthem short videos (submitted separately from the main entries) on the official YouTube channel, as well as a new Sponsor Special Award.

Please check the official website for details, but our overall intent is to create a contest that emphasizes fairness and diversity, expanding opportunities to more companies and organizations.

Morimoto: Also from the perspective of diversity, we plan to add several new judges. We will announce the future schedule and additional information on the official website as it becomes available, so we would be delighted if interested parties would check it out!

We hope you'll enjoy encounters that transcend industry and company size.

Morimoto: We really want everyone to help make this enhanced company song contest a success. Finally, could you share your enthusiasm and a message for the Company Song Contest 2023?

Teranishi: I'm already incredibly excited to see what kind of entries we'll encounter next time. Many companies, including those in our karaoke industry, are facing difficulties due to the pandemic's impact. I believe music has the power to help Japan regain its vitality, so I hope this contest can be a catalyst for that.

Kato: I always look forward to seeing what companies will enter. What makes this event interesting is that it's not just about creating and submitting songs or videos; there's also the chance for your company song to become a karaoke track and be distributed. I'd like to do what I can to help make that happen.

Shibata: We've updated the judging criteria and other aspects to make this a contest that's easier for more organizations to participate in. We really want both regular participants and companies that haven't applied before to apply in large numbers. And we hope that next year's finals will be held in a situation where even more people can attend.

Teranishi: We all want to share that excitement together, right? It also creates connections with people you wouldn't normally meet in your everyday work.

Morimoto: I think one of the charms is how companies from different industries, sizes, and regions form new connections through corporate entertainment (the company song contest).

Shibata: We hope everyone enjoys the experience, including those unexpected encounters.

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The official website for the "NIKKEI National Company Song Contest 2023" is here.

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