―Me and the Boss― Driving Business with Ideas (Part 2)

Continuing from last time, we present a conversation between Yasuharu Sasaki, Chief Creative Officer (CCO) at Dentsu Inc., and Aaron Zu, Creative Planner at Dentsu Inc.

Drawing on Aaron's new book, Think in Diagrams!, they discussed the role and value of ideas and creativity in business development.

Building better relationships between companies is also part of business development.

Aaron: I think the clearest metric for traditional creative work is winning awards. On the other hand, creative work in business development often shows results years later, which can make it harder for creators to maintain motivation, right?

Sasaki: If you think about why winning awards feels good, I believe it's because it provides objective confirmation that your creative work "moved people" or "reached them."

Business development certainly has a longer timeframe, but within that, you can clearly see people taking action, gaining fans, and enhancing brand power. I think that provides significant fulfillment as a creator.

Aaron: Absolutely. The greatest joy in business development comes from those moments when you truly feel you've contributed to saving or growing a client's business.

Sasaki: Over 20 years ago, a customer who was moved by an ad I worked on sent a postcard to the client. I still vividly remember the joy I felt when I heard that story.

Aaron: I understand. The sense of accomplishment when you learn that a new business you created has moved someone or made an impact on the world is immense, isn't it?

On the other hand, in some business development projects, we're only involved in the idea generation or brainstorming phase, while the client's director handles the subsequent execution and output. If you have any solutions for that lingering frustration, please share them (laughs).

Sasaki: That's a tough question (laughs). Since ideas themselves are intangible, I think it's crucial for the industry to raise awareness about the value of the intangible. Ideas that fade away quickly as expressions and ideas that remain as core business value, even though both are called "ideas," should have vastly different values.

However, we also need to propose more of the value we can provide precisely because we handle the entire process—not just the idea, but shaping it and sustaining it. For example, when proposing an idea like "Let's create a restaurant to solve a certain problem," we can design the entire experience: from ingredient selection and cooking to plating, spatial and cast direction, the reservation experience, and follow-up. We can even shape the system to sustain it. That's creative business development.

Aaron: By stepping between companies that previously had a buyer-seller relationship, we create a new win-win dynamic. I believe this is another key feature of business development that Dentsu Inc. can provide.

Sasaki: Exactly. Dentsu Inc. has about 6,000 client companies, and I believe our role going forward will also be to connect companies with each other to create new collaborations and value.

Aaron: Exactly. This is precisely where Dentsu Inc.'s honed magic can truly shine.

The dual expertise of business development and creativity is a powerful weapon!

Aaron: There's a famous corporate strategy framework called "PPM Analysis." When you view an industry on two axes—market growth rate and market share—areas lacking in both are called "dogs," while those with high growth but low share are called "problem children." Personally, I feel both should be seen as "question marks/seeds" whose growth potential is unclear. What's crucial is transforming these three areas—including the "Cash Cow" with high market share but low growth—into "Star" businesses where we can drive both growth and market share.

Sasaki: That's precisely where creativity can shine. Taking things that seemed unlikely to grow under traditional views and making them leap forward with combinations that make you think, "Why didn't I think of that?" There are countless challenges out there that can be solved with ideas. What's expected of us, I think, is to present these not as mere whims, but backed by logic grounded in our experience and calculations.

Aaron: When you keep doing that, people sometimes tease you, saying, "Hey, isn't that sales work, not creative?" (laughs).

Sasaki: Going forward, I think it's perfectly fine for salespeople to venture into creative territory, just as it's fine for creators or directors to take on sales activities. Whether a creative director consistently empathizes with a key person's concerns or a salesperson demonstrates high creativity in their proposals, both are valuable to the client. Being a dual-threat in business development sales and creativity – that's great, isn't it? (laughs)

Aaron: Hearing you say that, Sasaki, makes me feel like I can keep forging ahead on my own path (laugh).

Sasaki: There's no doubt that creativity is one of Dentsu Inc.'s core strengths. It's about solving problems in unexpected ways that anticipate the future—the kind of magic that no one else could have imagined. The power of creativity isn't just about slightly improving efficiency; it's about generating solutions 50 times better than expected. Rather than simply handing over that magic, if we can deliver it, like you do Aaron, backed by solid logic, I believe we can become an even greater force for clients and society. That creativity isn't exclusive to creators; I believe it can emerge from all kinds of people.

Aaron: We want to build the logic, overcome black swans with flexible perspectives, and finally boost our clients' growth with our unique magic. Thank you for today!

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