Our proposals and their outputs—revealed in full.

Hello, we're Ino & Hassi.

Iguchi: It's been a while... Cannes Lions wrapped up, and the first half of the year is already over. The awards race started with Spikes Asia and ADFEST. Our results were: Spikes Asia Bronze ×1, Honorable Mentions ×2;ADFEST Gold ×1, Silver ×3, Bronze ×1;and NY ADC Merit. We didn't win at The One Show or Cannes, hmm, we were close though. But at ADFEST, we contributed the most to the Dentsu Group winning NETWORK OF THE YEAR. Hassi really shines in Asia, as expected. Well, he has won the Grande Prix multiple times, after all.

Hashimoto: Not at all. Thank you to all the judges for your hard work. That said, while winning medals is important, the most crucial thing is that our entries consistently make it to the final selection among thousands or tens of thousands of submissions. It means we're aligned with the trends. Still, why is it that " LIONS GOOD NEWS 2020 " received external recognition but didn't even get a nod in our internal awards?

Iguchi: Hahaha. Well, following thatlogic, the "Tokyo Geidai Art Festival" project, which recently won Gold at both the PR Awards Grand Prix and Asia's largest PR event, PR Award Asia, is kind of similar. Well, Geidai folks like Mr. Yanai and Mr. Hamashima, along with others involved, are happy about it, so isn't that fine? But, like we were talking about recently, the big trends have shifted, haven't they? Japan is still struggling, though. We plan to cover that topic in our separate series, " LIONS GOOD NEWS 2022," so please check that out too.

Today, we invited a client we often work with and have become quite close to, along with members from Dentsu Inc.'s BP (Business Planning) team. We thought we'd share the proposal for a communication campaign we recently launched and are still actively developing, along with the outputs stemming from it. I hope this gives everyone a glimpse into the kind of proposals we make and how we bring things to life. So today, we have Mr. Takehara from Sekisui House, known for their "When you come home, it's Sekisui House." campaign, and Mr. Hara from Dentsu Inc. BP. Hey there!

Takahara: I'm Takahara from Sekisui House. Nice to meet you all today. Where is Producer Hiraoka today?

Hashimoto: He's off today (laughs).

Hara: I'm Hara, the sales representative in charge for Sekisui House. Nice to meet you.

Sekisui House Communication Design Department CX Design Office Kenichi Takehara (right), Dentsu Inc. Business Production Bureau Kenichiro Hara (left)

【Profile】

Sekisui House, Ltd.
Communication Design Department, CX Design Office / Detached Housing Communication Team
Team Leader
Kenichi Takehara
Born in Kyoto in 1978. After working in the staffing industry and at a web production company, joined Hakuhodo Products in 2011. There, primarily serving major corporations, he handled direct marketing, data-driven marketing, and media planning and creative work centered on digital across various industries and business domains. Joined Sekisui House, Ltd. in 2019. Responsible for integrated full-funnel planning from TV commercials to CRM. Served as project leader for various initiatives, including website renewals. Assumed current position in 2021.
 

Dentsu Inc. Kansai Branch
Business Producers Division 3
Kenichiro Hara
Born in Osaka in 1981. Joined Dentsu Inc. after working at Nihon Keizai Advertising. Produces communication activities for clients across a wide range of fields, from digital to mass media. Provides comprehensive support from product/service design—including launching new services and businesses, and generating business ideas—to managing media and creative operations until the business gains traction.

What is SEKISUI HOUSE DAY, the integrated communication initiative by Sekisui House?

Iguchi: This time, we'd like to use the opportunity of the recently held "SEKISUI HOUSE DAY vol.02" and the upcoming launch of the movie and digital content announcements to introduce our planning methodology while reviewing the proposal we presented to Mr. Takehara. Mr. Hara, could you start by explaining the overall framework?

Hara: SEKISUI HOUSE DAY is an online communication initiative we started this year in response to changes in the home-buying process during the pandemic. Under the theme "Bringing Happiness to Families Through 'Home'," we adapt the target audience and content depending on the timing. The first installment featured announcer Yuri Sasagawa as navigator, alongside Marie Kondo and HuffPost/BuzzFeed, in a program solving problems families currently face or are concerned about through the lens of "home." We're grateful it was very well-received, but a challenge remained: could we deepen the discussion content a bit more? That led to the question of how to proceed this time. Right, Mr. Takehara?

Takehara: That's right. Still, it's quite moving to have all four of us gathered here again. This project originally started with creating a web drama, right? A certain renowned director N even wrote the story for us. By the way, this is the script he proposed back then ... Wow, this would have been great in its own right, but... The presentation segment shown here is the prototype for SEKISUI HOUSE DAY. Incidentally, I'm the one who named it SEKISUI HOUSE DAY (laughs).

Iguchi: No, no, but even looking at this document now, it's pretty well put together. It's a shame we can only show the Word part, but it's interesting, right? Planning to output—of course, leave that to me—but the setting has a solid PR perspective built in. I think if we do this, it'll really spread. Take "One House to Save Many," which we plan to feature in this "LIONS GOOD NEWS 2022" series. It's strong in the PR category, but it also excels in branded entertainment. This combination of design – high craftsmanship creating excellent creative work and a PR perspective that drives reach – is absolutely essential for content in today's era.

Hashimoto: But the ending of this web drama script... (laughs). It's interesting, but that's tough, isn't it, Hara-san? When I explained it, I was stunned.

Hara: Honestly, for communication aimed at getting people to consider or purchase custom-built homes, ending with "Forget buying a house!" is a bit tough from a sales perspective (wry smile).

A new framework: Survey PR × Online Event.

Hashimoto: By the way, Mr. Takehara, how did the second round of feedback go on April 24th? There were some changes from the first draft, but is this the final proposal? The final draft is Word again, though. This time, it wasn't just about doing an online event. After discussing with Iguchi, we designed it to incorporate survey PR—something we couldn't do in vol.01 due to production time constraints—to establish facts, then build content based on those. Looking at other companies' online events, they often feel like they're done just because it's trendy, without much numerical backing. I think this online event produced output that truly sets us apart from the competition. Mr. Hara, any additional comments?

Hara: Yes, that's right. When creating presentations that resonate more deeply with people considering detached houses, this survey of 1,000 people considering or purchasing detached homes was quite effective. As Hashimoto-san said, rather than just inviting popular celebrities for talk segments, building content based on facts really deepens the discussions with the participants, doesn't it? In this case, interpreting the survey data from both husband and wife perspectives and framing it as "common couple experiences" worked well. Honestly, a lot of it really applied to our own home too. It made it easier to relate emotionally. In fact, the online event viewership improved significantly, and over 80% of participants expressed satisfaction.

※
You can watch the SEKISUI HOUSE DAY event by registering as a member of "Sumaizukuri School" operated by Sekisui House (some content no longer available)
https://www.sekisuihouse.co.jp/kodate/event/sankanbi/special-entry/
 

Takehara: Thank you, Dentsu Inc., for this excellent initiative. The internal feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Furthermore, linking this survey PR to an online event not only created a novel framework but also yielded excellent results in our pre-event promotional activities.

Hara: The PR impact is roughly double that of the previous event. Using primary data for PR activities allowed us to secure in-depth articles that analyzed the latest lifestyles through data, rather than just simple event announcements with press release reprints. This created strong motivation for event participation, which was excellent.

Takehara: Thank you for everything. We still need to address the short production time mentioned in the recent report meeting and today's discussion, though.

Hara: I'll definitely keep that in mind (laughs).

How should we fine-tune our ongoing communication?

Iguchi: The video for the event had a tight schedule—only 10 days from location scouting and PPM (final confirmation) to shooting. It's great we managed to finish it properly. By the way, this content derived from the survey PR feels promising, time-wise and otherwise, doesn't it?

Takehara: That's right. Beyond the large-scale implementation at headquarters, we'll also localize SEKISUI HOUSE DAY going forward to suit each area's characteristics. To make our customers even happier, we'll continue creating content that meets their needs. We also want to expand initiatives like this content development stemming from the survey PR. Next time, we'll have ample production time, so in addition to developing content that resonates with our target audience like vol.02, I'm also a bit hopeful we can achieve results like winning an award, as Mr. Hashimoto and Mr. Iguchi mentioned at the beginning.

Hara: Leave it to me!

Iguchi: To develop sustainable content like SEKISUI HOUSE DAY, building and accumulating facts, as exemplified by this survey PR, is crucial. It's branding within continuity. However, even with survey PR, data alone won't move people. We must control the quality, including the planning and execution. We build up data, continue what works well, increase new trials, and tune the whole. In that sense, the content expansion derived from the survey PR we introduced last is one approach. It's also a new initiative to promote the theme "Sekisui House brings happiness to families through 'home'" by engaging the media.

Hara: While SEKISUI HOUSE DAY spans multiple touchpoints—online events, videos, websites, graphics—I believe vol.02 took us to the next level. We plan to expand with localization and derivative content, aiming not just to acquire prospects but to continuously generate brand value.

Takehara: Thank you, Hara-san (tears).

Hashimoto: Nice wrap-up at the end, BP.

Iguchi: Well then, shall we head to the after-party soon? (laughs) I hear Hiraoka-san will be joining us too.

Hashimoto: Man, this episode was just as lively as Mr. Yanai's last time. Thank you so much, Mr. Takehara and Mr. Hara. My deepest gratitude.

Iguchi: It's truly gratifying that SEKISUI HOUSE DAY, which we're assisting with, is also well-received within the client company. Thank you, Mr. Takehara and Mr. Hara. We look forward to continuing our collaboration. So, if you consult with us, we can provide cutting-edge strategies and tactics like the proposal introduced here. Please feel free to reach out anytime!

Our next update will likely be around summer to fall, based on the progress of the new LIONS GOOD NEWS project we're currently working on. See you then! Oh, and one last thing—if anything here sparked your interest, please feel free to send us your project requests!
Contact: offer@craftprlaboratory.com

Special thanks:
Sekisui House
Kenichiro Nakajima, Chika Anami, Masato Kimura
 

Dentsu Inc.
Shingo Hiraoka, Teiji Tabuchi
 

PR Consulting Dentsu Inc.
Tomomi Hosoda