Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc. ( hereafter DMI) is a marketing research company that handles market research, user surveys, and the formulation of marketing strategies based on these. Its internal organization, the People and Lifestyle Research Institute, has established diverse research themes with business potential and released research findings such as consumer insights and trends. This article also introduced survey results summarizing future predictions for several years ahead based on consumer insights.
Since 2020, the institute has focused on "Well-being Research" as a key theme, exploring "what states people perceive as happiness" to provide insights for corporate activities. Why did they focus on well-being? What forms of happiness emerged from the research? We interviewed Yoko Kudo from the People and Lifestyle Research Institute.
Delving deeper into the states where people feel happiness
Q. First, could you tell us about your background and work?
Kudo: I joined DMI (formerly Dentsu Inc. Research Inc.) right after graduating and spent about ten years working closely with clients who primarily conducted qualitative research. Looking back now, I realize I was already doing a lot of work exploring consumer insights back then.
Later, I transferred to the People and Life Research Institute. There, leveraging quantitative, qualitative, and analytical skills, I provide new solution methodologies centered on "people." I also develop multifaceted methods for insights and trends and disseminate information.
A little over 10 years ago, methodologies like design thinking and ethnography (field observation research) were gaining attention. We also conducted home visits (home observation research) to understand consumers' lives within their context. From that time, when exploring consumer insights, I became conscious of considering what state the person desired as a better state, thinking from the background of their actions and the context of their life.
Yoko Kudo, Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
Kudo: The Human and Lifestyle Research Institute has two pillars. One is "Trend Forecasting" and "Future Forecasting," aimed at understanding and predicting the market. The other is "Well-being Research" and "Desire Research," aimed at understanding life insights. I'm primarily involved in this area of research. To gain a deeper understanding of the states where people feel happiness, I interview experts, advance research on consumption and desires with the DDD (Dentsu Desire Design) team, and conduct work sessions with clients.
The pandemic has led more people to seek a "good way of living"
Q. Why did the Human and Lifestyle Research Institute establish "Trend Forecasting" and "Well-being Research" as its two main pillars?
Kudo: In this era of diversifying values, many companies feel uncertain because the challenges themselves are vague—they don't know what the issues are or what consumers need. We decided to focus on "trend forecasting" and "well-being research" because we believe offering solutions grounded in future projections (how society will evolve) and a consumer perspective (understanding people) would be most effective for such companies.
The pandemic was the catalyst for choosing well-being as one of our core themes. During that period, the rise of remote work weakened organizational bonds, while increased time at home deepened family relationships. For many, what was once taken for granted changed, and values became unsettled. Society as a whole also began questioning established ways of living, asking "What is a good way to live?" This led us to consider whether we could incorporate well-being elements into our corporate growth support actions and services.
Q. Could you elaborate on the specific research you're conducting?
Kudo: We conduct consumer surveys and interviews with experts, regularly publishing our research findings. Currently, our company website features the results from our first through fourth research phases.
Our first research presentation, " Analysis of Positive Mental Changes Post-COVID," focused on the 26% of respondents who reported experiencing "positive changes in their mental state" after the COVID-19 pandemic began. We delved into why these positive changes occurred, seeking insights into well-being in the context of the pandemic.
In the subsequent second research presentation, we interviewed neuroscience expert Mizuto Aoto regarding the findings from "Analysis of Positive Mental Changes Post-COVID." He shared insights on "Future Well-being" from a specialist perspective.
The third research presentation developed the " Happy Brain Card " to promote the development of well-being-focused products and businesses. Created from a neuroscience perspective—examining what happens in the brain when people feel positive—these cards serve as hints for generating ideas for products, businesses, and services.
The "Directions of Happiness" for Consumers: The Key to New Ideas
Q. All the research is intriguing, but could you first tell us about the latest findings, the "9 Factors of Happiness Direction"?
Kudo: There are many commonly held beliefs about when people feel happy, like "when you feel confident in yourself" or "when you're deeply engrossed in something." We identified such items, considered related to happiness in past research like positive psychology, and surveyed consumers. We asked whether they felt happy about each item, then applied factor analysis to the results to create the "9 Factors of Happiness Direction."
Kudo: Specifically, these are: Self-Affirming Happiness, Aspirational Happiness, Immersive Happiness, Possessive Happiness, Love-Based Happiness, Connected Happiness, Altruistic Happiness, Liberating Happiness, and Laughter-Based Happiness. In terms of volume, "Love-Based Happiness" and "Self-Affirming Happiness" were prominent. We also observed trends like women feeling "Love-Based Happiness" more often than men.
Q. So, you've visualized the different types of happiness that exist, even though we often use the term "happiness" in a general sense.
Kudo: As a research company, we felt it was important to capture the nature of happiness not through expert opinions, but from the consumer's perspective – specifically, whether they "feel happy" – and to visualize that direction. Whether someone actually feels happy is subjective.
By doing this, we can gauge a product's affinity for providing specific types of happiness and gain insights into when the target audience might feel happy.
It should also be useful when developing promotional ideas. Promotions are often tied to seasons, starting with the given situation—like "New Year's" or "Christmas."
The "9 Factors of Happiness Direction" serve as a guide for ideas that assist in creating happier experiences. For example, what context might emerge when combining "New Year" with "happiness from self-affirmation"?
Q. So you're developing products and services centered on the target audience's "happiness" and "well-being," rather than just cost performance or convenience.
Kudo: That mindset is becoming mainstream. Focusing on well-being makes me feel we're getting closer to the future we want. I believe that as more products and services emerge that guide people toward happiness, the future will become brighter.
The People and Life Research Institute supports corporate activities from a well-being perspective by unraveling the principles of states where people feel happy and delving deeper into them. In the upcoming second part, we'll explore the "Happy Brain Card" developed by the institute and delve deeper into "happiness" from a neuroscience perspective.
Member of the People and Lifestyle Research Institute, a hub for developing methodologies and disseminating insights and trends centered on "people."
Primarily engaged in qualitative research like ethnography and workshop design for research promoting well-being in corporate activities and client work.
Member of DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN and the Dentsu Group cross-organizational Future Business Creation Lab.
