The People and Lifestyle Research Institute at Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc. (hereafter DMI) conducts surveys and research based on two pillars: "Trend Forecasting" and "Future Forecasting" aimed at market understanding and prediction, and "Well-being Research" and "Desire Research" aimed at understanding consumer insights.In Part 1, we spoke with Yoko Kudo of the People and Lifestyle Research Institute about the activities within their "Well-being Research" pillar.
In this second part of the interview, we delve deeper into the "Happy Brain Card," developed based on neuroscience, and its applications.
Visualizing the State Where "Brain Happiness" Occurs
Q.According to the third research presentation onwell-being studies, you developed the "Happy Brain Card" to promote the development of well-being-focused products and businesses. Could you tell us more about this?
Kudo: The "Happy Brain Card" is a collection of behavioral and habit hints designed to guide consumers toward "brain-based happiness." It was created from a neuroscience perspective, exploring questions like "What happens in the brain when people feel positive?"
Take sleep, for example. Many sleep-supporting items and supplements are currently sold, reflecting high demand for better sleep and improved sleep quality. One brain-based happiness rule is: "Serotonin absorbed in the morning converts to melatonin by evening, enabling quality sleep." While improving sleep through dietary intake is one approach, promoting activities like spending time outdoors in sunlight to absorb serotonin from morning onward—gifting people that experience—might lead to a better day overall.
The "Happy Brain Card" is a tool that compiles about 30 such action rules designed to guide brain-based happiness.
Q. Since it was created from a neuroscience perspective, does that mean "happiness" is defined based on biological responses? For subjective happiness like "I'm happy when I'm absorbed in my hobby" or "I'm happy when I can play my favorite game," you utilized points identified in neuroscience and physiology as causes for those phenomena and incorporated them into the cards, right?
Kudo: Yes. For example, we feel happy when striving hard toward a goal. This is said to occur because the secretion of norepinephrine from feeling pressure, combined with the secretion of dopamine related to curiosity, creates a state of heightened focus and immersion. Therefore, moderate pressure is necessary, and it's important that this pressure is paired with curiosity – the enjoyment of the activity itself.
Based on this, when offering products or services, pairing elements like "the thrill of not knowing what might happen" with "the excitement of curiosity" could potentially create a similar state.
Q. There's a psychological experiment called the "suspension bridge theory," right? That's a psychological phenomenon where the fluttering sensation caused by anxiety or tension is mistaken for romantic feelings. Does product/service development using the "Happy Brain Card" similarly aim to leverage such physiological responses?
Kudo: Yes, that's correct. However, the core principle revolves around the rules governing phenomena related to the concept of "brain-based happiness." For example, the happiness of love is linked to oxytocin. It's said that oxytocin is secreted when thinking about family or interacting with children. Oxytocin is also said to be nurtured through physical contact. Applying this, we consider ideas like, "Could we provide products or experiences that encourage more time spent interacting with children?"Our proposal is to consider product and service ideas from the perspective of designing experiences that more easily lead to brain-based happiness.
Recently, we've seen more clients utilizing the "Happy Brain Cards" during our workshops. They're being used as a catalyst for generating ideas.
Well-being research can also be applied to organizational development
Q. You've now published four research reports. What insights or tangible results have emerged from your well-being research?
Kudo: The "9 Factors of Happiness Direction" and "Happy Brain Card" from our fourth research presentation were analyzed with the intent of connecting to marketing strategies. However, I also believe they can be used for organizational improvement—specifically, identifying what actions within an organization can make employees more positive.
While our main business is marketing and research, I believe we can also support areas like organizational development and "human capital management," which views people as capital and maximizes their value. We plan to challenge ourselves in these directions going forward.
Q. It's interesting that marketing solutions can be applied to organizational development.
Kudo: During a previous meeting with a client company, we discussed what they were doing around the theme of well-being. The person in charge was also thinking deeply about how to enhance well-being within their own company.
However, when it comes to so-called "policy-driven" initiatives, even if they're implemented top-down, it often creates an atmosphere of "Oh, this is kind of a hassle...""Just more things to do." Instead, wouldn't it be more effective for employees themselves to think about ways to work happily every day? Even an ordinary employee unfamiliar with HR strategy could use the "9 Factors of Happiness" framework and hints from the "Happy Brain Card" to come up with ideas for creating better workplace practices.
Yoko Kudo, Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
Developing products and services that provide "positive experiences"
Q. Are there any well-being themes you wish to pursue further?
Kudo: My primary focus now is expanding well-being research centered around the "Happy Brain Card" and the "9 Factors of Happiness Direction."
I sense some companies are losing sight of the meaning behind developing new products as markets become commoditized. For such companies, I hope to propose not just developing new products as part of their business cycle, but also considering products that offer good experiences or help people have a good day.
For example, a seasoning manufacturer could broaden their perspective to consider "culinary experiences" or "daily routines," designing positive experiences for consumers. It would be great to accompany them in developing such products and services.
Q. So it's about proposing how to design the future with a longer-term perspective and broader vision, rather than traditional promotions focused solely on "selling this product."
Kudo: Exactly. I sense many people want to connect their products and services to improving well-being or solving social issues. I believe our research and developed tools can support them in achieving that vision.
In this era of 100-year lifespans, attention is focused on living better, more well-being-centered lives over the long term. The "People and Life Research Institute" initiative, which visualizes "happiness" based on personal experiences and feelings to apply it to marketing and corporate activities, aligns with the needs of the times and makes their future research very intriguing.
The information published at this time is as follows.
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.
