Repro's Challenge: Driving Transformation in the Entertainment Industry with "Organizationally Embedded MVV" as Its Engine

Continuing from last time, we feature a dialogue between Ryuhei Honma, Head of Corporate Planning at Repro Entertainment, and Taiki Kawase, Art Director at Dentsu Inc., discussing Repro Entertainment's challenges in transforming the entertainment business and the accompanying efforts of the Dentsu BX team.

Repro has undertaken various challenges toward transforming the entertainment business: diversifying operations, shifting to fair contract structures with performers, reviewing internal systems, and resuming new graduate hiring after a four-year hiatus. Formulating their MVV (Mission, Vision, Values) was one such initiative.

While many companies struggle to embed MVV, why did Lepro decide to establish theirs? What process did they follow to create "words that resonate"? And what future are they envisioning, starting from this MVV? We delve into their vision.

Aiming for an organization where each individual is self-reliant and continuously challenges themselves

Kawase: In the first part, we discussed the structural changes in the entertainment business, Repro's diversified business expansion, and the background behind resuming new graduate hiring after a four-year hiatus. Amidst this series of transformations, the next initiative was establishing your "Mission, Vision, and Values," or MVV. Could you start by sharing the challenges that prompted this?

Honma: Even before the pandemic, starting in 2019, Lepro had already introduced "flexible work styles" like full remote and full flex time. However, after experiencing the pandemic, we felt that this "freedom" had somewhat taken on a life of its own.

Of course, freedom is important, but it should always be discussed alongside "responsibility." For employees to work autonomously under freedom and responsibility, each person must understand where Repro is headed. For example, even saying "we're a company that creates entertainment" is very vague. We felt it was necessary to clarify the core principles that serve as decision-making criteria: "What is entertainment as we see it?", "How far does our business domain extend?", and "What should we avoid doing?".

To establish guidelines for fostering autonomy, we first decided to create a "Mission" and "Vision." Additionally, we recognized that remote work physically distanced people, making it harder to share values through everyday casual conversations. When work centers around chat, only the bare minimum of conversation occurs. As a result, it became harder to share implicit organizational values—things like "what we truly value." That's precisely why we felt we should also establish a set of "Values" that articulate our core principles and behavioral guidelines. We wanted to codify the essential prerequisites for working autonomously, with freedom and responsibility. That was the primary reason we decided to establish our MVV.

Kawase: Following the recruitment creative work, you also consulted us about developing this MVV. What was the background behind that?

Honma: First, when I reflected on what an "ideal organization where people work autonomously" meant to me, I recalled my time at Dentsu Inc. Senior colleagues all moved autonomously, each taking responsibility while working toward the same goal. It wasn't about being best friends; they seemed to operate independently yet maintained a strong sense of unity. As a result, they consistently achieved the company's major objectives.

Why did that teamwork function so well? Honestly, I don't recall us constantly focusing on the company's mission or goals. But one thing was clear: the "Code of Conduct" was explicitly defined. I believe that served as the standard for judgment when working as an employee of Dentsu Inc. I wanted to create such a robust, functional code of conduct, which is why I wanted Dentsu Inc. to handle the MVV formulation.

Furthermore, Repro is striving to break away from the traditional image of an entertainment production company and become an entity that proposes new value. If someone doesn't understand that direction, communication costs inevitably rise. Considering this, I felt it would be smoothest to ask Mr. Kawase and his team, who deeply understood Repro's current philosophy through our recruitment activities.

Moreover, I knew that the department Mr. Kawase belongs to also supports areas like corporate transformation, formulating corporate philosophies including MVV, and branding. Hearing this, I was convinced there was no other choice but to ask them.

Kawase: Thank you.

Honma: Repro employees are constantly engaged with creative work through various content, so they have a very high sensitivity to language. That's precisely why only creative output that pays meticulous attention to every detail of expression will truly resonate with them. Additionally, an understanding of the unique structure and culture specific to talent agencies is essential. Based on these two points – creative sensibility and industry understanding – we determined that Dentsu Inc. was the optimal choice.

Gathering the thoughts of management and each employee to reconstruct them as a "common language"

Kawase: While we already had substantial input regarding Repro's current position and desired direction for this MVV development, we consciously focused on meticulously designing the project structure from the ground up. This involved bringing in not only copywriter Teruha Hasegawa, who had supported us since the recruitment phase, but also BX Producer Tsutomu Iizuka, Business Designer Masahiro Shimanuki, Business Producer Kei Terasaki, and Daiki Kurihara to the team.

In recent years, many executives face the "second-round challenge" with MVV. That is, they establish an MVV, but it fails to permeate the company, becoming mere "decorative words." To avoid this with Repro, we designed the project from the outset with a view toward "how to make it take root within the company."

We also needed to avoid the common pitfall of creating an MVV that sounds like every other company's. We believe this stems from insufficient input of necessary information and producing output without fully grasping the core values that truly matter to the people within that company.

Our primary focus was ensuring employees genuinely felt, "This is our own language." Therefore, we structured the development process as a company-wide, inclusive project. While the entire project took about a year, we dedicated the initial phase to thorough interviews with the management team. By sharing the company's history since its founding and learning about the era's context and the mindset behind its business development, we gathered and articulated the core values at the heart of the Repro organization.

We then created opportunities for dialogue with our employees. We held workshops with approximately half of all employees, exchanging views on the current state of Repro, the ideal Repro, and the gap between them. We held numerous, numerous meetings with groups of 3-4 people and ourselves, carefully gathering and sifting through the vast amount of words collected there.

Honma: It's hardest to see ourselves clearly. That's precisely why we were so grateful for the process of having someone organize our words from an objective perspective.

What really stuck with me was the background behind our "10 Actions of Love and I" value. This phrase emerged when Kawase and the team articulated that "at Repro, 'love for others' and 'one's own will (I)' coexist." Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it myself until it was pointed out, but it clicked—I thought, "Ah, that makes sense." And I felt it resonated smoothly with both management and employees.

Kawase: During our dialogues with employees, keywords like "love," "altruism," and "world" kept surfacing repeatedly. There was a strong sense that they constantly considered "how our work can contribute" to performers, stakeholders, and society at large. That mindset seemed to naturally seep through.

Of course, these keywords also came up among management. The president frequently used the word "love" from the very beginning. It naturally aligned with the keywords emerging from the employees.

From there, we gradually refined the contours of the language. After organizing "What to Say?", we finally distilled it into "How to Say?".

Honma: The completed mission statement is "Touch hearts. Spread GOOD." This phrase embodies Repro's enduring spirit, unchanged for 100 years. "Emotion" was a keyword Repro had used for a long time, but this time we rephrased it as "Touch hearts."

Kawase: The mission also embodies our desire to "contribute, even in a small way, to world peace through the power of entertainment." If experiencing our work can help people forget their conflicts, fostering positive emotional shifts and healing that make them think, 'I'll do my best tomorrow too,' then that becomes a small yet genuine step toward peace. It's within this context that the phrase "GOOD for the world" was added.

Honma: For the vision, we had many candidates, but ultimately chose "Release the Entertainment." This phrase was announced during Repro's 35th anniversary. It has momentum and carries an underlying theme: that the industry and companies, which crouched down during the pandemic, will jump again from here. We wanted it to be a phrase that pushes employees forward as they take on challenges.

Kawase: Throughout developing this MVV, we prioritized creating "words that encourage challenge" rather than "rules that restrict." The consistent stance from management, including Mr. Honma, was: "As long as you adhere to these principles, feel free to challenge yourselves however you like."

Honma: In fact, during the MVV development process, many managers voiced opinions like, "We want our young employees to fail more," and "We want them to take more risks." That's precisely why we want the MVV to also play a role in creating an atmosphere that encourages challenge. Of course, we've defined boundaries for what is unacceptable within the framework of freedom and responsibility. But our goal was to foster a culture within the Repro organization where people feel empowered to take bold risks.

We created MVV, but it's not taking hold. How do we avoid the "second-round challenges"?

Kawase: Merely formulating MVV isn't enough; how we utilize it is crucial. To avoid the so-called "second-round challenge" where words become mere "decoration," we focused heavily on designing tools and systems. For example, we embedded MVV into places employees naturally see daily—like employee IDs, business cards, and online meeting backgrounds—so they encounter it without conscious effort. Even more important is integrating it into the evaluation system, right?

Honma: Exactly. We've incorporated the "10 Actions with Love and I," which outline the values we want Repro employees to cherish, as items within the evaluation system. The ideal is for these values to become established as commonly used language by repeatedly surfacing as feedback during every 1on1 and performance review.

Kawase: When they become part of our daily work, they eventually become "our norm." That's precisely why we believed embedding them as a system into evaluations and dialogue was crucial for permeating the MVV.

Honma: What I find interesting is how, even within the 10 Actions, the words that resonate most can change depending on the time, mood, or phase of the work. Sometimes "Let love dwell in the details" feels just right, while other times "Let luck, connections, and gratitude be on your side" sticks with you unexpectedly. I think these phrases serve as triggers for introspection and self-reflection.

Kawase: Personally, "Let luck, connections, and gratitude be on your side" is incredibly impactful. Entertainment certainly involves an element of luck, and this phrase perfectly embodies the "connections" and "gratitude" that Leap has always valued.

Honma: We decided early on to incorporate this phrase internally. After giving your utmost effort, you ultimately await fate. I think it resonated so strongly because that sentiment feels familiar. When we created the video this time, our performer, Hio Miyazawa, handled the narration, and he also said this phrase resonated most deeply with him.

Kawase: It resonates widely not just with employees who've long been involved in entertainment, but also among new hires.

Honma: Personally, I think for a generation that has experienced having their lives shaped by unavoidable forces like the pandemic or the earthquake, the desire to "believe in luck, fate, and gratitude" feels very real. It's crucial that MVV's words resonate with each person's emotions and experiences like this. We want it to be more than just a slogan; we want it to connect with daily actions and mindset. In that sense, I truly believe the process of having employees personally involved in formulating the MVV was incredibly important.

Kawase: Spending nearly a year thoroughly immersing myself in Repro's history and values, I truly felt how sincerely every employee engages with performers and projects, and how earnestly they strive to deliver entertainment with heart. I strongly felt that "Repro as it is today" should reach more people.

Honma: That's precisely what we aim for as Repro moving forward. In this new era where individuals increasingly share their voices, I feel the role of the entertainment manager—this "behind-the-scenes" figure—must also evolve. I want each employee to share their thoughts and values, shaping the future of Repro. Not by denying the past, but by communicating who we are now. To support this sharing, I truly feel having a common language like MVV is becoming increasingly vital.

Toward an Organization Where Values Are Naturally Shared: The Change Brought by MVV

Kawase: Could you tell us about the changes within the company after establishing the MVV?

Honma: First, hearing employees say they felt "happy" or "proud" after watching the MVV video was genuinely heartening. Especially when even employees who don't usually express their feelings said things like, "I watched it over and over," or "I want to show this to our performers too." Our performers aren't employees, but they're our colleagues. The fact that this desire to share MVV with them emerged naturally felt deeply meaningful.

Kawase: We consider creative work that resonates with people's hearts to be our area of expertise. While we apply creative power to a company's entire management activities, we leverage skills originally cultivated in advertising and marketing. Seeing how the MVV changed employees' behaviors and relationships is incredibly gratifying for us too.

Honma: The MVV was designed based on values that Repro has always cherished. That's precisely why current employees feel no disconnect. Rather, there's a sense that they naturally embrace it, thinking, "Yes, that's exactly it." This is incredibly important. If the language had denied the past or introduced entirely new concepts, I believe acceptance wouldn't have been immediate.

Furthermore, having MVV allows us to naturally convey to both mid-career hires and new graduates, "This is the kind of company Repro is," and "These are the values we cherish." Having this common language has dramatically accelerated the speed at which the values permeate our community.

Kawase: Creating MVV from scratch at founding versus doing it in an established company requires completely different approaches. You must listen to the accumulated culture and values, carefully uncovering the "tacit knowledge" within. Otherwise, you risk creating discomfort. This time, I believe we succeeded in transforming that tacit knowledge into a shared language by outlining its shape.

Honma: Exactly. Putting into words "things we've vaguely valued" is incredibly difficult. There's often much we don't notice ourselves, so working on this with external professionals was truly valuable.

To change the future of the entertainment industry. Embracing loving challenges centered around MVV

Kawase: How do you envision utilizing and developing MVV going forward?

Honma: First, we don't just want to proclaim MVV; we want to truly embody it as a company. We aim to permeate our values and principles into every detail of our work while consistently pursuing challenges that embody our message: "Release Entertainment." We want to move beyond mere words; we want MVV to naturally take root as our actions and culture.

Furthermore, we don't just want to embed this internally; we want to communicate it to the entire entertainment industry. The industry still carries a persistent image of being a black box, and it's true there are areas needing improvement. By putting the words we champion in our MVV into practice, we want to take the lead in changing that. Since it's an industry built on coexistence and mutual prosperity, it wouldn't mean much if only Lepro changed.

Kawase: Updating the image of the entire industry. That perspective is really great. If this MVV becomes a step toward transforming the whole industry, that would be our greatest wish.

Honma: This isn't the end; it's just the beginning. Since we've adopted the value of "Embrace failure. Love challenges," we have to be the ones to challenge ourselves first, love the difficulties, and embrace the failures (laughs). That's why I'd really like to create new projects together with Dentsu Inc.

Kawase: Exactly. I truly hope we can continue running alongside each other as business partners. As you said, MVV isn't something you create and then forget about; how we utilize it and expand it is crucial. We need to seriously confront how to make MVV function within management and organizational culture, while leveraging the power of creativity.

Honma: During my time at Dentsu Inc., I witnessed firsthand how deeply creators obsess over every detail. That obsession with detail is ultimately about "love." I want to change the future of Japan's entertainment industry alongside people who share that kind of passion.

Kawase: We're excited to see what adventures begin from here. Let's create something truly interesting together.