Exploring the Power of Anime in PR: A CEO’s Firsthand Experience

One of the biggest reasons was that I felt anime tends to stay in people’s memories.

Companies like Taisei Corporation and Pepsi have also created commercials in the anime style. From my own experience, I remembered those clearly, and that really stuck with me. There’s also the fact that anime can present things in a more visually appealing way than reality.

That aspect played a big role in the decision as well.

When you look at Taisei Corporation’s anime commercial, the characters are well-drawn and the visuals give off a clean, polished impression.

Of course, in reality, the job sites are probably full of more rugged guys and older workers, but we wanted to shift the image of our company.

We hoped to reach an audience we hadn’t connected with before, and that desire to update how we’re perceived is what ultimately led us to pursue an anime production.

Our main goal was simply to get our company’s name out there.

We decided not to worry too much about explaining exactly what we do, and instead focused on how to make a strong impression and boost recognition.

To do that, we knew the visuals had to really stand out.

At one point, we thought, “What if we threw in a robot?”

Rather than creating something generic that would appeal to everyone, we wanted to make something original that wouldn’t feel like a copy of what was already out there and would get people talking.

So after sharing a general concept, we told the team, “It can be a fighter jet, a robot, even a mobile suit like something out of Gundam. Do whatever you think will make it interesting.”

That open-ended approach is what led to the final version of the commercial.

We felt that trying to explain what our company does through a story wouldn’t be effective in just 45 seconds.

No matter how beautifully we showed scenes of our machines at work, if it didn’t stick in people’s memories, it wouldn’t have any real impact.

That’s why we decided not to focus on storytelling.

I’d be happy if it became the kind of commercial people remember seeing over and over as kids, and still recognize when they’re adults. Something that really sticks with them.

We’ve received a ton of messages from people telling us they caught the commercial. The reaction has been way bigger than we expected.

Believe it or not, even our senior management didn’t know we were making an anime until it aired. Apparently, someone they knew reached out to them, and they were completely confused at first! laughs

That’s when I finally told them I’d actually been keeping it under wraps, but we made an anime.

To be honest, I was worried they might push back on the idea during production, so I decided to stay quiet until it was finished. laughs

Yeah, pretty much. I did run it by the board just in case, but it was mostly my call.
In the end, it did go pretty viral, so I’d say it worked out just fine. laughs

We didn’t finish it in time for this year’s career forum, so we haven’t had a chance to showcase it yet.

But we’re planning to play it at our booth at next year’s event.

That said, we’ve already started getting some interesting applications. Even though we’re a forging company, we’ve had people from animation schools come in for interviews.

It’s great to know that people see us as a company that does creative and unexpected things.

At the time we were putting the budget together, producing an anime wasn’t even on our radar, so it definitely wasn’t included.

But fortunately, business was going well this year, so we decided to go for it.

It’s hard to measure the return on investment in exact numbers, but the video surpassed 40,000 views within two months of going live, and it was also featured by local media.

So in terms of raising brand awareness, I think it’s definitely had an impact.

At next year’s career forum, we’ll get a better sense of the impact by seeing how many people stop by our booth out of genuine interest, especially with so many other companies exhibiting.

If students recognize the commercial and stop because they’ve seen it before, that would be a great success for us.

The feedback has been really positive, so I’d definitely like to do a sequel.

I’m thinking of a three-part series, each 45 seconds long, and maybe this time we could add a bit more story.

Voice acting is such an important part of what makes anime so engaging, so for the next project, I’d love to bring in some well-known voice talent.

Maybe someone who’s played a certain gunslinging gentleman in a fedora, or a famous pilot of a red mobile suit from a classic mecha series… laughs

This time, the team delivered a really high-quality piece, so for the next one, I’d love to create something with enough impact to get noticed at Cannes Lions.

Considering how tight the production timeline was, I’m really glad we were able to achieve this level of quality.

For CEOs who are interested in anime production but still on the fence, I’d say if you’re hesitating, you should just go for it.

At the end of the day, whether your project gets praised or not depends on you as the president. laughs

If it’s something you believe in, I think it’s worth pursuing. You don’t want to look back with regret.

Once the work is complete, it becomes something lasting you can be proud of.

Not at all. No regrets whatsoever.

It really feels like we pulled it off, and I’d love to keep creating more projects like this.

Though I can already imagine your team saying, “Let’s wait until the spring production rush is over first.” laughs