Proposing to clients from a sei-katsu-sha perspective:　

Hakuhodo’s Sei-katsu-sha Insight philosophy, concept and mindset help us provide new perspectives for advertising, marketing, and creative development. But I think it goes beyond that.

As Activation Director of GDH, I present proposals to clients almost every week, but they are often rejected for various reasons. On a few occasions I could not help asking, “Would you please tell me what you really want?” However, I didn’t get a satisfactory answer.

Then one day, I studied Hakuhodo’s Sei-katsu-sha Insight philosophy again, and came to realize that clients review a proposal from the perspective of the company while we make proposals from the perspective of sei-katsu-sha. That’s the cause of the divergence of views.

I was inspired to change our approach to making proposals when working on communication for a project that would bring a car event to a residential area. We asked the client to review the proposal from the point of view of sei-katsu-sha living in the area, and also drew a diagram of the area where the client lives, to create a stronger sense of immersion and familiarity. Our proposal presentation went smoothly and pleasantly, and the client also contributed some ideas from a resident’s perspective.

Obviously, Sei-katsu-sha Insight not only facilitates the growth of internal communications of a company, but can also help make a proposal more easily understood and accepted by the client, which we often overlook. Hakuhodo’s Sei-katsu-sha Insight provides the perspective of sei-katsu-sha, which clients wish to communicate with. I think that’s a competitive advantage for us.

Roles and titles current when this article was published in September 2019.