Material Group Co., Ltd. CEO So Aosaki　

Creating a more interesting and exciting Japan through PR

Material Group Co., Ltd. CEO 　Sergeant Aosaki　(Aosakisou)

■ Profile
Material Group is a specialized business group that provides comprehensive support for the marketing communications of all businesses. With a vision of "Switch to Red," and a mission of "igniting passion in all individuality and maximizing potential," we work together with our clients to solve their business challenges and contribute to their success as a partner that strengthens the relationship between clients and society.

Material Group weaves together the stories of companies and services, and supports clients' businesses based on PR ideas. "We want to make Japan more interesting and exciting through the power of PR," says the company's president, So Aosaki. We spoke to him about the strong and passionate aspirations he holds.

■ Living in the present as a student and the deciding factor in joining the company

For five years, from my third year of high school through college, I worked part-time at an apparel shop. This was because I loved clothes. As a result, during my time at university, I focused more on my part-time job than on my studies or extracurricular activities. Thanks to the considerable dialogue I had with customers through my part-time job, I feel that the sales experience of predicting what people like and making suggestions based on conversations with them for the first time is still useful to me today. However, through my work experience in the apparel industry, I realized that "liking" something and "working" for it are very different things. Therefore, when I thought about my future, I wanted to join a market with room for upside and a company that seemed to value its people, so I decided to join Material, a PR company.

■The Material Group's unique strength is its people

We are a PR company that supports all aspects of marketing communications with a PR mindset at its core. Traditional PR work mainly involves measures to gain media exposure by accessing a company's PR budget, but we go beyond this and can provide comprehensive measures including advertising and digital by supporting all aspects of marketing issues, with access to a company's advertising and marketing budget.
What supports these business models are people. In addition to working on a project-based approach where a team centered around a producer is put together for each project, we also have a specialized planning section, which I think is unique in the industry. This business model is supported by meticulous consulting by PR specialists.
In addition, we have received various awards both domestically and internationally, and these are also based on "people." Our company has a system in place that allows members who are willing to take on challenges to have many opportunities by raising their hand, regardless of age, so we have created an environment in which members who are willing to take on challenges can thrive. In this way, a system that allows even newcomers with little experience to be proactively involved in projects supports our company's high competitiveness.
Another major strength is that we have a lot of good people. One of our company values ​​is "Be a hero," and I feel that many of our staff embody this value. In projects, the person who directly interacts with the client tends to appear to be the main player, but our company has a culture of completing projects as a team, so rather than just trying to build their own success, many of our staff members have the determination to "be a hero for these people."

■A corporate culture that does not hesitate to invest in people

We invest generously in our people. For example, in our evaluation system. Management members are strongly aware of the importance of "creating value as a team," so we share evaluation criteria and thoroughly implement multiple processes to ensure fairness and transparency in the final evaluation. This ensures appropriate evaluation. Next, all employees check with management and members once a month to ensure their perspectives and stances are not declining. In many departments, we hold angle check meetings once a week to share goals.
We also have a personnel evaluation meeting called "Performance Prep." This is a system in which management responsibly presents the performance of their team members to the executive team. We also have a super-flex system with no core time. We also have a vacation system that requires employees to take one five-day holiday a year outside of the summer and New Year holidays. If all team members take advantage of this system, we have created a system that provides additional incentives, making it easier for employees to take the time off without feeling uncomfortable around others.

■ Future goals and the future we want to achieve

My future goal is to become No. 1 in the PR industry. I believe PR professionals have a lot of potential, and their status should be improved even more than it is now. That potential is largely determined by the rule makers. In any industry, the leaders decide the rules. In order for PR professionals throughout Japan to enjoy a better environment, better compensation, and a better social status than they currently enjoy, I myself must become someone who is involved in following the rules. To achieve this, our company must first become No. 1 in the industry. As a result, PR professionals' presence and the range of work they are entrusted with will expand, and the industry will develop. Ultimately, I hope to develop the market into one in which they can demonstrate a certain level of influence both domestically and internationally.
Additionally, I would like to make Japan more interesting and exciting through PR. Recently, it feels like Japan's international competitiveness has been declining little by little, which can be frustrating. I love this country's industries, services, and the craftsmanship that underlies them, so I would like to create a PR agency that can promote truly valuable "individuality" from a PR perspective.

■Message to university students

One of our values ​​is "Make New." The PR industry is an old one, but I believe we are one of the few organizations led by a young management team. This is a very exciting company for people who are unafraid of unprecedented challenges and have complete faith in the possibilities of the future. Rather than accepting the idea that "it's an old industry, so it's unlikely to change," I encourage people to continue taking on new challenges, and as CEO, I will spare no effort in improving the abilities of all new employees who join us. I would be extremely happy if students who share our desire to become the number one PR agency would come and join us.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on May 14, 2024, by Takahashi Yuya, 4th year student at Takasaki City University of Economics

　

 Keio University third-year student Sari Tsuka / Chuo University fourth-year student Suzune Matsushima / Kyoto University of the Arts first-year student Reina Inomoto
/ Yuya Takahashi, 4th year student at Takasaki City University of Economics