Hello everyone! For Week 2 of new-hire training, I’m Maeda from Division 2 of the Public Relations Business Headquarters, who joined the company in April 2023.

In this article as well, we will share a look at SUNNY SIDE UP’s uniquely distinctive new-hire training.The key is to enjoy it yourself! While it is also a place to learn the knowledge needed as a working professional, it was packed with plenty of “fun commotion.” We would be delighted if you read through to the end and it helps you picture what it will be like after joining the company.

▼Click here to see what Week 1 of new-hire training was like
At last, the “fun commotion” begins! New-hire training for fresh recruits! (Part 1)

“To create “fun commotion,” does it start with you!?

The nerve-wracking new-hire training quickly moved into the second half. What I especially felt during this training was that, to create “fun commotion,” whether you are learning or putting things into practice, you must first and foremost be the one enjoying it the most!

In the business card exchange session, we even tried acting it out in front of our cohort. In lectures on how to write press releases and how to engage with members of the media, we were able to learn while enjoying ourselves, exchanging ideas together.

We also explain it in this article↓
▼Surprisingly hard to explain properly!? What is the difference between PR and public relations, and between PR and advertising/promotion?
▼PR thinking that changes the world. What is the key mindset valued not only in PR but also in advertising?

We also received a lecture from Morita, General Manager of SUNNY SIDE UP Division 2, on how to use social media effectively as a PR professional. Viewing tools we had casually used for entertainment from a PR perspective opened up a completely different world, and it was extremely educational.

Aim for first place! A fierce survival walk showdown between four teams!

In Week 2 of training, we held a recreation activity at Kasai Rinkai Park! What kind of experience awaits us?

What awaited us—having been told nothing until the day before—was a survival walk competition among four teams.

A mission: taking a group photo at designated points

The rules were to split into teams and follow the designated route through 16 spots set up around the park, taking photos along the way as you track them down.

Like this, we took group photos at each spot.

What I felt was most important in taking on this training was the members’ leadership and followership. In fact, in addition to the training content introduced earlier, we also attended a lecture on the relationship between leaders and followers. A leader who drives the team forward always needs followers who lend their support, and it is built on an equal relationship between both sides. It is obvious, yet people in either role tend to forget it.

Each person thinks about and acts on “What can I do right now for the team?” I believe the team that embodied this best was able to move closest to victory.

After the survival walk ended, we all had a picnic! We had a great time sharing memories from along the way and checking our answers to the puzzles, making it a day full of excitement and a strong sense of accomplishment.

A few days later…

The winning survival-walk team enjoyed a reward yakiniku meal!

▼Comment from the training coordinator
We planned this with the aim of having participants experience, during training, that even difficult moments can be turned into “fun commotion” when you are with your teammates.At SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, we very often work as a team. Therefore, we planned it while keeping in mind whether it would be a program that embodies everyone supporting one another toward the goal.

Participated in the diversity festival “Tokyo Rainbow Pride”!

Rainbow Pride is a festival held annually in major cities around the world, including Western countries, celebrating the “diversity of sex and life” for sexual minorities.

As it was held at Yoyogi Park for the first time in four years with no entry restrictions, we joined the parade with our cohort!

The event drew approximately 240,000 attendees, and an additional 10,000 people and 39 groups marched through Shibuya under the theme “Keep going until it changes.”

The venue was filled with diverse people, not limited by categories such as LGBTQ or nationality. I am not sure if it was because it was a space without a prescribed image of what a person should be, but from the expressions of those we passed, we could see a bright, free spirit—and it felt like being somewhere other than Japan.

This time, we were able to participate in such a special event, and it made me hope that, going forward, this will no longer be “special,” but that we will live in a world where diversity can be expressed as a matter of course.

At last, the final day of training!

The final day arrived after two weeks that flew by. Looking back on themselves so far, each person declared their determination to create “fun commotion” as a member of SUNNY SIDE UP from here on.

During this training period, we sometimes held discussions and sometimes got moving physically, deepening our bonds. Listening to the passionate determination of our truly unique cohort, I felt I had met highly reliable teammates—while also reaffirming that they are rivals we cannot afford to lose to.

Together with our cohort of 25—the largest ever—I felt that we want to enjoy ourselves first, elevate one another, and create “fun commotion” together!

In closing

How was it? Thank you very much for reading to the end. We would be delighted if it helped you picture what it will be like after joining the company!

At SUNNY SIDE UP, our uniquely talented members are looking forward to welcoming you! We will continue to share many more of our strengths, so please stay tuned!