Wrapping up 2023! A look back at SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s year, powered up with many new members joining the team 👩🏻🏫
Hello, this is PR Sunny-chan!
Time flies, and the year is almost over. Whether you’re relaxing at home, returning to your hometown, or preparing to welcome the new year in your own way, how are you spending this season? 🧣
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic ended, and we were able to enjoy our days without masks 😷 It was also a year filled with events held for the first time in four years!!
In this article, we’d like to look back at the various “fun commotions” that SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP members have created over the past year!
January–March
▼First Day of Work (1/4)
As the spread of COVID-19 gradually subsided, this year’s first company-wide morning assembly was held in a hybrid format, both online and offline! In honor of the Year of the Rabbit, we started with content themed around “The Tortoise and the Hare” 🐰 (A year has already passed since then—have we been able to move forward steadily like the tortoise…? 🐢)
In the center of the office, SUNNY DAYS presented the now-traditional “calligraphy writing.” We put our wishes into our brushstrokes, hoping for a year of leaping forward like rabbits.
Leaping forward in the Year of the Rabbit! We held our 2023 first-day-of-work event 🐰
▼Management Contract Signed with Allen Hachimura (2/1)
In February, we signed a management contract with Allen Hachimura, who plays for the Gunma Crane Thunders! SUNNY SIDE UP specializes in sports management. Whenever new members join, we always feel happy, thinking, “We want to support their success as a team!”
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/02/01/allenhachimura/
18 Questions Unveiling the True Character of Allen Hachimura, Who Has Joined SUNNY SIDE UP
▼SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Recognized as “Best Workplace” with Highest Rating in D&I Award 2022 (2/22)
SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP was recognized as “BEST WORKPLACE,” the highest rating in the D&I Award hosted by JobRainbow Inc., a company that provides LGBT training, LGBT recruitment support, and LGBT consulting services!
We received this award for our comprehensive and continuous activities, including fostering a corporate culture of diversity and inclusion, the active involvement of each member in promoting these values, and reflecting them in all aspects of our services, business, and organizational structure 🎉
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/02/22/dandiaward/
April–June
▼SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Entrance Ceremony Held (4/1)
This year, the largest number (!) of new “eggs” in SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP history joined our team! With the determination to create “fun commotions” that they pledged at this ceremony, they continue to grow day by day, learning from each other 🐣
▼CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2023 at ROPPONGI HILLS Held (4/21-30)
Japan’s largest sake event, “CRAFT SAKE WEEK,” returned after approximately four years following the pandemic 🍶! Held as “CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2023 at ROPPONGI HILLS,” the event took place at Roppongi Hills Arena in Tokyo for 10 days from April 21 to 30.
The event featured a lineup of 100 carefully selected sake breweries from across Japan and 15 restaurants. Many visitors attended, making it a hugely successful event.
July–September
▼New Fiscal Year Begins (7/1)
On July 1, SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP entered its 39th fiscal year 🚀 (approaching our 40th anniversary!). This year’s theme is “Shin SUNNY SIDE UP” 🌟
We welcomed three new members to SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP (SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Senior Executive Officer Daisuke Ueno, SUNNY SIDE UP President and Representative Director Liu Sichao, and SUNNY SIDE X President and Representative Director Daizo Nishitani), and our year began with the determination to evolve into an even more advanced group.
▼Management Contract Signed with Miyu Kato (8/8)
SUNNY SIDE UP signed a management contract with professional tennis player Miyu Kato effective August 1, 2023! We support her athletic activities and work together on various social initiatives.
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/08/08/miyukato/
▼Project with PR Communication by SUNNY SIDE UP Wins Category Award at IPRA’s GOLDEN WORLD AWARDS 2023 (8/17)
A project handled by SUNNY SIDE UP won the top award in the “Consumer PR for an existing service – Agency” category at the Golden World Awards 2023, an international award hosted by the International Public Relations Association 🏆
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/08/17/ipragwa2023/
▼SUNNY SIDE UP Launches “Regional Revitalization Unit” (8/21)
SUNNY SIDE UP launched a specialized unit, the “Regional Revitalization Unit,” to address challenges faced by local governments, companies, and communities in response to the post-COVID surge in inbound foreign tourists (15 times last year’s numbers) and the recovery of domestic tourism demand (1.15 times last year’s numbers)!
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/08/21/chihousouseiunit/
Feature article summarizing initiatives centered on the Regional Revitalization Unit: “Energizing Japan with Fun Commotions!”
https://blog.ssu.co.jp/features/chihousousei/
▼The Age of Video Has Arrived! SUNNY SIDE X Opens “XR STUDIO” in Rapidly Expanding Global Brandtech Market (9/1)
In response to growing demand in the rapidly expanding brandtech sector worldwide, SUNNY SIDE X opened “XR STUDIO,” a new brand communication studio that combines 3D CG virtual space footage with live-action filming of people and other subjects in real time, on September 1!
The state-of-the-art, permanent real-time virtual production XR studio, located within SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s head office, is equipped with multiple dedicated cameras linked to tracking sensors and studio lighting. With high-quality XR technology, it can be used for a wide range of practical applications, from simple influencer shoots to full-scale TV-quality productions.
By establishing this cutting-edge XR studio within our group office, which handles brand communication, we provide highly convenient total communication solutions for brands 🚀
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/09/01/ssx-xrstudio/
▼Asia’s First LP Investment in New Fund “NEXTBLUE” Focused on Women’s Well-Being (9/26)
SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc. made an LP (limited partnership) investment in NEXTBLUE Investment Limited Partnership No. 2, a newly established fund aimed at investing in startups providing services in the field of women’s well-being and in female entrepreneurs.
Through investments in a wide range of fields including education and technology, we will spread as many options as possible throughout Japanese society to relieve the diverse stresses that women have faced, and support the realization of a society where all women can thrive as themselves.
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/09/26/nextblue-lp/
▼SUNNY SIDE UP Signs Content Partnership with Welfare Experimental Company “HERALBONY” (9/28)
SUNNY SIDE UP signed a content partnership with HERALBONY to strengthen regional revitalization initiatives centered on DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion). By providing a wide range of proposals that incorporate regional characteristics and DE&I perspectives, we aim to contribute to the branding of regional companies and organizations while strengthening regional revitalization throughout Japan.
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/09/28/heralbony-partnership/
▼SUNNY SIDE UP Signs Partnership Agreement with Audio Platform Provider “Voicy” (10/24)
To further expand its brand communication business centered on PR thinking, SUNNY SIDE UP signed a partnership agreement with Voicy, which develops and operates an audio platform, effective October 24, 2023.
The method of having a personality—a “trusted third party”—introduce information that companies and organizations want to communicate via audio is considered one of the effective information delivery methods for brand communication by companies handling products and services that are difficult to convey through visual means alone, as it remains in listeners’ ears as objective and favorable information. With this partnership, we will develop effective solutions utilizing audio for diverse projects.
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/10/24/voicy-partnership/
▼SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Receives “2023 Tokyo Women’s Advancement Promotion Grand Prize” (12/14)
SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc. received the “Grand Prize” in the business category of the “2023 Tokyo Women’s Advancement Promotion Grand Prize” hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government 🎉
Our unique welfare programs supporting diverse lifestyles, including “egg freezing cost subsidies” and “AMH testing cost subsidies,” as well as our external awareness activities aimed at resolving women’s physical, mental, and social issues, were highly evaluated, leading to this award.
Going forward, we aim to build an organization that leads DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and serves as a role model both domestically and internationally, creating an environment where each member with different life stages and lifestyles can realize their own way of living and working.
https://ssug.co.jp/news/2023/12/14/jyosei-katsuyaku-taisho/
October–December
▼SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Informal Acceptance Ceremony Held (10/5)
The 2024 SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP informal acceptance ceremony was held 🎓 The message card handed out along with the acceptance certificate was collected afterward. Twenty-four months later, when everyone has grown into full-fledged PR professionals, we hope they will read it, remember this day, and use it as motivation for the future 💌
Please look forward to the future activities of these “eggs” who will officially become members next April!
SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP 2024 Informal Acceptance Ceremony Held! New eggs gathered again this year 🥚
▼Labor Thanksgiving Day “Thank you, Colleagues!” Event Held (11/22)
The “Thank you, Colleagues!” event has come around again this year! Of course, we held it again this year!!
Every year, it has been customary for executives to hug members with a “Thank you always!” sentiment, but this year we adopted a style where fun awaited after choosing “YES” or “NO.”
This year, in addition to SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP President and Representative Director Tsugihara and SUNNY SIDE UP Director Matsumoto, SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP COO Ueno and SUNNY SIDE UP President and Representative Director Sichao, who joined SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP in July, also gathered to express their gratitude to our valued members! It was a day of sharing appreciation 🫰🏻
Wrapping up 2023! We held a year-end party with all members gathered
And then, December. The year filled with so many “fun commotions” that we’ve looked back on is almost over. We held a year-end party with the entire group gathered on the 7th floor of our newly renovated Sendagaya office!
It began with a message from SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP President and Representative Director Tsugihara, and then we all toasted!!!
This was the first time in a while that everyone gathered offline. We were surprised by how many colleagues we have, and it was a good time to appreciate each other’s hard work and reflect on the fun and challenging moments of the year 🍸
And in one corner of the 7th floor, we heard excited voices…!?? It turned out to be an XR experience event at the “XR STUDIO,” which just opened in September!
We took group shots with assets themed around next year’s zodiac sign, the dragon 🐲
When we shoot like this…
We instantly warp to such an auspicious place in real time! 👏
This event made us even more excited about what kind of collaborations will be born from this studio 🎉
To create more “fun commotions” in various places next year, all members will refresh properly and move forward again from the new year! 🥚
Thank you so much for watching over SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP and this media platform “SUNNY DAYS” this year 🧣 Stay warm and have a wonderful year-end and new year 🎍
