We held a “Poached Egg” session where members shared the “interesting things” they discovered, including new Instagram features and how overseas PR agencies work!
I’m K from the PR department, known as the “anger specialist.” This spring marks my third year with the company, and my Osaka soul is gradually being worn down by the rough waves of Tokyo.
My goal for my third year is to change our company slogan from “Let’s Have Fun!” to “Let’s Have REALLY Fun!”
“Poached Egg” is a morning meeting where volunteer members from different departments and age groups gather to share recent news that caught their attention. The topics we gathered this time were all interesting, but I’ll introduce just a few of them!
※Please enjoy by mentally converting to Kansai dialect
Instagram’s New “Nametag” Feature Is Making Waves!
http://www.adweek.com/digital/instagram-is-testing-nametags-its-take-on-snapchats-snapcodes/
Image source: “ADWEEK”
Instagram’s new “Nametag” feature has become available, and the “#Nametag” hashtag is trending on Twitter. Simply put, it’s Instagram’s version of “LINE’s QR code.” It’s used to share your account with friends and Twitter followers, but if you print and display the nametag in your shop, it becomes easy for people to follow you from there, so we have a feeling it will be increasingly adopted for PR and promotions!
Is Tanabata Old News!? July 7th Is Summer Valentine’s Day!
https://news.walkerplus.com/article/113148/
Image source: “NewsWalker”
The prevailing theory is that the Tanabata festival was born from the combination of the Chinese legend of “Orihime and Hikoboshi” and the ancient Japanese belief in “tanabatatsume.” It is said that on the evening of July 7th, cloth woven under a shelf and harvested vegetables and fruits were offered to the harvest deity, which is why it came to be called Tanabata (literally “evening of the seventh”).
However, in the Chinese-speaking world, something called Summer Valentine’s Day is now gaining popularity, expressing gratitude to the gods and joy at meeting once a year. Originally, it was several promotional events inspired by Tanabata, but it seems to be gradually gaining recognition among the general public. In Japan too, the day when the chocolate industry—where 90% of sales are said to occur in winter—gets excited about Summer Valentine’s Day events may be near.
Teleporting Sushi to America!? “SUSHI TELEPORTATION”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=23&v=dSdPfKmOoDw
Image source: “‘Sushi Teleportation’ Concept Movie”
What the robot was assembling from small parts was, surprisingly, sushi!
In the video, the robot is in the middle of assembling what appears to be shrimp sushi. Already completed sushi is lined up on a platter, with tuna, sea urchin, sushi rolls, and even wasabi reproduced in pixels.
This was created by “TEAM OPEN MEALS,” a collaboration between Dentsu, Yamagata University, DENSO WAVE, and Tohoku Shinsha. The true identity of the “sushi-assembling robot” is a robotic arm-type 3D printer called the “PIXEL FOOD PRINTER.”
“SUSHI TELEPORTATION” is an exhibit that measures data from sushi prepared in Tokyo and reproduces the sushi at an event venue in distant Texas based on that data. The sushi ingredients are 5mm edible gel cubes, and apparently you can actually eat them after completion!
With this, even long-distance couples can serve each other home-cooked meals… (tears).
BAR-Exclusive Chocolate
https://atelier-airgead.amebaownd.com/
Image source: “Atelier Airgead”
Atelier Airgead is a “BAR-exclusive chocolate” that can only be enjoyed at select authentic bars, created specifically for pairing with alcohol.
No matter how delicious something is, depending on the situation in which it’s consumed, it may not fully demonstrate its appeal. Airgead’s chocolates limit the situation by not retailing to the general public at all and only supplying to authentic bars with which they have relationships, with the goal of ensuring the chocolate always reaches customers’ mouths in a delicious state.
“Man on the Curtain”: Video Technology to Deter Crimes Targeting Women Living Alone
http://www.leopalace21.com/special/manonthecurtain/index.html
Image source: “Man on the Curtain | Leopalace21”
Leopalace21 has announced a gadget called “Man on the Curtain” for women living alone. It projects a moving shadow of a man onto the curtain, making it appear from outside that “this isn’t a woman living alone—there’s a man here!” It’s an evolved version of the shadow strategy used in the movie “Home Alone.” Unlike “Home Alone,” the movements are extremely realistic. There are 12 patterns of male movements, so it’s not always doing the same thing. There are shadows drinking coffee, working out, and even practicing swings with a bat. The system uses a smartphone and projector to project onto the curtain.
However, if you have a boyfriend, be sure to let him know you’ve set this up or it might lead to a fight.
“Bumble”: The Next-Generation Tinder from a Female Perspective
https://bumble.com/ja/
Image source: “Bumble”
“Bumble” is what’s being called the next-generation Tinder, created by a founding member of the famous dating app Tinder, which is well-known in Japan too.
The biggest difference between “Bumble” and other dating apps is the rule for sending the first message to a matched partner. With Tinder, after matching, either party can send a message, but with “Bumble,” only women can send the first message after matching. Inevitably, women start the conversation, and if a message isn’t sent within 24 hours of matching, the match itself disappears. The idea behind this system is that it allows women’s approaches to be respected naturally without giving the impression of being “desperate,” and respects women’s perspective and initiative.
The moment I heard this, I downloaded it immediately.
Learning About “Work Styles” from Overseas PR Agencies
Recently, our company members experienced a 10-day internship at “SLING & STONES,” a major PR agency in Sydney. Among other things, they found the overseas “work style” particularly helpful regarding the “work style” issues that have been attracting attention lately.
First, since meeting and phone call time is also counted as a cost, there are few phone calls made within the office, and the office is basically quiet. Communication, both internal and external, is basically done through chat tools like Slack and Skype, which is efficient. What was surprising was that even communication with the media—which is indispensable in PR—is mostly done through chat…
Also, there’s almost no overtime; everyone finishes their work by the end of regular hours and then plays games or parties afterward. That said, they’re definitely not slacking off—everyone is producing results in a short amount of time, which is surprising…!
They really value time, and since going out to buy food is also a cost, ordering lunch via Uber and having meetings while eating is standard. There’s absolutely none of the “let’s have a one-hour meeting for now” mentality common among Japanese people, and everyone respects each other’s time.
And they have a funky side too—even when a client requests work, if no one in the company is interested, they decline (laugh).
Of course, the environment is different between overseas and Japan, so we can’t say categorically that Japan’s “work style” is wrong, but I felt there are many points we should learn from, such as respecting each other’s time more and acting accordingly.
Well then, look forward to the next Poached Egg report!
