Sunrockers Shibuya Undercover Report Results! ~New Employee Yamada Edition~
Nice to meet you! I’m Yamada, a new employee.
I joined the company in April, and I am currently apprenticing in the Sports Promotion Department! As part of the Sports Promotion Department training, I went behind the scenes of the B.LEAGUE game that kicked off last autumn, Sunrockers Shibuya vs Kawasaki Brave Thunders!
This time, I would like to share what it was like.
Right away, while listening to the PR representative, we took a lap around the venue during the pre-game setup and rehearsal!
After hearing the overall flow of the team’s PR work, I was amazed to learn that one person handles media relations, social media posts, and creating and sending invitations. (Incredible…)
In addition, Sunrockers Shibuya places importance on digital PR, and I learned that they change the content and purpose of posts for Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook—so I was able to discover the “secrets” behind the social media we see every day.
The post that has received the biggest response so far on social media was—believe it or not—a dance video of the Sunrocker Girls (cheerleaders) and Sandy (the mascot), which apparently reached 30,000 views. Personally, I was very surprised it wasn’t a basketball player video…
Next, we were able to hear from the business division about the basics of Sunrockers Shibuya and their future outlook.
Aoyama Gakuin University, the home arena of Sunrockers Shibuya, is in an excellent location—just a 5-minute walk from Omotesando Station.
So, rather than people saying, “I want to watch a Sunrockers Shibuya game!”, there are apparently many more who say, “I want to see a B.LEAGUE game!”
Shibuya has an image as a “city of young people,” and they said that even for sports tickets, many young people prefer cutting-edge app tickets rather than paper tickets. It seems that “Shibuya is a city of young people” still holds true even in sports.
And finally, the doors open! As opening time approaches, Sandy, the Sunrockers Shibuya mascot character, comes out to welcome you. (So cute…)
I also managed to get a two-shot photo with Sandy (laugh). When we shook hands, the hands were fluffy and felt really nice…
Now, as for the game…
Unfortunately, Sunrockers Shibuya lost to Kawasaki Brave Thunders, but it was an intense game and the cheering was passionate! They closed the gap to just 7 points at the end… so close!!!
During timeouts and halftime, it was time for the long-awaited
performance by the Sunrocker Girls and Sandy!
No wonder they are so popular on social media—it was truly overwhelming. Apparently, they decide on the spot what kind of performance to do depending on the game situation. Watching with that in mind makes it even more impressive.
After the game ended, we went behind the scenes again!
We were allowed to observe a press conference, which is one of the PR team’s tasks. They grasped which players each media outlet wanted to interview and ran the conference smoothly. Of course, bringing the players to the press room is part of the job, but what left an impression on me was that they also consistently communicated with the media in between, and that they said it is important for PR staff to understand media needs as well.
On a personal note, I often watch sports in my daily life. In this training, I was able to watch sports from the perspective of “operations,” which is different from being a “spectator.” At the same time, I learned the importance of looking at things from various perspectives.
I will soon be formally assigned to the Media Relations Department, and I will not forget what I learned here as I continue to do my best as a new employee!!
(My personal MVP of the day was, of course, Sandy! It’s adorable that Sandy can even wear disguises…!)
★Click here for the Asano edition and Masuno edition★
