A Day in the Life: Getting Up Close with a Product Marketer

As two months have passed since the calendar marked the beginning of autumn, the ginkgo trees in front of the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP headquarters have begun to drop their ripe fruit, signaling the changing of the seasons.

The coming season is filled with as much excitement as the summer, featuring sports, leisure, and various events—what we call “Tanoshii Sawagi” (making a happy stir). SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, which has created many such moments through a PR-driven mindset, continues to be involved in a wide range of projects this year.

While autumn is often associated with experiences like travel and Halloween, it is also a season of high consumer demand for physical products. From seasonal delicacies and costume goods to autumn and winter apparel—even while the summer heat lingers—you might find yourself picking up various “products” before you know it.

In our “A Day in the Life” series, we follow Saki Tomomori, an eighth-year employee who joined as a new graduate and now works in the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s esteemed product marketing department.

We are excited to share a behind-the-scenes look at the work of this product marketing professional!

Member Introduction 🥚

▲ Public Relations Business Division / Bureau 7 / Department 1 / Group 3: Saki Tomomori. Joined Wise Integration Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of the current Bureau 7) as a new graduate in 2018. Her strengths lie in social media management and analysis; keeping up with trends is both her job and her hobby. After work and on weekends, she enjoys her free time both indoors and outdoors, from watching videos and attending idol concerts to going to baseball games!

A Typical Daily Schedule 🔍

| 10:30 AM: Arriving at the Office

Since her department handles physical goods involving IP (Intellectual Property), she primarily works from the office. The Sendagaya and Kita-Sando area (commonly known as “Dagaya-Sando”) near the office is home to many facilities such as Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, the National Noh Theatre, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, yet it maintains a calm atmosphere without excessive traffic.

She never fails to check social media during her commute! While it depends on the topics she wants to verify, she spends a significant amount of time on X (formerly Twitter).

She makes a conscious effort to maintain high information sensitivity to create interesting projects. Sometimes, simply clicking on something that catches her eye leads to unexpected discoveries. Information gathered by individual members is shared via internal Slack channels.

| 11:30 AM: Sample Checking

She checks samples sent from the factory as prototypes before mass production. After a thorough inspection at SUNNY SIDE UP and a subsequent check by the client, the product finally moves into full-scale production.

When checking, she pays close attention to shape, material, and color. For example, with printed materials, even if the color is perfectly correct in the digital data, the actual product’s appearance often differs depending on the material. Ultimately, she checks by comparing the physical sample with color swatches visually.

While it is important to ensure the product matches the design proposal, it is also essential to confirm what kind of intuitive impression the physical object gives to the viewer and whether that aligns with the project’s goals. Furthermore, ensuring that safety is strictly guaranteed is a crucial point.

Bureau 7 maintains a specialized team at overseas production bases and has established a thorough quality control system to provide products that meet Japan’s strict safety standards.

| 1:00 PM: Lunch

While there are various restaurants nearby, I prefer having lunch inside the office rather than eating out.

A wide variety of food trucks visit the area around the office on a daily basis. On this day, I invited a colleague from the same year to go buy lunch boxes! You often hear people in the office saying things like, “It’s [Day of the week], so let’s eat [Specific food],” and many members have their favorite food trucks.

Bureau 7 is a gathering of entertainment enthusiasts who love games, manga, movies, dramas, and anime, so our lunch conversations often revolve around what we are currently into.

We exchange information and talk passionately, saying things like, “I binge-watched that drama over the weekend!” or “This part of the new game is amazing!” or “What do you think will happen next in that manga?” It’s a refreshing time to share what we love and laugh together between work tasks.

| 2:00 PM: Internal Meeting

We hold brainstorming sessions with team members to prepare proposals for clients. The strength of the SUNNY SIDE UP manufacturing team lies in our integrated approach—from planning to manufacturing and quality control—which sets us apart from simple OEM providers.

Because we incorporate a PR-driven mindset, we can capture market needs and trends to plan products that maximize the client’s brand image. Occasionally, we reach out to members in other departments who match the target demographic to get feedback from a consumer’s perspective.

At this stage, we also discuss and decide on the general size and materials of the product. Since the team consists of highly experienced members, these discussions proceed very smoothly.

| 3:00 PM: Document Preparation: Estimates Design

Once the plan begins to take shape during internal meetings, I obtain quotes, create a profit plan, and prepare formal estimates. Based on our track record of handling a wide range of products—including apparel, sundries, tableware, and electronics—we are able to offer diverse proposals.

At this time, I also submit design requests to the designers. Preparing visual materials that make it easier to imagine the finished product is indispensable for client proposals.

| 5:00 PM: Marketing Research

Before the next internal meeting or proposal, I conduct research on the client and their competing brands. I pick up on industry movements, item trends, and social media posts related to the client.

By doing so, I sometimes discover potential for creating a major buzz that the client themselves hadn’t noticed or had overlooked because it seemed too obvious!

| 6:00 PM: Document Preparation: Client Proposal

Finally, it’s time to create the proposal!

Our goal is to create products that move people—items that they instinctively want to pick up and tell someone else about.

I focus on creating documents that clearly communicate to the client where the key points of the plan lie, whether those are reflected in the design imagery, and how they align with current social trends and fashions.

I believe that when proposing a “product,” the intuitive feeling of “This is great!” is incredibly important. Therefore, while the logic of the plan is essential, I place even more value on the feeling of “Would I want this myself?” and “Does this excite me?”

| 8:00 PM: Leaving the Office

After work, I intentionally walk to Shibuya or Harajuku instead of the nearest station. These areas are well-known as the epicenters of Japanese trends. As part of my hobby and information gathering, I stop by large variety stores, bookstores, and capsule toy shops on my way home.

Shibuya is one of the most popular areas in Tokyo for foreign tourists, and walking through it allows me to feel the scale of inbound tourism firsthand. Since our company is focusing on global projects, these are points I can’t help but notice.

Because we have utilized every possible PR and communication method, SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP possesses the product marketing expertise to create a buzz, going far beyond “just making things.”

This series will continue to focus on our unique team members, so please stay tuned!