9th Year Employee Interview | Why I Joined SUNNY SIDE UP Vol.2

This is a serial interview series titled “Why I Joined SUNNY SIDE UP,” where we conduct in-depth interviews with team members about what led them to join the company and the work they handle. This time, we interviewed Sakama-san, who joined SUNNY SIDE UP as a new graduate and is now in their 9th year!

For the previous article, please see “New Graduate Roundtable Discussion | Why I Joined SUNNY SIDE UP.”

In this second installment, Sakama-san, who joined as a new graduate and is now in their 9th year, shares their reasons for joining SUNNY SIDE UP and discusses the company’s DNA. We hope this will be helpful for those of you aiming to join SUNNY SIDE UP, a PR company, in your job search.

Let’s get started!

Initial Thoughts Upon Joining ~ Reasons for Choosing SSU

When I was job hunting, it was around the time when the Tokyo Olympics might be decided. So I conducted my job search with the goal of being involved with the Olympics in some capacity.

While thinking about how I could be involved with the Tokyo Olympics, I chose SUNNY SIDE UP because it would allow me to work across various genres, not just sports.

How was it after you joined?

I can say this now, but… it will reveal that I didn’t do my company research properly (laughs). Actually, I thought SUNNY SIDE UP was a kind of event company. I joined thinking I would be involved in planning various events related to sports, food, fashion, and so on, but my first assignment was to the Media Relations Department.

In the Media Relations Department, I would visit media outlets with press releases for various projects. To get beauty product information published, I would make appointments with women’s magazines like CanCam looking like this (laughs), and I would approach publishing companies floor by floor without prior appointments.

Initially, I was interested in the entertainment industry, including sports, so the work content was different from what I had envisioned. On top of that, my peers were (all weird people, but) very talented. Honestly, I spent every day feeling anxious and pressured. The first year or two after joining were really tough (laughs).

However, even if I ran away from here, I had no experience or knowledge. I told myself that, and at the time, I just worked hard on what was in front of me.

I think I really caused trouble for the senior staff around me. I definitely don’t want to go back to those days (laughs), but without the support of my seniors, I would have dropped out much earlier. I can never thank them enough for teaching me how to work like this.

Was there a turning point?

Around my third or fourth year after joining, the experience I had accumulated finally became useful to my juniors, and I was able to give PR advice to clients.

Also, at one point, when a client contacted me directly (not my supervisor) for consultation, I was very happy… I felt that “there are people who rely on me,” and I was glad I had continued this far.

Currently, I am increasingly proposing and implementing PR event plans to clients and agencies—the kind I had envisioned wanting to do before joining. Without the experience I gained in the Media Relations Department and the advice from my seniors, I definitely couldn’t have done it, so I think it was an essential period.

What is the unchanging DNA of SSU?

What hasn’t changed since I joined is… it’s not completely top-down, but rather everyone forms a scrum and moves forward toward a single goal. The hierarchical relationships are also minimal in a good way. For example, I really rely on junior members who handle media promotion as partners working together, and they are important colleagues whether they’re in their first year or not. To achieve media exposure, the opinions of young members who regularly listen to the real voices from the media side and make media research a habit are the most helpful. Precisely because their roles differ from mine, the work of young members is truly invaluable.

Also, at SUNNY SIDE UP, even first- or second-year employees can be involved in major projects, but conversely, there are many occasions when they are challenged with projects that carry considerable pressure. Even so, I think they endure the pressure, rely on their seniors skillfully, prepare thoroughly, and work daily with the awareness of being “SSU media promoters.”

Understanding one’s role and “being able to work within a chain of mutual support” is the DNA of SUNNY SIDE UP that remains unchanged, both now and in the past.

What has changed?

Students aiming for the PR or advertising industry probably know this, but this industry has overwhelmingly more unglamorous work, and when events are approaching, overtime inevitably increases.

Despite being such an industry, especially in the past two or three years, I feel significant changes within the company. There is an atmosphere of managing work to finish within working hours more than before, promoting remote work, and changing the awareness of working members, and I feel it is gradually permeating the company.

There are still issues to address and room for improvement. Even so, I can feel firsthand that members and the company are working on this with awareness.

Also, not just working hours, but by renovating the office and introducing free addressing, opportunities for communication with various members across divisions and departments have been created.

Please share an episode where you felt your student experiences were utilized.

I sincerely faced what I wanted to do in front of me and valued my own thoughts. I don’t think I did things just because others were doing them. I always believed in my own will. For example, when I was a student, there were times when I wondered whether to continue futsal because of job hunting, but I prioritized my desire to play more futsal and get better rather than the feeling that “study abroad experience might benefit my job search or future.” As a result, I think I was able to live a well-balanced life while job hunting. Come to think of it, I don’t think I went to large-scale joint job fair events.

Instead, I did a lot of alumni visits to hear stories not found on company websites.

The futsal team I belonged to was not a club activity but a community team, and there were many working adult staff members at the professional sports team internship site as well. By consulting with them about various things, I was able to hear many real stories from working adults that I couldn’t hear at company information sessions, and it was very educational. I was truly blessed with that environment at the time.

Future Prospects

I think younger members will soon catch up to my current position and quickly surpass me. So, rather than polishing just one thing, I want to learn various PR and communication methods suited to different needs and challenge myself with new things so I can be active on any stage.

I’ve been at SUNNY SIDE UP for nine years, so I feel I’ve gradually established genres where I can compete in my own way, but I think I need to be able to propose new plans and communication strategies, saying “Let’s do something different from before.”

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How was it? Was the senior’s story helpful? We would be happy if your understanding of SUNNY SIDE UP has deepened even a little!

We plan to continue asking various members “Why I Joined SUNNY SIDE UP,” so stay tuned!

About the Author

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Human Resources Department
Masako Oshita

Since joining mid-career in 2020, she has been like everyone’s big sister in the Human Resources Department, having seen numerous new graduate and mid-career members join. Her recent hobby is foot reflexology massage.