Why She Builds “Systems” at SUNNY SIDE UP: A Unique Career Spanning IT, Healthcare, and PR | Why I Joined SUNNY SIDE UP

At SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, which creates “Let’s Have Fun!” in the world through every communication approach grounded in PR thinking, members with a wide range of backgrounds come together. The industries and roles vary widely, and many have also changed jobs from within the PR industry.

This time, we spoke with Hasegawa, who belongs to SUNNY SIDE UP’s Division 6 (Sports) and is responsible for PR and communications for clients such as pharmaceutical companies, wellness-related e-commerce businesses, and hotels.

She, too, smiles and says, “It’s fun to learn what I don’t know,” and is one of the members who joined SUNNY SIDE UP as a mid-career hire with experience at a PR agency. With insights backed by experience across diverse industries beyond PR and her bright, energetic personality, she is relied on internally as “everyone’s big sister.”

We bring you her philosophy on work, cultivated through a diverse career in IT, art, medical consulting, apparel, and PR.

Member Profile

Public Relations Business Division / Division 6 (Sports) / Department 2 / Group 1 Keiko Hasegawa
Joined as a mid-career hire and now in her fifth year. Highly inquisitive and action-oriented, she dives into even challenging tasks with curiosity. She has always been the type to energize those around her since childhood, and colleagues say, “She seems like she could go out for drinks with anyone.”

Even in complex industries, it is enjoyable to learn what you do not know

I currently handle PR and communications for pharmaceutical companies, hotels, and a new supplement brand. All of these are specialized and challenging fields, but that is also what makes them interesting.

Medical-related work, in particular, involves a lot of technical terminology, and at first there was so much I did not understand. Before joining SUNNY SIDE UP, I worked in medical consulting, so I had some knowledge, but it was still almost like starting from zero. However, the process of gradually understanding it has been truly enjoyable.

A project I previously worked on—an awareness initiative related to climate change—also started with only the level of knowledge I had learned at school. As the project progressed, my understanding of the client’s activities deepened, and gaining both new learning and a sense of personal responsibility toward the climate crisis was a very valuable experience.

Although I am involved in PR now, my career as a working professional began in an administrative role at a stable company. It was a good, stable company, but at the time Japan was in the midst of the third venture boom, when leading IT companies were on the rise. Going with the times, I left to pursue unknown “things that seemed fun.”

After that, I experienced a truly wide range of industries and roles—IT, lighting for the art world, systems in the amusement industry, and more. Through these experiences, I believe I learned that a company is built by many different departments and people, and I was able to understand how each position thinks. In my 20s, to be honest, I was not thinking about “building a career” at all—what mattered was whether I was enjoying my work (laughs).

When you build systems and people move, work starts to run smoothly

My view of work began to change when I entered my 30s. I realized that instead of having someone prepare fun things for me, I needed to be able to create fun things with my own hands from then on.

Of all the challenges I took on, my longest experience was in PR, and at my previous PR agency I often handled restaurants and apparel brands. There, in addition to PR work, I also leveraged my experience to help build customer support structures and improve systems, creating mechanisms to reduce churn and systems that connected clients with one another. When I think about it, I have always liked getting the people around me involved.

No matter what work I was doing, one thing remained consistent: “valuing connections with people.”And what I feel is common across every industry I have experienced is “If you build systems, the organization and the work will run.”

This is, of course, true in PR as well. Rather than relying solely on individual, person-dependent skills and planning and communicating on an ad hoc basis, I believe it is important to establish standardized, repeatable systems that enable the team and the client to take action. When you build systems and people move, work starts to run smoothly and faster.

That is why, in my work at SUNNY SIDE UP, I place importance on “not carrying everything alone” and “relying on others.” Holding onto issues that individuals cannot resolve is effectively the same as narrowing an organization’s capacity, and it is not uncommon that something I cannot do due to lack of experience is something someone else can do.

I believe it is important to become “someone who moves people,” in the sense of identifying the next action the organization needs in order to move work forward. Ask when you do not understand; consult when you are troubled. Working together will absolutely lead to better results. Even if it is not perfect, relying on others and pooling wisdom as you move forward is, I believe, also essential to team building.

One particularly memorable project I worked on at SUNNY SIDE UP was a global-scale campaign by a wellness-related e-commerce company. They are a client with whom we have a long-term retainer contract and to whom we make regular proposals, but this project was especially large in scope. We deployed a wide range of approaches in a one-stop manner, from marketing—an area we have been focusing on in recent years—to PR initiatives backed by long-standing know-how.

In this major project, which brought together more than 10 people across three or more divisions, I believe we were able to maximize each team’s strengths—such as engaging numerous talents and leveraging SNS through a department specialized in influencer marketing. This was also the first time I worked on OOH (out-of-home advertising). I feel that being able to seamlessly execute initiatives of this scale and breadth is a strength unique to SUNNY SIDE UP, with its stable organizational foundation of around 300 employees and its diverse specialized departments.

I believe that PR work is “work that moves people’s hearts.” I truly love this work, where you connect people, move teams, and build the systems that make that possible.

Unique experiences also add strong persuasive power when making proposals

What I realized after joining SUNNY SIDE UP is that there are truly so many good people here. There are many bright, positive, professional members who work with clear goals.

From the beginning, the office has been free-address. I was confused because I did not know who to ask, or even where that “who” was, but I kept reaching out to those around me regardless of age or position. People told me, “You fit in so quickly!” but for me, it actually took quite a while. Perhaps the gap felt large because I had been used to having a fixed seat. Everyone responds kindly when you speak to them, but SUNNY SIDE UP is a company that values communication. Whether internally or externally, you need a proactive attitude of engaging with others yourself. I was actually working very hard, too (laughs).

Now, some people even call me “everyone’s big sister.” Because I have been through a lot, I am not intimidated by any project, and I think people see that I can approach anything with curiosity and enthusiasm. Because this company provides many opportunities to take on challenges and an environment where you can consult seniors even when you hit a wall, I can take on challenges boldly.

As I communicate within the company, I often feel that because many members joined as new graduates, rules and culture are naturally formed and shared. That is why I feel the organization becomes even stronger when those of us who joined mid-career put into words “what we do not know.”

Another aspect I consider to be one of SUNNY SIDE UP’s attractions is the interest of its in-house businesses. W society, run by the group company Good Company, is a project in which SUNNY SIDE UP also participates. One of the current ongoing initiatives is the life design seminar “W school” for working women and those around them. This also links to the employee benefits program “32 Benefits,” including the “Dear WOMAN” and “Dear PARENTS” programs, and I feel a strong sense of consistency as a company.

When it comes to this company’s social contribution, many people may associate it with the White Band Project from about 20 years ago, but I think it is quite remarkable that, as of 2025, it continues to develop social contribution activities as sustainable businesses.

Another thing I find appealing from an “insider” perspective is that the company prepares special experiences for us. For example, events held at venues with dress codes, like the annual kick-off meeting—things you likely would not have many chances to do in your 20s—can be enjoyed as company events. It is something to be grateful for that we are given opportunities for these valuable experiences.

Experience gives you more to draw on when speaking with clients and members of the media, and it should also increase the persuasive power of your proposals. In that way, I believe PR that only SUNNY SIDE UP can deliver is born.

PR thinking and experience can be applied to any job

As a PR professional, I strongly empathize with SUNNY SIDE UP’s desire to “Let’s Have Fun!”, so I would like to continue creating “Let’s Have Fun!” through PR going forward.

Not only in work but also in my private life, there are still so many things I want to do. I want to play the piano again, restart saxophone practice, and relearn English conversation… Those kinds of “things that seem fun” should be something you can take on at any age, no matter how old you get.

I originally did not have clear dreams or goals, and I have lived by simply thinking, “It seems fun, so I will try it.” That is why I can move flexibly and quickly, and when I see people or companies with dreams and goals, I genuinely want to support them. And if I find something that catches my interest along the way, I might end up taking on another challenge again (laughs).

My interest in many things never ends, but PR thinking and experience can be applied to any job. Including myself, I would like to continue proposing “fun-looking” work that moves people’s hearts to the world, together with many colleagues!

Hasegawa’s words, “It seems fun, so I will try it,” embody SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s corporate culture of continuing to take on challenges.

Your knowledge and curiosity will surely become the driving force that creates the next “Let’s Have Fun!”

Would you like to take that first step together with us?