[A Must-Read for Young Professionals] From Housing Equipment and Life Insurance to an Inexperienced PR Agency! A Growth Story at SUNNY SIDE UP Told by Members from Different Industries

Hello, everyone!

I’m Tanaka from the Human Resources General Affairs Department of the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP.

Many of you may have an image of the PR and advertising industry as being “glamorous” or “sophisticated.”

However, behind the PR and communications that deliver big news and movements to the world and move people’s hearts, there lies meticulous strategy, unglamorous effort, and a strong professional commitment.

In this issue, we spotlight two young members who joined SUNNY SIDE UP as career changers from different industries and are now active on the front lines.

Nozomi Sakuda (with the company for 4 years and 9 months), who previously worked in sales for a housing equipment manufacturer, and Arisa Sakuraba (with the company for 3 years and 7 months), who worked in life insurance sales.

We asked these two, who jumped into the world of PR from completely different industries, to talk about their career struggles, why they chose SUNNY SIDE UP, the reality of their work, and their passion for their jobs.

From left: Public Relations Business Division / Bureau 2 / Dept 1 / Group 2: Nozomi Sakuda; Public Relations Business Division / Bureau 2 / Dept 2 / Group 1: Arisa Sakuraba

“I want to give shape to ideas and move people’s hearts”—Reasons for jumping into the world of PR from a different industry

—Both of you were in industries completely different from PR in your previous jobs. First, please tell us what motivated you to apply to SUNNY SIDE UP.

Sakuda: My previous job was in route sales for a housing equipment manufacturer. It was a job where I would pitch to house builders so that customers building new homes would choose our kitchens, bathrooms, and so on.

The catalyst for thinking about a career change was the stay-at-home period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since customers couldn’t come to the showroom, I filmed and edited videos of the equipment in the showroom myself to send to them. It was a huge hit, with people saying it was “so easy to understand!” and it even spread to other branches. I was truly happy that my videos and the way I communicated things could change people’s behavior. I began to feel strongly that I wanted to challenge myself in a “PR job that can move people’s hearts through communication.”

Also, a strong desire to “work with excitement rather than feeling gloomy on Sunday nights” was one of the deciding factors for my career change. While job hunting, I was drawn to the openness I felt from reading this owned media, “SUNNY DAYS,” and I applied only to SUNNY SIDE UP among PR agencies.

Sakuda, who gave the interview with a sun-like smile, saying, “I can’t believe I’m being featured in SUNNY DAYS, which I used to read…!”

Sakuraba: I was doing individual sales for life insurance. Initially, based on my own family’s experience, I joined with the desire to “do a job that supports people when they are going through hard times,” and every day I would visit the offices of the companies I was in charge of to make cold calls.

However, in a tough environment where I was chasing numbers individually, I had the opportunity to plan an internal event. That triggered a growing desire to “do work where I can think of fun projects as a team like this, or create something together with colleagues.” As I listened to a friend who works at a PR agency, I was able to form a concrete image, and I decided to take the plunge into the world of PR, where I could be involved in diverse industries.

—It’s because of your experiences in your previous jobs that you were able to realize the essential joy of “achieving results as a team” and “moving people’s hearts through creative delivery!”

The Importance of “Media Promotion” in Building a PR Foundation and the Gritty Effort Behind the Glamorous World

—After joining, both of you were initially assigned to the Social Relations Bureau (SR), which is responsible for promoting to media and influencers. In SUNNY SIDE UP, SR is called the “treasure and the flagship”; what was it like to actually experience it?

Sakuda: SR is a department that thinks with all its might about “how to get featured in the media.” The experience of deeply understanding the appeal of a client’s service and thinking through the “hooks” (angles) that meet the needs of the media becomes the foundation for everything as a PR professional.

In the first project I handled after joining, for the matching app “Tinder,” we secured pre-announcement exposure before an event in Shibuya, and I saw a long line forming on the opening day.I still can’t forget the emotion I felt when I witnessed the moment our communication moved the world and moved people.

Sakuraba: For three years right after joining, I was in charge of large-scale projects such as the “Gransta Tokyo” and “ecute” commercial facilities inside stations for JR East Cross Station Development Company. Being involved in projects with a large social impact, such as planning and conducting media previews when new areas opened at various stations, including commercial facilities inside Tokyo Station, is still a great asset to me. By delivering information to many media outlets every day and connecting it to interviews and exposure, I felt a great sense of fulfillment in seeing the results of our work firsthand, such as lines forming at stores and new social trends being born.

Instead of paying to buy advertising space, we compete with the value of the information itself and deliver it to the world through the media as a third party. I truly felt that strength of PR.

Sakuraba looks back and says, “It’s a project I’ve been in charge of for a long time since I joined, and I have a strong emotional attachment to it.”

—Behind the glamorous results, there is also a fair amount of gritty, behind-the-scenes work, isn’t there?

Sakuda: It’s very gritty!Creating media lists from scratch, or calling media people who are busy with interviews over and over again to catch them at the right time. However, an environment where you can pour all your energy in as a dedicated SR is a strength of SUNNY SIDE UP.

When I first joined, the words “If you get tired of looking at the media, you won’t last in this job” left a strong impression on me. I made it a habit to check Yahoo! News, X, TikTok, Instagram, and other SNS daily so that I wouldn’t find being exposed to information a burden.

Sakuraba: In my previous job, I just had the TV on in the background, but since joining SUNNY SIDE UP, my awareness has changed to looking at information from a PR perspective, such as “what kind of exposure will this news lead to?” By being exposed to various media every day and changing the way I look at and perceive information, I caught up with the industry.

A Corporate Culture Without Walls and an Environment Where Anyone Can Take on Challenges and Grow

—I also have the impression that the bond between members who joined as new graduates is strong at SUNNY SIDE UP. As a career changer, was there anything you did to adapt to the culture?

Sakuda: SUNNY SIDE UP is a flat environment regardless of age. If I were to mention one thing, it’s how I interacted with younger members. Even if they were younger than me, members who joined as new graduates and had been with the company longer were my seniors in PR. I made a conscious effort to throw away any strange pride and have a sincere attitude of being taught with an open mind. Everyone around me was so frank and kind that I never felt a wall.

Sakuraba: I also took the initiative to contact other career changers of the same age to go out for meals, and I actively jumped into the circle myself! There were many opportunities to create horizontal connections within the company, such as gatherings for the same year group including both new graduates and career changers. Since there is a culture where everyone welcomes you warmly, I think it’s an environment where you can quickly fit in and work hard together as long as you take that first step yourself.

The two of them adapted to the culture of SUNNY SIDE UP and honed their PR foundations and professionalism in SR. From here, we asked them in detail about their current work and the future of their careers, having stepped up to sales roles responsible for planning and production after their achievements in SR!

—Now that you’ve shifted from SR to sales, what kind of changes or excitement are you feeling?

Sakuda: If SR’s role is to think of the angle for a project and deliver it to the media, the sales role is to plan and produce from scratch “what kind of measures, to whom, and how to get them to act.” The world where possibilities expand infinitely depending on your ideas is so much fun!

Actually, it was because of a senior member I wanted to work with that I raised my hand during my SR days to join the project for “bills,” the all-day dining from Sydney managed by the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP. I’ve learned a lot while being deeply immersed in the brand’s appeal over the years. Utilizing the media perspective I cultivated in SR to launch projects and systems from scratch as a sales person and put them out into the world is a special kind of fun.

Sakuraba: I’ve only been challenging myself in sales for a few months, but I’m savoring the fun of building proposals from scratch for the challenges our clients face every day.

From IT companies to sports and food beverage, I can be deeply involved with the passion of a PR representative in industries I would never have encountered if it weren’t for PR, so my knowledge and perspective are expanding explosively.

—How is your sales experience from a different industry helping you in your current PR work?

Sakuraba: The “ability to stand in the other person’s shoes and communicate by picking up on their true needs,” which I cultivated in my previous job in insurance sales, has become my greatest weapon in both client work and working with media people. You can catch up on document creation and industry knowledge as much as you want through effort after joining, but I feel that the attitude of empathizing with the other person is thanks to my gritty sales experience in a different industry.

Sakuda: It’s exactly the same (laughs). My experience of being strictly trained in language and manners in my previous job is helping me move work forward smoothly with diverse stakeholders inside and outside the company. Because I have a correct foundation, I can build relationships of trust with high professionalism even in the casual and open environment of SUNNY SIDE UP.

—Finally, please tell us about your prospects and goals for your future career!

Sakuda: Since I’ve solidified my foundation by being exposed to a wide range of industries, in the future, I want to master PR as a specialized specialist who is asked for by name, focusing on fields I love like gourmet and food beverage.

Sakuraba: I also want to find my own strong genre while challenging myself with various projects and aim to become a one-of-a-kind PR person who is designated by clients!

How was it?

Even if it’s a challenge from an inexperienced background, by building on what you learned in your previous job and putting in the effort, you can grow significantly as a PR professional. I myself feel every day the environment of SUNNY SIDE UP that supports challenges and encourages growth.

SUNNY SIDE UP is looking for new colleagues who want to challenge themselves at the forefront of PR with passion and commitment, including career changers from other industries.

If you feel like “I want to use my past experience to take on a challenge in the world of PR” or “I want to create a ‘fun commotion’ (Tanoshie Sawagi),” please let us hear your thoughts!