[Finally, the 40th term!] Reporting on the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s Beginning-of-the-Term Gathering
Hello! This is Sunny-chan from the Corporate PR team.
Tokyo finally entered the rainy season at the end of June. With the humidity making hair sticky and feet getting soaked in the morning, it’s easy to feel a bit blue due to the bad weather. But for us at SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, June is an important month with a “special day.” ☀️
In this first article of our 40th term, we will look back at our 39th term and share a report on that memorable day!
SSUG: Stepping into Our 40th Term!
The 39th term began with the integration of three companies: SUNNY SIDE UP Inc.,, Wise Integration Co., Ltd., which specializes in sales promotion planning and production, and Scramble, Inc., which focuses on influencer marketing. This led to the birth of a comprehensive brand communication company that now serves as the core business of SSUG.
With the birth of the “New SSU,” leveraging the customer bases and solutions of the three companies, we are now able to offer proposals beyond traditional PR. Moreover, strengthening our internal structure to create synergies across the group has led to even greater collaboration. Let’s look back on the events of this whirlwind year in chronological order.
▼SUNNY SIDE UP wins the International Public Relations Association’s Golden World Awards 2023 for “Uber Eats Space Delivery” Campaign (August)
SSU handled PR communications for Uber Eats Japan’s “Uber Eats Delivery to Space” campaign, which won the top prize in the “Consumer PR for an Existing Service – Agency” category at the 2023 Golden World Awards, hosted by the International Public Relations Association!
Uber Eats appointed Yusaku Maezawa, the first Japanese civilian to travel to and reside on the International Space Station, as the special delivery partner. He delivered bonus food to the astronauts during his stay. This news was shared across all countries where Uber Eats operates, capturing the attention of media worldwide and successfully creating a buzz. The campaign’s unique and ambitious nature was highly praised, leading to this award.
▼SSU formed a content partnership with the welfare experimental company “HERALBONY” (September)
SSU has signed a content partnership with HERALBONY, a welfare experimental company aiming to create a new culture starting from welfare. This partnership is part of our effort to strengthen regional initiatives focused on DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
▼SSU formed a partnership agreement with the voice platform provider “Voicy” (October)
SSU established the Influencer Marketing Department in the 39th term. To further expand our brand communication business with a focus on PR, we formed a partnership with Voicy, a company that develops and operates a voice platform. This partnership aims to leverage “voice” information shared by various influencers.
▼SSUG received the“Grand Award” under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Women’s Participation Promotion Awards program 2023” (December)
SSUG received the Grand Award in the business category of the“Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award”! 🎉
This award is given to companies and organizations that promote women’s participation to create a society where women can choose diverse ways of living. This time, the award recognized our unique welfare programs, known as the “32 Benefits,” which support various lifestyles, such as subsidies for egg freezing and AMH testing. It also highlighted the initiatives by our group company, “Good &Co,” which aims to address women’s physical and social issues through its outreach program “W Society.”
▼International Women’s Day on March 8th is “Health Cure day A Day to Care for Your Body by encouraging paid leave during “Women’s Health Week” from March 1 to 8. (March)
SSUG recognized March 8, International Women’s Day, as “Health Cure Day: A Day to Take Care of Yourself.” During the “Women’s Health Week” set by the Ministry of Health from March 1 to 8, the company encouraged employees to take paid leave.
▼SSUG Signed an Industry-First Partnership Agreement with Marunouchi Capital, an Investment Fund Affiliated with Mitsubishi Corporation (May)
It aims to enhance the value of its portfolio companies, SSUG signed a strategic partnership agreement with Marunouchi Capital, an investment fund backed by Mitsubishi Corporation. This marks the first such collaboration in the PR industry.
▼SSUG President Etsuko Tsushihara was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Keidanren Board of Councillors. (May)
Etsuko Tsushihara, President of SSUG, has been appointed as Vice-Chair of the Board of Councillors for the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).
The Board of Councillors consists of up to 700 members and serves as an advisory body to the chairman, discussing issues related to the economy, industry, society, environment, and science and technology. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board are responsible for responding to the chairman’s questions and reviewing important
policy matters and project implementation. They regularly share their views with the chairman on significant issues in the council.
As the term came to an end, the “SSUG 40th Beginning-of-the-Term Gathering” was held at the Tokyo American Club!
The kick-off meeting marks the end of the 39th term and the first step into the 40th term, bringing together all group members for this annual event. This “celebratory day” for the SSUG was held on June 28!
The venue was once again the prestigious Tokyo American Club. While members felt a bit nervous in the elegant setting, they were eagerly looking forward to the start of the event.👀
A luxurious (?) drink service by the president of SSU and the president of the SSUG! 🍹
What were the contents of this Gathering?
This term started with a video summarizing the highlights of the 39th term and the outlook for the 40th term as a group.
The video traces the journey of the SSUG as it celebrates its 40th anniversary since its founding. During our busy daily schedule, taking a moment to reflect on our progress reminds us that these daily efforts shape our enjoyable experiences.
The video then transitions to the outlook for the 40th term, where Etsuko Tsugihara, the President of SSUG shares her insights with a touch of humor, while the members listen attentively.
After looking back on the projects we’ve worked on and the exciting “fun buzz” ahead, it was finally time for the long-awaited toast!
Led by Norihito Watanabe, the Vice President of the SSUG, everyone raised their glasses and cheered, saying, “Great job, everyone!” and “Let’s do our best this term!”
A toast with the members who have shared both joys and challenges🍷
After the toast, we enjoyed a wonderful course meal at the American Club. As the event moved into the second half, we transitioned to video presentations from each group company.
The two hosts of today’s event
This time, the video focuses on the theme of “1985,” the year SSU was founded. Members from each company share reflections and outlooks for the upcoming period with a mix of 70% humor and 30% seriousness (?)
A variety of unique content that brings smiles all around.
And finally, we have the annual announcement of the “SUNNY AWARDS”
This year, in addition to the 10 projects that created “fun buzz,” we also recognized 3 projects that won external PR awards or contributed to setting trends in society. Representatives from each project came up to the stage to receive their awards.🎉
The representative members express their gratitude in a speech.
And lastly was the group picture with everyone from SSUG.📸
The group picture gets wider each year as the number of members increases.👯♂️
With the integration of three group companies and the addition of new members, the SSUG has become even stronger. Together, everyone in the group is moving toward a “new step” for the 40th anniversary!
We’re still on our journey. Please look forward to our continued efforts to create joyful excitement in the world!
