COPY THAT MOVES YOUR BRAND FORWARD
Creative, strategic, empathetic.
In 2015, we completed our first major copywriting project that elevated our role in amplifying Japan’s voice to the world. Our appreciation for monozukuri manifests in our copywriting through our unique approach to transcreation.
1Research
It’s not about how good we write; that comes later. It’s about how much we know about you first. We research and familiarize ourselves with every facet of your brand’s purpose, credo, voice, and audience. Not only do we look into your brand’s current story, but also the history and vision for the future. We learn about your competition to present insights into what differentiates your brand from the rest. From here, we turn the ignition, driving us to the next important step.
2Talent
We write in all forms, from tag lines, brand copy, film narration, ad campaigns, editorial, and social content for various industries. Combining our US-based multicultural team’s strengths with our skilled bi-lingual copywriters in Japan, we deliver illuminating and unifying copy with efficiency in our work.
3Transcreation
Transcreation is a crucial stage and a unique feature in our copywriting process. In this stage, we connect English and Japanese languages acknowledging their differences and commonalities in principles, expressions, nuances, and sensory experiences. Our understanding and broader perception of both worlds allow us to write copy with the appropriate voice while maintaining authenticity and intention. We strengthen our work with comprehensive rationale.
4Creative Copywriting
We adorn the copy with rhyme and rhythm, balance and harmony, emphasis and subtleties. We work closely with you to craft a copy that aims to capture Japan’s sensibilities and spirit. And with our understanding and knowledge of its culture and our global mindset, we identify the right emotions to trigger. We uncover something new and unique to inspire your audience to take action.
5Strategic Execution
A copy must not only be creative, but it must also be strategic. We write with a clear goal in mind and a strategy to achieve it. Our strategic process combines our research findings, transcreation process, insights, and creativity. To do so, we identify these elements and execute them to reach a global audience.
A few
more
words
We always remember who it is for and why when writing a copy.
What is
Transcreation
Trans is a prefix that
means across.+
Creation is the act of
producing something.
Our transcreation presents a surprise that is often enlightening. Transcreation is unifying one language with another and creating a powerful and compelling message to reach the intended audience. We consider more than the nuances of the words. We deeply understand the culture and language expressions and recognize minute details while keeping the tone of voice and intent.
In-houseTranscreationteam
As front liners of the company, we are best positioned to delve into the inner workings of the minds of our clients. Our transcreation team sees that your copy is universally adored, accepted, and fully understood.
We have tested this theory. The evidence resulted in incredible work and happy clients.
Your mutlicultural team at your service:
Creative Director/
English Copywriter
Maria Hagiwara brings a wealth of experience in digital and print content creation and branding. As a daughter of a published poet, the love for writing comes naturally to her.
MARIA HAGIWARA
Maria brings a wealth of experience in digital and print content creation and branding. As a daughter of a published poet, the love for writing comes naturally to her. However, she did not fancy writing about the financial markets during her time at Lehman Brothers.
In 2016, Maria began copywriting for Japan’s agencies and brands and discovered her knack for bringing light and life in Japanese words to English. She carries a fresh perspective and depth founded on authenticity, empathy, and purpose. Her foundation in writing lies in the four Ps: philosophy, psychology, poetry, and keeping in mind who it is for, people.
Maria’s keen brand intuition led her to become Chief Creative Director and Lead Copywriter. She developed a unique transcreation approach and delivered English copy for Japan’s top global brands, including JT Group, SHISEIDO, Uniqlo, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Universal Studios Japan, DENSO, Fujifilm, and Technics. She also wrote for Japan’s local audience for Japan Expo, Anessa, Minasamano, Citen, and Goldwyn.
Creative Director/
Japanese Copywriter
Atsushi Katayama is a believer in the power of diverse cultures. Skilled in creative strategy and great storytelling in Japanese, Atsushi has a strong enthusiasm for investigating communication, especially from the viewpoint of the "power of narrative."
Atsushi Katayama is a bilingual Japanese copywriter and creative director with over 25 years of experience in the advertising industry. A believer in the power of diverse cultures, Atsushi has a strong enthusiasm for investigating communication, especially from the viewpoint of the “power of narrative.”
Atsushi is a master at identifying subtle nuances, extracting the copy’s essence, unifying the languages, and conveying the intended message. He transcreates the English copy and rationale to Japanese with exceptional symmetry. Atsushi works closely with Maria and is in great alignment with each other. Their remarkable harmony creates a solid foundation, offering a unique approach, defining and setting a high standard for transcreation.
To this day, he sees Japanese creators face unseen barriers when communicating with the world. He knows the difficulties very well and is motivated to uplift their global communication. He leaves no questions unanswered in our transcreation process, giving our co-creators confidence and a newfound appreciation for their globalized message.
Atsushi earned his MA in Media Studies degree from New York University and worked on a Ph.D. dissertation at Tokyo Keizai University. Previously, he worked as a creative director, producer, and CM planner at Asatsu DK, ADK, C2K, and Bouillon Tokyo.
Transcreation Team Lead
Mitsu Hagiwara is an inherent creative who can view different cultures and align them into one universal world. As a Japanese-American, he helps lead our global copywriting/transcreation team.MITSU HAGIWARA
Mitsu Hagiwara is an inherent creative who can view different cultures and align them into one universal world.
Besides his role as a producer, our transcreation team leans on Mitsu’s superior knowledge of socio-political issues, history, and geography, contributing to his deep global awareness and understanding. This awareness is significant in our transcreation process.
Mitsu has lived in many different countries and experienced various cultures. From these diverse encounters, he could view things as one universal world. He guides the output of our transcreation, ensuring the English copy keeps the soul and sensibility of the Japanese copy.
Mitsu attended UMass/Amherst Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing; Bachelor of Arts in Japanese, Sophia Univ, Tokyo. International Business.
Translation Specialist
Jonathan Hinton is a master of idiomatic expressions, he is able to capture minute nuances between Japanese and English. His talent for expressing the meaning of certain Japanese and Western expressions word-for-word into context is key to a successful transcreation.JONATHAN HINTON
Jonathan Hinton is a master of idiomatic expressions. As much as he is an American, his mind speaks in Japanese. He can capture minute nuances between Japanese and English. His talent for expressing the meaning of certain Japanese and Western expressions word-for-word into context is key to a flourishing transcreation. Jonathan is a prolific reader of Japanese literature, from classics to pop culture. In casual conversations, he quickly translates Japanese to English and vice-versa with honesty and humor. His insights add dimension to our copywriting work. For nearly two decades, Jonathan has worked with Japanese production agencies in the US and Japan as a producer, writer, and translator.
He is well-versed in both languages and has attained the highest Japanese Language Proficiency Test score. Jonathan graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor’s degree in Japanese and Business.