We Could Learn A Few Things From The Japanese Industry

In the first of a regular feature, we’ve asked Milk & Honey’s John Campbell to talk us through his observations from a three-month trip around the industry scenes in Asia. To kick off, his view from Japan.

I have arrived. Back in Tokyo, back in Shinjuku. Truly, I always feel welcome when visiting Japan, warmly greeted by all.

I had my meetings, made the rounds, did what so many in the industry do. But in Japan, there is a different flow to things. At least, that’s how it seems to me.

From what I have seen, the advertising industry in Japan is unique. It is different from the West, in that the creative production process has a totally different focus. For Japanese ad agencies, creative takes an equal role to the logistical. Find out what’s possible, then make a commercial. That’s not to say the creative is less, but it is considered in tandem with the practical.

In the west, the creative is everything, an immovable monolithic god that the production process orbits around.

I’m not the only producer who has ever heard some variation of this: “Here’s the creative. I don’t know if it’s possible or how to even begin doing it or what it could realistically cost, but it’s a 5-day shoot starring Tom Cruise and an army of 200 orcs in full makeup. You’re production, you figure it out. By the way, we only have $25,000.” If you’re smiling now (or crying) you know what I’m talking about.

Once the creative is set in stone, production revolves around it. Only in very rare cases does it ever go back to the drawing board because, in this era of global production, somebody, somewhere on the planet will figure out how to do it.

With Japanese agencies, the process is different. The agency starts with a concept and will develop it halfway. Maybe even develop several versions of it, or even a few totally different concepts. The client will choose one or two or five of them as potential finals.

Then begins the research phase. Local production companies reach out to production service centers around the world. They will do their own research with teams of people. They will learn everything possible about every aspect of the potential shoot: location costs, restrictions, weather, talent options, construction… But they don’t stop there; they also dig into local flavor including history, culture, language and more. They want to collect every bit of data. Is there an interesting history behind this particular lake? Will it tie into or somehow detract from the creative? And of course, they want to know the costs before proceeding any further in the creative development. In short, they want to know if the concept(s) is doable for the money they have, in areas they are considering, before moving forward.

So you might get something like this: “I have one concept that it is not finished, but I’m looking for some ballerinas to be in a strange forest. We like this place and this place and also this country and that country. We might also have animals like birds, snakes, horses. But maybe not. We are also thinking about shooting the whole thing on Hollywood Blvd, no forest. Can you please give me budgets for all of these options?”

To a western bidding producer, this might sound like someone is playing a cruel joke, but for the Japanese it makes perfect sense; it’s research. If the animals can’t be sourced, then the animals will go out of the concept. If the chosen locations are not possible to shoot, they will change the location. If the boulevard is an option, it would be cool to offer it to the client, but they won’t do that if it’s unrealistically expensive.

After observing this, I had to ask myself, “Why do we, in the West, run around trying to make the impossible happen?” We promise the moon, the sun and the stars to get that job… and then we have to deliver. Then follows the communication games and human chess. Production then becomes so much more about politics and diplomacy than about creating something, making something really special.

Both agency and production must engage in a dance to deliver but make savings, to keep everyone happy and say yes to everything, knowing full well that some things are simply, truly impossible.

In Japan, the world we live in is reflected upon. Of course, amazing creative is important, but they are able to change the creative to fit the logistics of the world we live in. Harmonious. That’s not to say Japanese clients are any easier or production doesn’t have its own challenges, but this specific aspect of workflow is something that I’ve discussed at length with my Japanese contemporaries and it strikes a positive chord in me.

Perhaps it makes for an extended and more complex workflow, often requiring far more back and forth communication, but in the end, you have a realistic plan of action for a commercial that can be executed for the budget prescribed.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

John Campbell is an Executive Producer at Milk & Honey Films, a global production service company. He recently spent three months traveling to all parts of Asia to get a better understanding of the region’s ad industry.