We're More than Just a PR Agency
Though it is indeed true that Kyodo PR got its start in PR and media relations, the public relations agency has greatly evolved over the years in step with changes in the communication industry in Japan. As the attention of more and more people becomes fixated on smartphones, we've continued our tradition of pioneering marketing solutions for the local market.
These days, we are fully equipped to help companies with anything and everything related to digital marketing. In-house at Kyodo PR, we have dedicated staff for social media marketing, influencer marketing, SEO services via blog content, etc. Additionally, we also have an extensive external network of talented creatives and other specialists who we regularly refer to as the "Avengers." These individuals can be brought in as needed to provide specialist expertise. In short, Kyodo PR is fully up to the task of supplementing your PR and media outreach efforts with all sorts of digital marketing.
By working with us in Japan for your public relations and advertising needs, we can together create a unified omnichannel push that is a lot more integrated than something a loose marketing agency consortium could ever come up with.
Influencer Marketing
Traditionally, Japan was a market that was governed by mass media. Even after Instagram's arrival on the scene, you'd still often hear marketing companies like us denying the efficacy of influencers in favor of features in Japanese lifestyle magazines. However, in the mid-2010s, the meteoric rise of content creators on the various social media platforms gave marketing companies like Kyodo PR an alternate avenue for generating word of mouth in Japan.
These days, we do A LOT more work with Japanese influencers as a marketing agency than we did even a few years prior. Though we still like to ensure that we're doing all we can to reach the Japanese media with PR, social media marketing is continually becoming a bigger and bigger part of what we do. In addition to our organic PR campaigns, we almost always try to supplement the coverage with creators.
One of the things that our social media specialists excel at is tying sponsored content with actual ROI for the brands we work with. All too often in Japan, companies in the influencer marketing agency space will fail to implement some component to get users off of social media and onto the website. From the jump, we look to reverse engineer our influencer activations from the point of conversion to ensure that you get your money's worth out of the partnership.
While Kyodo PR has its own roster of influencers that we work with, our subsidiary Vaz Tokyo is also one of the largest creator management agencies in Japan. Through this convenient connection to Vaz Tokyo, we can easily come up with a strategy and list of Japanese content creators to match the needs of any influencer marketing scope.
Additionally, Kyodo PR can cast content creators in Japan and other markets too. In fact, through the Our Japan collective, we can enact international influencer marketing campaigns in Asia Pacific countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam as well as in North America and Europe too.
Our typical retainer and spot projects include some mix of the following...
• PR Strategy & Planning
• Press & Media List Management
• Press Releases & Newsletter
• Public Affairs & Crisis Management
• Executive Interviews
• Press Conferences
Perhaps Kyodo PR's greatest strength is the deep relationships that our staff have developed with the media over our six decades of business. Unlike other media markets in the world where people come and go, most gatekeepers at Japan's most influential media outlets are established veterans who have been employed at the same outlet for much of their life. Thanks to the strength of our connections, we're able to cut through the noise and deliver the message to the right person regardless of the industry.
When coupled with our expertise in the local market, Kyodo PR's exhaustive media relations mean that we're perfectly positioned to accomplish the mission, whatever it may be. We've helped many large global brands execute their market entries across a wide spectrum of industries like healthcare, gaming, technology, etc., and are well-equipped to help you achieve the communication results you deserve in Japan.
Social Media Marketing
If you listen to the word on the streets of Tokyo, you'll often hear that Japan is a hard nut to crack for marketers who are used to how things are done elsewhere. In the final analysis, though, the various social media platforms are all governed globally by the same set of algorithms. Thus, while there may be some differences when it comes to consumer behavior, businesses by and large can look to leverage the same social media marketing tactics that they use elsewhere.
At the same time, though, there is a lot of local nuance that brands will need to know if they are to make content that is of interest to their target audience in Japan. Here, global players often need a team of local experts that know what kind of digital marketing strategies resonate best with Japanese consumers. We'll often work with our clients to come up with a compelling content strategy for channels like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LINE, etc.
Since the inception of the platforms, Kyodo PR has helped clients with the effective execution of social media marketing and content creation. We have in-house specialists that are dedicated to helping clients work through the intricacies of the local market in Japan and oversee the social media management of both B2C and B2B brands alike. Of course, since we are also an integrated communications agency, we can also tie social media marketing in with PR outreach too.
Unfortunately, though, in the age of TikTok and Instagram Reels, social media is also something that is increasingly becoming harder and harder to outsource to an agency. After all, it's really hard for an external partner to provide the kind of short-form video marketing services that brands need to really thrive on these platforms. More and more, we're starting to take an advisory role for our clients instead of outright doing their social media marketing for them.
While Kyodo PR does have all of the capabilities required to produce the kind of excellent video content needed to win big on social media, most customers aren't in a position to field a full creative team (let alone the expertise required to have a strong presence on camera). To continue to capitalize on the attention that social media services currently command, we're more and more pushing our clients towards a marketing strategy that is based on ads as part of our consulting.
Performance Marketing
Despite our historical background in media relations and PR communications, the marketing agency also offers top-tier performance marketing services too. Thanks to our bilingual team makeup, we're able to follow new updates and changes to the various ad platforms in real-time before any of the other advertising and digital marketing agencies in Japan have the chance to notice due to the language barrier. As a result, our services are always on the cutting edge of what is working.
In addition to our organic content marketing solutions, we also offer paid digital marketing services for Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google, TikTok, etc. After doing a thorough audit of a brand's data analytics and available budget, we will work out what is the most effective media mix and funnel for the businesses that we work with at the agency in Tokyo. We're able to use our extensive expertise to concoct digital marketing strategies that work for our clients
One other thing to note is that we do all our media buying in-house and therefore the strategies and tactics we employ in the management of advertising campaigns are all on the bleeding edge. Unfortunately, this isn't the case for a lot of other players in the market that will often outsource the actual advertising to a third party. In our eyes, this is a huge disservice to any brand working with digital marketing agencies who just farm out all of the work to other companies.
When you work with us, you'll have a direct connection to the people managing your advertising campaigns on a day-to-day basis. Unlike with some of the poor customer service that you might encounter with other digital marketing agencies in Japan, we pride ourselves on providing effective and affordable solutions and won't sell you something just to make a commission.
Get In Touch
If you're interested in getting a custom-built digital communication strategy or just want to inquire more about our services, reach out via the form below and one of our staff in Tokyo will be in touch. After getting to know a bit more about you, your brand, and your position in the market, we'll come up with the optimal way to utilize advertising and the various social media platforms.
Selected Work
- Conversion API, iOS, Meta, PR
Digital Marketing
As an agency, Kyodo PR has continued to innovatively reinvent the concept of cutting-edge communications since 1964. Im house, we’re able to offer the full gamut of digital marketing from casting influencers in a way that generates ROI to top tier performance marketing on Google and Meta.
Communication Strategy
We’ve now helped countless international clients navigate the complexities of the Japanese market in a way that leads to long term success. After getting a sense of what you’re working with in Japan, our PR strategists can come up with the perfect solution for your individual needs.
