Column: Customer Reputation Risks and Countermeasures Arising from Dentsu Projects: Starting with Dentsu and Ending with Dentsu?
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's projection mapping project had been outsourced to a Dentsu group company that had suspended bidding for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who led the projection, was criticized. Based on this phenomenon, we have considered the "Dentsu case" and reputational risk (reputational damage) faced by companies and organizations that do business with Dentsu. Please have a look.
Projects involving Dentsu, a major company in the advertising industry, tend to receive negative evaluations on social media with the unique term "Dentsu projects." For this reason, it is necessary for companies and organizations that request work from Dentsu to prepare for reputational risks.
Electricity is a huge company with a wide range of businesses, including advertising, entertainment, sporting events, and even business growth support and AI services. Its customers include listed companies, government agencies, political parties, local governments, and all other industries, and have an influence both domestically and internationally.
It is a holding company to which Dentsu belongs. Dentsu Group With a network of about 800 companies in Japan and overseas, sales have reached about 5.2 trillion yen, and as the world's 7th largest advertising corporate group, it overwhelms its domestic rivals. Hakuhodo DY Holdings, the second largest company in Japan, has sales of approximately 1.5 trillion yen.
■Dentsu's reputation as shown by SNS and employment rankings
However, in recent years, the public's perception of "Dentsu projects" on the Internet has become increasingly severe. For example, Yahoo! Real-Time Search, which analyzes comments on SNS, can use " Electricity 91% of the respondents gave a positive rating compared to 91% of the respondents. In addition, " Dentsu Project The results showed that 92% of the ratings were negative compared to 8% of the positive ratings (30-day post, as of the afternoon of September 16, 2024).
In addition, on September 2, 2024, Toyo Keizai Online announcement According to the "Ranking of 300 Popular Companies Selected by 15,000 Job Hunting Students," Dentsu is ranked 74th among advertising companies, Hakuhodo is ranked 4th, JR East Japan Planning is ranked 32nd, and Ohiro is ranked 68th. JR East Japan Kikaku's net sales were approximately 54 billion yen, and sales of Ohiro, a subsidiary of Hakuhodo DY Holdings, were approximately 140 billion yen.
There are several factors behind Dentsu's struggle with social media and reputation from job hunters, as it excels in overwhelming name recognition, capabilities, and management capabilities not only in the advertising industry but also in all industries.
■ The truth about "dislike of Dentsu" - Factors of negative image
Criticism of fraudulent billing in advertising transactions with Toyota Motor Corporation, sexual harassment in Suntory PR videos, marketing methods of the SNS manga "Crocodile Dying in 100 Days", and trademark registration of the yokai "Amaebi".
In addition, there was a hollowing out in the sustainability benefit business during the Corona disaster, pressure on subcontractors in the rent support benefit business, overbilling of call center operations, and a series of scandals related to the Tokyo Olympics. Then, in 1991 and 2015, tragic events caused by the harsh labor and power harassment of young employees.
Recently, Dentsu was criticized for being entrusted with projection mapping by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the operation of the professional baseball team's championship parade, despite the fact that Dentsu was suspended from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Osaka Prefecture.
Due to these series of problems, there is no end to the negative evaluation of Dentsu. In addition, because it is promoting Hallyu projects such as music and dramas, it has spread the discourse that it has been taken over by Korean capital, and it has promoted a negative image of Dentsu.
As a result, even if there are no legal or ethical issues, but rather contribute to society, if Dentsu's involvement is confirmed, it may be recognized as a "Dentsu project" and there is a risk that it will be subject to ridicule and sarcasm. Perhaps because of this understanding, there are cases where some employees do not disclose their affiliation to Dentsu and carry out useful activities only under their personal names. In addition, even if Dentsu is completely unrelated, there is a risk that content that makes you feel like Dentsu will be misidentified as a "Dentsu project."
In such a situation, not only customers who do business with Dentsu, but also companies and organizations that do not do business directly with Dentsu may increase their reputational risk if they use the same production company and "Dentsu-likeness" appears in advertisements. Risk management is not about rushing to deal with an incident that has occurred, but about identifying possible signs and taking countermeasures.
■ From the relied on "Dentsu" to the risky "Dentsu"?
In the past, Dentsu's customers generally had a reputation that "the fee is high, but if you leave it to Dentsu, you can rest assured," and they asked Dentsu to do the work to avoid risk. However, as the catchy term "Dentsu deal" spreads, it is now necessary to recognize that doing business with Dentsu itself can create new risks.
Against this backdrop, it is necessary to ensure transparency and respond sensitively to consumer feedback in transactions with Dentsu. Dentsu's proposals and business processes need to be rigorously evaluated not only from a legal compliance perspective, but also from a moral and ethical perspective, and a strategy must be developed to protect brand value.
■ Is "Dentsu" responding to the risks arising from the "Dentsu project"?
On the other hand, Dentsu is a group company PR Firm We provide crisis management consulting, including media training and press conference support, to clients who are preparing for or facing reputational risks. In other words, the Dentsu Group provides defensive services to respond to risks arising from aggressive Dentsu projects.
In various aspects of society, the following "Dentsu projects" are lurking. When a company or organization conducts business with Dentsu, it is necessary to keep in mind the risk that the transaction will attract attention as a "Dentsu case" and take appropriate crisis management measures. In order to prepare for such risks, it is necessary to respond not only "offensively" but also "offensively and defensively" in business. As a result, Dentsu's customers will become even more reliant on Dentsu as they face complex tasks.
The Dentsu Group's owned media "Denbuki" addresses spokespeople for companies and organizations. Strengthen your crisis management skills Under the title of "Crisis Management Company", we provide a variety of crisis management know-how.
■ Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike Re-election and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Projection Mapping
On June 20 of this year, when the Tokyo gubernatorial election was announced, Yuriko Koike introduced her alter ego "AI Yuriko". The AI strategy to turn this person into a virtual human is also a part of the Dentsu group company. Developed Services It is considered to be. Then, when "AI Yuriko" played an active role in the election campaign and Ms. Koike won re-election with flying colors, the voices criticizing the Tokyo Metropolitan Government projection mapping subsided.
| November 9, 2023 Japan Keizai Shimbun "Virtual Talent for Events and Games: Dentsu Digital is an AI Organization" ( ※ ） |
This case shows that the "offense and offense" method is effective as a crisis management measure in the Dentsu case, rather than the conventional "offense and defense" method. Dentsu seems to be unfazed by the various criticisms and maintains a stance of delivering results to its customers despite doubts about transparency. This attitude may be the ultimate risk management for Dentsu's customers.
(Closed)
Postscript
This column is not a Dentsu article, but a pure editorial article. When I participated in a proposal this year, I was rooted in the fact that we lost to a Dentsu group company, and I put a little irony in it, but as a result, I ended up evaluating Dentsu.
If the reader remembers this column when he encounters the "Dentsu project" in the future, and enjoys criticizing Dentsu on social media and drinking parties while giggling, it will be worth writing the column.
Even as I was writing the afterword, it was reported that more than 10 billion yen had been paid to Dentsu by the Liberal Democratic Party, that the presidential election "The Match" was staged, and that the Imperial Household Agency was dabbling in official Instagram operations, and a new "Dentsu project" was born. The House of Representatives election will be held this fall, and the opening ceremony of the Osaka Expo will be held next spring.
There is no concrete evidence to determine whether Dentsu is contributing to the improvement of Japan's national power by supporting national politics and listed companies, or conversely, whether it is undermining. However, there are three things that are certain.
The first is that Japan is the only developed country that has not achieved economic growth over the past 30 years. This includes the responsibility of Dentsu-backed customers not contributing to the growth of the Japan economy.
The second is that it is ranked 70th, the lowest in the G7 in the press freedom ranking. Reporters Without Borders analysis However, there is a possibility that Dentsu is positioned between customers and the media, intentionally or unintentionally, or distorting the press in a way that includes indiscretion.
And the third is that there is no company that can replace Dentsu. In the Reiwa era, the sense of trust in the Showa and Heisei eras, where customers felt that "it is safe to leave it to Dentsu," may be fading, and the evaluation may be declining because "Dentsu is the only one." However, under this situation, there is a risk lurking in the "Dentsu project".
It can be said that we are entering an era in which companies and organizations facing the risk of "Dentsu projects" should not be bound by the successful experience with Dentsu from the Showa era to the Heisei era, but should take the risk of choosing something other than Dentsu. In other words, it can be said that the risks arising from "Dentsu cases" are caused by the choices and judgments of the companies and organizations that do business with Dentsu.
Well, the afterword has become long. Finally, thank you, Dentsu.
