Advertising that merely showcases product or service features is long dead. In the last decade or so, there’s been a growing obsession with emotional and culturally nuanced campaigns. Brands are rolling out one tearjerking or hilarious or culturally anchored campaign film after another, all in a bid to connect intimately with their target audience. This approach — one that sees not just consumers, but people — has long been the core philosophy of Hakuhodo International.
There is probably no other advertising agency in the world that has embraced the seikatsusha philosophy as deeply — or for as long — as Hakuhodo.
Kentaro Kimura, Global Chief Creative Officer at Hakuhodo explains, “Seikatsusha means a living person, not the consumer.” Guided by seikatsusha, the perspective shifts beyond mere purchasing behavior to a deeper understanding of people — their dreams, desires, and the lives they aspire to live. It’s more personal, and Hakuhodo completely buys into it.
“Based on the seikatsusha philosophy, we define ourselves as a seikatsusha value design company that offers meaningful change for the seikatsusha,” Kentaro adds.
This distinction matters.
In a series of interviews with adobo Magazine, executives from Hakuhodo International and companies under the Hakuhodo network in the Philippines — Hakuhodo BCI, IdeasXMachina, NJYN, FART, PRixm, Unit8, and eNAV — shared their insights on how a finely tuned sense of seikatsusha has helped the company push boundaries and cross borders — all while peering closely at people.
Third Domingo, Hakuhodo’s Chief Creative Officer for the Asia-Pacific region and Founder of IdeasXMachina, says that Hakuhodo was founded on the belief that truly understanding the audience is key to inspiring them.
“At the end of the day, the consumer is a mom, a tita (auntie), a teacher, a fan, and this person is human. And therefore, when you talk to them, you have to consider their humanity. It’s not just their buying power that you are considering, but everything. Their aspirations, their beliefs, their habits, the errors in their ways.”
For other members of the Hakuhodo network in the Philippines, this resonates instinctively.
“As people on Earth, we share sentiments. There are certain humanities in us that we need to find,” says Jasper Ilagan, Chief Executive Officer of NJYN.
A growing market in Southeast Asia
In a global network spanning continents, Hakuhodo’s center of gravity is shifting. Not toward its headquarters in Japan, but toward Southeast Asia.
For the leaders of Hakuhodo, the region’s importance is neither incidental nor purely economic. Southeast Asia now represents the group’s largest concentration of talent and capability — and increasingly, creative influence.
“In the whole Hakuhodo group, Southeast Asia is the biggest market, and also the largest number of the employees and highest capability, we believe. So the impact and influence for the whole group all around the world from Southeast Asia is huge. And a lot of the new creativity comes from this area,” says Kentaro.
And within that region, the Philippines stands out not only for its growth trajectory.
“Every time I come back to these countries, I always feel excitement, a willingness to make it happen, kind of a more proactive kind of feeling. But I feel energy, let’s say, from the people here in the Philippines,” says Yasunori Nakajima, General Manager of the Business Department Division at Hakuhodo International.
“Compared to other countries, like Thailand or Malaysia, even economic-wise, [the Philippines is still] quite growing. So, for Hakuhodo international, the Philippines is one of the most important countries to grow,” says Teruhisa Ito, Chief Operating Officer of Hakuhodo ASEAN.
Leaders also point to Filipinos’ openness to ideas, collaboration, and cross-cultural exchange as a defining advantage.
“A very big strength for the Philippines is the talent. They are very open-minded. And also they are very fast to learn. The heart, and also very open to learn anything from the network,” adds Hakuhodo International Philippines Country Director Tatsuro Osuga.
Where global meets global
If seikatsusha provides the philosophy, Southeast Asia is where it plays out in real life. Hakuhodo’s expansion strategy deliberately balances global scale with hyperlocal depth.
“Hakuhodo is really eager to expand the network and grow the business overseas. But at the same time, in Hakuhodo, philosophy is the seikatsusha which is, think highly of the local insight. Our differentiating strategy is to dive more into the local, more the hyperlocal manner,” Tatsuro explains.
Philippine agencies in the network recognize their role in reframing shared truths into ideas that resonate locally.
Jedd Ilagan, Chief Executive Officer of IdeasXMachina Hakuhodo Group, explains, “There are a lot of insights that are universally acceptable. The job of the local networks is to make sure that we sharpen it according to the ethos of the Filipinos, for example, right?”
“So expect that that, technically, that universal insight that applies to all and that engages everyone will be fine-tuned into something as sharp that is connected to the culture of the Filipinos and hence, would create better traction in our audiences.”
From this vantage point, local insight is not a constraint on global creativity. Rather, local insight fuels it.
“The way we farm that local insight, the way we understand our local customers, resonates with what we have globally. And I think the beauty of us looking for that gem of an insight, that gem of a humanity, is what translates it into a global brief or a global idea,” adds Jasper.
Data, purpose, and the new creative mandate
Hakuhodo’s human-centric approach does not reject data, but draws from it.
“It’s no longer just making them feel something or no longer just making them happy about an ad. It’s really focusing on what really matters to them, how they interact with the brand on a daily basis,” says Jasper. “The creatives are the ones who translate those numbers into feelings.”
Ideas, therefore, should move people, but still stand on solid ground.
“They no longer just think of the work as just artful. They serve a purpose, and they have to be able to answer to what the clients need,” notes Jedd.
Moreover, data doesn’t just point the way, but also keeps things in check.
“Beyond balance, it’s really the truth, because with performance, data will not lie, and data will guide,” says IdeasXMachina Hakuhodo Managing Director Shayne Madamba.
And yet, intuition remains essential.
“I always say that to see what the data don’t. There’s always something there that is hidden, a hidden pattern that you kind of need to see,” says Third.
“It all boils down to trusting your creative to find that truth for you,” adds Jasper.
Clients as co-creators
In Hakuhodo, seikatsusha extends beyond winning audiences to building relationships. The agency sees clients not as mere patrons of its services, but as partners in a shared journey.
“Creative accountability is really about having a partnership that’s not finite, and that’s not really cast into stone. It needs to be an evolving agreement, an evolving mutual agreement that actually commits to what we have to achieve together,” explains Shayne.
Speaking from personal experience, Gelo Balingit, Hakuhodo BCI Managing Director, adds, “We’re moving back into that space where clients need someone they can speak to for almost anything. There is again value in having just one journey partner, as we would like to call it.”
This brand of partnership, though bolstered by expertise, is also grounded in humility and yes, a hunger for growth.
“We don’t pretend to know everything about the target market or the consumer or the product or the brand itself. In the same way that we say we are experts, in that same sentence, we say that we are also students. And in that way, I think that kind of mindset creates a relationship with the client where you grow together and all the mistakes and all the successes are shared,” Third reveals.
The payoff? Earned trust, and the freedom to stretch creatively.
“Knowing that you have a big client now listening to you, you’re forced to do better. You’re forced to look into something that you haven’t been to before. That’s when you get to say what you want as a creative and your clients will listen,” says Jasper.
Treat your seikatsusha well
Seikatsusha honors that people have values, emotions, and aspirations. And Hakuhodo recognizes its own seikatsusha the same way.
“Understanding that our people are also sei katsu sha, and so they also have their own dreams and aspirations and things that make them happy or sad or afraid, and we want to make sure that as Hakuhodo, the company, we are able to serve all that and empower them to become the best that they can be,” says Gemma Alcantara, Chief Executive Officer at Hakuhodo International Philippines.
“We’re a firm believer that if you treat your seikatsusha well, they will love you back and it will translate into the work that they do. What we do for our clients, we do for our people,” adds Gelo.
This human-first approach also shapes organizational culture.
“The culture is close-knit in Hakuhodo. So everyone feels free to propose or take the initiative. We empower the local management and also, we are respecting the local operation,” Tatsuro explains.
Seikatsusha for the greater good
Across Hakuhodo’s leadership, a pattern emerges: Southeast Asia — and the Philippines, in particular — is not only a priority market, but a source of influence. It is a place where human insight, cultural fluency, and collaborative energy converge and where seikatsusha thrives.
Third, Hakuhodo International’s APAC CCO, believes that seikatsusha has always been part of how creatives inherently think. Hakuhodo, however, made it more tangible — clear, simple, and easy to pass on.
This philosophy shapes how the agency crafts pitches, services clients, and nurtures its people. On a higher level, it serves an even greater purpose, moving beyond successful campaigns or a satisfied clientele.
“For the Philippines and the whole international, we aim to shape the next generation global collective. We want to refine, define the world through seikatsusha value design,” says Hakuhodo International President & Chief Executive Officer Akihiko Imai.
“We believe that seikatsusha is driving the power to change, create change — meaningful change — for brands, seikatsusha, and society,” Kentaro adds.
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