April 9, 2020

First SWET Online Talk Shop: April 15th!

Time: 6:30–9:00 p.m. (main talk starts at 7:00)

Place: Participation via Zoom (see below for sign-up info)

Topic: Protean Production—Operating as a Media Company in Japan

RSVP: SWET Events to sign up for information on how to access the Zoom meeting. 

These days, major brands increasingly enlist the help of content production firms to spread awareness through consumable media such as video, film, articles, and radio, like the short film that Marriot debuted on Youtube, or the podcast that Lexus is making with Malcolm Gladwell. The companies that produce this content are called “media companies.” These companies have staked out a claim in the territory straddling translation firms, advertising agencies, and publication houses.

Wordsmiths in Japan have always been jacks-of-all-trades, but the new era has broadened the spectrum of demand to include advertising copy, CSR, travel blogs, short films, audio guides—the list goes on. As companies seek to spread their brand awareness on as many platforms and through as many media as possible, English-producers working in Japan must expand their own horizons.

Frank Walter and Brendan Craine work at Export Japan Inc, a media company that represents japanguide.com and that has been operating since 2000. They will talk about what a "media company" does, how they got into the business, and how the skills of wordsmiths are being used for various types of current market demand.