The LEXUS NEW TAKUMI PROJECT aimed to seek out young takumis from all over Japan and support their innovative spirits. Two main concepts made this undertaking possible.

1. Accelerator Program for Traditional Crafts

LEXUS took note of the recent positive effects accelerator programs had been having on start-up ventures, and decided to use a similar approach with Traditional Crafts. The hope was that sending design and crafts specialists and consultants to mentor these young takumis would result in a breakthrough for traditional crafts.

2. Partnering with 50 Local Newspapers

Forming partnerships with 50 local newspapers from all around Japan allowed LEXUS to seek out and support the most promising young takumis. The newspapers also helped garner national attention by chronicling the progress of the event as it happened.

After the announcement of the start of the project in April 2016, all 52 takumis from around Japan were elected and gathered for a kickoff session. Next, professional mentors traveled around the country for consultation sessions held at takumi studios, before culminating with product presentations to nationwide distributors in January of 2017. Throughout the project 50 partner newspapers, as well as the other national media generate information through each area and all over Japan. The result was the presence of over 200 retailer buyers and 50 non-partner media publications at the final presentations, allowing for public outreach in a wide variety of outlets. Finally, in March of 2017, the 50 partner newspapers published full page reports summarizing the takumis’ year-long struggles and helped garner national attention to traditional crafts and takumis.

1. Aside from the 50 partner newspapers, over 50 other publications attended the final presentations. Also, the 50 partner newspapers printed full page report at the end of the project, while the project itself received over 180 types of unique media mention, including TV, newspaper, magazine, and the web. Partner newspapers printed 29,970,000 copies featuring the project, reaching 29% of 105,010,000 people over 20, through newspapers alone. LEXUS was able to communicate the revitalization of Traditional Craft and put takumis into the public spotlight.

2. Also, in a survey of newspaper readers, over 47% responded that they were aware of the project, accounting for roughly 13.4% of the population. Of these, 92% recognized that the project was contributing to local communities, with 75% responding that they had grown more interested in the LEXUS brand.

3. All 52 takumis from throughout Japan were able to surpass their abilities and create brand new products that went beyond their respective fields. More than half of the takumis we able to secure product distribution at nationwide stores. A number of takumi products were also selected to be featured in LEXUS brand shops around the world. In general, all takumis saw an increase in business potential at the end of this project. Research regarding the brand (to those who knew the project) indicated that 77% had grown more fond of LEXUS, while 50% said they would be interested in visiting a LEXUS dealer. Clearly, the project greatly contributed to the brand and Japan.