Kodansha is Japan’s largest publisher, responsible for bringing some of the most incredible stories to the world—from Akira and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon to non-fiction and children’s books, as well as the discovery of globally renowned author Haruki Murakami. Since its founding in 1909, Kodansha’s work has grown to the point of ubiquity in Japan. Their brand presence, however, was rarely felt and garnered little affinity compared to the success of their titles and cultural contribution.

With the rebrand complete, Kodansha needed to introduce the brand to employees, the Japanese media and public, as well as global audiences abroad. In doing so, Kodansha sought for the launch to shift the perceptions of the brand from a traditional legacy publishing house to an innovative modern media brand. With this goal in mind, we set out to amplify Kodansha’s creativity and cultural impact while at the same time signaling their global intentions.

The crux of the launch idea was hinged on the creative journey, which would in turn lead to the brand film: Taking Flight. The film emphasizes Kodansha’s boundless storytelling and ability to excite all kinds of fans around the world through "omoshirokute tame ni naru" (interesting and useful) content.

The brand film follows the migration of stories from Kodansha, as they take flight across the city and eventually the world. This film is about Kodansha making an impact through its stories, but also, having its stories impacted by the world. Much like what Kodansha does on a daily basis, “Taking Flight” takes an impossible, fantastical concept and makes it relevant to the everyday.

The core objectives of the launch were four-fold. First, the film needed to introduce the new brand to Kodansha’s employees and rally excitement. Second, it needed to make the brand, its new purpose, behaviors and identity clear, memorable and actionable for all. Third, the launch aimed to evolve on-boarding processes and recruitment internally. Fourth and finally, the film needed to point to the future and act as a beacon of possibility for employees, press and public.

As a brand launch promotion, the core strategic aim of the film was to express Kodansha’s new ethos and purpose: Inspire Impossible Stories. To bring that thinking to life, the film aimed to emphasize Kodansha’s boundless creativity and ability to connect and engage with people through "omoshiroku tame ni naru" (interesting and useful) stories.

Part of Kodansha’s goal in going global was to be able to work with talent from around the world. Taking Flight became the first example of that. It was produced on a tight, five month schedule, across seven time zones and four countries, all while working remotely during a global pandemic.

The film was first screened as an internal introduction to the new Kodansha brand and then released to a wider global audience online on April 15th.

The brand film is released the same day as the Cannes Lions deadline, Cannes is welcome to follow up in a few weeks and we can share some details here.