MullenLowe Group Japan Launches Industry-First 'Creative Kernel'

MullenLowe Group Japan has announced the formation of an innovative, industry-first creative unit to form the kernel around which the agency’s distinctive multi skill-set capabilities will coalesce.

The 4-person ‘Creative Kernel’, consisting of 3 nationalities, and 4 very unique collaborative talents represents a pioneering vision for the future of creative agencies, whereby a brand-centric core combines with distinct specialisms, including data scientists, media strategists, PR & influence experts.

The appointment of award-winning Creative Director and MullenLowe Group rising star Nishant Shah is the catalyst for this declaration of intent from MullenLowe Group Japan, following their recent formation of a Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Analytics to deliver an unrivalled data-led creative offering.

A born storyteller equally comfortable on TV and print as on YouTube and Instagram, Shah brings vast international experience to the unit, having held roles in Amsterdam and Dubai before joining MullenLowe MENA as Creative Director where he earned a reputation as a precocious brand storyteller whose rigorous approach to garnering consumer insight and passion for ideation set him apart.

Shah joins fellow Creative Director, Takahiro Maehara, who joined MullenLowe Group in October 2017 and whose work at the local digital innovator CROSS BORDERS(XBS), not least with AVEX Group’s top musicians, established his reputation as a world-class creative leader. Maehara brings a strong reputation for creative technology, having designed numerous digital campaigns which cross over into live event interactions using novel technologies, including creative ownership of the hugely respected BLOCK.FM music streaming platform.

MullenLowe Group’s commitment to excellence in experience-led design is embodied in Associate Creative Director, Urara Ito who joined MullenLowe Group in 2016 from Yahoo!, having previously graduated from top art school Tama Art University and subsequently the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York, which brings a media-agnostic, holistic design perspective to the creative unit.  

The Creative Kernel’s founding member is Mike Sunda, Lead Strategist and Director of Cultural Insight specialism, Tokyo 20XX. Sunda has an impressive academic background in Japanese language and culture (SOAS, London) and sociology (Sophia University, Tokyo), and wrote for international publications including The Japan Times and BBC prior to joining the group in 2015. Sunda’s cultural framing of brand growth opportunities, supported by extensive research is the bedrock on which the team’s unique approach is grounded.

MullenLowe Group Japan’s novel combination of brand storytelling, digital creative excellence, experience-led design and data science & analytics is a response to the expanding opportunities for brands to differentiate within Japan’s fast evolving consumerist landscape, but also reflects the MullenLowe Group’s determination to deliver on its promise of creating an unfair share of attention for client partners.

“This combination of skill sets, embedded within our hyperbundled model, and supported by our recently-formed Data Science and Analytics Centre of Excellence, and other specialisms in the group, is the approach our clients need today to capitalize on the massive opportunities presented by the evolving Japanese market” commented James Hollow, MullenLowe Group Japan CEO.

“But this approach depends on the having the right talent, and it is these four brilliantly talented individuals’ combination of creativity and humility, their dedication to selfless collaboration within bigger teams that include clients and external partners alike, that gives me so much confidence in their future success,” he added.