Atsuro Yamada

Enhancing Japanese and Asian brands

From the 1960s to the 1980s, Japanese corporate brands enjoyed a prestigious reputation worldwide. However, their momentum and luster gradually faded with the subsequent burst of the bubble economy and have never been regained. We need to revive and enhance brand power to create brands that can regain their global competitiveness, or, in other words, to enable all companies and organizations to become brands that resonate with people. This will be determined by the execution of robust strategies and decisions of leaders. While taking the intent of top management into account, we move organizations and create people who get it. In other words, we at Gramco are in charge of providing strong support for the execution of branding as a management strategy. Together, we will make your brand shine while simultaneously enhancing the empathy of your organization and employees.

Born in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. While studying law at Keio University, he was commissioned by Nippon Gakki (now Yamaha) to study design and set up an organization to design corporate images. After having graduated from Keio University, he joined Marubeni Corporation, a general trading company. After receiving training in Europe, he was assigned overseas. He was involved in plant (factory) construction. After leaving Marubeni, he founded Gramco Inc. in 1987, a company specializing in Cl and branding. He remains Chairman of the Board and Representative Director of the company. As a leading practitioner of branding with over 100 successful projects, he has transformed Gramco into one of Asia’s leading brand consulting firms. In addition to writing, he is a frequent lecturer at seminars. Chair, Okinawa Chura-shima Brand Committee under the Cabinet Office Member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Study Committee on the Tokyo Brand Member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Edo Tokyo Kirari Project Promotion Committee Chair, Tokyo Treasure Island Promotion Committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Member, Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Committee Member of Japan Graphic Design Association (JAGDA) Former President of CI Japan