New Year's Greetings

Happy New Year 2020.

■ This year, the Olympics and Paralympics are finally here.
2020 is the year of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
As a representative of a business based in Tokyo, the host city, I anticipate welcoming numerous visitors from Japan and overseas and strive to provide them with a warm and hospitable reception.
At the same time, this is a good opportunity to communicate the Japan and Tokyo brand to inbound visitors. Not only Olympic and Paralympic sponsors but all Japan-branded companies and organizations are encouraged to focus on brand communication.

■ Becoming irreplaceable with Purpose.
By the way, are you familiar with the global keyword in branding that has developed over the past few years? It is "purpose." This term is often translated into Japanese as "corporate goals;" however, in our context, we refer to it as "brand purpose." It expresses whether a company’s business and existence itself can truly meet the needs of society and make the world a better place.
In recent years, people around the world have come to view and evaluate companies and organizations based on their "social value." In this sense, SDG initiatives and ESG compliance are also very important.
In response to this trend, it has become a kind of common practice among global companies to set forth the aforementioned purpose as a concept.
By clearly defining their purpose, employees can deepen their understanding of their role in society and contribute to the revitalization of the company as a company-wide activity.
This is an opportunity to evolve into an "irreplaceable presence" in society.

■ This year’s Gramco will once again Go! Global.*
In 2019, Gramco put forward the brand slogan "Identify you" and also supported many clients. We have also expanded our own GBC (Gramco Brand Club) seminars and social media to increase our interactions with a variety of people. This year, we hope to help your brand shine even brighter in an environment where the world’s attention is centered on Japan and Tokyo.
We also hope to further enhance our collaborative relationship with Siegel + Gale in the US, assisting Japanese companies enhance their brand value from a more global perspective. In addition to Studio88 in Taiwan and ABC Horizon in Singapore, we also intend to enhance our client support on a global level, taking advantage of our friendly cooperation with the Danish firm Kontrapunkt.
2020 is going to be the year of big moves.
Thank you for your continued support of Gramco this year.
(*Go Global! was Gramco’s slogan for 2012.)

New Year’s Day, 2020

President and CEO, GRAMCO Limited
Chairman of Gramco Shanghai Limited (Shanghai and Beijing)
Atsuro Yamada