VIETNAM – Dentsu Vietnam executive creative director Masako Okamura once said that she never imagined a Japanese creative creating success outside of Japan, but now it seems as though the top creative has settled nicely in what is her first time working outside of the Dentsu Tokyo office where she worked for almost 20 years.
In an interview with adobo, Okamura shares what her life has been like in Vietnam since she came on board in March.
The way she describes it, Okamura’s days are jampacked, and she spends most of her time hopping from meeting to meeting, communicating often with both employees and clients.
Read on to find out which TV show she pairs with breakfast, what she does right after checking her emails, and how she ends her day.
Briefly describe life in Vietnam for you.
One day in my life:
6:20am – wake up
6:35 – quick dip in the pool for a couple of laps
6:55 – out of the pool and into the shower
7:20 – Breakfast over Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN
8:15 – tangled in the morning rush hour, surrounded by motorbikes
8:30 – arrive at the office and on to my emails; 9:00 – “me” time…or rather my thinking time
10:00 – Internal meeting A
10:30 – Internal meeting B
11:15 – Final checks for presentation today
12:15 – Lunch with my local team (I love the fact that they’ve introduced me to some great local cuisine. Lunch hour in Vietnam is taken very seriously!)
13:00 – Client A meeting and presentation
14:00 – On site visit at client B’s factory and interview with employees
16:30 Back in the office and coffee time
16:45 Internal meeting C
17:30 Listening service for my team (one-on-one) 18:00 Skype conference with the team in Hanoi 19:00 catching up on online buzz/updates via Facebook/Pinterest and writing an article(this is one of them
20:00 Wrap up for the day
20:30 Beer time!
This is your first time to work outside of the Dentsu Tokyo office. How has it been so far? It must be a big adjustment for you?
Every day brings an exciting journey for me. Feel like I’m speeding across an expressway without a seatbelt on – you encounter bumps on the road, there are times you are made to stop at the red light, and there are times the road leads nowhere. I am more of a happy-go-lucky girl by nature. Whatever will be, will be.
How would you describe the new office environment?
Idea Lab. Cool, more connection and collaboration, inspired, new start minded
How many employees does Dentsu have across the different departments? And how would you describe the current culture of the agency? Is there a new shift in culture and goals with the new office?
Employees: 50 people across 6 departments.
We position ourselves as: “The first holistic communication agency in Vietnam driven by business-minded Creatives.”
Current Culture : Professionalism + “NINGEN RYOKU” Japanese, which literary means [a] human who has following aspects; Honesty, Love and Respect for People + Collaboration + Dentsu’s Ten Principles + Transparency
New shift: keep the current + inspiration + diversified + connection with Dentsu Aegis Network Vietnam.
Who are the key clients of Dentsu Vietnam and is Dentsu a full service agency?
Top clients are Toyota, Ajinomoto, Canon, Yamaha, Kao, Aeon, Glico, Saigon Tourist. Yes, it is a full service agency
When did Dentsu open business in Vietnam? Who are in the management roles in your agency?
Dentsu was first established in 1996 as a representative office of Dentsu Inc. in Ho Chi Minh City. The company was officially granted investment license from December 2002 and then came into operation as Dentsu Vietnam Ltd.
Gaku Shinoda is the CEO, while Le Thi Kim Cu is the COO.
