The Future Collective brand pays homage to the 1980s cyberpunk aesthetic with its edgy hot pink logo.
The purpose of the Lōkahi Hawai’i campaign is to use the influence of Japan’s TikTok and Instagram networks to create a sense of unity and togetherness in a post-COVID tourism industry.
A cross-cultural agency combines Hawaii’s practice of lōkahi (togetherness) with the power of Japan’s social media influencers to create a sense of unity.
— Daniel Gallagher
HONOLULU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES, February 10, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — According to the World Economic Forum, millennials are the largest group of adult consumers, representing 23 percent of the global population. An estimated one-quarter of those Millennials reside in Asian nations like Japan, South Korea, and China. Millennials (alternatively known as Gen Y) also have the advantage of being the most educated demographic group, having been born during the global economic boom of the 1980s and early 1990s.
However, Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2012) is giving Gen Y a run for its money. Dubbed the “digital generation,” Gen Z is gaining spending power, says Forbes.
Daniel Gallagher, the owner of Future Collective, a full-service creative marketing agency in Tokyo, Japan, and Honolulu, Hawaii, claims that if modern brands hope to survive in this modern cutthroat economy, they’ll need to appeal to these generations.
“Young adults and youth are very different from previous generations,” says Gallagher. “Reaching them involves crafting user-generated content on platforms like TikTok and leveraging organic engagement from trends and influencers. Gen Z consumers want their content served authentically. They’re sick of advertising gimmicks that force-feed commercials down their throats.”
According to their website, Future Collective is a youth culture content marketing company offering a full-service solution for Japan’s Gen Z and Millennial marketing needs. They do the “heavy lifting” for in-house marketing teams, so they can focus on managing the upkeep of their brands. Gallagher and his team maximize corporate creativity and brand performance in the Japanese and Western markets, accelerating results and scaling their clients’ brands using data-driven strategies, top-tier talent, and creativity with cross-cultural finesse.
“Basically, companies contract us out as “brand mercenaries” to handle everything from conceptual design, mapping the campaign blueprint, producing commercial media elements like photos and videos, wrangling and managing influencers, and engaging in the nitty-gritty of social media. We’re there from start to finish.”
Born to a Japanese-American mother and an Irish-American father, Gallagher grew up in the beautiful islands of Hawai’i. He lives part-time in Tokyo, Japan, and considers his mixed-race upbringing one of his most valuable advantages in cross-cultural communication. His career as a seasoned marketer has afforded him the privilege of working alongside familiar brands such as The Ritz Carlton, Red Bull, Macy’s, Marriott, Snapchat, and TikTok.
“As a racially mixed, third-generation Japanese kid growing up in Hawaii, I was exposed to a myriad of cultures, ethics, and international business that provided me with a competitive edge when I ventured into the global marketing scene. At Future Collective, we’re aware that Western “cookie cutter” marketing strategies are wildly ineffective in eastern markets like Japan. There are a lot of idiosyncrasies in Japanese business culture and consumer behavior that Westerners will just never understand, no matter how hard they try, because they haven’t been immersed in it.”
Future Collective define themselves as “digital alchemists,” where the firm develops “authentic relationships” between brands and their customers. Gallagher claims that Future Collective was born from an inspiration to bring real, raw, and authentic marketing to Japan. The company focuses on bridging the gap between the East and West via cross-cultural content marketing campaigns and localization services.
“Our goal is to move Japan to the forefront of the youth culture industry and be recognized as a company that brings authenticity to the art of Eastern marketing. It’s such a beautiful, majestic country, and it’s time they (Japan) harness the power of modern marketing.”
To achieve this, Gallagher and his team are currently producing an influencer marketing campaign dubbed ‘Lōkahi Hawaiʻi’ that serves as a bridge and dot-connector between Japan and Hawaii in a post-COVID world. ‘Lōkahi’ roughly translates to “unity” or “togetherness” in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi, Hawaii’s native language.
“We wanted to do something fresh and innovative, so we ditched the stereotypical commercial tourism approach and opted for a campaign that focuses less on increasing the volume of tourism, and more on improving the quality of the tourist. We want our tourists to appreciate us for more than our novelty factor.”
In addition to dozens of partnered local (Hawaii) businesses, the campaign calls upon the collective efforts of several of Waikiki’s most popular oceanfront hotels and resorts, one of Japan’s most prestigious airliners, and the world’s hottest Gen Z social media app. Though ambitious, Gallagher believes the campaign is more than possible and desperately needed to help Hawaii’s economic recovery.
“Hawaii and Japan both rely heavily on their tourism industries. COVID-19 really hit us hard, and it will take years for us to fully recover. Our hope with this campaign is to strengthen the ties between our sister nation of Japan by leveraging the full power of youth culture marketing. Influencers control a lot of spending power and have a big impact on Gen Z and Millennial consumer behavior, even in the tourism and travel industries.”
Future Collective’s Lōkahi Hawai’i influencer marketing campaign is slated to launch in February 2023.
Sean Osada
FUTURE COLLECTIVE 未来集団
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