How Staying Close to Clients Creates Value in BtoB Communication Design

Please introduce yourself

I am Kunimitsu Sugawara, CEO of Wonderful World Inc. I've loved music since I was in a band in school. I'm still active as a DJ, and recently I've also started working on music production using AI.

Could you tell us about your business?

We mainly support corporate promotions. Specifically, we work on company profiles, product brochures, and website production. We also handle exhibition booth design and setup, as well as event management.

Because I have a strong interest in music, I also support musicians with their promotion, mostly in a supportive role.

I originally started my career at a company affiliated with an electronics manufacturer, working in what was essentially a design department. I worked there for nearly ten years before becoming independent.

I joined the company right after the collapse of the bubble economy, during a time when finding a job was difficult. I wasn’t actively job hunting and was planning to work at the gas station where I had a part-time job. By chance, my older brother knew the president of a design company, and I was introduced and brought in.

I started as a salesperson, but due to the recession, people began leaving the company. As a result, I ended up handling sales, writing, and direction, taking on everything, and naturally acquired those skills over time.

Although I am in a sales position, I rarely do what you would typically call “sales.” Most of our work comes through referrals from existing clients, who introduce us to other subsidiaries or departments.

Because of this, we do not specialize in a particular industry, and we generally take on any project that comes to us.

When relationships grow through word of mouth, I get the impression that even across different industries, people with certain shared qualities tend to gather.

Even if the industries are different, I believe there are many aspects of trends that are common to the same era.

Although the products or services may vary, there are underlying similarities in ways of thinking and in the challenges faced. In many cases, what I learned from one project can be applied to the next.

No matter the industry, I don’t think work can succeed unless it aligns with the needs shaped by the social context of that time.

Each company plays its role in its own way, based on what it does best, in response to those needs. That’s why, even when working with clients from different industries, there are always shared perspectives and common challenges beneath the surface.

I see. What moments in your work do you find particularly rewarding?

I am not originally a designer. I come from a sales background.

When I first started in sales, there were so many BtoB specific terms that I could not understand what people were saying at all. Even among design companies, quite a few are not very comfortable with BtoB projects.

But as I learned step by step, I began to notice that even across different industries, there are shared ways of thinking and common languages. From there, BtoB work became something I was good at, and I found it genuinely rewarding.

That's true. When there are many technical terms, it can be difficult for the designer to fully understand.

Exactly. In BtoC, you think about how to communicate to general consumers. But in BtoB, you need to consider what kind of message will resonate with the companies that are making the decision to adopt something.

That aspect is a bit unique, but I consider it one of my strengths.

Given that you work with companies across a wide range of industries. What does a typical day look like for you?

When I was younger, I used to work from around 10 in the morning until the last train, close to midnight.

Now, I usually work from around noon until about 5 in the evening, so roughly five hours a day. Recently, I have been fully utilizing tools like AI and Notta, which has significantly improved my efficiency.

It sounds like your way of working has evolved.

Yes. We have just one full time employee, and for the rest I work with freelancers. Many of them are people I first worked with back when I was in sales, so we have known each other for nearly 30 years.

In many ways, my environment has not really changed. My clients and collaborators have stayed more or less the same. I still work with many of the people I first connected with during my early career.

It has been about 32 years since I started working with some of them right out of school. Even though their departments have changed over time, we continue to work together to this day.

What led you to go independent?

It wasn’t something I had planned from the start. In fact, I thought I would probably end up becoming the president if I stayed in my job. But at the time, one of the agencies we worked with had a scandal, and things at the company became a bit unstable.

Around that time, I had started to feel more confident in myself and believed I could make it on my own. I also didn’t want to stay in my current environment, so I decided to go independent.

So it was a mix of what was happening in the company and your own timing. What was it like after you went independent?

To be honest, I don’t really feel like a president.

Up until about a dozen years ago, we had around five employees, so there were six of us including myself. But one of our client companies went bankrupt, which left us with debt.

After that, all of the designers moved on to other companies, and since then, it’s just been me and one other designer running the business.

That must have been a difficult experience. Is there a project that has particularly stayed with you over the years?

There was a project where I was entrusted with launching a home appliance brand from the ground up.

I was involved in every stage, from product planning to design. At the time, I was around 40, and it felt like a culmination of my experience and skills.

The responsibility was significant, as I was given full control, but I worked hard to ensure customer satisfaction.

I believe this project became a stepping stone to the next stage of my career.

How has your way of working changed from your time in sales to now, after becoming independent?

I would not say it has changed dramatically, but working with a smaller team definitely gives more flexibility. We still operate as a team, but each person can move more freely, which makes things easier in a smaller setup.

Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and people work at different speeds. You can move quickly on what you are good at, and take more time on what you are not. Being able to manage that on your own is a kind of freedom that really comes from working in a small team.

You mentioned earlier that you do not really see yourself as a “CEO.” What do you think has allowed you to continue running the company for so long?

Not long ago, a client told me, “You are easy to work with because you really stay close to us,” and I think that might be the reason. Rather than simply continuing the business, it is more about being able to maintain those relationships over time.

It is not something I do consciously. I think it is just part of my personality.

That is great to hear. BtoB marketing seems to be a key strength of your company. What makes it rewarding for you?

I’m more motivated by niche projects, where I feel like, ‘This is something only I can do.’

Since my clients are experts, they often don’t realize how much explanation a contractor might need. However, I’m confident I can understand things based on their explanations alone.

Even across different industries, trends and fundamental concepts are often shared.

Then, I learn and pick up industry-specific technical details as needed through my own research.”

What are your expectations for the future of this industry?

With the rise of AI and generative AI, there is a lot of talk about jobs being replaced. But when it comes to communication design, I think there are still parts that can only be handled by people.

As long as the work involves staying close to clients and understanding them, I do not think that will change in any major way.

I see AI more as something like a manager, an advisor, or even a secretary.I want to use it as a tool that supports tasks I used to do myself, like transcription.

As a company, and also personally, are there any new challenges you would like to take on moving forward?

Publicly, I say that I plan to retire in about three years, but that is just on the surface.

After that, I would like to focus on things like music production, which I mentioned earlier as a personal interest, as well as Web3. I think it is going to develop more seriously in the coming years, and I would like to try something new in that space.

With blockchain technology, I feel like things are going to become even more interesting, so I would like to be involved in some way.

So after “retiring”, you see yourself continuing to be involved in creative work?

When I entered this industry in my twenties, I didn’t fully trust seniors in their thirties, forties, or fifties, and that hasn’t really changed.

For example, a client in their twenties might naturally feel hesitant to entrust work to someone close to their parents’ age.

That’s why I believe it’s better to leave front-line roles to younger people and position myself behind the scenes.

So you see yourself continuing to create, even outside the framework of the company?

I have actually already started. I make music using AI and release it.

When I was 20, I set a goal for myself to create ten original songs before graduating. But at the time, I did not understand music theory, I could not read notation, and the technology was not as advanced as it is now. In the end, I only managed to complete one song.

That experience stayed with me for a long time, almost like a block, and I carried this feeling that I probably could not do it.

But around last year, music generation apps started to emerge, and when I tried them, I realized I could actually do it.

I got really into it. Within a month, I released two albums, and within six months, I had released my sixth. I have been continuing to distribute them since then. Interestingly, even without any promotion, it has started to generate some revenue.

It is interesting how something you imagined at 20 can become reality so quickly with the help of technology.

Yes, I think so too. I believe it connects to the fact that I have always kept my antenna up for music.

When I was in my final year of high school, my father asked me about my future, and I said I wanted to become a disciple of the bassist Tsugutoshi Goto. It was not realistic, but even back then, I was already looking in the direction of music.

You do not always need a clear plan. If you keep your antenna up, you naturally start moving in that direction. Looking back now, I feel that work and life follow the same pattern.

Listening to your story, it feels like relationships have played a big role throughout. What do your team members and collaborators mean to you?

They are more than just work partners. They are partners in life.

Without them, I would not be where I am today.

What does work mean to you?

Killing time, really. The kind where you completely lose yourself in it.

That's the key part, losing yourself in it.

I did not enter this industry because I had always wanted to. I was not particularly passionate about art. But I must love it, I suppose.

Looking back, it might have been my calling all along. Given how long I have kept at it.

Thank you so much. Lastly, do you have a message for those who want to pursue creative work, whether professionally or as a passion?

I think it is better to focus on what you truly like and what you want to do, rather than just trying to make money.

Going forward, I believe it is more important to have one sharp strength than to be good at everything.

I hope people will fully commit to what they want to do and what they are good at.