Newsmaker: Why Dentsu’s Masako Okamura decided to spread her wings to Vietnam

In March this year it was announced that Masako Okamura, a veteran creative director from Dentsu Tokyo, was to move from Tokyo to take up the executive creative  director role at Dentsu Vietnam.

It represented a large coup for the Dentsu Aegis Southeast Asia network to recruit such a high profile and highly regarded Japanese creative director to move to the Vietnam market.

Okamura has many accolades under her belt having won awards at shows like Cannes, Clio, Spikes Asia, London International Awards and AdFest. She has also been a part of the juries for Clio, YoungGuns International Advertising Awards, AdFest, Cannes, Spikes Asia, One Show, New York Festivals and Art Directors Club.

Having been on board in Vietnam now for three months, Campaign Brief Asia took the opportunity to catch up with Okamura to find out what are her first impressions of the Vietnamese market and what really made her want to leave the safety of the large Dentsu Tokyo agency and take on this new role at Dentsu in Vietnam.

“A few factors led me to work outside of Japan,” explains Okamura. “In the last couple of years, I was given the opportunity to work on a couple of overseas projects where I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. That aside, I had also received several tempting offers from headhunters, which surprised me, given that I’ve only had the experience of working in Japan.

“The move to Vietnam was timely. It came at a time when I was soul searching, following the death of a best friend, and when I was ready to spread my wings, and start a new journey. I received a call from Ted Lim, the Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu Aegis Network, top see if I was keen to work in Vietnam. I have huge respect for Ted, who I met while judging for AdFest in 2005. I jumped at the opportunity without any hesitation, even though I knew nothing about the industry in Vietnam.”

Okamura is excited about the challenges at Dentsu Vietnam – an agency that has a growing staff of 50 across six divisions. Clients include Toyota, Ajinomoto, Canon, Yamaha, Kao, Aeon, Glico and Saigon Tourist. While they are still at a 70:30 ratio with Japanese versus local/multi-national business, they have an aim to balance that to a 50:50 in the next few years.

“Given the recent shrink in the Japanese market, more and more Japanese companies are now starting to tap into markets like Indonesia and Vietnam,” said Okamura. “I’m responsible for every campaign for our Japanese clients based in Vietnam. The second main area of my focus is to raise the standard of creative work in Dentsu Vietnam. This takes a lot of determination, and a level of educating our local clients to not give up on their business!”

The Dentsu Aegis Southeast Asia network has spent the best part of the past year hiring talent and raising their profile in the region and Masako believes that under the regional leadership of Dick van Motman and Ted Lim the network can grow further and create build a great creative reputation.

CB Asia: There’s a big difference between working in Japan and working in Vietnam? What do you like about each market?

Business pace in Vietnam differs from Japan in many areas. The area I’m struggling to understand, and sometimes can appear quite frustrating is how clients in Vietnam could easily drop their business creative agencies did overnight, without prior notice. My peers in the industry share the same concerns. Something I’ve never experienced in Japan where it can be more well organized. That allows me to slip into a comfort zone, where I find myself feeling dull in parallel.

Another area is the shortness of time allocated between a brief and the final presentation. Sometimes, that can be nightmare. On the upside, TVC’s are still powerful and web/mobile have an enormous potential to grow as we see more and more young generation turn to the smartphone as their first mobile device.  And staffs here are happy-go-lucky guys more than me. You can see how they love selfies via my facebook.

CB Asia: What did you do before getting into advertising?

I studied law in university and passed the bar examinations. Soon after graduating, I started my Dentsu career as a PR professional.

CB Asia: How did you first get into advertising as a career?

When I was in the PR division with Dentsu, Akira Kagami whom I worked with for a campaign asked me if I was interested in creative job such as copywriter. I was required to take a test  and passed it. My journey in the creative field started as a copywriter.  

CB Asia: What was your first big break in advertising?

“Water-man” – a tvc for Ad Council in US and Japan which won more than 10 international awards.

CB Asia: What is your career highlight to date?

Yet to come.

CB Asia: What are your two favourite ads/campaigns that you have been involved with?

Samurai and Fisherman for Shizuoka Broadcasting (CD and copywriter)

CB Asia: Is there an ad that makes you green with envy?

“Drugstore” for Levi’s

CB Asia: Do you have a ‘worst mistake’ or a most embarrassing moment in your advertising career to date?

Hah! Certainly far too many to share here…

CB Asia: Is there a person you have enjoyed working with the most?

Jun Kawanishi, the Director for both the TVC’s mentioned above.

CB Asia: Who is the most interesting, or most inspiring, or funniest person you have ever met or worked with?

Eric Idle of Monty Python. He is my all-time hero. One day promoter of SPAMALOT; one of famous musicals from Monty Python asked reach out to me to conceptualize a TVC for this with a really small budget. I accepted it with reservations that Eric Idle pays a visit to Japan which he eventually did. I was told that he had only five minutes to shoot at the British Embassy in Tokyo. But he was pleased with my STB and kept on talking for almost an hour on camera! It was one of the toughest moments in my life because I struggled to stop myself from laughing.

CB Asia: What’s your favourite leisure activity/hobbies outside of advertising?

Swimming, watching football matches and tasting sake, as I am a certified sake sommelier.

CB Asia: Favourite holiday destination?

New York, Bali and any onsen (hot spring) in Japan.

CB Asia: Favourite hotel?

Hotel Principe Di Savoia in Milan, Hotel Giraffe in New York and The Ulin Villas and Spa in Bali.

CB Asia: Tell me something about yourself that not many people would know

I was a model back in high school. One day, I was approached to take part in a photo shoot for a soft drink ad. The drink was targeted at young teens but the whole setting seemed like it was  for an adult male energy drink. I and the other girl were asked to strike slightly tricky poses in our school uniforms. The setting was weird and far from being a softdrink-ish world. I dared to approach the DOP and softly told him that it was really strange and no students would buy it. He suddenly turned pale but he nodded. The staff got together, and this was followed by a one-hour setting change. Another shoot was done. The print ads made by “my direction” were so successful that almost all of them were stolen in three days. Model turned creative director moment? Haha. Anyway, I left the model agency one week later. Recalling my experience, I’m sure that making an ad is far more attractive than posing in one.

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