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「The benefits of being an English-Speaker at an Ad Agency」


  • What’s your background?
    • Kazuna Inohana: I was born in Osaka, and grew up in Hawaii from when I was 3 to 10 years old. After, I came back to Japan, and went to a private school where 2 ⁄ 3 of the students are returnees and has a great English curriculum. For college, I went to Sophia University Faculty of Liberal Arts, and my first job out of college was at a global IT company and worked as a strategy consultant.
    • Jeffrey Sakakibara: I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and lived in the US until I graduated from the University of Southern California. My first job out of college was in Japan and I’ve lived here ever since. 
  • Who are your current clients?
    • I:I work closely with global luxury brands. Mostly fashion and skin-care / cosmetic brands.
    • J:I work with a global IT-brand (Internet Service) and also a global Platform Brand (Delivery Service).
  • Why did you join peak?
    • I: Originally I was interested in working at a global luxury brand but during my senior year of college I realized that it was difficult to do so as a new-grad so I kinda gave up on that. When I found out about peak and how they work closely with luxury brands, I was instantly interested and applied through Wantedly. Also, I was interested in working in the advertisement fields, so that was a plus as well.
    • J: I’ve always been interested in marketing/advertising but never thought it was possible to start, given my work history. I saw a job post on Wantedly and applied as many of the employees seemed to be in their mid 20s~early 30s and working on huge clients.
  • What are the excitements of using English and working at an ad agency?
    • I: What I really like about working at an ad agency in Japan is that I get the opportunities to talk directly to headquarter / APAC teams; meaning, I have chances to present towards management layers. In my case, I work with an Italian fashion brand, so I present the yearly proposal towards headquarters management layers, and also do bi-weekly meetings with headquarters’ digital marketing team about LINE operations and digital advertising. Another point that I really enjoy is that I get to use both Japanese and English on a daily basis. Usually I work using Japanese with the clients in Japan; but also, I use English frequently when I am translating reports, and also during meetings as I usually have a couple English meetings bi-weekly. Overall, what makes me the happiest during work is that I am appreciated by many people just by my English.
    • J: Since you’re usually the only person on your team that can speak English, even during the early stages you can be confident you are contributing to your team. Like I mentioned before, I was in a completely different industry with little to no experience, but I was placed on a team with global clients and was able to learn the ins and outs of advertising pretty quickly. You will be responsible for balancing the needs of the local client, global client, and ad agency, helping you experience first-hand how to juggle different priorities from different stakeholders. Working at an ad agency is so exciting because it allows you to learn project management and production while constantly sharpening your presentation skills. 
  • Message
    • I: You only live once, so might as well do what you are passionate about. At peak, everyday is new and exciting, and though there are challenging days, at the end of it, it will always turn into being your new ability. Super excited to interview our potentially new team member!
    • J: It’s never too late to try something new, especially with peak. Though challenging, your work will be rewarding and meaningful! Looking forward to interviewing our next team member.
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