In our Brand People interviews of previous issues, we have featured the marketing heads of Southeast Asia, the USA and EMEA. In this edition, we spoke with Mr. Sakaguchi Tomohide, the marketing head of Delta Electronics Japan (DEJ). Mr. Sakaguchi-san shares the experience and knowledge that he has gained at Delta for more than ten years, and how he has promoted the Delta brand and developed key businesses in the Northeast Asia region.

Flexibility in adjusting the organization,professionally dividing the work

The DEJ marketing team was established long before it achieved success, which started gradually from joining exhibitions. At the time, Mr. Sakaguchi-san had received support from General Manager Mr. Jing-Xing Ko (Ko-san) of the Japan Branch. The team steadily recruited new members, expanded its scope and was responsible for brand promotion in the Northeast region. The current marketing team consists of six team members from Taiwan and Japan, including Sakaguchi-san. The team is responsible for product marketing, brand promotion, PR campaigns, digital marketing, exhibition planning and legal affairs. Everyone adopts a work model based on flexible coordination and self-discipline, and works with other business units to promote the Delta brand and sales.

Join hands with business units to formulate diverse strategies for collaborative work

The DEJ marketing team collaborates with individual business units to develop synergies. Due to the severe impact of COVID-19 in Japan this year, the team has flexibly adjusted its strategies to using online platforms as it continues to promote the brand. Sakaguchi-san pointed out that, “The pandemic accelerates the application of digital tools. Recently, we have modified our official website, developed a landing page, and organized webinars and learning courses for specific customers. All of these efforts allow us to break through the limits of distance and to help business partners understand our products. Currently, the team has been working with the Photovoltaic Inverter Business Unit (PVIBU) and is actively extending this collaboration pattern to other business units.”

Other than the activities held on the digital platform, Sakaguchi-san also shared the successful case of setting up an EV charging station in Yokohama, Japan, in which they worked with the EISBG. Collaborating with their local marketing colleagues of the EISBG to promote basic energy infrastructure, Delta and the Showa Shell Sekiyu team were able to carry out all the planning, renovation and operations on their own.

The DEJ marketing team worked with business units attending Techno Frontier 2019. The photo includes DEJ General Manager Mr. Jing-Xing Ko (L5), Delta Chief Brand Officer Mrs. Shan-shan Guo (L6) and DEJ Marketing Manager Mr. Sakaguchi Tomohide (R1)

Build an integrated business model toincrease Delta brand awareness

Delta and Japan’s second largest oil and gas company Idemitsu Kosan joined hands to renovate a traditional gas station to a demo compound EV charging station. The EV charging station has received widespread reporting by Japan’s media, and was specified by the Yokohama City Government as a partner disaster emergency response base. Delta also opened the world’s first Innergie CAFÉ under Delta’s sub-brand Innergie at this charging station. The collaboration has not only developed a new business model for EV charging stations, but has also successfully promoted brand synergy. Sakaguchi-san humbly expressed the business units put much effort into this collaboration project. The DEJ marketing team worked mainly on realizing the integrated physical retail store. The idea of the store actually came from the exhibition booth of a compound electric vehicle charging station at Computex Taipei two years ago, where Delta combined the energy management with recreational shopping. There were constant communications and coordination with various business units during the implementation process. At the same time, Ko-san’s support was also a key factor that enabled the smooth execution of the huge project. In the future, it is likely that the model can be applied to other industries.

The DEJ marketing team collaborated with business units to set up a demo compound EV charging station

Uninterrupted by the pandemic, steadily promoting brand growth

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many exhibitions around the world have been either postponed or cancelled. One of the major international sports events, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was also postponed to 2021. To DEJ, it has not only changed their original plans, but has also challenged its ability to handle emergency situations. “Japan is greatly affected by the pandemic. Besides opportunities for exposure during athletic activities, we hope to obtain other resources and opportunities to increase online brand exposure and publicity. Due to the pandemic, we have adjusted our marketing strategies. Delta is the only 8K projector provider for live broadcasts of sports events. When the broadcast takes place, we turn to the internet to carry out a series of promotion activities. Although there are many uncertainties due to the coronavirus outbreak, we will co-plan with the video conferencing unit to energize the status quo.”

Unlike the brand promotion strategies of other business units, DEJ has not only worked out 8K promotion strategies for the product channel, but also has devised brand strategies for 8K related industries, such as movie theaters, art museums, museums, film production companies, media and more. Sakaguchi-san mentioned that: “In terms of brand promotion, the DEJ marketing team extends the core marketing concept of the brand management department and adjusts our language to local audiences for brand communications. This adjustment has helped deepen Delta’s brand image in Northeast Asia. Over the past two years, we have focused on sales promotion of 8K projectors and worked hard to create an 8K projector business eco-system.”

Next year, there will be 8K live broadcast of the Tokyo Olympic sports events in Japan. Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of DEJ, the team will also roll out a series of marketing campaigns to increase the public’s understanding of the Delta brand.

Encourage communications and willingness to take onresponsibilities, blending the Europe, USA and Japan systems

Having worked at Delta for more than ten years, Sakaguchi-san shares his work experience and knowledge, “The DEJ is different from other Japanese companies and their inflexible systems. We were able to gain a balance between the operating cultures of companies in Europe, the USA and Japan. Our organizational flexibility makes room for effective vertical communications, and team members feel more energetic and have a sense of achievement from their work.” 

Sakaguchi-san mentioned, “I am very thankful to Ko-san’s support. Actually, I often follow Ko-san’s work values when I interact with my own team– to allow failure, encourage the willingness to bravely take on responsibilities, and provide colleagues with sufficient space to apply their expertise.”

The management philosophy of respect and openness at DEJ has nourished Sakaguchi-san and encouraged his marketing team to develop endless possibilities. We look forward to hearing about more success and achievements from the team 
over the next ten years.

“Allow failure and encourage the willingness to bravely take on responsibilities” is not only Sakaguchi-san’s own work value, but also the management philosophy at DEJ