CEO Takeshi Nozoe told Campaign Asia-Pacific that the agency is not interested in just being a digital pure-play agency, but will spearhead long-term brand growth by supplying ideas that make a difference to brands and the world at large.
“We’re not going to think small by focusing solely on being a pure-play in the field,” he said. “We’re building the capacity to handle product and service development by adding a business producer to the team.”
The agency aims to revitalise the digital and creative industries by working closely with the Hakuhodo group and possibly collaborating with domestic and international startups.
“SIX will extend the range of clientele for which it does creative work to global brands,” Nozoe added. “It will also collaborate globally with talented creative boutiques outside Japan.”
SIX will look to act as a creative engagement agency, using its strengths in integrating all facets of creative, including digital, to create new kinds of ties between brands and their users. It will not be bound by existing methods, he added.
One of the agency's recent works is Tokyo City Symphony work for Mori Building, which was created from a desire to showcase Tokyo to the world as a futuristic city and an entertainment hub that never sleeps.
“SIX creators wanted to drop the many faces of today’s Tokyo that should be being talked about into the interactive creative format of a never-ending city symphony of video and sound that users can ‘conduct’ with their keyboards, creating a single whole,” said Tsubasa Oyagi, another co-founder.
“It was only by building a 1:1,000 scale model of Tokyo that they were able to achieve the world’s first 3D projection mapping creative,” he added.
SIX will be an independent subsidiary that strives to provide clients and users with cutting-edge solutions, with the flexibility and speed required in the fast-paced digital world.
The operation was formed by six Hakuhodo creators—Nozoe (creative director/ CEO), Oyagi, Keiichi Motoyama, Taku Tsuboi, Jin Saito and Takayuki Hino—as well as a business producer.
Each letter of 'SIX', Nozoe said, stands for teh group's values towards creativity: 'SYNC'—to manifest synchronicity with the times; 'IGNITE'—to inspire or stimulate emotions; and X for “EXPLORE”—to go on an endless journey to open new dimensions of communication.
The name is also meant to evoke the concept of six degrees of separation, the sixth sense or extrasensory perception and the biblical notion of six days of creation, according to the agency.
The corporate logo was created under the art direction of Storm Thorgerson.
SIX plans to open a new office in the Aoyama area of Tokyo in October.