By Mike Rogers, MarketingJapan, Universal Vision Ltd., and Smart Research 
& James Santagata, Executive Director APCA, Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge

I met the boss of the biggest international television network in the world the other day. He is a Canadian. He travels all over the world and, because he is in the TV business, he told me that one of his favorite things to do in every country was to judge by TV commercials what things were important to that particular society. 

Japan's TV commercials? Insurance for this or that; home sales; automobiles; financial instruments and plans; candy, cosmetics, fast food... Companies like Zurich, Sekisui, Kanebo.... Japanese commercials that soft sell and are emotive commercials.

I think that's right. 

He also told me that he was "astounded" by just how many over the counter drug medication commercials there were on US TV all the time. US TV commercials? Drugs, Cholesterol, Machismo ("my ding-a-ling is bigger than yours" commercials); fast food; commercials to make your dick hard, make it soft, put you to sleep, keep you awake, lower blood pressure, lose weight; not to mention commercials galore for people with extreme anxiety and panic attacks.

Oh, and don't forget the side effects disclaimers! Cholesterol, etc.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge / Executive Director, Asia-Pacific Coaching Alliance


If it seems that we're under a constant barrage of the Western Media Myth (WMM) that (a) Japan is "failing" and that (b) this "failure" is primarily due to Japan's "talent problem" don't fret because we are.

Further, we are told that Japan's supposed "lack of talent" has manifested itself in such as way as to be responsible for Japan's supposed "lack of creativity" and "lack of innovation"".

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As I have argued for over a decade now, these claims and even statistical comparisons by the Western Media are not only useless but downright dangerous (to those that want to fully understand Japan) as they ignore the real root causes of Japan's underperformance.

Runa Magnus (based in Iceland) is a Personal Branding & Transformational Expert, the CEO & founder of Connected-Women.com,  the co-founder of BRANDit the EU Awarded Personal Branding program, the creator of the Awarded Best Practice Leadership Program of the Year 2013 “Discover Your X-Factor” and the founding & Steering Committee member of ATL Europe, the Association of Transformational Leaders in Europe.

The questions that we posed to Runa during our time together:

1) Run, please introduce yourself to our audience. 

2) As a personal branding expert in Northern Europe and Continental Europe, when referring to personal branding, what is the important mind-set that you're embracing?

3) In Northern Europe and Continental Europe, when referring to personal branding, what tools do you recommend to your clients and why?

4) What social media would you recommend to your clients for their personal branding?

5) Are there any personal branding trends that you have noticed? 

What does it take to build a strong personal brand?
Why is this so crucial in today's crowded marketplaces?
What social media tools are recommended?
How long does it take?

Today, Anna Rydne, a Communications and Personal Branding Expert shares her first-hand experiences, successes and insights with you. 

We are pleased to announce that SiliconEdge is now a sponsor of the Asia-Pacific Coaching Alliance. SiliconEdge specializes in High-Impact Communication and Leadership. 

Innovate. Communicate. Transform. 

With SiliconEdge as they work to develop and deliver personalized innovation for your competitive edge.

APCA's Executive Director, James Santagata, is interviewed by Howard Lim (Asia Biz Blog) about coaching, communication and talent acquisition for Japan and Asia business success.

Full article: http://asianbizblog.com/video-interview-3-tokyo-career-success-coach-james-santagata/