Hakuhodo Consulting

Name

Hakuhodo Consulting

Legal name

株式会社博報堂コンサルティング

Website

https://hakuhodo-consulting.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hakuhodo Consulting is a Tokyo-based brand design and consulting firm that provides purpose, strategy, experience, and culture consulting to large Japanese enterprises, universities, and government bodies. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Hakuhodo Inc., it employs 84 people across Tokyo and Singapore, combining logical business analysis with consumer-insight methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organization Design & Operating Model Consulting (BPAHAGAB), HR Strategy & Operating Model Design (BPACAJAA), People Analytics, Assessment & Psychometrics Consulting (BPAHAGAH)

Keywords

• Brand consulting services
• Corporate branding strategy
• Brand purpose development
• Internal branding consulting
• Marketing strategy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brand Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for brand strategy, corporate branding, brand purpose, brand experience, and brand culture. Engagements are project-based and tailored to client needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hakuhodo Consulting provides brand design and consulting services organized into four core service areas: Brand Purpose (purpose/vision, value definition, identity/CI/VI), Brand Strategy (corporate branding, marketing strategy, portfolio, brand management), Brand Experience (new business development, service design, customer experience design, brand communication, community), and Brand Culture (internal branding, organizational design, business process design, recruitment branding). The firm operates two research institutes — the HR Design Lab and the GX Design Lab — and publishes books and guides on brand management. Services are delivered via project-based consulting engagements to enterprise clients, government bodies, and educational institutions.

Product overview

Hakuhodo Consulting (博報堂コンサルティング) is a brand design and consulting firm that provides professional services organized around four core service areas: Brand Purpose (brand purpose/vision, brand value definition, brand identity/CI/VI), Brand Strategy (corporate branding, marketing strategy, brand portfolio management, brand management), Brand Experience (new business development, service design, customer experience design, brand communication, brand community), and Brand Culture (internal branding, organizational design, business process design, recruitment branding). The firm operates two specialized research institutes: the HR Design Lab, which develops proprietary tools such as HR-Brand Power and organizational culture visualization methods, and the GX Design Lab, which researches Green Transformation through a dual consumer and corporate/investor perspective using a system thinking approach. The firm also publishes books and guides on B2B marketing, internal branding, and brand management. Founded in 2001, it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hakuhodo with 84 employees, headquartered in Marunouchi, Tokyo, and operates a Singapore office.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Purpose (ブランドパーパス) Consulting service covering brand purpose/vision development, brand value definition, and brand identity development (naming/CI/VI). Helps companies articulate their social reason for existence, structure stakeholder value propositions, and crystallize brand vision into symbols that serve as the starting point of all business activities.
• Brand Strategy (ブランド戦略) Consulting service encompassing corporate branding, marketing strategy, brand portfolio management, and brand value evaluation/management. Connects brand to medium-term management plans and enables consistent stakeholder communication across the enterprise.
• Brand Experience (ブランドエクスペリエンス) Consulting service covering new business development, service design, customer experience (CX) design, brand communication, and brand community building. Envisions and implements brand as lived experience across customer, employee, and investor touchpoints.
• Brand Culture (ブランドカルチャー) Consulting service for internal branding, organizational design, business process design, and recruitment branding. Builds people and organizations that embody and resonate with the brand through HR-Brand Power-based engagement measurement.
• HR Design Lab (HRデザインラボ) Specialized research institute focused on the intersection of HR and brand value creation. Studies how working individuals' discretionary effort drives brand value, developing original diagnostic tools like HR-Brand Power and organizational culture visualization methods.
• GX Design Lab (GXデザインラボ) Research institute dedicated to Green Transformation (GX), studying how to achieve both environmental sustainability and economic growth through a consumer-centric and brand-driven lens, with two teams examining consumer and corporate/investor perspectives using a system thinking approach.
• Publications (出版物) Books and publications authored or edited by Hakuhodo Consulting staff covering brand management, internal branding, B2B marketing, and brand strategy. Titles include the BtoB Marketing Guide, The Internal Branding, and brand management series.

Quantifiable outcome

• Doubled job applicant numbers for client company
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hakuhodo Inc. (株式会社博報堂)coreOthers · 1 January 2013Parent company; 100% shareholder providing strategic direction, brand methodology access, and group synergies
• 博報堂ネットプリズム (Hakuhodo Net Prism)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Affiliated company handling digital implementation and marketing; collaborated on brand strategy to digital execution projects
• Unravel Carbon (アンラベルカーボン)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint seminar on GX/sustainability topics; combining Hakuhodo's brand perspective with Unravel Carbon's carbon data visualization expertise to help companies connect sustainability efforts to business outcomes
• 博報堂デザイン (Hakuhodo Design)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign subsidiary; collaborated on integrated branding projects including Tokyo Science University visual identity development

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Superunion (formerly Brand Union): WPP-owned brand and design consultancy offering brand strategy, identity, and experience. Comparable scale and service mix for enterprise brand transformation mandates.
• Interbrand: Global brand strategy and design consultancy best known for Best Global Brands rankings. Closely comparable to Hakuhodo Consulting across brand purpose, corporate identity, and brand portfolio work for large enterprises.
• Siegel+Gale: Brand strategy and design consultancy focused on simplicity and brand experience. Comparable to Hakuhodo Consulting's brand experience and brand culture service lines.
• FutureBrand: Interpublic-owned global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, corporate identity, and experience design. Closely overlaps Hakuhodo Consulting's four-pillar brand service model.
• Wolff Olins: Omnicom-owned strategic brand consultancy working on brand purpose, identity, and experience. Comparable in serving large enterprises on purpose-driven brand transformation.
• Landor & Fitch: WPP-owned brand consulting and design firm operating globally. Direct competitor in brand strategy, brand identity, and brand experience design for multinational clients.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company (Brand Practice): Global management consulting firm with significant brand and marketing capabilities. Competes at the C-suite level on brand strategy but as part of a much broader management consulting portfolio.
• ADK Holdings (Asatsu-DK): Japanese advertising and communications group with consulting and brand strategy capabilities. Competes with Hakuhodo Consulting for Japanese enterprise brand and corporate identity engagements.
• Boston Consulting Group (Brand & Marketing Practice): Global strategy consultancy with brand and customer experience capabilities. Increasingly competes for brand transformation engagements as part of larger transformation mandates.
• dentsu (Dentsu Inc.): Japan-headquartered global advertising and marketing services group, parent competitor to Hakuhodo Inc. Operates brand consulting and customer transformation capabilities that overlap with Hakuhodo Consulting's offerings in Japan and APAC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hakuhodo.consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hakuhodo Consulting