imajina

What imajina does

imajina Corporation (株式会社イマジナ) is a Tokyo-based brand consulting firm founded in 2006 by Yoshiki Sekino that specializes in 'inner branding' — aligning corporate philosophy with employee behavior through culture books, management training, evaluation systems, and brand-aligned recruitment. The firm serves primarily Japanese mid-to-large enterprises and regional SMEs across manufacturing, food and beverage, healthcare, finance, and government, with a named client roster including Kyocera, Suntory, Asahi Kasei, Mitsubishi Electric Software, Tohoku Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power, Taisho Pharmaceutical, and Issey Miyake. The company claims 3,000+ cumulative client engagements.

The core product portfolio comprises a proprietary ASP-based HR management system called 'jiina', a portfolio of service modules spanning brand briefing, CI development, ambassador and management training, recruitment strategy, and PR support, and the ICA (Imajina Cambridge Assessment), a Big Five-based scientific psychological assessment tool developed in partnership with the University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre and launched in Japan in April 2026 for recruitment, talent placement, and succession planning. Founder Sekino's authored book series has surpassed 560,000 cumulative copies, supplemented by translated foreign business classics.

The business model is freemium-led: the company runs dense monthly calendars of free in-person seminars across 20+ Japanese cities as top-of-funnel demand generation, followed by 30-60 minute free consultation sessions that convert attendees into paid consulting engagements, corporate training programs, and SaaS subscriptions to 'jiina'. Distribution is exclusively domestic through the firm's own seminar network, direct B2B sales, and participation in industry events such as HR EXPO.

Name

imajina

Legal name

株式会社イマジナ

Website

https://imajina.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Brand Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Advertising Agencies (541810), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B / Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy Consulting (MPAAAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

HR Strategy & Operating Model Design (BPACAJAA), HR Technology (HRIS/HCM) Advisory & Implementation (BPAHAGAG), B2B/ABM Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAI)

Keywords

• Corporate branding consulting
• Inner branding services
• Management training programs
• HR system software
• Psychometric assessment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Branding Consulting Services: Core consulting engagements for corporate branding strategy, inner branding implementation, and organizational transformation. B2B services billed typically as project-based or retainer engagements targeting mid-to-large Japanese enterprises.
2. Corporate Training Programs: Management training programs, ambassador training, and hierarchical training programs. Offered as paid engagements following free seminar entry points.
3. ASP HR System 'jiina' Development and Operation: The company develops and operates an ASP-based HR system called 'jiina', representing a SaaS/product revenue stream alongside consulting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Imajina is a B2B brand consulting firm that helps Japanese companies build, align, and activate corporate brands across both the "inner" (organizational philosophy penetration, employee engagement, leadership development) and "outer" (CI, web, video, marketing communications) dimensions. It sells consulting engagements (brand strategy, CI/VI, culture books, brand films), corporate training programs (ambassador, management, tiered, evaluator, PR training), recruitment branding and HR system implementation, supported by two proprietary technology offerings: the ICA (Imajina Cambridge Assessment) psychometric assessment and the ASP-based HR system "jiina".

Product overview

株式会社イマジナ (imajina) is a Tokyo-based brand consulting firm offering a comprehensive suite of corporate branding services organized around inner branding (インナーブランディング) and outer branding. The core product portfolio includes: the ASP-based HR system "jiina" (ジーイナ) for human resources management; the ICA (Imajina Cambridge Assessment) scientific psychological assessment tool developed in partnership with Cambridge University's Psychometrics Centre for talent recruitment and placement; the "Empowerment Branding" (エンパワーメントブランディング) award sub-brand recognizing growth companies; and nationwide business/branding seminars delivered by founder Yoshiki Sekino covering leadership EQ, human capital management, and organizational transformation. Service delivery spans eight operational modules: (1) Conveying the Vision — brand briefing, CI development, culture books, brand films, and book publishing; (2) Developing People — ambassador training, management training, level-based training, evaluator training, and PR training; (3) Recruiting Talent — recruitment strategy, vision mapping, recruitment websites, and recruitment videos; (4) Creating Fulfillment — personnel evaluation systems, career paths, office environment, and uniforms; (5) Driving Performance — PR strategy, sales tools, SEO, SNS marketing, and reputation management; (6) Psychological Assessment — ICA with Cambridge University; (7) Events & Seminars — nationwide seminar programs; and (8) Youth Development — student EQ workshops and the U24 leadership camp. The company claims over 3,000 client organizations served.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASP HR System "jiina" (ジィーナ) ASP-based (cloud-hosted) human resources management system developed and operated by imajina; supports HR workflow automation including personnel management, evaluation systems, and organizational assessment capabilities for Japanese corporate clients.
• ICA (Imajina Cambridge Assessment) Scientific organizational assessment tool co-developed with the University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre, measuring 16 scales based on Big Five personality theory and organizational integrity, with 4 proprietary audit scales that detect candidate faking; used for recruitment, talent placement, leadership development, and succession planning by Japanese enterprises.
• Business & Branding Seminars (経営・ブランディングセミナー) Free in-person seminars focused on inner branding, leadership EQ, human capital management, and organizational transformation, held nationwide across Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya, Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Kochi, Kofu, Fukuoka, and other cities) and delivered by founder Yoshiki Sekino; a 30-minute free consulting consultation is included for attendees.
• Empowerment Branding (エンパワーメントブランディング) Award program and sub-brand operated by imajina that recognizes Japanese growth companies which successfully unlock individual employee potential and support career growth, accompanied by published interviews and case studies of exemplary companies.
• U24 Ambassador "Leader EQ" Camp (U24アンバサダー「リーダーEQ」合宿) 4-day intensive camp for young people aged 24 and under focused on leadership EQ, media literacy, moral education, and regional problem-solving, culminating in a presentation to the Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture.

Quantifiable outcome

• Retention rate can be increased up to 3x through inner branding implementation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• University of Cambridge Psychometrics CentrecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2026imajina partnered with the University of Cambridge's Psychometrics Centre to jointly develop the ICA (Imajina Cambridge Assessment), a scientific organizational assessment tool. Based on the 'Big Five' personality theory, it measures 16 scales including conscientiousness/integrity, with 4 proprietary audit scales to detect faking responses. The tool is used for recruitment, talent placement, leadership development, and succession planning. This represents the company's most significant technology partnership and differentiation asset.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consulting firm (WPP-owned) covering strategy, naming, identity design, and brand experience. Comparable to imajina's brand strategy and CI development offerings at an international scale, and a likely competitor as Japanese enterprises seek global-standard branding partners.
• Development Dimensions International (DDI): Global leadership development and training firm specializing in leadership pipelines, manager development, and behavioral assessment. Directly comparable to imajina's management training, level-based training, and evaluator training modules, particularly in Japan where DDI has an active practice.
• Link and Motivation Inc. Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Japanese employee engagement and organizational consulting firm offering 'inner branding' style services. Closest direct comparable to imajina, with an overlapping focus on management philosophy embedding, employee motivation surveys, and consulting-driven transformation for Japanese enterprises.
• Interbrand: Global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, valuation, identity, and experience services. Directly comparable to imajina's outer branding and CI development modules and a relevant competitor for tier-1 Japanese accounts seeking internationally benchmarked brand work.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand consultancy focused on brand strategy and identity for large enterprises. Comparable to imajina's CI/brand strategy and culture book work, especially for multinational clients with Japanese operations.

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm combining executive search, leadership development, and talent consulting. Highly comparable to imajina's leadership development, succession planning, and ICA-driven talent assessment offerings, especially at the enterprise end of the market.
• Dentsu Inc. Japan's largest advertising group with extensive brand consulting, digital, and communications capabilities. Competes with imajina on integrated branding mandates, particularly for tier-1 enterprise clients in the same logo portfolio.
• Recruit Holdings: Japan-headquartered HR technology, staffing, and matching conglomerate (Indeed, Glassdoor, HRMOS). Adjacent comparable for imajina's recruitment strategy work and jiina SaaS product, but operates at a vastly larger scale and broader HR-tech portfolio.
• Gallup: Global analytics and consulting firm best known for employee engagement research and Q12 methodology. Comparable to imajina's inner branding and engagement measurement offerings, particularly for multinational clients benchmarking against globally validated engagement frameworks.

Regional players

• Hakuhodo Inc. One of Japan's largest advertising agencies, with a significant brand consulting and organizational transformation practice serving Japanese enterprises. Overlaps with imajina on branding strategy and inner/outer integration, but operates at a vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/imajina1209
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@imajinacom
• Facebookfacebook.com/imajinaBR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%E6%A0%AA%E5%BC%8F%E4%BC%9A%E7%A4%BE%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B8%E3%83%8A

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 imajina