Key-partners

What Key-partners does

Key-partners (株式会社Key-partners) is a Yokohama-headquartered consulting and content production firm that helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Japan compete in recruitment by combining SNS video marketing, corporate PR video production, and recruitment consulting. The company serves Japanese SMEs across diverse sectors — including logistics, construction, healthcare, pharmacy, pet retail, wood/lumber, hospitality, and amusement — that struggle to attract talent through conventional job listing platforms due to limited brand recognition and budget constraints relative to large employers.

The firm's core offering is an end-to-end SNS video marketing service covering content strategy, filming, editing, social media account operations, and recruitment pathway design, executed in-house by a 'sales x creator' dual-team structure rather than subcontracted to external agencies. Supporting offerings include corporate PR video production and recruitment consulting services that redesign media spend, interview design, and selection flow. The proprietary YouTube channel '共進共栄ch' functions as both a social-proof platform for prospective SME clients and a recruiting tool, while a recently released Story Article Embed API allows external sites to embed client case studies subject to a formal API Terms of Service.

Key-partners operates a sales-led, direct-inquiry GTM targeting Japanese SMEs via its website, referrals through industry associations (e.g., the Kanagawa Truck Association), and industry events. Pricing is custom and undisclosed; clients are onboarded through a free recruitment strategy consultation and served via multi-year accompaniment (伴走型) contracts with structured PDCA cycles. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, revenue is not reported, and the firm is bootstrapped with no external funding rounds. The firm claims to have supported 500+ enterprises cumulatively with a 90%+ client continuation rate over 2.5+ years.

Name

Key-partners

Legal name

株式会社Key-partners

Website

https://key-partners.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Key-partners is a Yokohama-based consulting firm that helps Japanese small and medium enterprises solve recruitment challenges through end-to-end SNS video marketing, corporate PR video production, and recruitment consulting, serving diverse SMB clients via multi-year accompaniment contracts with a 90%+ client retention rate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SNS Recruitment Marketing Services: A managed service offering covering SNS video content strategy, production, posting, and recruitment consulting. Delivered as a long-term accompaniment (伴走型) service with a structured flow from consultation through PDCA. Generates recurring revenue through ongoing client retainers, evidenced by a 90%+ continuation rate.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Key-partners provides end-to-end SNS video marketing support to Japanese SMEs facing recruitment challenges. The firm delivers content strategy, video production, social media account operations, and recruitment consulting as a one-stop in-house service, helping clients reach latent candidate pools through Instagram and TikTok rather than relying on expensive job listing platforms. Services are delivered as long-term accompaniment (伴走型) engagements with structured PDCA cycles.

Product overview

Key-partners is a specialized SNS recruitment marketing company offering a unified portfolio of services centered on three core offerings: SNS Video Marketing Support, Corporate PR Video Production, and Recruitment Consulting Services. The company provides one-stop in-house SNS support from content strategy through filming, editing, and account operations. Key differentiators include 90%+ client retention rate, a proprietary YouTube content platform (共進共栄ch) showcasing client success stories, and an API product for embedding story content on external sites. Services are delivered as consulting and creative services rather than self-service software, with a focus on helping SMEs compete in recruitment without matching big-company budgets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SNS Video Marketing Support (SNS動画マーケティング支援) End-to-end SNS video marketing support for recruitment targeting SMEs seeking to attract candidates not accessible through traditional job sites. Includes content planning, video production, account operations, and recruitment pathway design.
• Corporate PR Video Production (企業PR動画) Production of corporate PR videos that capture company culture and employee stories through authentic narrative structure and visual quality to build employer brand resonance.
• Recruitment Consulting Services (採用コンサルティング業務) Strategic recruitment consulting covering recruitment pathway design, media cost optimization, interview design, and ongoing support to improve the quality and outcomes of recruitment activities.
• Story Article Embed API (ストーリー記事表示API) API service allowing external websites to embed Key-partners client story articles on their sites. Subject to API Terms of Service with content restrictions prohibiting violence, explicit sexual content, discrimination, and other prohibited categories.

Quantifiable outcome

• Client continuation rate exceeding 90% over 2.5+ years across diverse sectors
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 株式会社横浜フリエスポーツクラブ（横浜FC）coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2025Key-partners entered into an official partner agreement with Yokohama FC for the 2025-26 season. As an official partner, Key-partners supports the J1 League football club while gaining brand visibility and association with a local sports brand. The partnership includes collaborative content such as having the club's mascot 'フリ丸' serve as a '1-day director' at Key-partners' office, creating content that showcases the company's culture. Key-partners identifies as a 'Yokohama-based' company and this partnership reinforces its local brand positioning in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Wantedly, Inc. Japan-based recruitment platform emphasizing employer branding and storytelling. Key-partners helps clients reduce reliance on platforms like Wantedly, making it an adjacent — and partly substitute — ecosystem participant.

Direct peers

• CROSS Marketing Group Inc. Japanese digital marketing and research firm providing SNS, content, and consumer-research services. Comparable in serving Japanese brands with integrated SNS and marketing-research offerings.
• PLAN-B Co., Ltd. Japanese digital marketing agency offering SEO, SNS advertising, and content marketing. Competes with Key-partners for SNS and content-led marketing budgets from Japanese SMBs.
• HottoLink, Inc. Japan-focused SNS analytics and marketing firm offering social media data and consulting. Comparable SNS-marketing technology and services stack for Japanese clients.
• Basic Inc. (ベーシック): Japanese marketing-solutions firm operating content, CRM, and SNS-related products such as ferret and FormMail. Comparable in offering integrated marketing tooling and services to Japanese SMBs.
• Members Co., Ltd. (メンバーズ): Tokyo-based digital marketing agency providing digital creative, SNS, and web production services to Japanese enterprises. Closely comparable to Key-partners in SNS-led digital marketing services for Japanese clients.

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu Digital Inc. Digital arm of Dentsu Group, one of Japan's largest advertising holding groups. Offers SNS, video, and recruitment-adjacent marketing within a much broader portfolio competing for enterprise marketing budgets.
• Hakuhodo Inc. Japan's second-largest advertising agency group with broad creative, digital, and PR capabilities. Overlaps with Key-partners' SNS video and PR video offerings within a much wider service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kyoshinkyoeichannel
• Xtwitter.com/key_partners

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 Key-partners