Trend Pro

What Trend Pro does

Trend Pro (株式会社トレンド・プロ) is a privately held Japanese communications agency founded on November 22, 1988, in Tokyo, specializing in advertising manga production and broader corporate communication services. The company operates through two main brands: TREND-PRO (AD-manga.com), its core advertising manga production business launched in 1988 and positioned as the industry's leading player, and GRASSROOTS.INC (株式会社グラスルーツ), a wholly-owned subsidiary specializing in internal communication consulting. Trend Pro's proprietary methodology, called Story Design (ストーリーデザイン), is a structured process for designing emotional and cognitive pathways to 'Hara-ochi' (ハラオチ) — a state of deep emotional acceptance leading to behavioral change — by orchestrating dialogue, experience design, visualization, and anecdote-sharing programs.

The company's service portfolio spans two complementary domains. In external user communication, it offers advertising manga production, influencer manga artist collaborations, famous IP tie-ups, SNS operations support, video production, and publication production. In internal communication (via Grassroots), it provides quantitative and qualitative research, seminars and workshops, PR training, consulting, internal newsletter production, and tools for MVV (Mission/Values/Vision) penetration, D&I understanding, and new HR-system comprehension. Service delivery follows a division-of-labor model with dedicated planners, writers, and manga artists producing end-to-end creative output.

Trend Pro makes money through project-based fees for creative production engagements and professional-services fees (per engagement or retainer) for consulting and workshops. Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative: prospective clients submit inquiries via the company website contact form, after which engagements are scoped and quoted individually. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company has cumulatively served approximately 2,000 companies with 10,000 projects since 1988, has ¥20 million in registered capital, and is led by Representative Director Hiroyuki Okazaki (岡崎寛之). No external funding rounds, AI/ML capabilities, or geographic expansion beyond the Tokyo metropolitan market are disclosed.

Name

Trend Pro

Legal name

株式会社トレンド・プロ (Kabushiki Kaisha Trend Pro)

Website

https://trendpro-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Trend Pro is a Tokyo-based Japanese communications agency founded in 1988 that produces advertising manga and internal communication consulting services for enterprise clients, using a proprietary Story Design methodology to drive 'Hara-ochi' (deep emotional acceptance) and behavioral change.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Production Services (Advertising Manga, Video, Publishing): Project-based fees for the production of advertising manga, influencer collaborations, IP tie-ups, social media content, video production, and publishing. Services are scoped and quoted per project.
2. Internal Communication Consulting & Workshops: Fees for quantitative/qualitative research, seminars, workshops, consulting, internal newsletter support, and MVV (Mission/Values/Vision) penetration tools. Billed per engagement or retainer.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Trend Pro provides manga-based planning, production, editing, and publishing services for corporate external marketing communication, and research, consulting, workshops, and content tools for internal organizational communication. Through its proprietary "Story Design" methodology, the company designs emotional and cognitive pathways that move target audiences from intellectual understanding to "Hara-ochi" — deep emotional acceptance — and ultimately sustained behavioral change. Services span advertising manga production, influencer and IP tie-up campaigns, SNS operations support, video and publication production, as well as internal communication consulting delivered via its subsidiary Grassroots Inc.

Product overview

Trend Pro is a marketing and communications group centered on producing 'Hara-ochi' (deep emotional acceptance leading to behavioral change). The portfolio comprises two main brands: TREND-PRO (AD-manga.com), the core advertising manga production business established in 1988, and GRASSROOTS.INC, an internal communication consulting subsidiary. User communication services include advertising manga, influencer collaborations, IP partnerships, SNS support, video and publication production. Internal communication services encompass research, seminars, PR training, consulting, newsletter support, and penetration tools. The group leverages 'Story Design' methodology—logically designing emotional journey paths—to create continuous, high-level Hara-ochi experiences across both external and internal communication domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AD-manga.com: Advertising manga production service offering planning, scenario, illustration, and operations, serving as the company's primary service brand since 1988
• グラスルーツ (Grassroots)

Products and services

• Advertising Manga Production End-to-end manga-based advertising production service for corporate marketing, covering planning, scenario, illustration, and operations via a division-of-labor model of planners, writers, and manga artists. Targets enterprise and mid-market companies seeking differentiated creative communication that drives consumer behavioral change.
• Influencer Manga Artist & Famous IP Tie-up Campaigns Partnership campaign services connecting corporate brands with influencer manga artists and well-known intellectual properties for promotional tie-ups. Targets enterprise marketing teams seeking reach through established manga creators and IPs.
• SNS Operations Support Social media operational support services for brand presence and engagement management, including content planning and operations as part of multimedia communication offerings. Targets corporate marketing teams running ongoing social channels.
• Video Production Video content creation services delivered as part of Trend Pro's multimedia communication portfolio, complementing manga and print outputs. Targets enterprise clients seeking integrated video assets for marketing campaigns.
• Publication Production Book and publication creation services covering promotional materials, business books, and other print/digital publications. Targets enterprise clients producing publications for marketing, recruitment, internal manuals, and business communications.
• Internal Communication Consulting (Grassroots Inc.) Internal communication consulting delivered by wholly owned subsidiary Grassroots Inc., focused on strengthening one-to-many organizational communication through research, consulting, seminars, PR training, in-house newsletter production, and internal penetration tools for MVV (Mission/Vision/Values) and D&I dissemination. Targets enterprise clients pursuing internal culture change and employee alignment.
• Quantitative / Qualitative Research Research services providing data-driven quantitative analysis and qualitative insight generation to support organizational understanding and communication strategy design. Targets enterprise clients and internal communication programs requiring evidence-based inputs.
• Seminars & Workshops Educational session services for organizational development, employee skill-building, and communication capability uplift, delivered as part of the internal communication portfolio. Targets enterprise HR, communications, and leadership teams.
• PR Training Support Training services developing public relations professionals' capabilities, delivered as part of Grassroots Inc.'s internal communication consulting portfolio. Targets enterprise PR and communications departments.
• In-house Newsletter Production Support Production support services for corporate internal newsletters, covering creation and ongoing management of internal publications. Targets enterprise HR and internal communication teams.
• Internal Penetration Tools Production Production of tools and materials designed to disseminate corporate values, MVV (Mission/Vision/Values), D&I understanding, and new personnel systems internally. Targets enterprise HR and organizational development teams running change or roll-out programs.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GRASSROOTS.INC (株式会社グラスルーツ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots is a group company specializing in internal communication consulting. Founded on 'word power' to transform organizations into One Teams, it brings 40 years of internal communication consulting expertise. The partnership combines Trend Pro's creative production and 'Hara-ochi' methodology with Grassroots' consulting capabilities to deliver internal communication solutions that drive behavioral change within organizations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Goodpatch Inc. Japanese digital design and product/UX firm offering creative strategy and content design for enterprise digital experiences; comparable as a Japanese creative-services firm pursuing differentiated methodology-driven engagement with enterprise clients.
• Gallup, Inc. Global employee engagement and internal culture research/consulting firm; partially comparable as the consulting counterpart to Trend Pro's Grassroots subsidiary in the internal communication space.
• Webtoon Entertainment: Digital comics platform increasingly used by brands for serialized ad content and influencer-driven storytelling; comparable as an emerging player whose medium (digital comics/webtoons) overlaps with Trend Pro's manga-based ad work.
• Great Place to Work Institute: Organization culture assessment and certification firm serving Japanese enterprises on employee engagement and MVV alignment; partially comparable to Grassroots' internal communication consulting practice.

Direct peers

• Locanda Co., Ltd. Japanese firm producing manga and illustration-based content for corporate marketing and communication; directly comparable as a boutique manga ad production agency.
• Mugendai (Mugen Inc.): Japan-based firm specializing in manga-based marketing communications and editorial content for corporate clients; directly comparable as a manga-as-medium creative producer.
• Brainworks Inc. Japanese agency producing advertising manga and creative content for enterprise marketing campaigns; directly comparable on medium (manga), service (creative production), and customer base (Japanese corporates).

Broad incumbents

• Hakuhodo Inc. Major Japanese advertising agency offering creative, content, and integrated marketing services to enterprise clients; comparable as a broad incumbent operating in the same domestic market with overlapping services.
• Dentsu Group Inc. Japan's largest full-service advertising agency group offering creative, media, and content services including manga-related work; comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same enterprise communications budgets.
• ADK Holdings Inc. Japanese advertising agency group providing creative, media, and content solutions to enterprise marketers; comparable as a broad incumbent that competes for similar Japanese corporate communication mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Trend Pro