crack

What crack does

crack Inc. is a Tokyo-based B2B creative branding agency founded in 2019 that helps Japanese mid-to-large enterprises strengthen corporate identity and recruitment outcomes through art-, music-, and apparel-based interventions. Its core methodology, called "Symboling," translates a client's corporate philosophy into a large-scale ART installation, backed by an external research framework termed the "Charm Discovery Project." Beyond this flagship Art Branding offering, the firm operates Music Branding (company song creation), Apparel Branding, and PR services, with DX Reskilling Training added more recently as a government-subsidized workforce-training vertical.

The business model combines fixed-price creative project fees (typically enterprise-scale engagements combining research, artistic production, and on-site activation) with per-participant training tickets priced around ¥360,000–¥600,000 before subsidy under Japan's human resources development scheme, which materially reduces the client's out-of-pocket cost. crack serves a diversified enterprise base across pharmacy (Trust Pharmacy, ~¥5.2B revenue, 212 employees), logistics (Yushin Unyu, Funai Soken), childcare (Procare, Seikokai among Japan's oldest nurseries), packaging (Yamani Package), cleaning (Eiko Fukushisha), and manufacturing including 70-year pachinko maker Daiichi Shokai and 125-year-old Dai-dai Zentechs. Distribution relies on thought-leadership seminars that have reached 100+ companies, a corporate blog, and case-study publishing, with execution powered by a small core team and a curated global network of roughly 200 artists. The firm is private, headquartered in Ginza, Tokyo, with no disclosed funding rounds.

Name

crack

Legal name

crack株式会社

Website

https://crack-inc.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

crack is a Tokyo-based B2B creative branding agency founded in 2019 that helps Japanese mid-to-large enterprises strengthen corporate identity and recruitment through art installations (Symboling), music, apparel, and now DX Reskilling Training under Japan's human-resources subsidy scheme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Branding Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

akta.pro primary industry

Naming & Verbal Identity (BPAFAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Event Decor, Branding & Signage (HSACADAJ), Naming & Verbal Identity (Taglines, Messaging) (MPAAAEAB)

Keywords

• Creative branding services
• Corporate identity design
• Brand consulting
• Visual identity
• Brand strategy

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

Revenue model

1. ART Branding Services: Project-based fees for creating large-scale corporate art installations that symbolize company philosophy and values. The process includes third-party research, artist matching, workshop facilitation, art production, launch events, and promotional material design. Revenue is recognized on a per-project basis.
2. Music Branding / Company Song Production: Custom corporate anthem and song creation services. Projects involve discovering company uniqueness, writing lyrics, producing music tracks, and delivering karaoke versions. Revenue is project-based, typically integrated into broader branding engagements.
3. Apparel Branding: Corporate uniform and apparel design services that incorporate company philosophy and branding elements. Revenue is project-based.
4. PR / Media Strategy Services: Public relations and media outreach strategy services, including attracting press and media coverage for clients.
5. Subsidy-Utilized DX / Reskilling Training Programs: Corporate training programs funded through Japan's Employment Development Support Subsidy (人材開発支援助成金). Programs include Art Branding Producer Training (36万円 per person), Charm Discovery Producer Training, Visionary Recruitment/Sales Enhancement Program, and DX Reskilling curricula covering SNS marketing, generative AI, video editing, design, and metaverse. Revenue is received from client companies, partially offset by government subsidies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

crack株式会社 is a Tokyo-based creative branding agency that converts corporate philosophy and brand identity into tangible expressions through art, music, and fashion under a methodology it calls "Symboling." It serves Japanese corporations across manufacturing, logistics, childcare, pharmacy, and entertainment sectors with end-to-end brand development projects.

Product overview

crack Inc. is a co-creative branding company offering multiple interconnected services centered on making companies 'self-promotable.' The core offering is the Charm Discovery Project methodology, which combines third-party perspective surveys, internal workshops, and comprehensive reporting to articulate corporate uniqueness. This feeds into specialized branding services including: ART Branding (corporate philosophy visualization through large-scale artworks with ~200 global artists), Music Branding (company song/anthem creation), Apparel Branding (corporate fashion/uniform design), and PR Strategy Services. Supporting the core services, the company offers Employee Philosophy Penetration Programs with two-stage workshops (personalization and symbolization). Additionally, crack operates a Training Division offering government-subsidized programs: Art Branding Producer Training, Corporate Art Object Production Training, Charm Discovery Producer Training, and DX Reskilling Training (covering generative AI, SNS marketing, video editing, design tools, metaverse, and communication). The company also provides recruitment branding through interview training and talk script development. All services emphasize the 'co-creative' approach where employees participate in the branding process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Symboling
• Corporate Branding Projects
• Branded Training Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Job applications increased from ~10/year to ~100/year at one client, with diversity of applicants (young people, women) improving significantly
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• 東京モード学園 (Tokyo Mode Gakuin)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Beginning in 2025, Tokyo Mode Gakuin — one of Japan's largest fashion-related vocational schools — began accepting crack for internship programs. This partnership provides crack with access to young creative talent while offering students experiential learning opportunities in a creative branding environment.
• 船井総研ロジ (Funai Soken Logistics)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021crack partnered with Funai Soken Logistics to deliver a seminar on 'Branding in the Transportation Industry' to 100 logistics companies in 2021. This partnership marked crack's formal entry into the B2B logistics/transportation sector employer branding market and established its positioning as a specialist in the field.
• Worldwide Artist Network (~200 artists)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019crack has established partnerships with approximately 200 artists worldwide and in Japan. These artists are matched with client companies to create unique art installations that symbolize corporate philosophy. Artists include Magdiel Lopez (USA/Cuba), Miho Murakami (Japan), Kanako Sasaki (Japan), MOTAS. (Japan art unit), Nah (Japan), Guillermo Arismendi (Spain/Canary Islands), IC4 DESIGN (Japan), and Marc EYAFA (Cameroon). The artist network enables crack to offer diverse artistic styles and cultural perspectives for each client engagement.
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省) — Subsidy ProgramflagshipOtherscrack's DX and reskilling training programs are designed to qualify for Japan's Employment Development Support Subsidy (人材開発支援助成金) administered by MHLW. The subsidy covers 50–75% of training costs for eligible companies. crack positions itself as a registered training provider operating within this government framework.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Relativity: Tokyo-based creative and branding agency serving Japanese enterprise clients with brand strategy and design services. Comparable to crack as a Japan-headquartered boutique creative firm targeting corporate identity and employer branding engagements.
• Great Works: Japanese creative and branding agency serving corporate clients across brand strategy, design, and communications. Comparable to crack as a Japan-based B2B branding services firm targeting mid-market and enterprise customers.
• PARTY: Tokyo creative agency focused on brand experience, design, and creative campaigns for Japanese and global brands. Comparable to crack in offering creative-led corporate branding services, though party operates at a larger creative-tech scale.
• Loftwork: Tokyo-based creative agency known for art, design, and community-driven corporate projects. Closely comparable to crack's model of pairing clients with artists/designers for brand-experience engagements, though Loftwork operates at significantly larger scale.
• Takram: Tokyo-based design and innovation studio delivering brand strategy, design, and corporate identity work. Comparable to crack as a Japanese creative-services firm serving enterprise clients with high-design, methodology-driven branding engagements.
• Whatever Inc. Japanese creative agency focused on branding, design, and content for enterprises. Comparable to crack as a Japan-based boutique branding and creative firm serving corporate identity and employer brand projects.

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu: Global Japanese-headquartered advertising and marketing services giant. Comparable to crack as a creative and brand-strategy provider to large Japanese enterprises, though Dentsu serves a much wider portfolio of marketing needs beyond employer branding.
• Hakuhodo: Japan's second-largest advertising agency with broad brand strategy, creative, PR, and digital capabilities. Comparable to crack as an enterprise-facing branding and creative services provider, but operating at far larger scale and without crack's distinctive art-first 'Symboling' methodology.
• TBWA Hakuhodo: Japan arm of the global TBWA network, combining brand strategy and creative at enterprise scale. Comparable to crack as a B2B creative and brand-experience provider, but with a more conventional advertising-led approach.
• Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo: Tokyo office of the global independent creative agency. Comparable to crack as a brand creative services provider to enterprise Japan-based clients, though W+K's scope spans advertising, design, and content rather than crack's art-first methodology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/kyarisutebito
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCX7JJ7ODcKc

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 crack