Droga5, Accenture's Song, transforms society with the power of creativity

Droga5 is a creative agency founded in New York in 2006. Following its London base, it also opened an office in Tokyo in 2021.

Droga5 was founded as an advertising agency, but at our Tokyo base, we are particularly conscious of working from a broad perspective that goes beyond advertising. We want to go beyond producing creative work for promotions and communicate to the world creative work that expresses the social significance of brands that can change society and have an impact on people.

At the heart of this is the desire to expand the areas in which creators can thrive beyond advertising and to increase the value of creators. As a result, the types of projects we undertake are diverse, including product development, experience design, and organizational development.

Mr. Abe, who joined the company mid-career last year, what do you think are the unique features of Droga5?

I think it's the fact that they value culture. I've been involved in business as a copywriter at an advertising agency, and I often developed ideas based on the issues and budgets in front of me.

On the other hand, Droga5 takes a broader approach, asking how companies should be because the world's culture is changing, and how to create a business to achieve that. It's an interesting approach that's completely different from anything we've seen before.

I want to not only encourage people to consume, but also to bring about behavioral change. I want to keep this in mind when selecting projects.

I think one of the features of the team is that the entire team shares information about what each member is interested in. One of the ways we do this is by creating an original in-house wiki for the team, which compiles information about each person's background and interests.

Abe wants to create products, while I'm interested in agritech, which aims to utilize technology in agriculture, and the aerospace industry. We make sure that each team member's vision and what they want to do are visible to each other. So, we often look at the content of a project and first contact members who are interested in that theme to form a team.

Although Droga5 is a team within Accenture Song, the atmosphere is similar to that of a startup. Each member acts as if they are an in-house entrepreneur, working with client companies as a stakeholder in the business. Another strength of this team is their ability to quickly launch experimental new initiatives, such as the in-house wiki I mentioned earlier.

Droga5 values culture, and our research is unique. In addition to market and competitor analysis, we also conduct cultural analysis by interviewing cutting-edge people in the industry and extracting their essence.

For example, when working on a clothing-related project, we talk to people from a variety of fields, not just the fashion industry, but also those at the forefront of the travel industry, robotics researchers, and more. This allows us to see how society and people's behavior will change from a broader perspective. What we've learned in the course of this research is that luxury isn't just about price, but also refers to spiritual richness.

When we developed the "DOWN-LESS DOWN JACKET" as part of a branding project for nanoparticles invented by Sumitomo Metal Mining, the idea came from the culture that cutting-edge people have in mind.

Near-infrared absorbing nanoparticles are a very innovative material in the industry, as they can convert light into heat and are highly transparent. However, because there are so many ways to use them, it was difficult to market them as specific products, so we had to think about branding from scratch.

So, as I mentioned earlier, we conducted research with people from various fields and analyzed "what role will this material play in the world of the future?" Based on that, we decided on the name "SOLAMENT®︎," purpose (core social significance), and logo, with the meaning of an existence that will open up the various challenges and constraints in the world and shed light on possibilities.

It was originally a material used in automobiles and building materials, but as we researched and gathered elements of the future that seemed to have a high affinity with this material, we began to move towards areas such as apparel and sustainability. Once the concept was solidified, we wanted to ask fashion designer Kosuke Tsumura to design it as our partner in realizing the prototype. It was an intense process, with two to three months of research and two to three months of production.

This type of research also reflects the abundant input that members normally provide.

The project members include consulting members from Accenture Song, who can add the business perspective necessary to make a stronger impact on society. Our strength is that we can support each other and create the project together.

Let me also introduce the "Gamma Wave Sound" project, jointly developed by Pixie Dust Technologies and Shionogi & Co., Ltd., as it is a typical example of Droga5.

It has been reported that Alzheimer's patients have a decline in gamma brain waves. Pixie Dust Technologies' patented technology, "gamma wave sound," a specially modulated sound at 40Hz, has been proven to activate gamma waves in the brain, and the company is using this technology to tackle the problem of dementia. While this technology has long been attracting attention from research institutions around the world, there has been no clear way to communicate it to the public. This is why we decided to support the branding and social implementation of the technology.

For example, we could work with composers to create songs modulated with gamma wave sound and play them on radio stations, or we could select songs with gamma wave sound on the audio platform Voicy, or we could play original tracks using gamma wave sound in supermarkets. If gamma wave sound could be heard in all sorts of everyday situations, it could potentially be possible to care for cognitive function without changing the flow of daily life. That's the kind of world we aimed for.

At that time, everyone was running around the company (laughs).

That's right (laughs). It was like a team effort at Droga5. Each member utilized their own area of expertise and actually went out and found people to collaborate with, which resulted in us being able to expand to a truly diverse range of places. It was also great that we were able to utilize Accenture's network, and in that sense I think this project really showcased Droga5's strengths.

The project will continue in the future, but we decided to get started in the short term to get results and create a buzz, so we only worked on the core project for about three months from the end of summer last year. Since then, we've been contacted by a new LCC that started operating in Singapore that wants to play "gamma wave sound" as in-flight content, and the government has also given its approval, so it's continued to spread.

At Droga5, I often meet with the CEOs of our client companies. I don't just interact with marketing people, I also work directly with management and take on projects that span the entire client company. This gives me the feeling that I'm involved in the creative process of the business itself.

Many of our projects aim to become brand assets or be installed in society to become infrastructure. When you think of creators' output, you might imagine videos or posters, but I think what's interesting about Droga5 is that we can work on new output that goes beyond those categories.

Droga5 Tokyo has a guiding principle called "Spearhead of Change." While there are many different ways to solve problems, this philosophy means that we aim to pry open opportunities for change with cutting-edge ideas that the world has never seen or heard of, like the tip of a needle. I place great importance on this philosophy in my work.

I agree. Accenture has an environment where we can do everything from A to Z. Many of our client companies are seeking change. That's why I think we're the ones who can make a difference.

Because we all have that mindset, we're all always serious. That's why we worry so much (laughs).

Yes, it's difficult. Because we aim to expand the realm of creativity, there are many unknown areas. That's why we want people with an adventurous spirit who want to explore these new areas to join us.