Why this seat is different in Japan
The first question a strong candidate asks is whether Japan marketing sets strategy or localises it. In many subsidiaries the honest answer is that global owns brand and product positioning and Japan executes, adapts and runs events. That is a legitimate job, but it attracts a different person from a role that owns the annual plan, the budget and a seat at the management table. Say which one this is.
Japanese marketing has its own machinery. Trade promotion (販促) and distributor marketing carry more weight than in most markets because so much volume runs through intermediaries. Academic congresses (学会) and trade shows are primary channels in healthcare and industrial sectors. Content must be written in Japanese, not translated into it. Advertising claims in pharma, devices, food and cosmetics run through the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act (薬機法) and the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (景品表示法), and the marketing head is accountable for review.
The pool is deep on execution and thin on strategy. Many Japanese marketers have run campaigns and events well without owning a P&L contribution or presenting to a management committee. In a recent retained search for a Marketing Director in dental technology we approached more than 110 people to produce a shortlist.
Purpose of the role
Build and deliver the Japan marketing strategy and annual plan in line with global direction, lead the marketing team, protect the brand, and give sales the demand, positioning and materials to grow share.
Key responsibilities
Strategy and planning
- Develop the annual Japan marketing plan and budget with the Managing Director and regional CMO, and own its execution.
- Sit on the management committee and contribute to Japan strategy beyond marketing.
- Run market research and competitor analysis that informs pricing, portfolio and launch decisions.
Execution
- Lead product launches, digital marketing, media planning, events and congresses, and trade marketing with distributors.
- Produce Japanese-language content and materials that meet regulatory review requirements.
- Coordinate pricing, discontinuation and launch communication internally and to the market.
Commercial partnership
- Work with sales on segmentation, lead generation and key-account programmes, and measure contribution.
Team and budget
- Lead and develop the marketing team, and manage the budget with monthly control and corrective action.
Global interface
- Represent Japan to global brand and product marketing, and adapt global campaigns without losing their intent, in English.
Candidate profile
Must have
- Ten or more years in marketing with at least five leading a team in Japan at a foreign-capital company.
- Ownership of an annual marketing plan and budget, with results that can be described in revenue or share terms.
- Launch experience in the Japanese market.
- Digital marketing competence and the data literacy to measure it.
Preferred
- Industry adjacency: healthcare, industrial, consumer or financial services each have their own channel logic.
- Regulatory review experience where the industry requires it.
- Management-committee membership.
Language
- Japanese at native level for content, agencies, distributors and the team.
- English at business level for the regional CMO, global campaigns and management-committee work in a foreign-capital company.
Decide before you post
- Strategy owner or execution lead, in one sentence.
- Management-committee membership.
- Budget size and the share the person controls.
- Scope boundaries with sales, communications and digital, which are often contested.
- Agency relationships that come with the role.
How hard is this hire
Moderate to hard. The pool of marketing managers is large; the pool of marketing leaders who have owned a plan and a budget and can present strategy in English is small. Expect three to four months. Searches fail when the title says Director and the role is a campaign manager.
Interview questions that separate candidates
- Show me the last annual plan you wrote. What did you cut when the budget was reduced?
- Tell me about a global campaign you declined to run in Japan, and what you ran instead.
- How do you measure marketing's contribution to revenue, and what number did your MD believe?
- Describe a launch you led. What did regulatory review change?
- What did you say at the last management-committee meeting that was not about marketing?
