Cultural Brand Strategist: Managing expectations across borders. Bridging the gap between Western brand identity and Japanese cultural reality, backed by three decades of technical, creative, and marketing leadership.
I am a legitimate American (to some "The Murican") and Western business face, not the stereotyped one. Author's Note: I write in my authentic voice, not corporate jargon. Sanitizing my language to fit traditional decorum would compromise the lived reality on the page and contradict the exact thesis of this work. Being American is not … Continue reading The White Face Fallacy: Who Really Opens the U.S. Market for Japanese Brands
That’s how I felt when I submitted my immediate response to their editorial, so it was not a one-way street. Yeah, that picture is of my dad (far left) who was interned at Rohwer (individual number 26285F). This is a personal response I originally published on Oishii-desu.com after The Denver Post used the internment of … Continue reading Cultural Critique: Exploiting My Father’s Internment for Political Narrative
“You’re racist, he’s racist, she’s racist, your family is racist, they can’t be racist cuz black, and most importantly, you’re all racist, except me.” Yeaaah ok, right. This sounds like every unhinged individual who can’t effectively communicate an issue and defaults to the blanket labels of “racist,” “fascist,” and “Nazi.” When I hear that, I … Continue reading Epistemology: “You’re Racist”
Brand Audit: Kawahiro — How a Chinese-Made Knife Brand Fabricates Japanese Identity to Capture Premium Pricing Independent Cultural & Strategic AssessmentGreg Taniguchi Brand Audit Executive Summary Kawahiro is a mass-produced kitchen knife brand manufactured in Yangjiang, China (a major hub for cutlery production). Despite its entirely Chinese origin, operations, and ownership structure, the brand employs … Continue reading Brand Audit: Kawahiro