fibona is a place where opinions and people meet. New members talk about the possibilities of "digital x communication.
2022.07.13Shiseido's research institute is promoting the "fibona" open innovation program, which aims to "fuse external knowledge and people.
Why did the new members decide to join fibona? What do they think about the possibilities of digital communication now that the pandemic has drastically changed the way we communicate?
Shinya Iwanaga, who has actively participated in fibona events, Shiori Iwashita, who runs the S/PARK Studio Bikatsu Gym ("Bikatsu Gym") social media accounts, and Takashi Arai, who works as an experience designer, discussed the event.
Experience designer, SNS operations manager, and a diverse group of new fibona members
──Please tell us about your day-to-day tasks, how you came to join fibona, and the projects you are in charge of.
Iwanaga:
I usually work at the Brand Value Development Laboratory, mainly doing research on the safety evaluation of raw materials for cosmetics. I have long been interested in fibona's activities and have actively participated in the events. This time, I decided to take the plunge and volunteer during the open call for applications because I wanted to be more involved with a sense of being a party to the project.
As a member of the "Cultivation" planning and management team, which creates the “soil” for innovation, fibona is working to provide a forum for the free exchange of opinions on beauty, both inside and outside the company through events such as "Around Beauty Meetup."
Iwashita:
I work in the Brand Value Development Laboratory, mainly developing point makeup products such as mascara and lipstick. Since 2021, I have been participating in the activities of Bikatsu Gym, self-care lessons for skin and facial expressions developed by Shiseido researchers, and I am mainly in charge of promoting on our official Instagram and Line accounts that I helped set up.
I was approached by a member of fibona who had seen the activities of the Bikatsu Gym and decided to join. I will be in charge of promotional work, such as publicizing our activities, so I’ll be able to make use of my previous experience.
Arai:
I originally worked in UI/UX design and joined Shiseido in 2018 and started my career in the Creative Division. Since April 2022, I have been working in Shiseido Interactive Beauty where I am in charge of creating experiences for customers. Recently, I was also involved in a project to turn the results of the research institute into business as an experience designer.
I had always wanted to join fibona and was particularly interested in starting a new business. At an internal event at the end of 2021, I attended and asked an existing member how I could become a member. I learned that there was an open call for applications, so I volunteered.
──What do you find attractive about fibona's activities?
Iwanaga:
Beauty is something that has no form and no right answer. In a sense it is like a philosophy. If you only talk about the way it should be and its future with a fixed group of members, opinions tend to become entrenched. In such a situation, the fibona event, where we could frankly exchange opinions with people from inside and outside the company, seemed to be a very valuable way to move things forward.
One of the events that left a lasting impression on me was the "Around Beauty Meetup #8" event, where YOHO Brewing, a craft beer producer and distributor, took the stage. Their approach to brand development, in which they narrow down their targets by drawing a detailed picture of age, lifestyle, personality, etc., in order to capture a small number of enthusiastic fans, was an eye-opener for me, as I had tended to think that they wanted to deliver their products to a wide range of customers.
Also, at fibona, there is an atmosphere of mutual respect for what each individual wants to do while deepening discussions. I feel that this is an appealing aspect that is different from other internal initiatives.
Iwashita:
When I joined Shiseido and started working as a researcher, I learned that cosmetics researchers have their own individual desires and passions in their hearts. At the same time, however, I also realized that ordinary customers rarely have a chance to know what is in the researchers' hearts, just as I rarely had the chance to learn before I joined Shiseido.
fibona is a place where Shiseido's internal and external communities meet. I feel that this could be a place where the thoughts and knowledge of our researchers about beauty and the story of development can be communicated and delivered to our customers. We have launched and are operating the Bikatsu Gym Instagram account with the same feeling, so we would like to make use of that experience as well.
Arai:
I would like to work on visualizing and revealing the thoughts of researchers, past research achievements, and technologies that have not yet been revealed through design and storytelling as one new way to provide value. In fact, when I assist in brand marketing, I feel that customers are interested not only in the functions and ingredients, but also in the story of the development.
I am also interested in co-creation with startups at fibona. I have been with Shiseido for four years now, and I have realized that there is a lack of speed and drive in some areas due to the desire for safety and certainty. I expect that fibona will be able to create better products by combining the speed and flexibility of a startup with the tradition and history that are Shiseido's strengths.
Changes and possibilities of communication felt during the pandemic
──The spread of social networking services and the outbreak of the COVID-19 have greatly changed the form of communication. What possibilities do you see in the digital world?
Iwashita:
The pandemic and Bikatsu Gym have been disseminating basic knowledge and the latest research on beauty on Instagram, and have also held real lessons after implementing infection control measures. Based on this experience, I feel that online and offline, there is a difference in who you can communicate with and the depth of information you can convey.
The strength of online communication through Instagram and other means is the ability to connect with people you cannot meet in real life. The lessons conducted in real life are inevitably targeted to people living in the Yokohama area, where the institute is located, but when we look at the people we reach on Instagram, we find that the information reaches not only Kanagawa Prefecture, but also Tokyo, Osaka, and even overseas, making connections with a wider range of people than we could have ever imagined.
On the other hand, in lessons conducted in real life, there is a real sense that more in-depth information can be conveyed in an instant; an Instagram post may share the researcher's knowledge, but it does not convey what Bikkatsu Gym is like. As the saying goes, "Seeing is believing," and close communication works better when done in a real setting and there is a real sense that the information is conveyed.
Arai:
With the proliferation of the Internet and social networking sites, information has become overflowing, and customized consumption of information has become the norm. As a result, customers have a desire to get the right information instantly, and I feel that marketing has become more difficult. I believe that digital tools such as AI can be a solution to this problem.
As digital technology develops in the future, the way we communicate with customers will become more personalized. Shiseido's strength is that it has in-store locations where Beauty Consultants can communicate with customers in real life. Communication in a real place is dense with a large amount of information. I hope that the future will bring a time where such communication can be experienced digitally as well.
As technology continues to evolve, people may eventually become mere containers, enabling experiences that transcend reality in an augmented digital space. It is exciting to think about, and I look forward to seeing what new businesses will be created.
Iwanaga:
Over the past few years, online meetings and conferences have become the norm, and this has given me an opportunity to rethink what communication is. Through new experiences such as hearing things like "I can't see your face, but I can hear several people talking," and "I can't hear what you are saying because the sound is muted," I have discovered that communication is a combination of multiple elements.
I used to think of date, time, and place as a set when making an appointment with someone, but I realized that "place" is no longer essential. On the other hand, if I go through the trouble of setting a location, I can aim for a dramatic effect, such as "in nature," "in an environment with good music," "in a space with an inspiring design," and so on.
Digital communication, which allows us to connect regardless of location and without being seen, may free us from physical limitations such as appearance and characteristics. On the other hand, communication in the real world, where there is no time lag and we can focus without being interrupted, may be better suited to deep conversations that open our hearts and minds.
What we want to challenge because of fibona, which "provides more and more new services."
──Finally, what are your ambitions, and what do you hope to accomplish through the activities of fibona?
Iwanaga:
As a person who plans and manages events that involve both internal and external participants, I would like to provide opportunities to connect each participant's spontaneous enthusiasm for "liking something" and "wanting to do something" without any difficulty.
We believe that online communication, which allows us to move away from our own appearance and characteristics, can help create a community that is free from prejudice and excludes no one. It would be ideal if we could contribute to creating a community where individuals support each other in what they want to do and feel a strong sense of individual happiness.
Iwashita:
At fibona, we would like to create a promotion that not only passes on the knowledge, ideas, and background of development possessed by our researchers to our customers and other companies, but also allows two-way communication by getting reactions to these ideas.
When I was old enough to have a computer and cell phone, social networking sites were already in widespread use. As a user, I am of a generation that has always been aware of the need to select and choose information properly and to communicate information with evidence. In this age of information overflow, information with evidence that is spread by researchers should lead to customer trust. We believe that our communication will lead customers to love our products and services even more. We would like to communicate the fun aspect and uniqueness of fibona's activities to our employees and increase the number of people who would like to participate.
Arai:
We would like to create new services by visualizing the research and technologies accumulated by our researchers and by collaborating with people from outside companies.
If you create a lot of services, of course you will make mistakes. In fact, I would like to see a culture of failure take root, where it is acceptable to go through a cycle of trial and error. I hope that through many failures, high-quality services will be created, and that eventually we will be able to create global services originating from Japan.
（text: Yue Arima edit: Kaori Sasagawa）