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From making things to creating experiences. A solution site that partners with you through technology and playfulness.

Renewal to a branding-focused corporate website that expresses Southern Design's strength in supporting clients from the upstream stages, beyond prototype development, by highlighting the gap between "technical skill and playful spirit."

Case Summary

Customer Name

Minami Design Co., Ltd.

Project Details

Corporate website renewal, main visual video, factory tour (each business division introduction) video production, still photography

Purpose

Corporate branding, expanding recognition as a solution-providing company, approaching new business development sectors

Situation

Due to the aging of the site and ad hoc updates, our core strengths and value proposition of "supporting from upstream design to mass production" were not being effectively communicated.

Production period

About 10 months

STEP

01 Task

Customer's challenge

Breaking away from the manufacturing image of "cutting and creating" and gaining recognition as a proposal-based company

While we possess high technical capabilities and a stable customer base in our existing cutting and molding processing fields, the perception of us as merely a "manufacturing company that only produces what it's told" had taken precedence. Our strength as a "manufacturing concierge" capable of partnering from the idea stage of new product development (creating value) was not recognized, and we faced challenges in differentiating ourselves from price competition with rivals and effectively reaching the new business development segment, including startups.

02 LH Method Strategy Development

Organize current status and challenges (Organize current status and challenges, and commit to realizing the vision)

From VR proposals to videos that get to the heart of the matter. The concept is "Making things from making experiences."

Through repeated consultations, we defined the company's essential value as its supportive partnership in backing intangible ideas from the upstream stage. Initially, we considered "virtual factory tours using VR" as a cutting-edge solution. However, as we delved deeper into the discussion, we discovered that "the truly appealing aspects they wanted to showcase were limited." Without being fixated on a specific medium, we refined our solution to "video (video planning)" as the most effective way to convey Minami Design's real technology and passion, thereby clarifying the original objective.

03 LH Solution Implementation Support

Solve the problem (Solve the problem with LH solution)

Emotional web design and two videos that fuse 1/100th the technical skill with "playfulness."

We produced a "Factory Tour Video" to introduce each business division, visualizing the professional atmosphere within the company. Furthermore, in the main visual video, we created a dynamic and stylish presentation of the machinery and the artisans' hands, accompanied by English narration. The surprise element is that the character being made is "Minacchi," a cute character born from an internal company competition. We captured the process of "Minacchi" being created using the company's diverse technologies, such as 3D printing and metal machining, in both video and still formats, resulting in a design that balances overwhelming technical skill with approachability.

04 LH Solution Execution Support

Continue to commit to achieving the vision (responding to changes in circumstances)

The ripple effect on internal branding and the first step as a "Manufacturing Concierge"

This renewal project has not only led to external outreach but has also served as an opportunity for various internal departments to collaborate on producing 3D models and physical figures of "Minacchi." A company-wide enthusiasm to "do something interesting with our own technology" has been generated, resulting in significant achievements from an internal branding perspective (improving employee engagement). Going forward, we will continue to consistently support information dissemination as the best partner for companies struggling with new business development, leveraging these strengths and a playful spirit.