Accenture Japan Ltd.

With over 732,000 employees, Accenture is a global services company that helps businesses, governments and organisations accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. In one of the ways of doing so, they condense value into real brand experiences. As part of the rebranding of JILL STUART, they enlisted the artist Kiko Mizuhara for an unusual film production.

Interview with Accenture Japan Ltd.

Red Dot: “Bloom in the mirror” moves between documentary and commercial film. Why did you decide on this form?
Accenture Japan Ltd.: Some women in Japan have a tendency to fit themselves into categories defined by society. Kiko Mizuhara, however, goes forward with the courage to feel and express her diverse self through fashion. To encourage the women to embrace themselves as they are, the film was created with a new style with an experimental, unpredictable and beautifully disoriented storyline that defies easy categorisation.

The brand implies values such as equality, individuality and diversity. The artist herself had  struggled with the public's response to her various activities in the past. Do films have the power to move something in people’s minds?
The sincere emotions expressed by Kiko Mizuhara in the film have had a significant impact on many people. There has been voices on social media showing surprise to the fact that JILL STUART was able to present such a powerful creation, and some of them mentioned that their perception of the brand would be different from now on. Moreover, even the staff members responsible for running the brand agreed with her words, recalling their own feelings when they aspired to design clothes in their early days. In this way, not only the customers but also the internal mindset of the brand has been influenced and empowered. 

Accenture Song believes in “growth through relevance”. Is this a brand value that your clients share?
Our clients are aware of our conviction – they come to us to create “growth”. But it’s also something we have to work out together with them. As a team, we stick to the outcome of “growth”. Our approach might vary depending on the product, service or brand, but it is recognisable how much growth we have achieved in each project with our clients, regardless of their agenda.

Are moving images currently a tool to attract the most attention? 
In the age of social media, moving images have grown in importance and have become one of the most attention-grabbing tools. However, a brand is an accumulation of experiences, therefore various programmes, including apparel design, collaboration product releases with like-minded companies and development of new experiential stores, are running in parallel under JILL STUART’s new brand purpose of empowering women to embrace their authentic selves and achieve a vibrant future. The film serves as one of the elements in customer touchpoints, reinforcing the brand's purpose and existence.