JaM’s mission is to be the hub between the U.S. and Japan, providing in-depth marketing consulting services for companies in both countries to help them succeed in their target market.
The Internet has been a key business tool in the development of global business. At first glance, it has created an efficient and borderless system, yet the difficulties of expanding into overseas markets remain. These are due to language, social, and cultural barriers, as well as different expectations and business practices. Though commonly treated as a part of Asia, the Japanese market is uniquely different, and particularly challenging for U.S. and foreign companies.
To meet the needs of companies doing business between the U.S. and Japan, JaM has a network of multi-industry specialists and corporate partners in both countries who have cross-cultural knowledge and experience, and understand both U.S. and Japanese business perspectives. JaM puts together virtual teams on a project basis to provide industry specific, in-depth services to facilitate successful business.
The name JaM comes from “jam sessions” - as in jazz improvisations, where players spontaneously create music from feeding off of each other’s playing and energy. Believing that the same methods could be best used in U.S.-Japan marketing consulting, a company was born and named JaM in 1998. JaM is made up of people who approach business based on cross-cultural knowledge, which relates to another jazz concept of “crossover”- combining elements of different styles such as modern jazz or bebop to create new hybrids or fusion sounds. In January 2001, the company expanded into a partnership and re-established as JaM Japan Marketing LLC.
JaM’s founder, Hisami Ohshiba was a pioneering woman in the Japanese advertising world, with a 16-year career at Dentsu Young & Rubicam (DYR). She was responsible for introducing Clinique to the Japanese market, from branding to marketing activity that included magazine/newspaper advertising, TV/radio commercials, PR and research, which established Clinique as the top foreign cosmetic brand in Japan. After moving to the US in 1995, Hisami worked at McCann-Erickson Advertising, utilizing her 20-year experience in US-Japan business, then founded JaM Japan Marketing in 1998.
In addition to marketing, she is an active writer and speaker in Japan. With a nearly 30-year professional career and the experience of living in the US, Hisami’s cross-cultural awareness and unique views from both business and consumer perspectives are reflected in her writing as well as in her work, and is highly regarded for its insight and relevance.
Among her work is a book, “It’s An Adventure — Hisami Lives America,” a regular column for Nikkei BP Online (largest Japanese business media) and Sendenkaigi, an advertising industry publication, as well as her own blog site. Her recently released and highly acclaimed book in Japanese, “The Presidential Elections in the YouTube Era – Documenting 700 Days of the Obama Campaign” (Publisher: Tokyu Agency), is a compilation of her “Obama Watch” blog, that chronicles the Obama campaign and into his presidency, including insights from a marketing perspective.
In January 2001, JaM re-established as JaM Japan Marketing LLC, when Hisami welcomed a partner, Debbie Bergh to further the company’s growth. Born in the U.S. and raised in Japan, Debbie has a bi-lingual and bi-cultural background, which spans a 15-year career in bridging U.S. and Japanese companies. At Matsushita Electric (Panasonic) U.S. Headquarters, she worked in corporate public relations to promote a positive corporate image to national and international media during the heyday of Japan-bashing in the late ’80s. While managing communications between 30 North American subsidiaries and Japanese headquarters, she was involved in producing press conferences, events, videos and collateral. Debbie later joined REBO Group, the first HDTV production company in North America based in New York, and was responsible for sales and marketing of documentary, non-fiction, music and corporate productions to Japanese broadcasters such as NHK, JSB, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo and manufacturers including NEC, Panasonic and Sony. Since 1995, Debbie has served as an independent consultant in sales, marketing, PR, and research for clients including REBO, NHK, SGI, a computer workstation manufacturer, Onna.com, an Internet lifestyle website for Japanese women, and other U.S. and Japanese companies.
