We’re opening an office in Tokyo!

The why

We're delighted to announce the opening of a brand spanking new Waste office in Tokyo - and no, it's not just because we love Karaoke bars and sashimi (although we really do). It's because we wanted to take our first step towards serving the rapidly growing entertainment Japanese market, already one of the largest in the world!

The move is part of a wider effort for us to increase our breadth of Asian clients, after a successful run using our fan-first approach to marketing in Europe and winning clients such as Nintendo, Supercell, and Riot Games (League of Legends).

'Asia has always been a dream for us, and we can’t wait to bring our expertise to the Japanese gaming sector, one of the largest in the world. Our ambition is to use our fan-first approach to grow our Japanese presence and service more local clients, while also helping bolster our services throughout Asia.

Waste is in a very unique position where we can take 16 years’ experience launching video games in Europe and North America and use this knowledge to help support Eastern video game publishers to launch their products in the West. We’re excited to see what opportunities will develop.'

- Mike Petricevic, Co-Founder and Creative Partner, Waste

The link with Keywords Studios

Some important context - at the end of 2021, Waste became part of the Keywords Studios family, an international technical and creative services provider to the entertainment industry. Waste sits within Engage - Keywords Studios’ Marketing Service Line that brings together a variety of experts and specialist disciplines from across Keywords into an end-to-end marketing solution that supercharges decision making in today’s complex entertainment landscape. 

As such, Waste has been appointed by Keywords Studios to join forces with the awesome Tokyo-based Wizcorp Game Development studio, also part of the Keywords family, cultivating its marketing offering and helping to nurture their relationship with existing clients.

Match made in heaven

With Keywords Studios’ strong presence in Asia, and Waste’s expertise in entertainment marketing, the partnership places Waste in a great position to provide a full service marketing offering for Keywords Studios Japan.

As this is Waste’s first footprint in Asia, and the first time Keywords Studios are opening Waste’s services to their Asian contacts, the move is set to open up doors with new clients as well as current Waste clients who have their HQ in Japan.

'Japan is one of the world’s most significant game development hubs and has a long history in this industry. We welcome Waste into our Asian team, and are looking forward to seeing the new possibilities their presence will bring about for our local clients.'

- Christophe Briant, Account Director & Regional Lead of Waste Japan

Here's the plan

The long-term plan is for Waste to provide a 24-hour service between London and Japan, and to serve companies based in Singapore, Korea, Japan, China.

With the rich talent pool of creatives in Japan, Waste is also aiming to expand the team on the ground to provide new opportunities for local talent. The Waste Japan team now incorporates nine full-time employees, and is planning to fill three more openings.

With in-depth expertise of the gaming sector and stellar experience across the whole of the entertainment industry, we will be offering our well-honed services to new Asian clients, covering strategy, creative, social, content, experiential, OOH, and TV.

🇯🇵 どうもありがとうございます！ 🇯🇵

P.S. Feeling curious? Check out our brand new Waste Japan website.