Makers vs. Marketers
When craft wins over storytelling
Makers or Marketers
“After all, we’re makers.”
I hear this from executives at clients, particularly of Japanese brands.
The comment carries pride—but also anxiety. They’re good at making things, not selling them. And craft, the very strength that built Japan’s economy in the 20th century, feels like a burden when competitors outspend you on marketing.
Craft earns the badge of “maker”: the disciplined choices behind what customers can see and feel—materials and tolerances, fit and finish, testing and quality control, service rituals.
For a long time, the likes of Toyota, Sony, and Panasonic succeeded with great quality of their products at great prices.
Japanese brands were never known for their marketing. American brands—Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, and P&G—built their brands by being great marketers.
“Our sales are stagnating, so we’re increasing advertising to strengthen our branding.”
This statement reveals the shallowness of how “brand” and “branding” are understood at Japanese companies.
Advertising ≠ Branding. Exposure ≠ Branding. And certainly, Sales Promotions ≠ Branding.
Brand is no longer what you say it is. It’s the trust that forms in people’s minds based on what you provide.
Brand is the Trusted Differentiation a company earns through consistent delivery of quality.
“We’re makers.”
This phrase was once a symbol of strength. When Japanese companies expanded globally in the 1960s, they built a reputation for affordable, high-quality products. From the 2000s onward, Chinese and Korean competitors supplied good-enough products at lower prices in higher volumes. Many Japanese companies struggled to differentiate.
Yet, this very spirit of making—anchored in craft, sincerity, and quality discipline end-to-end—is becoming a crucial weapon for building brands in the era ahead.
When craft turns a business around
By 2017, ASICS entered a transitional period. The company had grown steadily until 2015, reaching $3.7 billion in revenue. But afterward, amid changing market conditions and accelerated global expansion, it entered an adjustment phase. Between 2016 and 2017, revenue declined to $3.51 billion, and the company faced challenging market conditions for some time. By 2020, the revenue had plummeted to $3.10 billion. And it wasn’t because of COVID.
Yet ASICS achieved a powerful recovery. The company recorded $4.01 billion in sales in 2023—a historic high marking its 75th anniversary—by returning to its brand roots and pursuing reforms with a long-term perspective.
What changed wasn’t louder ads. It was craft that customers could feel. The Metaspeed line offered two distinct shoes—Sky for long striders, Edge for high cadence—a level of specificity competitors glossed over. Uppers got lighter, midsoles sharper, lasts refined for fit. Retail and service reinforced “Sound Mind, Sound Body.” Runners paid the premium for the craft they could feel underfoot.
How craft is winning
Lately, news about Japan isn’t always positive. At the same time, we’re seeing stories like ASICS—Japanese companies redefining their strengths and increasing their presence on the world stage.
“How UNIQLO won over the U.S.” — CNBC, February 2025
“Toyota as World’s No. 1 Automaker for Fourth Year” — Bloomberg, January 2025
“How Nintendo’s stayed the most innovative tech company of our time” — The Guardian, January 2025
Each points to craft at work: UNIQLO’s Heattech and AIRism, engineered for function and refined every season; Toyota’s obsessive process control keeping defect rates among the industry’s lowest; Nintendo’s tactile joy-con feedback and gameplay-first design that prioritizes feel over specs.
Case in point: Toyota leaned into its craftsmanship and launched Century as a new standalone brand last month. Craft is taking a big swing.
Does brand-building not require massive budgets? What about mid-sized companies?
In 2010, NIGO and Pharrell Williams founded HUMAN MADE. Initially, its growth was modest, supported by the fame of the two founders.
But through a new product strategy launched around 2021, it successfully gained the support of its fanbase, and sales surged within a few years. Revenue, which had been below 2 billion yen ($15M), grew roughly fivefold to approximately 10 billion yen ($70M).
The unlock wasn’t a slogan nor was it marketing. It was craft you could see and a cadence you could count on. It was Japan-made where it mattered, tighter drops, and steady “product-as-content” that showed decisions, not just mood.
And there’s another brand: Have you heard of Jacques Marie Mage?
If you have, your fashion radar is quite refined. This is a Los Angeles-based brand founded in 2015 that offers sunglasses priced at over $1,000 per pair, with each model produced in small batches of around 50 units.
They proudly state “Handcrafted in Japan” on their website and packaging. True to their word, each pair is carefully made by Japanese craftsmen, and this quality is their source of differentiation. In just under a decade since its founding, the brand has grown into a favorite of renowned Hollywood actors.
Small batches, meticulous acetate and hardware, and visible provenance make the craft legible and worth the premium.
These companies have one thing in common: they’ve rebuilt themselves by making craft their foundation, using sincerity and quality as weapons, and establishing new trust in global markets.
The question for makers isn’t “How do we become better marketers?” It’s “How do we make our craft visible?”
When customers can see and feel the difference, the brand builds itself.
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