* This article was originally published on COVER’s official note page on February 2, 2024.
Welcome to the second installment of our New Employee Interview Series, where we chat with 2023 graduates about their current roles, job experiences, the rewards they find in their jobs, and insights from their job hunting journey.
This time, we spoke with K, a Planning Director in the Strategic Sales Department, and N, an Assistant Director in the Project Operations Department.
We hope their honest thoughts about COVER’s culture, work philosophy, and the kind of people they'd love to work with will be helpful for those of you thinking about joining us at COVER Corporation!
■ “Veteran Rookie” K and N, Who Had Never Watched hololive Before Joining
——We’re pleased to have K from the Strategic Sales Department, and N from the Project Operations Department here today. Let’s start with some introductions.
K: I’m a Planning Director in the Japan Sales Team, Sales Division, Strategic Sales Department. Although I officially joined COVER in 2023, I started as an intern way back in January 2020 when I was a freshman. So technically, this is my fifth year here.
I’ve been with the team since the very beginning, which makes me the longest-serving member, even though I’m technically a new graduate (lol). I had the opportunity to have an interview with the CEO when joining full-time, as “you only get one chance to join a company as a new graduate,” which led to me taking on my current role.
In my current role, I plan promotional campaigns and partnerships with various companies, including retailers, shopping malls, and customer goods brands. In sales, it’s impossible to succeed without a deep understanding of our content and one of the essential aspects of our team is that every member truly loves what they do.
N: I work in the hololive Operations Team, hololive Production Operation Division, Project Operations Department. Our team handles the planning and execution of large-scale events, such as hololive summer 2023 and hololive production COUNTDOWN LIVE 2023 ▷ 2024.
We also support talent-led events that involve the entire production. For instance, I recently helped with the production of hololive New Year Cup 2024.
Unlike K, I hadn’t watched hololive before joining COVER. In fact, during my interview, I admitted that I’d never seen it (lol). After passing my interview, I briefly worked as an intern until officially joining the Company, which I think is quite rare since many fellow graduates did their internship before interviewing.
■ Understanding the Talent Behind the Character – Building Success Through Steady Effort
——Could you share a bit about your role and your mindset when it comes to doing your job?
K: For me, I handle a wide range of collaboration and promotion projects, from B2B to B2B2C.
For example, I’ve worked in collaboration with convenience stores and on official merch for pop-up stores co-managed with partner companies. I also led a project with a pharmaceutical company, using Sakamata Chloe, the cleaning specialist, as the image of the campaign.
With a B2B project, we also organize promotional livestreams sponsored by gaming companies. I recently handled one for a social game, and we run at least one of these PR livestreams every month.
If I had to sum up my approach to work, I’d say it’s about focusing on our talent’s personas rather than viewing them as mere characters. We make proposals aimed at bringing out the best in our talents while helping clients solve what problems they may have.
The talents affiliated with our company are distinct from anime or manga characters – they are not just IPs but also possess unique personal qualities as talent. Even after a collaboration, talent can promote our clients’ products in their streams, which adds tremendous value for our clients and is why I make sure to explain each talent’s unique persona to clients and put my heart into every project.
N: As for me, I manage various large-scale events for hololive with the goal of improving every production by continuing to enhance the appeal of our talents. Our mission is to create more opportunities for people to discover more of our talents, with the hope that they’ll “like this particular talent” or “want to support (oshi) them,” increase our fanbase, and by doing so, ultimately contribute to the growth of COVER.
For example, for talent-led projects, we must first have the talent give their input, such as their ideas of what they themselves want to do. We then discuss any requirements and preparations that need to be made, make a schedule, and continuously track progress while creating the necessary materials and bringing the event to life.
While we do focus more on event direction, in practice, we do a bit of everything. As well as event direction, we also handle public relations and sometimes even take on more sales-related tasks. Our responsibilities cover a very broad range.
What I want job seekers to know is that this job isn’t glamorous at all. It’s about steadily building things up step by step to prepare for the main event, which requires a lot of patience. Of course, there are exciting moments, like the night before a school festival, but it’s important to understand that the job isn’t just about the glamorous or eye-catching aspects.
■ A Company Where You Can Pursue Fun and Bold Ideas
——What drew you to COVER, and what did you study before joining?
K: I’ve wanted to work in entertainment since I was in high school. Back then, MikuMikuDance (MMD) was booming, and I studied video production and created my own works independently. Though I considered pursuing a degree in that field, I wanted to learn through real-world experience, so I went on to study in the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Sociology in university.
After entering university, I approached video production companies with my past works and was eventually given the opportunity to take on the role as an editing director for programs at a local TV station in the Kanto region. In the summer of 2019, I had the opportunity to edit a program featuring Inugai Korone, which is how I first came to know about hololive. At a time when pre-recorded videos were at their peak, I discovered the world of live streaming, which sparked my passion. I can still remember joining COVER as an intern in January 2020.
N: I studied business administration, and I became interested in the entertainment industry around the latter half of my second year to the beginning of my third year in the university. I’ve always liked games and thought, “It would be fun to develop games as a job.” I even tried creating my own game, but it turned out to be too difficult, so I gave up (lol). I explored other industries, but I couldn’t find the same excitement or sense of enjoyment, so I started wondering if there might be something outside of gaming that would interest me.
During university, I was involved in planning and organizing exhibitions and various events. I had many friends who were singers or songwriters, so we made original songs, performed them, and ran exhibitions together – it was a lot of fun. That experience made me think, “I want to find a company where I can do more than just work on games,” which prompted me to begin my job search.
——N, when did you first hear about COVER Corporation?
N: I first heard about COVER during an online job fair specifically for the entertainment industry. There was so much excitement in the chat section for COVER – people were going wild, like, “kitaaaaa!” (lol). That’s what first got me interested.
——Could you both share the reasons why you decided to join COVER Corporation?
K: When I started job hunting, the metaverse was just starting to gain momentum. My interest in the virtual industry began with Hatsune Miku, and since I’ve always liked new and cutting-edge things, I looked into many metaverse companies.
However, I found that the obstacles for many of them to realize their vision appeared tough to surmount, and they felt more like platform providers than entertainment companies. In contrast, I found COVER’s approach to the metaverse through the lens of its characters very appealing, and felt like they were leading the industry.
During my internship, I found that there were many fascinating people at COVER, which really attracted me to the company. Work can be tough, but I felt that working with interesting people would make it worthwhile – a key reason for my decision to work here.
N: Like K, I joined the Company because I want to continuously try and do new things.
I really enjoy taking small efforts or initiatives and gradually turning them into something bigger. COVER Corporation is now much larger and more well-known, but as I mentioned earlier, most of the work we do consists of small, often unglamorous tasks. While the VTuber genre is now a lot more widely recognized than it used to be, a lot of effort goes into executing strategies, creating merchandise, and nurturing each project with care.
This is a place where anything is possible if you set your mind to it, so it is perfect for those who enjoy putting in small efforts and watching them amount to something big.
■ Advice for New Grads: Don’t Hold Back – Keep Pitching Your Ideas!
——On that note, what kind of people do you enjoy working with?
K: As the Company continues to grow, we’ve been hiring more mid-career professionals. Having been here since my internship days, I’ve witnessed how this shift has sparked new ideas and projects that never would have existed before – it’s been exciting to see such chemistry in action.
We expect the same kind of fresh ideas and proposals from our new hires as well.
The foundation of our company isn’t just built by veteran staff members. As long as you’re eager to take on challenges, there are endless opportunities to try new things. Whether you’re a new hire, intern, dispatch employee, or contract employee, if you love our content and are committed to supporting our talent with the same passion, there’s no difference in how you can contribute. I think it’s fun to work with people who are proactive and willing to share their ideas and opinions openly.
If someone joins COVER with a specific goal in mind, achieving it may be followed by a feeling of content, so I believe it’s better to have the mindset of wanting to do new things and keeping one eye on the future.
N: I believe that having more people who can pitch ideas makes the work more enjoyable and strengthens any company. Although this is a relatively new industry, it’s still a narrow field, and certain aspects have become quite rigid. That’s why I’d be happy to work with people who can think outside the box and bring forward new ideas. I also aspire to be someone like that myself.
■ Aiming to Lead the Global VTuber and Metaverse Industries
——Lastly, could you share your goals for the future?
K: Our company is truly committed to sharing great content from Japan with the world. While our visibility has grown and we’ve gone public, it’s easy to forget that there’s still a lot of untapped potential. I believe we need to continue driving the VTuber and metaverse industries forward. Right now, we’re competing with other players for market share, but I want to put an end to that and have us be at the forefront of the industry. Ideally, I want people to think of hololive when they think of VTubers, and that COVER is the company they associate with VTubers and the metaverse.
To achieve this, we need to strengthen our efforts in mass-marketing and sales. I want to keep pushing our work to the next level, providing valuable content that also makes meaningful societal contributions.
N: I’ve had the same mindset since I joined the Company: “If I enjoy what I do and others have fun with it too, that’s all I can hope for!” My approach is to first create something that I genuinely find fun and interesting, and then build on that to develop experiences everyone else can enjoy. My goal for this year is to design projects that make viewers think, “That’s something I would watch,” “I want to support them,” and “This is the best!” as well as maximize the appeal of our talent through these projects. First and foremost, I want to become someone who can confidently propose ideas that truly bring out the best in our talents.
——Thank you both for your time!
