Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo
Speaker - Harry Hill, Oak Lawn Marketing

Hill Profile
A graduate of Cornell University and a 21 year resident of Japan, Harry Hill has founded, owned and operated several companies in the marketing, real estate, media and entertainment industries. Hill met Robert Roche, the founder of Oak Lawn Marketing, in 1990 and together they founded H&R Consultants, which currently is the largest real estate company for the ex-pat community in Nagoya and also has offices in Tokyo.

After a hiatus from Japan in 1997 and 1998, Hill joined the Oak Lawn Marketing management team in 1999 and became COO of the company in 2004 when Mr. Roche moved his family and base of operations to Shanghai. In the last several years under Hill’s management, OLM has achieved steadily increasing profits while growing its revenues from approximately 11 billion yen in 2003 to estimated 19 billion yen in fiscal 2005. Today, Oak Lawn Marketing has 230 full-time employees, several very profitable subsidiaries including the H&R Consultant’s group of companies and a 200-booth call center with over 400 contract employees.

Oak Lawn Marketing- the largest infomercial company in Japan and the fourth largest TV Shopping company, after fixed channel operators Jupiter Shop Channel and QVC Japan and caravan-style product purveyor Japanet Takada- describes itself as a media company and a branding company. As a media company, OLM controls more minutes on terrestrial, cable and satellite television than any other company in Japan. OLM also is the majority owner of Shop 240 on the Sky Perfect TV platform.

As a brand company, OLM uses the power of its 70 plus hours per day of television commercials to implement its Shop Jabranding strategy of power branding. The Shop Jabranding strategy has allowed OLM to create brand awareness and recognition for its top selling products so that in the last several years OLM has had the best selling brand in Japan (yes, all of Japan) in categories like EMS devices (Slendertone), mattress toppers (True Sleeper) and steppers (Lateral Thigh Trainer).

Hill, Roche and Oak Lawn Marketing have broken down the barriers and succeeded in doing business in the Japanese media and retail industries. From the introduction of infomercials to profit-centric management of the customer interaction at the call center, the phrase “it can’t be done in Japan” has been interpreted as an opportunity and the springboard for profit.

Hill lives in Nagoya with his wife and five children. He is active as Chubu Governor of the ACCJ and also practices Shorinji Kempo and Kick Boxing.