The BabyTech® Award Japan 2020 powered by DNP Dai Nippon Printing (BTAJ2020), which recognizes baby tech products and services in Japan, was held at the Shinjuku NS Building Event Hall from November 26 to 27, 2020, with an award ceremony, speeches by award-winning companies, an exhibition of award-winning products The Baby Tech.jp editorial team wasPrevious Article(DNP), the title sponsor of BTAJ2020, about how the company got involved in baby tech, its partnership agreement with Papa Smile, and its expectations for BTAJ2020. In this article, we asked them about their impressions after the event and their outlook for the future.
(We spoke to...)
Dai Nippon Printing Co. Information Innovation Division
Marketing Group, Business Design Division, CX Center 1
Naomi Oshima
Dai Nippon Printing Co. Information Innovation Division
Marketing Group, Business Design Division, CX Center 1
Haruna Hamamoto
Mr. Oshima (far left) and Mr. Hamamoto (far right), who spoke at this event. In the center is Mr. Nagata, President of Papa Smile Corporation, organizer of BTAJ2020.
Enthusiasm" and "sympathy" for BABYTEC that could be felt because of the real place.
Editorial:Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today. First of all, could you tell us again about your company's aim and desire to sponsor "BTAJ2020"?
Oshima:Our sponsorship of this event had three main objectives: first, to publicize our company's entry into the baby tech field; second, to use our company's resources to help make this event a great success together, so that more people would become aware of baby tech; and third, to keep track of the activities of baby tech-related companies and make connections with them. Thirdly, we wanted to keep abreast of the activities of baby tech-related companies and make connections with them.
Editorial:Thank you very much. Now that the BTAJ2020 awards ceremony, speeches by award-winning companies, and exhibition of award-winning products have been held, what were your impressions of your participation in the event?
Oshima:First of all, I am glad that the event was held safely under the circumstances of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). And thanks to the cooperation of the management and visitors in taking measures such as wearing masks, disinfection, and temperature checks, we felt that the event was fulfilling in a safe environment.
Editorial:Thank you very much. Although some nursery school staff who have daily contact with children did not come to the exhibition, we still had just under 3,000 visitors during the exhibition period.
Oshima:We were able to connect with many BabyTech related companies at the event. In addition to the presentations by the companies at the awards ceremony, we were also able to exchange a variety of information with the visitors to the booth we set up.
Hamamoto:For us, it was our first face-to-face meeting in a long time, so we were able to get a real sense of the passion of the people involved for BabyTech through the talks and presentations with each company.
Oshima:What particularly impressed me was that everyone spoke from their own "original experiences. Since Hamamoto and I are also in the process of raising our children, we felt a great deal of resonance with these "original experiences. It was very good to meet with people who developed BabyTech products and services based on their own experiences of child-rearing and share their thoughts and ideas with us.
Editorial:As you said, the presentations by the companies at the awards ceremony were all passionate about how to solve the social issues facing the child-rearing generation, and I was very excited to hear them.
Oshima:Although it is possible to watch presentations online, I was still able to receive the passion that I could feel only in a face-to-face setting, and I think it was a truly valuable opportunity.
We want to make 2021 the "first year of baby tech" through "co-creation" with various companies.
Editorial:On the contrary, was there anything different from your original expectations?
Oshima:At the DNP booth, we introduced "co-creation," in which multiple companies in the baby tech field cooperate to provide new value to consumers, and many companies approached us saying, "Actually, we were thinking of doing something ourselves," or "What kind of things can we do together? We received a great deal of interest. I feel that the number of companies and the level of interest exceeded our expectations in a positive sense.
Hamamoto:We discovered that there are many companies that are not engaged in "child-rearing-related businesses" but are interested in starting new businesses. In addition, there are companies that are interested in "co-creating" with us because they are not able to promote their efforts on their own, and this has led to specific discussions.
DNP's booth at the venue
DNP's co-creation concept on baby tech
Oshima:We were able to meet more companies than we expected, which made us realize the importance of communicating what we are trying to do to the world in a public forum like "BTAJ2020.
Editorial:The fact that there was more TV coverage of "BTAJ2020" this year than in previous years may have had an impact on the size of the outreach.
Oshima:As you say, the power of the media is essential for expanding awareness of BabyTech. This time, it was especially significant that the event was featured on NHK's evening news program. In the age of With Corona, where "stay-home" and "3-dense avoidance" are in high demand, I believe that people will pay more attention to how technology can be utilized and what innovations can be made in child-rearing.
Hamamoto:The term "the first year of BabyTech" used in this program had an impact: in 2020, the concept of "using technology for childcare" was becoming more widespread in the business world, but it had not yet spread to society and consumers. Through co-creation with businesses, we would like to provide BabyTech's products and services to more childcare and child-rearing settings as quickly as possible, so that consumers will feel that they can also utilize BabyTech.
Oshima:We believe that the key phrase "the first year of BabyTech" is a very welcome "tailwind," and it has become our goal to see how many consumers will realize at the end of 2021 that "This year we started using BabyTech! Our goal is to make our society a place where people can realize that they have started to use baby tech this year.
Connecting baby techs in various fields to provide a richer parenting experience
Editorial:At this year's BTAJ2020, the "Grand Prize" and "Excellence Award" were announced for six categories: "Feeding and Eating," "Learning and Playing," "Safety Measures and Monitoring," "Pregnancy and Pregnancy," "Health Management," and "Childcare ICT," as well as special awards for the "Knowledge Education Robot Award," "Noon Sleep Monitoring Device Award," and "Childcare Life Support Award, Were there any categories that attracted particular attention?
Hamamoto:Until now, baby tech has had a strong image of "shortening time and improving efficiency," and some of the parents who use it may have felt guilty. However, the grand prize winner in the "Breastfeeding and Eating" categoryMeNew," an application that automatically creates menus for up to one weekand Excellence Awards.Home Delivery Service for Preschool Food for Parents and Children (homeal)was wonderful in that it not only "shortens time and improves efficiency," but also provides moms and dads with the leeway to raise their children with a smile, thereby enriching the time they spend with their children.
Oshima:Both Hamamoto and I are working mothers raising preschoolers, and the thing we talked about most often on a regular basis was "children's food. In some ways, this is probably the area where we feel the most burdened, as we have to seriously consider safety and nutritional aspects, and it is also time-consuming in terms of work. The two products that won this year's awards were the "I've been waiting for this!" I had a sense of "I've been waiting for this!
Editorial:In fact, Misako Yasuda, a celebrity invited as a guest of "BTAJ2020," also praised it highly.
Oshima:The time created by "streamlining meal preparation" could be used by parents to deepen their involvement with their children, such as playing, praising, and confronting them. However, companies that specialize in "food" related services alone may face various hurdles in realizing "effective use of the time created. Therefore, by combining the strengths of our company and other companies with which we have contact, we aim to work together to create a means to further enrich the time we have available to us. BTAJ2020 was also a harvest of "co-creation," in which we were able to visualize what "co-creation" should look like: looking at child-rearing from a single "aspect," identifying issues, and creating the necessary means of solution by combining the strengths of companies.
Editorial:As you said, I had the feeling that this year's BTAJ2020 has all the "pieces" in place to address all aspects of childcare, from pregnancy and fertility to medical care, diet, sleep, etc. ......
Oshima:We value the "small problems of child-rearing. We want to find solutions to these problems before they accumulate and become big problems (i.e., social issues).
Editorial:Thank you very much. By the way, what areas of baby tech are you looking at in the future?
Oshima:At the entire Childcare Expo held at the same venue, IT solutions related to "operational efficiency in early childhood care" were very abundant. On the other hand, parents tend to focus on the aspects of "safety and security" and "going through the day without incident" in the long period of self-restraint these days, but we must not stop children from developing their sensibilities, gaining awareness, and learning new things. I would like to focus on how technology can help from such a perspective.
Editorial:In the "BTAJ2020," this is the area of the "Learning and Playing" category and the "Intellectual Education Robot Award." With the recent situation of being forced to "stay home" due to the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), new solutions are likely to emerge.
Solving "small problems in child-rearing" through corporate co-creation.
Editorial:Finally, can you tell us about your company's future moves regarding baby tech?
Oshima:Fundamentally, the question is how to solve "small problems in child-rearing" with the help of companies. When we have discussions with companies, we often start by talking about what kind of problems they are focusing on, their original experiences, and their awareness of the issues involved. If we find that we can share the same thoughts and feelings, we will start with an agreement that "Let's definitely do something! We then immediately move on to a discussion about how we can actually (concretely) get started.
Hamamoto:We would like to create concrete actions commensurate with the key phrase "the first year of BabyTech. Our company has adopted the theme of "co-creationDNP Innovation Port.We are also exploring what kind of value we can provide to society by combining the strengths of companies at our open innovation site, "Open Innovation Site.
Oshima:I would like to make this year a year of co-creation with many companies in order to make this "first year of baby tech" a reality for consumers!
After the interview
Thanks to the fact that it was shortly before the explosive spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) at the beginning of the year and to the great cooperation of all concerned, "BTAJ2020" was successfully held. As one would expect from a real event, there were many moving moments and encounters full of possibilities. If all of the excellent baby tech products of each company could be delivered as a single package to parents and childcare providers nationwide, child-rearing would become even more enjoyable and happy. We hope that the year 2021, dubbed the "First Year of BabyTech," will be a year of great progress for baby tech in Japan.
DNP Innovation Port
Project06: Changing the future of childcare and childcare with technology: Realizing a society where people can raise their children with a smile.
https://www.dnp-innovationport.com/co_creation/babytech/
BabyTech® Award Japan2020 powered by DNP Dai Nippon Printing" official websitehttps://babytech.jp/btaj2020home/
