Osaka Expo 2025 – Delivering Japan-Led Impact for Governments and Global Brands

During Expo 2025, C7EVEN K.K. was trusted by three Australian government organisations — Investment NSW, Austrade, and the Northern Territory Government — to deliver critical, high-visibility programs in Japan. Each organisation entered Expo with very different objectives, audiences and definitions of success. Each required a tailored approach. And each operated under the same constraints: intense competition, limited attention, and high reputational risk.

Osaka Expo 2025 is not a typical international showcase. It is one of the most complex, competitive and culturally demanding environments in which governments and brands can operate.

With hundreds of global exhibitors, tightly controlled pavilion operations, and a Japanese media landscape that is both saturated and selective, success at Expo requires far more than attendance.

It requires deep local knowledge, cultural intelligence, and disciplined execution.

During Expo 2025, C7EVEN K.K. was trusted by three Australian government organisations — Investment NSW, Austrade, and the Northern Territory Government — to deliver critical, high-visibility programs in Japan. Each organisation entered Expo with very different objectives, audiences and definitions of success. Each required a tailored approach. And each operated under the same constraints: intense competition, limited attention, and high reputational risk.

What connects these programs is not similarity of format, but consistency of delivery. Across all three, C7EVEN acted as a Japan-based strategic partner, translating ambition into outcomes within one of the most demanding international contexts in the world.

 

The Reality of Delivering in Japan

Japan is not a market that rewards surface-level engagement. It is highly discerning, deeply relationship-driven, and structurally resistant to foreign narratives that do not respect local norms. Media does not attend simply because an event is international. Retail does not succeed because a product is premium overseas. And consumers do not forgive brands that feel culturally misaligned.

At Osaka Expo, these realities are magnified.

Organisations must compete not only with other countries, but with Japan’s own high standards of presentation, storytelling and operational excellence. Messaging must be precise. Execution must be flawless. And any misstep — linguistic, cultural or logistical — risks undermining credibility instantly.

This is the environment in which C7EVEN was asked to operate.C7EVEN K.K. is not a visiting agency brought in for Expo. We are a Japan-based marketing and communications firm, working daily at the intersection of Japanese media, consumer culture, government engagement and international trade.

Our role is not to adapt overseas strategies for Japan after the fact, but to build Japan-first strategies from the outset— strategies that reflect how the market actually functions.
At Osaka Expo 2025, this distinction mattered. Each client required a partner who could move seamlessly between strategy and execution, between boardroom expectations and on-the-ground realities.

C7EVEN was selected not just for our creative capability, but for our ability to protect reputation, deliver outcomes, and operate with cultural fluency under pressure.

The Golden Trilogy

Investment NSW

Achieving Media Cut-Through Where It Rarely Exists




Investment NSW entered Expo with a clear objective: position New South Wales as a trusted, established supplier of premium food and beverage products to Japan, and secure meaningful Japanese media coverage in an environment where media attention is notoriously difficult to earn.

This was not a standard PR challenge. Osaka is a competitive regional media market, Japanese broadcasters are selective, and Expo programming competes with hundreds of international activations daily. Traditional press tactics would not suffice.

C7EVEN designed a Japanese-media-first food and beverage showcase, built specifically around editorial needs rather than promotional convention. The event was structured to encourage broadcast-friendly storytelling, natural interview opportunities, and live filming — all within the constraints of the Australian Pavilion. C7EVEN managed the program end-to-end: concept development, media strategy, Japanese-language communications, invitation management, on-site coordination, and post-event reporting. Crucially, our local broadcaster relationships and on-the-ground presence enabled us to facilitate rare live television coverage, including a live cross by Osaka Television during the event itself.

In a media environment where even attendance is difficult to secure, the program achieved multi-platform coverage across television, print and digital — demonstrating C7EVEN’s ability to deliver true cut-through, not just visibility.

Austrade

Building Capability, Not Just Exposure




Austrade’s objective at Expo extended beyond presence. For its First Nations delegation, the focus was on readiness, confidence and long-term market engagement. Expo was a platform, but success depended on how well participating businesses could articulate their stories, position their brands, and navigate Japan beyond the event.
C7EVEN was engaged to design and deliver a Japan-specific branding and capability program, grounded in cultural understanding rather than generic export frameworks. The branding masterclass delivered in Tokyo focused on how Japanese audiences interpret value, authenticity, packaging, language and storytelling — with practical guidance tailored to the realities of the market.

To ensure the impact extended beyond the week itself, C7EVEN also produced a suite of high-quality video assets, including individual brand interviews and a delegation highlight film. These assets were designed for long-term use across Austrade channels and by participating businesses, supporting ongoing engagement well after Expo concluded.

By combining education, cultural sensitivity and content creation, the program delivered something far more durable than exposure. It provided tools, confidence and narrative clarity, enabling First Nations businesses to engage Japan on their own terms.

Northern Territory Government

Turning Expo Attendance into Market Understanding




For the Northern Territory Government, the priority was ensuring that businesses returned from Osaka with practical market insight, not just impressions. Japan’s retail environment is complex, dense and unforgiving — and many exporters underestimate the gap between product quality and shelf success. C7EVEN designed a program that combined structured learning with real-world immersion. Delegates participated in a Japan-focused branding masterclass in Osaka, followed by a guided food and retail walking tour through supermarkets, shopping streets and Kuromon Ichiba Market.

Rather than observing passively, delegates were encouraged to critically assess packaging formats, pricing structures, portion sizes, shelf competition and storytelling — and to reflect on how their own products would perform in this context. The tour concluded with facilitated discussion, helping businesses identify realistic entry points and necessary adaptations.

To ensure the experience created ongoing value, C7EVEN produced a professionally edited delegation video capturing the Expo experience, retail immersion and participant reflections. The result was a program that transformed Expo attendance into market literacy.

Investment NSW

Live TV Coverage from our Food and Beverage Showcase in June of 2025.

What These Projects Demonstrate

Taken together, these three programs illustrate something rare: the ability to operate across the full spectrum of Japan engagement, within a single global event.

C7EVEN delivered:

  • Media authority in one of the world’s most competitive press environments
  • Cultural and brand capability for exporters at different stages of readiness
  • Practical retail understanding grounded in lived market reality
  • High-quality content assets with long-term strategic value
  • Seamless on-ground execution within a highly regulated Expo environment

 

Each program was different. Each required a different strategy. But all were delivered with the same discipline: Japan-first thinking, precision execution, and respect for the market.

Why International Governments and Brands Choose C7EVEN

Success in Japan is rarely driven by scale or noise. It is driven by trust, consistency and cultural alignment — built over time and protected carefully.

C7EVEN is chosen because we:

  • Operate inside Japan, not around it
  • Understand how Japanese media, consumers and institutions actually behave
  • Translate complexity into clarity for international stakeholders
  • Deliver outcomes without compromising reputation
  • Act as a long-term partner, not a short-term supplier

At Osaka Expo 2025, this approach was tested under the highest possible pressure — and it delivered.

Osaka Expo 2025 was not three separate engagements. It was a single demonstration of what world-class Japan delivery looks like across media, branding, retail and government engagement.

For Investment NSW, C7EVEN delivered visibility where visibility is hard to earn.
For Austrade, we built capability that extends beyond Expo.
For the Northern Territory Government, we turned experience into understanding.

Together, these programs form a clear statement:

If you are serious about succeeding in Japan — especially on the world stage — C7EVEN is the partner that knows how to make it work.

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