Women to Watch 2020: Erin Tsuchiya, Google Brand Studio

Erin Tsuchiya

Producer, Google Brand Studio APAC
Google
Japan

Long before she entered the world of marketing communications, Erin Tsuchiya pursued a career in contemporary dance. Today, she’s revered for her ability to step gracefully from role to role, acting as producer, project manager, creative operations manager, all-around go-to person, and diversity champion.

‘Producer’ doesn’t seem like a strong enough word to describe the role Tsuchiya has held since 2016. Yes, she has produced work for major clients such as ANA, Hitachi and Apple. But in addition, she inspires “absolute trust”, has “amazing ethics”, and “actively improves any process she undertakes”. Colleagues credit her multifaceted talent for helping Google’s Brand Studio grow during her tenure from a 12-person Tokyo team to 20 people across two offices. Similarly, the unit’s scope of work has expanded during that time from minimal-budget case films to global, award-winning product and social-initiative campaigns.

With a “superpower” for problem-solving, Tsuchiya is said to be unafraid to tackle any aspect of the business to keep things flowing smoothly and deliver the highest-possible quality, a characteristic that has seen her influence expand beyond her team, both within Google and beyond. Marketers and agency partners from across the region have turned to her for help even on non-Brand Studio projects.

In addition to solving problems for clients and colleagues, Tsuchiya is also committed to solving them on a societal level. Having experienced discrimination as an Asian, being told she “didn’t look the part” in the Western performing arts industry, and having faced down the expectation in Japan that young women should get married and quit working, she is heavily involved in advancing equity in terms of gender, ethnicity, and opportunity. This includes active membership in a small team at Google that is working on improving diversity and inclusion. This team’s actions include educating internal marketers about better representation and calling on external agencies to improve the diversity of teams working on the Google account.