Release of 'Dishwasher Boyfriend Picture Book' Video Born from a Co-creation Project Between Panasonic and University Students | Implementing Student Ideas as a Promotion

Strobolights Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Machida City, Tokyo; Representative: Keiichiro Hada; hereinafter "the Company") released the promotional video "Dishwasher Boyfriend Picture Book" on April 6, 2026, produced as a co-creation project between Panasonic Corporation and university students.

This video is content planned and produced primarily by students, based on an idea originating from the business contest for students "CAREER ROOKIES GP2025*". It was released on the same day on the CAREER ROOKIES website and various media.

*CAREER ROOKIES GP is a national business contest for university students hosted by our company. It has been held for two years, with a cumulative total of approximately 1,200 university students participating. It provides an opportunity for co-creative learning through student proposals addressing corporate challenges.

Project Background
The total household penetration rate of dishwashers in Japan remains at about 28% (*1), a low level compared to Western countries (*2). In addition, Generation Z is highly sensitive to promotional information, presenting a challenge in that conventional broadcasting methods are unlikely to cause attitude changes. In recent years, the importance of communication design based on "empathy" and "involvement" has been increasing in corporate marketing targeting younger generations.

Given this background, this project adopted participatory marketing that creates a process where "consumers themselves are involved" rather than "companies simply telling." By having students take the initiative from idea creation to implementation, the project aims to discover and communicate value from the perspective of the younger generation.

*1 Source: "Consumer Confidence Survey Results" (Cabinet Office), March 2025
*2 Source: Euromonitor International from national statistics as of June 2025

Student-Proposed Plan Born from a Business Contest
The starting point for this project was the theme "Ideas for popularizing dishwashers" presented by Panasonic Corporation during the Kansai preliminary round of the student business contest "CAREER ROOKIES GP2025".

Sixteen teams of university students from the Kansai area participated, working on idea creation through factory tours, feedback from employees, and planning from a non-user's perspective.

Furthermore, in this workshop:
97% of participating students improved their image of dishwashers
95% answered that they "would like to use one"
This confirmed the potential for attitude changes among the younger generation.

Scene from the Kansai preliminary workshop of the business contest "CAREER ROOKIES GP2025" held at the Panasonic Kusatsu base

Video "Dishwasher Boyfriend Picture Book" Planned and Produced by Students
Afterward, nine student volunteers gathered to consider more effective communication methods targeting Generation Z. They repeatedly discussed how students obtain information on a daily basis and what kind of content they dislike. The result was the short drama-style promotional project "Dishwasher Boyfriend Picture Book".

Key Points of this Initiative
- Students were in charge of the entire production process. They planned, wrote the script, acted, filmed, and edited the production.
- Appealing to the value of dishwashers using the metaphor of romance, which is relatable to young people.
- Produced as a series of 6 short dramas.
Through these, the project aims to express new value not only as a functional value of reducing the burden of housework but also as a reliable presence and a presence that stays close to one's life.

This project is positioned as a demonstration case of "participatory marketing" in which student-proposed ideas are implemented as corporate promotions.

Scene from the filming led by project members majoring in video production

Significance of this Initiative
- A marketing model that involves the target audience as "co-creation partners"
- An end-to-end project led by students from idea creation to implementation
- A model case as a demonstration of Gen Z participatory marketing

We will continue to formulate and communicate such cases as new model cases of Gen Z participatory marketing.

Comments
Shogo Nakaishi, Dishwasher SBU, Kitchen Solutions BU, Panasonic Corporation
Through this project, we were able to encounter many perspectives, values, and new angles that we ourselves had not noticed before. The flexible ideas and expressive power unique to students have been a great catalyst for us to reexamine the value of dishwashers. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to them for tackling this seriously to the end while balancing their studies.
I hope this experience will help you in your future challenges.

Keiichiro Hada, Representative of Strobolights Co., Ltd. / Visiting Professor at Ritsumeikan University
Participatory marketing is attracting attention, especially in Western countries. While young people of Gen Z harbor a sense of distrust towards information broadcast by companies, creating experiences that make them actually experience and think of it as their own issue is highly effective.