[Faculty of Global Management] Professor David McMurray, again this year, gave a special lecture at the Marketing class (instructor: George Wang)

Professor David McMurray is a distinguished scholar in intercultural studies and English-language education whose research focuses on Japanese culture, haiku literature, branding, and language learning. In his guest lecture, he shared insights from his research on the relationship between traditional Japanese culture and modern business practices. Drawing on his extensive work with the Ito En Oi Ocha New Haiku Contest, Professor McMurray demonstrated how cultural heritage can be transformed into a powerful marketing tool while simultaneously promoting education and international cultural exchange.

The lecture focused on how Ito En, Japan’s leading tea company, successfully incorporated haiku into its branding strategy. Professor McMurray explained that the company launched the Oi Ocha New Haiku Contest in 1989 alongside its bottled green tea products, creating a unique connection between tea, poetry, and Japanese identity. Through literary analysis of award-winning haiku and interviews with contest judges and participants, he showed how concise poetic expressions, especially the use of ellipsis and other creative linguistic devices, contribute to the emotional appeal of haiku. The contest not only encourages creative writing among people of all ages but also strengthens the brand image of Oi Ocha by associating it with qualities such as tradition, elegance, health, and authenticity.

Professor McMurray also discussed the findings of his word-association research involving university students. Participants were asked to associate words with the concepts of haiku, green tea, and washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine). The results revealed strong connections among these three cultural elements, with common associations such as “traditional,” “healthy,” “natural,” “popular,” and “Japanese.” He argued that these shared perceptions help explain why Ito En’s branding strategy has been so successful both domestically and internationally. The lecture concluded by emphasizing that cultural products such as haiku can create meaningful emotional connections with consumers, while also helping preserve and promote Japanese culture in global markets.