Customer's Voice: Osaka Bruteon

The Panasonic Panthers, a prestigious men's volleyball club based in Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture
The prestigious "Panasonic Panthers" have changed their name to "Osaka Bruteon" as part of a rebranding effort in anticipation of the new league " SV.LEAGUE" (starting in October 2024 ). My Site AI Translation Premium" has been installed on the club's official website, which provides up-to-date information about the club, since 2023.

In this interview, we talked to Mr. Matsuoka of the Fan Development Section about how our service was introduced and the future development of the club.

-Osaka Bruteon Can you tell us about the background behind the club's focus on multilingualism?

Mr. Matsuoka: The reason why we are working on multilingualization is not only to cater to international fans, but also to make the value of the club, including its competitiveness, more widely known. Looking at the Japanese volleyball world as a whole, there is still room for growth, and I believe that we ourselves can still grow.

-As for the Can you also tell us how you came to introduce " My Site AI Translation Premium"?

Mr. Matsuoka: In order to achieve multilingual support, we first researched various translation services. We compared several major services and weighed the benefits and costs of each. It would not be practical for the club to support all languages, so in the initial stage, we focused on the major languages and introduced them on a trial basis. We also took a cue from other sports clubs, especially those in the J-League, which were actively promoting multilingualization. We sought the best form for the clubs by developing the system in stages while focusing on cost and practicality.

-Thank you very much for your support. Have you seen any tangible results since implementing " My Site AI Translation Premium"?

Mr. Matsuoka: Whenever we have an event or match overseas, we instantly see an increase in the number of views from the local area, and we also see an increase in overseas followers and comments in foreign languages on SNS. I believe this is a synergistic effect of the multilingualization of the official website and SNS, which has made them more accessible to local fans.

-Thank you. Thank you very much. Are there any other challenges you feel you are facing in terms of multilingual support?

Improving the accuracy of translation is an area we are always conscious of. Through past experiences and interactions with fans, we consider the Japanese text to be translated more accurately and naturally. We know that there are many areas where simple machine translation is difficult, but My Site AI Translation Premium, which has a dictionary function, translates our Japanese well in this regard.

-Thank you very much. We have a system of checking by our translation staff, so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

-Thank you. Next, I would like to ask you about rebranding.

Mr. Matsuoka: The SV League is a new league that aims to become the world's premier volleyball league, and clubs that agree with this goal have gathered together. As a member of this league, we needed to focus on both global and local (glocal) aspects. In addition, the name "Panthers" had been used by other clubs in Japan and overseas, so it had lost its uniqueness.

-That's right. Certainly, we will be able to find other teams when we search.

Mr. Matsuoka: The name "Panthers" can also be found on American football teams ( NFL) and ice hockey teams in the United States. Furthermore, as we value the local community and aim to go global, we needed a new name that would represent our wider and deeper roots in the local community. That is why we chose "Osaka" and removed the corporate name.

There are hundreds of candidates for the new team name!

- We are not. How did you go about selecting a new club name?

Mr. Matsuoka: In deciding on the new club name, we interviewed not only the club management staff, but also the players, coaches, and some alumni players. We narrowed down the list to several hundred candidates, taking into consideration not only the desire for the club, but also trademarks, ease of pronunciation, and other factors. In the end, we all agreed on a name, which was adopted, and the players are now confident in their new name.

-That was a huge number of candidates. That was a great number of candidates. Does the word "Brutheon" have a special meaning as well?

Mr. Matsuoka: We decided on " BLUTEON," which means " Blue to Eon " (eternal blue), based on the team color that continues from the Panthers and the desire to be a sustainable volleyball club that connects the world, and "Osaka Bluteon" based on our wish to continue to aim for broad regional coexistence.

-I 'm even more attached to it when I hear the origin of the name. I think it is a very great club name.

Mr. Matsuoka: Thank you very much.

-Thanks for your time. Finally, what are your club's goals for the future?

Mr. Matsuoka: We are not only aiming to be "number one," but also to be the one and only, the "only one. We want to be a club that is special not only to our local fans, but also to fans around the world. To achieve this, we would like to continue to grow together with our players, staff, and fans.

-And what are your goals for the future of the club? That is a wonderful vision. I would very much like to be able to help in any way I can.

I look forward to seeing Osaka Bruteon's continued success in the future. Thank you very much for your time today.

Mr. Matsuoka: Thank you very much for your time. I hope you will continue to look forward to the club's activities in the future.

The club was established on April1, 2022 to make sports a sustainable existence, and is involved in the strengthening, management, and entertainment of the Osaka Bulteon, Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights (rugby), and Gamba Osaka (soccer). The company is also entrusted with the management of the Panasonic Baseball Club and the Panasonic Women's Track & Field Club to strengthen their teams.

Image courtesy of Osaka Bruteon