Look Back WordCamp Asia 2025

Team Vektor, Inc.'s Involvement in WordCamp Asia

Look Back WordCamp Asia 2025

Thoughts on Exhibiting a Sponsor Booth

Hello everyone, this is Ishikawa from Vektor.

Despite choosing the smallest sponsor package,
we were finally able to exhibit a booth at a flagship WordCamp as Vektor, Inc. on our own.

I would like to share our thoughts and experiences leading up to this moment.

First of all, this was the first time Vektor, Inc. exhibited a booth on its own. The reason I emphasize “on our own” is that, at WordCamp Asia 2023, we were able to participate by tagging along with mgn Inc., led by Mr. Ogushi, when they had their sponsor booth.

About the Sponsor Booth | Look Back WordCamp Asia 2023

This time, we advertised by piggybacking on the sponsor booth put out by mgn Co., Ltd.Since the booth was a great success, I would like to share some knowledge about it.

Look Back WordCamp Asia 2023

It has been a long journey to get here.

Back in 2012, when I released BizVektor, a general-purpose WordPress theme for business websites with mobile compatibility, it became a huge hit in the Japanese market. Around that time, Mr. Koga, the CEO of DigitalCube Co. Ltd., who had been offering WordPress-related services even before that, encouraged me to expand overseas.

DigitalCube Co. Ltd. had already started exhibiting sponsor booths for its services, AMIMOTO and Shifter, at WordCamp US and WordCamp Europe around 2015, as part of its international expansion. Inspired by their efforts, I attended WordCamp Europe 2019 for the first time to observe and learn.

The following year, I planned to promote our products by sharing a booth with mgn Inc. at WordCamp Asia 2020, which was set to be the first-ever WordCamp in Asia. Unfortunately, just a week before the event, it was postponed due to COVID-19.

Finally, after the pandemic settled down, WordCamp Asia 2023 was held. mgn Inc. set up a booth under the name “Theme Park,” and I was able to promote VK Filter Search, a plugin by Vektor, Inc., as part of their booth. Additionally, I had the opportunity to speak as a session speaker, marking our first real step toward international expansion.

For WordCamp Asia 2024, we initially planned to exhibit a sponsor booth independently as Vektor, Inc. However, the lowest sponsorship package was announced at $2,500, which was more expensive than in previous years and beyond our budget. As a result, we decided to forgo it and instead made a last-minute decision to exhibit at WordCamp Malaysia 2023.

Ultimately, I attended WordCamp Asia 2024 as a general participant—neither a sponsor nor a speaker. This left me feeling incredibly unfulfilled, and it was disappointing to see that no Japanese companies had sponsored the event.

Then came WordCamp Asia 2025.

This time, the lowest sponsorship package was still $2,500, and considering that WordCamp Asia 2023 and WordCamp Malaysia 2023 had virtually no impact on sales, I was unsure whether to sponsor this time.

However, I ultimately decided to go for it for the following reasons.

I wanted to showcase Japan’s presence.

Asserting Presence

Many talented Japanese individuals contribute to WordCamp Asia as organizers and volunteers. Their efforts are so significant that I can confidently say WordCamp Asia wouldn’t be the same without them—they play a crucial role and make their presence felt.

However, despite this strong involvement, the absence of sponsorship from Japan feels disheartening. In recent years, Japan’s influence in business has been gradually declining. So, in the WordPress industry, if there’s anyone who should step up as a sponsor to showcase Japan’s presence internationally, it has to be us.

Vektor is a small company, and even sponsoring at the lowest tier is a big stretch for us. But I wanted to make a statement—that Japan has companies striving in the WordPress space, too.

Contribution to the Community

Contribution

From a direct revenue perspective, it is extremely difficult to recoup the sponsorship costs through immediate sales.

However, having exhibited sponsor booths at both domestic and international WordCamps for over a decade, I take pride in the knowledge and experience we’ve gained in promoting our brand and creating an engaging booth experience.

By leveraging this expertise, we believed we could contribute to both increasing brand awareness and enhancing the overall atmosphere of the event. That’s why we decided to sponsor this time.

Do It When I Can

Don’t miss the chance

Sponsoring a Flagship WordCamp under our own brand had been a long-standing goal, so we decided to push ourselves and make it happen while we had the chance.

After all, in today’s world, if you don’t seize opportunities when you can, there’s no guarantee there will be a next time.

In fact, COVID-19 forced events to be canceled, leaving us uncertain about when they could be held again. And even now, the community is…

oh, looks like someone’s here…

Author Profile

Hidekazu Ishikawa
Hidekazu Ishikawa

Vektor,Inc. Founder CEO

Developed the Lightning and X-T9 themes, along with several plugins.
WordCamp Asia 2023 Speaker (LT)
Has spoken at numerous WordCamps in Japan.
Lately, I’ve been focused on management tasks and haven’t had much time to write code.

Hobbies: SUP / Bass / Running / Shogi

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