Shinee hoodies… Nichkhun events etc.. Idols-endorsed brands have high recognition levels.
When one thinks about the streets of Seoul Myungdong, around each corner, there’s one cosmestics store, with the likes of Missha, The Face Shop, Tony Moly, Etude, Innisfree, Nature Republic etc. Furthermore, there will, without fail, be huge photos of Hallyu stars hung outside the stores. These tactics are aimed at catching the attention of tourists from China, Japan and other South Asian countries who have found this place. In reality, it is not difficult to spot tourists who have come out from the stores after purchasing the goods, and who then go on to take pictures beside the celebrity bromides of these Hallyu stores.
At the center of such an all-conquering cosmestics industry is the Hallyu marketing attack, which has proliferated so rapidly that it has spread to the apparel industry. As can be seen through “Shinee hoodies”, “Photo Events with Nichkhun” etc, apparel businesses have chosen idol stars who are leading the Hallyu wave as their models, or created events with these stars in their full-scale market attack.
On September 14th, casual brands such as Lacoste, Maypole, Edwin etc have jumped on the bandwagon together with outdoor brands, resulting in a situation of competitive Hallyu star marketing. Even if they do not create large-scale TV commercials etc, they have made full use of the Hallyu stars by devising unique strategies to raise their brand recognition.
In September, Lacoste has, for the first time, concluded a friendship contract with male idol group TVXQ, who are Hallyu stars. Although a friendship contract means that TVXQ will not be having activities as official models for Lacoste commercials, they will be doing photoshoots or appearing in media programmes while wearing apparels from the brand, or they may use the apparels frequently in their usual lives. This will result in more exposure of the brand to the public.
By signing such a friendship contract with TVXQ, Lacoste, which has its parent company in France, has exhibited its intention of setting its sights on the Asian market by riding on the Hallyu fever. In reality, on September 10th, the members of TVXQ appeared at the Lacoste 2012 SS Collection which took place in New York, triggering strong after-effects as the brand’s honorary ambassadors. Through this 3-month contract concluded with TVXQ, even without any direct commercial-shooting activities, Lacoste is still able to reach out to local and overseas tourists, exposing their brand to these consumers.
Casual apparel brands Maypole and Edwin have also adopted similar strategies. Maypole has created characters of popular idol group Shinee and also printed “Shinee Art Week T-shirt”, “Shinee Hoodies” with their autographs. The “Shinee T-shirts” mentioned earlier were sold out within just 1 week, creating a big hit. Other contemporaneous products like hoodies were also put on sale. At that time, if one bought the T-shirts, one would be able to obtain huge bromides. The company revealed that within Korea and in South Asia which is mesmerized Hallyu, the inquiries from youths were never-ending.
Edwin has an indirect marketing strategy of using Hallyu star models. From September 9th, for a month, Edwin will be uploading photos of Nichkhun of popular idol group 2PM with female idols Miss A on its homepage. It is also in the midst of a campaign where products will be given out. Edwin is only using the images of Hallyu stars, yet this is a strategy which is able to raise awareness of its brand amongst the younger consumers ranging from the teens to those in their 20s.
Industry experts commented, “Even without expensive commercials, with the full-use of Hallyu stars, brand recognition effects can be maximized. Hallyu marketing is becoming a trend amongst consumers of cosmetics, apparels etc.”
Source: hankook newsTranslated by: CTVXQstaff_mug_ping @ ContinueTVXQ.com
Distributed by: CTVXQstaff_mug_ping @ ContinueTVXQ.com
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