Branding Korea

By Mathias Specht

Especially when back in Europe, people often tell me that they want to ``explore Asia" on their next vacation, and they are usually referring to China, Japan or maybe Thailand. But hardly anyone seems to consider Korea.

True, the country at times gets lost in the unfortunate middle of the famous urbanity and ancient sites of Japan and the hot beaches and tropical pleasures of Thailand or Indonesia. Thinking that it has nothing to offer that's worth seeing however does not seem very accurate to me.

Instead, I would like to argue that the problem stems from Korea's relatively low brand value. Large companies like Samsung and LG seem to have noticed that too, at least they choose to market their successful consumer electronic product lines as ``global" rather than Korean overseas. In contrast to this, Japanese manufacturers have, over a long time, emphasized their country of origin, turning the ``made in Japan" brand into a sign of quality.

Recent branding efforts by the Korean government have mainly focused on the promotion of the country slogan. Unfortunately, these mottos have not only changed repeatedly (``Dynamic", then ``Sparkling", now ``Be Inspired"), hereby removing necessary consistency from enforcement in consumers' minds, they at best convey a vague message about Korea.

Successful branding however is about more than catch-phrases; it is strategy that combines a meaningful story with effective ways of delivering it.

What then could be the pillars of such a strategy in the case of Korea?

At the risk of using an unpopular example, consider the ``made in Japan" concept once more. The global perception of Japan and its products has improved tremendously since the first motorcycles were exported to the USA.

This has been achieved through very effective ``info-placement," not only by the Japanese government, but also via companies actively presenting their latest inventions to the world and heavily publicizing their steadily increasing quality standards.

But such campaigns alone would not have been sufficient. They needed to be backed up by a sound underlying value strategy. That is, while Japanese firms made sure American consumers knew about quality improvements, their vehicles did ``indeed" advance notably.

In the case of Korea, a similar storyline could rather convincingly (and truthfully) be built around its recent economic achievements, which are nothing short of breathtaking.

One only has to consider the degree of industrialization attained over the last few decades and the leading positions held in shipbuilding, semiconductor manufacturing, and consumer electronics.

But not only the facts speak in favor of Korea, the nature of the story does as well. It is uplifting and emotionally-laden. A true rags-to-riches tale, where most people instinctively root for the underdog fighting its way up against all odds and in the shadow of neighboring nations that are economic powerhouses (Japan) or veritable giants (China).

The info-placement campaigns that would carry this message could be shouldered by the government and private sector together; publicizing technological innovations and actively opening themselves to the international press by offering insights into facilities or unique management strategies. Such placements clearly reach beyond mere commercials/catch-phrases and can rightly be considered part of the country's PR.

While these are just a few ideas to get started, let me conclude by adding that Korea not only has a reason to rethink its current branding approach in the light of obvious economic benefits, but also because it provides an opportunity to share some of the things that make this country unique and a place to be proud of- as a Korean just as much as a foreigner living here.

The writer is an MBA graduate of Yonsei University and founder of the Korean company Stelence International. He is currently writing a book about Korea and can be reached at mathias@stelence.com.