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| The packaging of "Star Friends Wine Collection" designed by KB Financial Group. Courtesy of KB Financial Group |
By Yi Whan-woo
KB Financial Group said Monday it won an internationally-renowned design award for the packaging design of a special set of wines that are produced in its project aimed at supporting small businesses in Korea's rural areas.
The nation's largest banking group said the "Star Friends Wine Collection" won in the brands and communication design category of the Red Dot Design Award in Germany.
The wine set consists of a red wine and a white wine, each featuring one of the five animated cartoon characters created by KB Financial Group, called "Star Friends," on its label.
Each wine is contained in a cylindrical container, which is also designed by KB Financial Group.
The wines are produced by small, rural wineries that purchase grapes from rural grape farms.
KB Financial Group buys the wines exclusively for marketing purposes.
The company came up with the local wine project to boost sales of domestically-produced wines and contribute to balanced regional development.
"In that regard, winning the prize is meaningful as it is the fruit of work that began with a good cause," the company said in a press release.
"We'll capitalize on the award as an occasion to enhance our design capability and to offer a variety of experiences under the group brand for customers in banking and other parts of daily life," it added.
The banking group developed "Star Friends" in 2021 to increase customer engagement through marketing that appeals to people's emotions.
Since then, it has sought to use "Star Friends" to spur partnerships with non-banking sectors in the midst of the rapidly-changing business environment, in which boundaries are blurring between financial firms and other businesses.
Red Dot Design Award is divided into three main categories: product design, brands and communication design and design concept.
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