Cheil Worldwide Korea suggests ‘R.E.A.L’ as the marketing keyword to move digital consumers

Cheil Worldwide has released a report on the lifestyle of Korean consumers, titled “Annual Consumer Report” and presented ‘R.E.A.L.’ as the marketing keyword for the year 2014.  

Based on the report, Cheil Worldwide has concluded that today’s consumers are living in a digital-driven world which has two contrasting values, uncertainty and indefinite potential. In a world where uncertainty and indefinite potential coexist, people are struggling to expose themselves. The age of unlimited competition, largely driven by digital, has forced people to develop their sense of existence more than ever before.

Therefore, Cheil Worldwide suggests ‘R.E.A.L.’ as the marketing keyword to move digital consumers who are keen to expose themselves. ‘R.E.A.L.’ is generated based on the changing attitude of Korean consumers, and it is a newly coined term by taking first letters from four marketing driving forces; Reality, Experience, Authenticity and Life ShareTM.

•        Reality: Consumers trust only what they see, therefore, power to entice them exists not in images but in true nature. A case in point is ‘showrooming’, a practice of examining merchandise in an offline store and then shopping online to find a lower price for the same item. In a nut shell, today’s brands need to realize the seeming-nonexistence in order to truly engage with consumers.

•        Experience: The customer experience is increasingly integrated across stores, websites, social media, mobile platforms, gaming and home shopping. Brands now need to induce consumers to see, touch and feel in proximity and the ultimate goal is to offer an experiential chance via different channels.

•        Authenticity: Brands should appeal to consumers, who are smarter than ever, with authenticity instead of ostentatious messages to satisfy consumers’ aspiration for genuineness. The ‘Water for Growth Project’ of Coway, a Korean water purifier brand, not only highlighted product benefits but also presented its authenticity by sharing parents’ concerns on their children’s health; based on the research findings that teenagers drink more soft drink than water, Coway teamed up with a junior high-school in Seoul to educate students the benefits of drinking water. After six months of drinking eight glasses of water each day, students experienced better health outcomes, such as an average of 20 cm3 body fat reduction and lower fatigue degree. By doing so, Coway could position as a care giver, not just a purifier brand, who tries to improve children’s health.

•        Life ShareTM: Advertising has to take place in consumers’ daily lives instead of their mind. Hence, it is now time to develop ways to expand the scope of competition through life share, not market share or mind share.

The marketing keyword suggested by Cheil reflects the evolving social and personal interests of Korean consumers. For example, the No.1 social interest in 1991 was domestic politics. However in 2001 and 2013, consumers have tended to focus on the economic side. Amongst top ten social and personal interests, the number of economy-related issues has grown constantly over the past two decades. (See the table on the next page; The cells highlighted in yellow indicate economy-related items.)

The reason why people are increasingly interested in economic issues, as opposed to ideological interests such as politics and inter-Korean matters, is economy has bigger impact on their sense of existence. Companies’ New Years advertising slogans have accordingly changed also; in 1991, they were largely about unification and the Korean people; while in 2013, most slogans were about their services.

Kenneth Cho, Head of Cheil DnA (Data & Analytics) Center, said, “Looking at the changes in consumers’ interests, we can see today’s digital world regards highly of direct experience and sense of existence. Simply being an ‘iconic’ brand does not mean you can win the hearts and minds of consumers. Practical experience, coupled with authenticity, is the best way to move your consumers.”