HYOSUNG TNC

Hyosung Group, the global corporation and conglomerate based in South Korea recognized for advanced technologies, has led the world market via its major affiliated companies. Hyosung Group’s 50-year history has accompanied much of the country’s economic development. Due to its long history, Hyosung is not only familiar to older generations but also to Gen MZ, the leading consumer in the market, as Hyosung Group has rolled out various activities to engage the youth, notably Gen Z.

To create a refreshingly new brand marketing approach targeting Gen Z, Hyosung created the Brand Builder Program by recruiting university students as aspiring marketers and providing them with on-the-job training to develop marketing strategies and implement programs. Through the Brand Builder Program, student marketers could earn opportunities to participate in marketing and develop future talent. Through their activities, Hyosung Group has expected increased brand awareness and preference among Gen-Z consumers, and student marketers have aimed to improve the group’s image as youthful and active and increase its market impact using their breakthrough ideas targeting Gen-Z.

#Mission

Unlike other supporter programs, the Brand Builder Program limits the number of participants to only three: Kwon Gyu-bin, Shim Su-bin, and Jeong Ji-hye. They are invited to experience the actual jobs of brand marketers, such as ESG branding, digital marketing, and brand MD. These participants are also required to carry out monthly tasks. The brand builders’ tasks carried out during May included establishing a strategy to develop CEO branding, recruitment branding, and improving the image of Hyosung Group targeting Generation M.

Assigned to develop Hyosung’s CEO branding, Brand Builder Jeong Ji-hye began her task by defining CEO branding, also known as president identity (PI), and reviewing related case studies. She conducted market research on preferred or respected CEOs by Gen Z people around her. Based on research results, Jeong extracted ideal images of CEOs preferred by Gen Z and devised a strategy to complete the image via content supporting social media, patronage activities, and newsletters. Her performance on CEO branding has resulted in novel content and fresh perspectives viewed by Gen Z.

Assigned to develop Hyosung’s recruitment branding, Brand Builder Shim Su-bin studied examples that offered good recruitment branding strategies. She first differentiated the recruitment strategy for first-time applicants and applicants with previous job experiences. She established a recruitment branding strategy to promote hidden talents to apply for employment at Hyosung. She worked on how Gen Z applicants could obtain job search information in detail, completing her mission.

Brand Builder Kwon Gyu-bin was assigned to develop a strategy to improve the image of Hyosung Group, targeting Generation M. She first analyzed circumstances, followed by targets, extracted insights and problems, and proposed a solution, providing a massive amount of content. Kwon went to great lengths to analyze the image of Hyosung Group from various angles and proposed an IMC (integrated marketing communication) strategy reflecting the freshness of Gen Z consumers.

As described above, the three brand builders carry out individual missions monthly and three team missions during the given period. They also participated in brand marketing projects to experience on-the-job brand marketing. Their fresh and novel ideas have contributed to Hyosung Group’s brand marketing.

#Comment

We interviewed the three Brand Builders about their activities and personal comments. First, we asked how they felt about becoming one of Hyosung brand builders whose positions are available in a small cohort.  

 Kwon Gyu-bin: Since I participated in one of the projects at Hyosung before and had a great experience, I wanted to continue working with Hyosung. I got another chance to do it again and feel very pleased. So, the brand builder’s activities are very meaningful to me.

 Shim Su-bin: I was surprised that the number of the selected brand builders was far smaller than I had thought, and I became exceedingly happy to be chosen. Unlike other activities, I found the program very practical. I’m so glad I could build relationships with people on the job. Though not yet finished, I found this program highly satisfying.

 Jeong Ji-hye: I initially became a bit nervous when I thought of undertaking tasks that I wouldn’t do in school. Above all, I’m truly honored to have participated in the program open to only three candidates.

#Activities

Unlike other activities, the Hyosung Brand Builder Program offers an excellent benefit for marketing aspirants to experience on-the-job training. We asked the brand builders what they thought was the most memorable while experiencing the working environment.

 Kwon Gyu-bin: It was most memorable to build a strategy to improve the corporate image targeting Generation M. I regarded them as people in their mid- to-late 20s up to their early and mid-30s. It was tough for me because, in the past, I only worked on Gen Z or people in their early 20s, and had not yet experienced what’s like to be Generation M. So, I conducted research targeting them and extracted insights from them before applying the results to the plan. That’s what I did to overcome my challenge.

 Shim Su-bin: The first thing that comes to my mind as most memorable is my participation in planning the launch of a clothing brand targeting Gen Z. As a university student; it’s hard to plan everything, from choosing product categories to marketing and communication, so the experience became intensely memorable, especially after experiencing rare visits to places like Musinsa’s pop-up store and its sample room in Seongsu-dong, as well as getting feedback from the staff there.

 Jeong Ji-hye: Planning social media content to promote NFT Town was most impressive for me because it was challenging to plan content for digital tokens, a field unfamiliar with. Having completed the job, I felt I gained a lot of knowledge, which was rewarding. The experience was unique because I finally understood the prevailing notion that marketers must be experts in multiple fields.

We also asked the brand builders what they thought was the most challenging mission. All three brand builders picked the group task of planning the launch of a clothing brand targeting Gen Z as the most challenging one. Let us find out why.

 Kwon Gyu-bin: Planning the launch of a clothing brand for Gen Z was the most challenging task. The job was not simply to write a planning proposal but also to propose ideas that could be executed for real. We had a chance to make a presentation in front of the group’s marketing team, the new materials team, and the senior executive director. I can still vividly remember their feedback after the presentation. I stayed up all night to get the job done and found my experience priceless.

 Shim Su-bin: As Brand Builder Kwon Gyu-bin mentioned, I also found it challenging to plan the launch of a clothing brand out of all the tasks I worked on. Since none of us majored in fashion-related courses, we were limited in understanding of professional knowledge of eco-friendly clothing. Despite that, we overcame the challenge. I’m glad we finished the mission with high marks.

 Jeong Ji-hye: Likewise, I would also say the most challenging mission was planning the launch of an environment-friendly clothing brand. As Brand Builder Shim Su-bin mentioned, since none of us majored in fashion or apparel production, we lacked professional knowledge in that field, making the job more challenging. But we were able to gain new experiences we wouldn’t have had if not for this mission. The experience was highly enjoyable overall.

#Resolution

Finally, we asked them-as Hyosung brand builders and aspiring marketers, what kind of brand they wish to associate with Hyosung, what they plan to do in the remaining time, and what their resolutions are.

 Kwon Gyu-bin: From the brand builders’ activities and various experiences at Hyosung, I thought the corporation aimed to make a change and catapult ahead. So, I want to make Hyosung known to the general public and corporations that it does not rest on its laurels and is not afraid of changes made for the future. Brand builders can engage in meaningful activities by directly communicating with onsite employees. If we had worked together on activities based on many ideas until now, I would think more and make efforts to produce results in the remaining time. I hope our activities will make a good contribution to Hyosung Group!

 Shim Su-bin: My impression of Hyosung while working as a brand builder was that its corporate image was friendly and warm, and the company offered encouragement and support for the youth. So, I thought it would be better to position it to portray the image of a mature grown-up persona instead of changing to the image of the youth in one breath. I used to have a biased attitude that the company, with a 50-year history, was out of touch, but any such thought completely disappeared after joining as a brand builder. Like my own experience, I want to change all the biased attitudes toward Hyosung that my friends or peers may have. Studying in school and working as a Brand Builder in tandem was challenging. But after the semester, I plan to focus more on the brand builder’s activities and do a good job. I want to work hard and deliver good results to proceed to the second term of the Brand Builder Program so that many more university students like us can experience the program.

Gen MZ has become the largest consumer group in the market, changing the aspects of the market. Gen Z, notably, is known to have a flexible way of thinking and fresh ideas in planning businesses. The brand builders at Hyosung participating in onsite marketing projects are three Gen Z university students aspiring to become professional marketers. After seeing the brand builders’ great performances and exciting ideas presented via onsite tasks, we have high expectations for the results of their brilliant activities in the meantime. Like the aspiring marketers changed their impression and affinity toward Hyosung as brand builders, we look forward to seeing better awareness and appreciation for Hyosung among Gen Z consumers through their target-specific activities.

Hyosung Group includes affiliated companies that reflect global trends and exclusive technologies as follows: Hyosung Chemical practices concerns for the environment; Hyosung Heavy Industries prepares for great energy transition; Hyosung TNS Inc. ushers in the era of singularity, and Hyosung Advanced Materials develops multi-functional and multi-applicable materials. If Hyosung taps into the freshness and authenticity of young brand builders in a meaningful way, we trust that Hyosung will captivate the hearts and minds of Gen Z in due time.