Traditionally, parents who have purchasing power have always been the main target audience for mobile providers in South Korea, until recently when companies began making commercials filmed from the perspective of children, some of which have gone viral since their release. (Image: KT)
SEOUL, Jun. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean telecom providers are concentrating on children in their latest commercials, a new marketing focus that differs from strategies employed in the past.
Traditionally, parents who have purchasing power have always been the main target audience for mobile providers in South Korea, until recently when companies began making commercials filmed from the perspective of children, some of which have gone viral since their release.
KT’s commercial for the LINE Friends Smartphone, which was released in the run-up to this year’s Children’s Day, was met with a warm reception, garnering more than four million views on YouTube with a story revolving around a relationship between third grade elementary school students Chorong and Taeho, emblematic of a marked shift in its target audience.
In contrast, the commercial for the same model last year focused on a GPS feature that sends the current location of children to their parents.
Choi Sung-muk, a section chief of the public relations team at KT, said, “Instead of appealing to adults, we are recognizing and treating children with respect as they are potential customers and represent an investment in the future.
“We mainly focused on YouTube, which children like to watch. We thought just explaining how long batteries last to the younger generation was not going to work,” Choi added.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koerabizwire.com)
