To successfully enter the Korean market, one must understand Korean consumers. Also, for those Korean startups and companies looking to expand to the global market, one must understand the international global consumer. Korean and global consumers have in common that they respond better to advertisements from brands they know and trust. Therefore it is essential to look into marketing companies in Korea to make sure your brand is represented correctly and improve positivity.
Nearly 100% of Korean households have Internet, and over 95% of Koreans have a smartphone. Therefore there is a lot of competition among digital marketing companies in Korea. Over 100 advertising and marketing companies in Korea specialize in internet/digital marketing. In addition, internet marketing in Korea is one of the best ways to reach Korean consumers. With Internet marketing strategies like Naver/Google SEO, social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and content marketing, your business will have a hard time taking off in Korea.
The good news is that there are great advertising and marketing agencies in Korea that deliver valuable content to consumers not only in Korea but around the world. As you will notice, many of these companies are affiliates of major Korean corporations, but we also have an article on marketing startups in Korea on the rise. So check that article out as well.
The rankings were comprised by the Seoulz staff and are based on four factors:
Market Cap: $2.2 billion
Korean advertising agency INNOCEAN Worldwide is the advertising/global marketing unit of Hyundai Motor Group. They have created innovative advertisement videos for Hyundai, which have gotten over 200 million views on YouTube. Their headquarters are in Seoul, but they have branches in Germany, India, New Delhi, Spain, and Mexico. In addition, INNOCEAN has a U.S. affiliate called David & Goliath (D&G), whose clients include Chicken of the Sea, Universal Studios, HBO, and Jack in the Box, just to name a few.
Innocean Worldwide has opened offices in Singapore and Indonesia to target the Asia-Pacific market. These offices will be crucial in penetrating Southeast Asian markets like the Philippines and Vietnam.
Market Cap: $1.1 billion
Galaxia SM is a sports marketing/advertising agency in Korea. They are the largest sports marketing company in Korea with some SM Entertainment holdings. They are focused on merging sports with entertainment which they call “sportainment”. Galaxia SM manages and consults many famous Korean athletes, including MLB star Choo Shin-Soo. They sponsor global sports events and sell sports merchandise. Therefore, they are not just a sports marketing company but also an advertising agency that does events, exhibitions, broadcasting program production, and digital content marketing.
“We expect to develop explosive and exciting new content across various platforms and garner exposure to new areas through the combined expertise of our two companies. We will create added value by extending our scope to events and merchandising, and we will make a great effort to promote the national interest by spreading sportainment via the Korean Wave to the global market,” said CEO of Galaxia SM Shim Woo-taek.
Korean advertising agency HS Ad is the affiliate of LG Group. They focus on creative concept development, mobile advertising, brand marketing, and event space design. HS Ad constantly publishes company newsletters and has held the University Advertising Awards since 1988. Therefore, they focus mainly on the Korean market and are a great advertising company for those looking to enter the Korean market.
Korean advertising company INNORED has exported content to over 50 countries over the past few years. Consumers from over 90 countries watched Innored’s ads. They provide social media marketing, digital movie creation, and consulting solutions for the Korean market. In addition, they are constantly using the latest cutting-edge technology in their services. These include a log analysis program that embeds code on websites and blogs to analyze post data. Another is a Youtube-linked video diffusion network solution that enables real-time video analytics. Furthermore, as of 2018, over 350 YouTube video campaigns by INNORED recorded 400 million views worldwide.
Comma Entertainment is a creative marketing agency based in Seoul, South Korea. They provide a one-stop, customized marketing strategy service for Korean and foreign companies. They focus on having consistent branding across all online and offline assets. Therefore they work with their client’s brand guidelines and needs. Comma Entertainment’s international marketing strategies consider each country’s culture, market saturation, and customer behaviors. They aim to maximize potential and increase the brand’s future value in new markets.
Comma Entertainment offers a wide mix of creative marketing, digital marketing, ATL marketing, BTL marketing, and content production. They have worked with global brands such as Samsung, HiteJinro, Jagermeister, SEBANG, and LG Fashion Mall, just to name a few. They have not only exported their content and marketing strategy to Southeast Asian countries but also the US, Russia, and the Middle East. Therefore they have a broad understanding of marketing not just in South Korea but around the world.
PostVisual is one of the few marketing companies in Korea that utilizes VR technology in its advertising. Their most significant success was with the Korean beauty brand Innisfree where they released a VR film that lets you go on a date with a famous Korean actor named Lee Min-Ho. They continue to create captivating and stimulating VR content for Korean brands. In addition, they constantly release a newsletter of their many upcoming projects. Their other Korean clients besides Innisfree include Daumkakao, Kyobo Life, SK telecom, and Korean startup Socar just to name a few.
Their most successful campaign was Nike Korea’s 2018 Air Max campaign. Consumers just need to visit the Nike website and create a personal avatar inspired by Korean street culture. Each avatar came with a random draw number. After they posted the avatar on Instagram with the hashtag AIRMAXLINE, they were in the drawing for a pair of Air Max Limited Editions.
“As we launched the campaign, we saw the intended results. Instagram feed without any noise. We strongly believe it was the authenticity of our targets that led this campaign to success,” said CCO of PostVisual Euna Seol.
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