Promotional material

South Korea: GREAT does gangnam style – April 2014

Published 16 April 2014

From 27 to 31 March, we ran our first ever GREAT Festival, the largest piece of consumer-facing public diplomacy we have undertaken in Korea. We transformed part of Gangnam – the high-fashion district made famous by Psy – into a showcase of modern GREAT Britain. On the basis of consumer demand, market opportunities and campaign plans for the coming year, our focus was Food & Drink, Fashion and Creativity.

The main aims of the GREAT Festival were to raise awareness of the wider campaign in Korea and support the growth of British businesses in-country.

In a perception study conducted in 2012, Koreans had a keen interest in the UK, with young people (18-25) in particular claiming actively to seek out information on the UK, British brands and culture. We were seen as leaders in creativity, reflected in the themes of November’s State Visit. The study also confirmed that many Koreans hold opinions based on outdated stereotypes or purely on more traditional heritage. The GREAT Festival was, in part, designed to challenge those stereotypes, presenting some of modern Britain’s strengths.

Working with local agencies, we secured the support of 47 British brands across the relevant sectors; in-kind sponsorship totalled £330,000. Fred Perry, Cath Kidston, The Body Shop, Lush, Toni & Guy and Accessorize displayed GREAT branding at their standalone stores and ran promotions for customers. Baracuta and Lavenham products were showcased in local multibrand stores.

21 cafes and restaurants served up tasty treats with a British theme under the Food is GREAT banner. Under Pubs are GREAT, and with support from John Smith’s and Beefeater gin, visitors relaxed in the Seoul sunshine with a British tipple. We even hosted a traditional British pub quiz in one of the bars.

The GREAT Festival drew more than 265,000 people, a 15% increase on the average number of visitors to this area of Gangnam in a 5 day period (including a weekend). All the participating stores and venues recorded significant increases in footfall compared to the same period on 2013. Accessorize alone noted a 15% sales increase. Several owners expressed keen interest in working under the GREAT banner at future events. Korean visitors posted universally positive comments on our social media channels: many said they hadn’t realised certain brands were British and were impressed by the diversity of our offer.

This wasn’t just about retail. JLR showed off their cutting edge vehicles with regular roadshows throughout the five-day event. Mini pulled in crowds with a simulator experience showcasing their latest model. Beefeater gin added to the atmosphere with daily marching band performances. And Paul Smith entertained with a catwalk parade on the tree-lined street. Visit Britain ran an information booth and their own promotions, adding over 1500 names to their database, thus increasing their direct marketing pool and the potential to increase the inward tourist numbers from Korea.

Snap-happy Koreans were encouraged to capture the moment at one of the photospots in the area, including the popular 3D wall, an installation that superimposed traditional London sights on to the Gangnam street scene. We ran a photo contest on our Facebook page, alongside regular quizzes and updates from the festival. The impact was clear: likes for our UKinKorea page increased by 64% and the number of people who saw our content increased by 192%. This creates a solid platform for wider communication of embassy and HMG priorities to an audience hungry for more. Our activity in 2014/15 is centred around food & drink, fashion and innovation: the GREAT Festival was an ideal launching vehicle.

The Festival generated significant press coverage, with articles and images in 125 outlets, including two of Korea’s largest newspapers, each with a circulation in excess of 1 million.

0.1 Comment

This landmark event struck the right balance between GREAT brand awareness, media buzz (social and offline) and support for British business. We recorded service deliveries, but the festival was about much more than that; it was about unprecedented brand exposure and launching the focused and specific GREAT campaigns for 2014/15.

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