Monday, December 08, 2008

Changing incorrect perceptions

Ohm Kyong-sop, the "vice president for tourism technology at the Korea Tourism Organization,"
has something to say about "Korea Sparkling":
These days, there has been much discussion on the applicability of Korea's national tourism branding slogan, as experts in brand and promotional marketing have been open to share their praise and criticism of the current national brand campaign.

Accordingly, a controversy has ignited over the appropriateness of the tourism branding slogan, "Korea, Sparkling,'' made public last year. As some of the opinions in question are based on misinformation that might mislead some readers, it is helpful to revisit the methodology used to develop Korea's tourism brand and its meaning and symbolism.
Ah, yes, the critics are 'misleading' the readers, and their incorrect perceptions must be changed. After explaining how the slogan was developed, we're told that
The goal of the slogan is to transform the image of Korea from a characterless, unknown and featureless country to a "sparkling'' and attractive tourism destination in the minds of international visitors. Furthermore, this new image can serve as a source of inspiration and pride for Korean citizens.
Well, you can't say that government officials sticking their fingers in their ears and ignoring the criticisms and suggestions of foreigners, the very people they're trying to target with their branding campaign, is unpredictable. I just hope David Kilburn and David Mason aren't visited by officials from the National Intelligence Service.

6 comments:

King Baeksu said...

I really hope KTO are paying royalties to these folks:

http://image.auction.co.kr/itemimage/01/94/d2/0194d2c00.jpg

Roboseyo said...

gah! every time I see the words correct and perception beside each other, I turn my annoyance threshhold settings on high.

--rant that I deleted after I typed it --

yah. something something circle jerk, something something korean promotion for koreans, not for foreigners, something something head up their own somethings.

meh.

Charles Montgomery said...

Just outstandingly stupid, and why Korean international marketing is so poor.

If your "brand" is not being "perceived correctly" that is a problem with the construction of the brand, not with the interpretation or perception. The whole point of creating a proper brand is to create one that leads to "proper" interpretation.

To blame "critics" is to completely misunderstand the role of branding.

Brian said...

Well, if nobody else is going to say it, I will . . .

You just don't understand Korean culture.





As an aside, I see "Matt" has been much more cynical lately. Did you have a bad Halloween or something?

matt said...

Scott,
That package would be much improved with a unification flag on it.

Roboseyo,
'gah!' indeed. Can't help but remember the tale told in this Seoul Podcast (from 18:00 to 35:00) about the Seoul City government's attempts to correct the Lonely Planet's incorrect perceptions of Seoul.

rwellor,
Agreed, and also, what Brian said.

Brian,
Nah, I'm as cheerfully cynical as ever, it's just that I usually write much longer posts and in those the cynicism is spread more thinly.

Why the "quotation" "marks" btw?

Brian said...

I feel uncomfortable calling people by their first name if I don't know them. So I don't think I've ever said "Robert wrote . . ." just "The Marmot's Hole said . . .."