KOREAN MARKETING SERVICES

Panasonic had developed a new website and to make it more user-friendly, they licensed the character Woody Woodpecker to guide people through the site. Scheduling a huge rollout of their site focusing on Woody as the main theme, they suddenly had to pull it.

The reason?

The slogan they had chosen to promote the site was "Touch Woody--The Internet Pecker."

Luckily, a week before the media blitz was about to begin, an American staffer informed the executives at Panasonic about American slang and how Americans would interpret the slogan.

It’s every company’s nightmare. An expensive global marketing campaign fizzles before it even begins. But it happens, and sometimes companies have to learn the hard way. Just ask Panasonic.

But sometimes there isn't anyone there to tell a company about the local impact of their global marketing. And sadly, they are left completely clueless as to why their global marketing efforts are not bringing them customers.

Especially when marketing to a country like South Korea.

The Korean Market is Awash with Opportunities…and Perils

With a free trade agreement signed between the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the opportunity for American companies to gain market share is huge with more and more Korean and American companies doing business together. But where do you start the marketing process?

Knowledge is Power

Your company's successful marketing begins with knowing your target market and finding the right team to support you in the Korean market. This is why we take you step by step through the process of deciphering the Korean market.

We do this by providing any one of the following services:

Korean Market Research
Knowing your market is paramount to your business success. Queen of Seoul helps you identify new markets and buyers of your products and services. If you are a B2B firm, QOS identifies prospective companies that want to purchase your products or services. But we don’t stop there. We go one step further by contacting them to qualify their interest and even set up appointments for you to meet with them while on business trips to Korea.

Korean Sourcing Services
Looking to find strategic partners in Korea? We identify strategic partners to produce or assemble products and assist in planning product launches. We can also identify professional service providers or refer you to Korean sources that can help you.

Trade Show Services
Trade shows are one of the best ways to get your product exposure in the Korean market. But what do you do there? Don’t just simply rely on your business partner to represent your company and product. With us by your side, you can be sure that your message will be conveyed to the target audience clearly and effectively. We can help you maximize your trade show marketing activities. We can do everything from representing you on the floor, making a list of potential partners or buyers before the show so you don’t waste your time with companies that are not really interested, facilitating deals with prospects, interpretation services, and more. For more information regarding the full range of Korean trade show services we offer, please contact us.

In addition to equipping you with the knowledge to navigate the Korean market, we safeguard your brand by…

Making Sure Your Marketing Message is Understood Loud and Clear & Most Importantly Converts to Sales

The biggest danger every company deals with when entering a new market is making the wrong impression on prospective buyers. This can destroy the brand you worked so hard to create.

Promoting Your Company; Protecting Your Brand

We prevent this from happening by completely localizing your business and marketing collateral. Unlike a translation agency, we don’t outsource marketing collateral to freelancers of unknown quality or to translators who know nothing about marketing. We work with language professionals and marketing consultants to ensure that every aspect of your company’s marketing collateral is consistent and presents the image you want it to present.

This is the Queen of Seoul global competitive advantage™. With Queen of Seoul on your side, you won’t have to worry about a "Touch Woody" incident in Korea.

We can help you with any of the following:

Web site analysis and translation/localization/copywriting
Your web site is the window to your business and possibly the first thing Koreans will see. The impression your web site makes on your Korean audience is paramount. We go through a thorough analysis of your site looking for visual cues that might be displeasing to a Korean audience but might have worked great for an American audience (an example of this would be logos and names in red, which are taboo in Korea, but represent authority to American audiences). After this, we will localize your site into Korean with maximum effort made to keep your marketing message consistent and appealing to its intended Korean audience. If necessary, we can re-write sections of the site where a translation will not be effective.

Marketing Collateral Translation/Localization/Copywriting
As with web sites, we can take care of any marketing material your company uses to promote itself in Korea. This can include design as well as translation/localization or in some cases re-writing the copy to suit Korean tastes. We can do this for your brochures, sales packages, and more.

Localization of your business cards
Business cards play a major role in how Koreans do business. If you travel to Korea, a well-done business card can make a favorable impression on Koreans. We will analyze your business card and make a suitable Korean version that will impress the people you meet in Korea. One executive even remarked that our business cards are what smoothed the way for a successful business trip to Korea. They are that important.

Business Communication Translation
We can also take care of your business-related documents, including e-mails and letters you send. Many companies "think" that their business partners understand written English just fine. But this is not the case. They might have an easier time to understand written English since they can take their time to digest the written words themselves, however, many times these written documents create even more miscommunication than verbal communication since they are not looking at your face. The importance of these translations is not to be underestimated. We don’t just translate whatever is written but, if necessary, go one step further and consult with the writer of the document or e-mail if we believe the content might offend the Korean reader. We will even contact the Korean writer if we believe the communications will cause confusion for you. Miscommunications in e-mail exchanges have complicated many relations and end up costing companies a great deal of time and money in the end.

Let Queen of Seoul help you navigate the waters of the Korean market. Contact us for more details about all the services we offer.