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April 2008 - Strategy Magazine
Biz

LG Canada: Global stylesetters

by Carey Toane
page 14

Life has been good for LG Canada lately. In Q3 of last year, seven years after arriving in Canada, brand awareness for the South Korean manufacturer of glossy red steam washers, sleek HD LCD televisions, condo-friendly fridges and status-symbol cellphones jumped to 40% from 27% the year before. This jump (compared to three points in the U.S.) can be largely attributed to new president and CEO William Cho, who immediately set about shifting the subsidiary's focus from manufacturing and sales to marketing after he joined in January 2006.

With 21 years' experience at LG in Europe and the U.S. under his belt, Cho wants to make LG Canada's number one electronics company by 2010. To that end, he has set ambitious annual growth targets of 30% and a revenue target of $1.1 billion for 2008, up from $900 million in 2007.

Big carrots call for big sticks, and Cho, who received a global LG Man of the Year award for driving six-fold growth in appliances over two years in Germany, wields an integrated marketing approach that takes its lead from consumer insights. To realize his vision, he wooed VP marketing Andrew Barrett from JWT in October 2006. Barrett, who brings local experience from Molson and P&G, has since grown the marketing team from nine to 16, and will add another nine by the end of the year.

Their signature play is eye-catching visibility via unique events, mass advertising and web initiatives as well as marketplace ubiquity, as they leverage their products' stylish design and energy efficiency in retail partners' efforts. Programs catering global campaigns to local markets run across every consumer touchpoint. "Prior to a year and a half ago, we would have bits of marketing here and there, none of which looked the same," says Barrett.

And it happened fast. Four weeks after joining LG, Barrett launched the Chocolate phone in Canada, "our first attempt to reorient the whole company's approach on marketing." In the process, LG Canada blazed a trail on the branding front for LG global.

The starting point for Chocolate was an insight into consumer behaviour, namely the "Bragging Bob" type who needs to have the it-phone, whether or not he uses its advanced features - an attitude also applicable to his female counterpart, "Social Sally." This led to a new positioning for LG as the brand for "style-conscious Canadians fascinated by technology," which in turn suggested a natural messaging link with the world of fashion.

The campaign began with a buzz-building exercise in bars and restaurants in Toronto to identify brand ambassadors, who received invitations to the product launch, a fashion show at the Windsor Arms hotel. Post-show, the same nightspots were dominated with Chocolate materials created by LG AOR Y&R's Toronto office, reinforcing the LG buzz brought back by the select few. The initial launch was followed by three more PR-worthy events, including a runway show at Whistler during the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival in April 2007, and shows in nightclubs in Toronto and Montreal. Some attendees were flown in after winning an online contest at Lg.ca.

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