SK Telecom Steals World Cup and PMAA Gran Prix
Mobile telecommunications provider SK Telecom and its agency TBWA-Korea won top honors at the Promotion Marketing Awards of Asia announced in Singapore in July. The PMAA competition serves as the Asian qualifier for the Marketing Agencies Association’s annual Globes Awards program.
Despite the drag of political, economic and health conditions (SARS) that impacted marketing budgets worldwide and especially in Asia, organizers of the Asian PMAA program increased Asian participation in the program by more than 25%. For the first time ever, the PMAA received entries from 12 of the 14 Asian countries, with work coming from as far away as Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The resounding feeling among the judges was that Asia is growing in sophistication when it comes to promotion marketing.
“Asia carries a number of markets which have been steadily evolving in consumer and client acceptance the last three or so years. It is rewarding to see how many campaigns are now seamlessly working across countries and cultures throughout Asia,” says Mike Da Silva, PMAA director and IEVP for Asia South for Marketing Agencies Association Worldwide.
Gran Prix Winner — SK Telecom, Korea
SK Telecom recruited, educated and encouraged millions of Korean soccer fans to get out into the streets to unite and support the Korean team during the FIFA World Cup soccer finals held in Korea last year. While Korea Telecom, not its competitor SK Telecom, was Korea’s official mobile phone sponsor of FIFA, Korean consumers and soccer fans did not seem to notice the difference. Instead, SK Telecom showed the marketing world that shelling out the cash for a sponsorship may be one way to brand your product or service, but capturing the attention of your target audience requires a lot more marketing savvy and effort than simply writing a check.
SK’s goal was to teach Koreans how to support their national team during World Cup 2002. This required an educational process aimed at reaching as many people as possible using a three-tiered approach. First, SK would recruit Koreans to become Red Devils team-builders; next, the brand would teach them how to support the Reds and unify them and the nation via their support for the team. Finally, the brand would use a small group of “official” team supporters to create a national “event” that would capture consumer attention nationwide.
Fans learned team cheers and got revved up at team-building events held in public places around the country. Official “support” and “well wish” ceremonies, along with “Win Korea!” concerts, parties, parades and exhibition matches along city streets rounded out the program. The brand also created virtual “Red Stadiums” outside official venues and displayed the matches on huge TV screens so those without tickets didn’t miss out. Fans inside the stadiums were encouraged to wear red shirts.
According to Da Silva, this program was one of many that stood out among the clutter in this year’s Asian competition. The promotion deflected consumer attention away from the official sponsor, and the brand achieved its goal by focusing on Koreans as supporters of the national team instead of focusing on the team itself (again, SK Telecom was not an official sponsor). The program ultimately generated millions of impressions for the mobile phone provider and helped get a whopping seven million Koreans out to the streets to celebrate after the semi-finals victory against Germany. Score!
PMAA Winners & Finalists
BEST MULTI-DISCIPLINED PROMOTION CAMPAIGN
GOLD
Bates/141, Singapore “A Christmas Wrap for Heineken”
SILVER
TBWA, Korea “Be the Reds”
BRONZE
Team-Marketing Development & Services, Taiwan “China Trust Bank”
BEST USE OF ADVERTISING
GOLD
TBWA, Korea “Be the Reds”
SILVER
Bates, Singapore “A Christmas Wrap for Heineken”
BRONZE
Tequila, Singapore “Virgin Mobile April Fool’s Ad”
BEST USE OF DIRECT MARKETING
GOLD
141 Worldwide, Singapore “Nokia 7210. Provoking the Senses”
SILVER
Tequila, Singapore “ESPN Star Sports. The Whip”
BRONZE
Tequila, Singapore “Palm Tungsten Launch”
BEST USE OF INNOVATIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
GOLD
TBWA, Korea “Be the Reds”
SILVER
Bates/141, Singapore “A Christmas Wrap for Heineken”
BRONZE
Bates Yomiko, Japan “Lucky Strike. Culture Creature Collaboration”
BEST USE OF NEW MEDIA
GOLD
Virtual Marketing, India “Axeffect.com Web site”
SILVER
AKQA, Singapore “OCBC Financial Learning Games”
BRONZE
Field Force Euro RSCG, China “Pedal Power — Kodak Rural Market Sampling Program”
BEST EFFECTIVE LONG-TERM PROMOTION MARKETING CAMPAIGN
GOLD
MTV, India “Colgate Fresh Energy Gel & MTV VJ Hunt”
SILVER
Ogilvy & Mather Action, Singapore “Pan-West — We Serve You All Round”
BEST CAMPAIGN GENERATING BRAND AWARENESS AND TRIAL
GOLD
TBWA, Korea “Be the Reds”
SILVER
Cheil Communications, Korea Samsung Electronics “Anycall On-site Promotion Standby Cue”
BRONZE
Hindustan Lever, India “Bano Toonstar with Scooby Doo Max”
BEST FMCG CAMPAIGN GENERATING BRAND VOLUME
SILVER
Tequila, Singapore “Visa — The Great Singapore Sales Promotion”
BEST CAMPAIGN GENERATING BRAND LOYALTY
GOLD
Lowe, Thailand “Orange Love SMS”
SILVER
TBWA, Korea “Be the Reds”
BRONZE
Lowe, Indonesia “Pepsodent School Sampling”
BEST BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
GOLD
Tequila, Singapore “Palm Tungsten Launch”
SILVER
ESPN Star Sports, Singapore “Strength of a Network As a Must Have”
BRONZE
Tequila, Singapore “Palm Zire Launch”
BEST RETAIL ACCOUNT-SPECIFIC OR CHANNEL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
GOLD
141 Worldwide, Singapore “Nokia 5100 Launch — Made for Adrenalin”
SILVER
141 Worldwide, Singapore “Nokia 6610 Launch — Perform in Style”
BRONZE
141 Worldwide, Singapore “Nokia POS 7250 Launch — From Eye to Eye”
BEST DEALER OR SALES FORCE ACTIVITY
GOLD
141 Worldwide, Singapore “Nokia 7210 Launch — Provoking the Senses”
BEST CAMPAIGN USING SPORT, TOURISM, MOVIE OR MUSIC DISCIPLINES
GOLD
(three-way tie)
TBWA, Korea “Be the Reds”
Australian Tourist Commission, Singapore “Celebrate Australia in Singapore”
Virtual Marketing, India “Bond with Speed”
SILVER
(four-way tie)
Tequila, Singapore “ESPN Star Sports. The Whip”
Virtual Marketing, India Bharat Petroleum Corp. “BPCL Speed Run”
FM Communications, Korea “2003 KTF Pacs Frontier Policy Presentation”
Cheil Communications, Korea “The Human Concert of GOD for 100 Days”
BRONZE
141 Worldwide, Philippines “Fundador Magkaibiggan Habang Panahon”
BEST CAUSE OR CHARITY MARKETING CAMPAIGN
GOLD
AKQA, Singapore “Light of Thanks Campaign”
SILVER
Lowe, Thailand “Brand’s Artificial Leg Program”
BRONZE
Team-Marketing Development & Services, Taiwan “Light Up the Light of Life Charity Campaign”
BEST EVENT MARKETING CAMPAIGN
GOLD
Australian Tourist Commission, Singapore “Celebrate Australia in Singapore”
SILVER
141 Worldwide, Philippines “Zensation”
BRONZE
Virtual Marketing, India “William Grant’s Corporate Cricket Tournament”
BEST SMALL BUDGET CAMPAIGN
GOLD
Oglivy Redcard, Singapore “The Economist — I wish I Read It”
SILVER
Oglivy Redcard, Singapore “KFC Bag”
STUDENT CATEGORY
GOLD
Yonsei IS School, Korea “Bud — Fill Me Up!”
SILVER
Sydney Ultimo TAFE, Australia “Launch of the Explorers Club for the National Geographic Channel Australia”
