gmtPLUS09 | live from Seoul

I bought the latest Wired last week, because of the George Lucas/Vader cover and the Seoul Machine article. I haven’t been able to look through the contents, I hope to do so this weekend. Here is a excerpt that interests me on a personal and professional level:

Lee wanted a "design philosophy" to give his products a common
identity, so he hired a Japanese consultant who told him that Samsung’s
products should be infused with Korean values. But Korea had been
systematically purged of its identity during the Japanese occupation
that lasted from 1905 to 1945. So the company began a search for places
and objects that embody the
Korean spirit and found Seokguram, a remote mountain grotto that houses
an
exquisite eighth-century Buddha. Through the search they developed the
slogan "Balance of
Reason and Feeling" to express Samsung’s design philosophy. "It’s very
Oriental - not black and white, but a balance of things," explains
Hyun-joo Song, the executive in charge of design identity. "It states
that we will meet the emotional needs of our customers with the
technological solutions we have."

About this time last year, one of my self-started projects was finalized and
published in-house, called J-Factor or Japanese Factor. This term was
originally termed by the Toyota Motor Company for its new design
philosophy. This strategy came into existence to differentiate products
and brands within Toyota’s portfolio (Toyota, Scion and Lexus), and
distinguish its products/brands from the emerging Asian competitors -
Korean (Hyundai) and Chinese (SAIC).

Anyway, I proposed that we create K-Factor (Korean Factor) to build more equity throughout the brand portfolio (Hyundai, Kia, and the proposed luxury brand that is due out in 2007).  Also, the 3 sub-brands with their own distinctive design DNA would decrease the likelihood of cannibalization, and extend the reach of the portfolio. Another positive to come out of this would be shaping the consumer experience of buying a Hyundai product, driving and using it, etc.

Here is where it gets interesting about J Factor. Most Americans can already pick out a  Japanese (brand) vehicle from a Korean, German, or American. From casual observation, their intuitive repulsion or gut feelings kick in to help them recognize and differentiate.

The new design philosophy targets the next generation of prospective customers who are powered by the Internet, and more demanding in how a product fits in with their identity, as well as fashion/lifestyle trends than the previous generations before it.

Main points to remember:

• Reaching peak numbers in the 1970’s, Japanese consumer electronics, cars, anime, Sony, and Sushi were exported to the US or Europe. These products embody what it is to be Japanese, and the American generation(s) who were exposed to and developed a deep impact by these imports were the Generation X and Y. When these cohorts reach maturity and have disposable income…
• A global trend emerges comprising of Japanese-origin fashion styles, lifestyle trends, popular culture, design, culinary, etc.
• And the inadvertent coincidence of Toyota, Nissan, and Honda accentuating their designs with Japanese spirit, called Wa (和).

Basically, these brainwashed kids who grew up with Japanese things early on are instinctively purchasing more Japanese things because of the deep and wide exposure to Japanese things.

Link: PSFK: How Samsung Made Korea A Consumer Electronics Superpower.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2005 at 12:54 am and is filed under Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.