Contents 02 Introduction 04 The future of business is personal 06 The Age of You: key questions answered 10 Best Korea Brands 2015 Top50 46 Best Korea Brands 2015 Analysis 54 Authors & Contributors 1 engage customers and generate genuine result, each of us will become our own 2015 will provide the insights you need value for the business. marketplace or “Mecosystem.” to drive your organization forward—and Introduction new inspiration to push creative thought The need to create brand experiences In our report, Jez Frampton, Global CEO Jihun Moon and innovation in these changing times. that are seamless and more holistic has of Interbrand, will elaborate on this new been precipitated by sector convergence era, which we at Interbrand refer to as Congratulations to all of Korea’s Best The origin of the term “branding” was and the rise of Big Data. Harnessing the the “Age of You”—the move from brand Global Brands—in particular those whose lit¬erally to burn one’s name onto prop- potential of Big Data isn’t just for tech as monologue, to brand as dialogue, leadership skills have earned them a erty as a crude mark of ownership. But companies anymore—it offers huge to brand as a communal experience, to place among the nation’s top brands. it’s only in our relatively recent history opportunities for all brands. By collecting brand as a truly personal and curated ex- that branding has become recognized as To your continued success, and analyzing customer data and honing perience created around each and every a business discipline. These days, brands in on key insights, today’s organi¬zations one of us. Bringing further clarity to the around the world are being managed can create more consist¬ent, integrated subject, Stuart Green, CEO of Inter- Jihun Moon within an environment of rapid techno¬- experiences that connect across both the brand’s Asia Pacific region, answers key CEO logical advancements, dramatic demo¬- physical and digital world. questions surrounding the “Age of You.” Interbrand, Korea graphic shifts, and constantly changing consumer expectations. Of course, the ability to create more Many of the business leaders who seamless experiences couldn’t be coming man¬age the companies on our Best Korea, as one of the most advanced at a better time. Consumers are more Korean Brands list understand that the tech¬nology-driven economies in the empowered—and vocal—than ever. world is getting smarter and more so- world, is at the forefront of these changes. They recognize that their own voices phisticated—and that consumers today can be as powerful as any brand’s. With are savvier, more discerning, and are de- Though faced with global challenges, social media at their fingertips, they can manding greater degrees of engagement. Korea’s most successful companies have easily call out any brand on inconsistent continued to innovate, improve custom- Those brands that seek to lead in the rap- experiences that don’t live up to their er experiences, and utilize one of their idly approaching Age of You will have to expectations. Times have changed, and most important assets—their brand. As create a truly personalized and curated both brands and consumers are evolving. a result, some of the Best Korea Brands experience around each individual. They saw significant increases in brand value In more ways than one, we are at the will have no choice but to realize that Big over the past year. dawn of a new era. Leading brands, Data is, in fact, all about people. And they enabled by intelligent infra¬structure will have to re-humanize that data, un- Because brands across the globe are and powered by Big Data, are beginning cover genuine insights, anticipate needs under pressure to deliver enhanced to develop integrated ecosystems of and de¬liver against individual wants, experiences to their consumers—quicker experi¬ences that will reshape the world demands and desires. and more comprehensively than ever around us. before—the theme for Best Korean As brand owners become more sensitive Brands 2015 is centered around “Creating As people and devices become more con- to these needs, they will ultimately Optimal Experiences.” In this report, we nected and everything—from phones, evolve the brand experience across the will be exploring how employee behavior, to cars, to homes—becomes “smarter,” whole organization. Toward that end, processes, environments, and technol- businesses will reorganize themselves it is our hope that Best Korea Brands ogy combine to create experiences that around the smart landscape and, as a 2 3 The future of business is personal Jez Frampton It’s sometimes hard to appreciate the power of All this activity, of course, generates a historical moment. An era isn’t always defined by massive amounts of data, which, if analyzed properly, can reveal the insight one seismic event, but sometimes by a thousand little brands need in order to understand who tremors shaking—and reshaping—the world. customers really are and what they really need.As more of us come online as data repositories, machines get smarter, and The shifting of the ages The Age of You all devices are working in concert, supply chains will reorganize around individu- Through the lens of branding, we at Now that the world is filling with devices, als. Ecosystems will become “Mecosys- Interbrand have determined four ages and more people own not only one, but tems”—ecosystems that revolve around that have defined and reshaped business: several (including wearables), the world and cater to you. the Age of Identity, the Age of Value, the is quietly being filled with something Age of Experience, and the forthcoming else: sensors. As ecosystems become From the way we manage our personal Age of You. more fully integrated, these sensors (on brands and share pieces of ourselves our bodies, in our homes, and in our through various social media platforms Today, the multiplication of channels has devices) will be able to talk to each other to the increasingly personalized world of pushed brands to strive for greater levels in new ways. Already, our devices can commerce—which uses purchase histo- of clarity and consistency across touch- check our pulses, count the calories we ries and location-based services to tailor points and necessitated the creation have burned, and calculate how close products, events, services, and offers to of ecosystems of integrated products, we are to our personalized fitness goals; whoever we are, wherever we are—our services, information, and entertain- they can save energy in our homes by data is creating value for ourselves, for ment: both physical and digital. And, controlling thermostats and lighting; brands, and for the system at large every due to another gamechanger—social they allow us to pay our bills and remind second of every day. media—consumers are more empowered us when payments are coming up; they Brands that seek to lead in the Age of than ever before, more influential than can track where we go and make recom- You, ruled by Mecosystems, will have to ever before, and expect seamless interac- mendations based on where we are; and recognize the human in the data, uncov- tions, responsiveness, 24/7 accessibility, they keep us connected to everyone and er genuine insights, and create a truly customization options, and high levels of everything we care about most. personalized and curated experience. personalization. In a sense, they increas- ingly expect brands to know them. To put it simply, the future of business is personal. Jez Frampton Global CEO Interbrand 4 5 The Age of You: key questions answered Stuart Green With the advent of the Age of You and Businesses and consumers will be able to Mecosystems upon us, what are the co-create economic and social value. big opportunities this sea change will bring to brands around the world? How are brands currently benefiting from Big Data insights? Are brands Leading brands, enabled by intelligent leveraging Big Data effectively? infrastructure and powered by Big Data, will develop integrated ecosystems Those brands that seek to lead in this of experiences and reshape the world rapidly approaching Age will have to around us, as individuals. As people and create a truly personalized and curated devices become more connected and experience around you. They will have no everything—from phones, to cars, to choice but to realize that Big Data is, in homes—becomes “smarter,” businesses fact, all about people. They will have to will reorganize themselves around the re-humanize the data, uncover genuine ‘smart’ landscape and as a result, each of insights, anticipate your needs and de- us will become our own marketplace liver against individual wants, demands or “Mecosystem.” and desires. This coincides with people, now effec- Most successful companies now have tively ‘marketing’ themselves as their a strategy for Big Data, with the really public persona. Look at how carefully exciting companies being those that many people consider the management are commercializing Big Data into the of their own brands on social media. The customer experience. This particularly brands they choose to surround them- applies to those that are category disrup- selves with, and formulate relationships tors, putting data-enabled consumers at with, will be much more scrutinized as the heart of their business model. they become part of one’s social fabric. At the same time, many companies seem When “intelligent everything” meets more confused or overwhelmed by the the “Big Data of Me” (each person as a sheer amount of information that is now unique data repository), brands will have available to them, with the less success- unprecedented opportunity to create ful simply failing to harness Big Data in a context, create possibilities and meaning meaningful way to drive insight, strategy for individuals—and value for all.