Brand Marketer Jang Hyun-hee on Building Brand Identity and Fandoms

Jang Hyun-hee, an 8-year veteran brand marketer, describes her profession as akin to building a beautiful architectural structure, focusing on instilling and nurturing brand identity within consumers' hearts. She views the core of her work as understanding and communicating with people, a process that involves identifying human desires by observing the market and creating relevant offerings.

Hyun-hee distinguishes between "branding," which is about defining a brand's identity, and "brand marketing," which involves communicating that identity and creating experiences for consumers. Her role primarily falls within brand marketing, encompassing everything from product planning and design to promotion and customer interaction.

“

It's difficult to define what I do, even though I've experienced various fields and continue to study. Let me differentiate between 'branding' and 'brand marketing.' If branding is about defining 'I am this kind of entity,' then brand marketing is the process of communicating that identity and letting people experience it.

Her career path was not linear. Initially, she studied journalism and advertising/public relations, working as a reporter for a university newspaper and later in a broadcast station's news editing department. The demanding nature of the job led to burnout, and she left to care for her ailing grandmother. During this period of reflection, she realized her innate curiosity and enthusiasm for all aspects of life could be channeled into a career connecting content with people.

This led her to marketing, where she found her passion, particularly in areas like live broadcasting and webtoon marketing. She thrived in roles where she could analyze content and strategize promotions, experiencing the energy that comes from pursuing work she genuinely loves. Her journey continued through various companies, including a magazine publisher and a trading company, where she honed her practical marketing skills. She also gained experience in "in-house marketing," leading all aspects of marketing within a company, which she believes is essential for becoming a true brand marketer.

“

Consumers become loyal customers voluntarily when they love the brand, not just the product. Since it was an IP with an established fandom, to attract new customers...