TURNING LG INTO A MARKETING-DRIVEN LEADER

       Dermot JM Boden, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of LG Electronics, told Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn about his strategic mission to make LG the No-1 brand in the world. "My personal mission is to make LG the best marketing company in the world and to make LG the No-1 brand in terms of sales, brand health, image perception and awareness," said Boden, who joined South Korea's LG Electronics two years ago as head of marketing.
       He said the key elements were to focus on building the LG brand, as well as the customer service and market research functions.
       "I will enhance marketing programmes, some from my office and the others through our local subsidiaries. We have a clear desire and aspiration to be No 1 in terms of sales and brand. We want to promote emotional attachment so that consumers think of LG as part of their family," said Boden.
       He added that LG Electronics had created a human-face logo to nurture the brand identity as enhancing the emotional connection with consumers.
       "We want to build real connection and loyalty in consumers by bringing products that are the best of design and technology and that enrich their life," he said.
       "My strategy is common [to all parts of the organisation]. Everything we do is done to build the brand," said Boden.
       He said the products themselves had a very short selling cycle. Telephones, for instance, are on the market for only six months, and it is a couple of years for televisions, refrigerators and washing machines.
       These products make the brand and the brand will last forever, said Boden, adding that the brand needs to be consistent and continuous so that consumers feel the same message and value.
       "We build the brand through our products and services, through our marketing programmes, advertising, digital, in-store media, event and marketing partnerships. We want to build our brand and allow people to feel our brand as aspirational and worthy of premium pricing," he said.
       He added that LG targeted consumers who want the best they can afford and were willing to pay for it. "We do a lot of market research into consumer behaviour and usage of the products, which differ from market to market," said Boden.
       He gave the example of Bangkok and upcountry Thailand, where the sizes of houses are different - and this drives the need for refrigerators and washing machines of different sizes as well.
       In South Korea, the company developed the Kimji refrigerator by focusing on how to keep the appliances fresh and odourless. The refrigerator fit very well with local consumer behaviour. Having been in the market for about 10 years, the Kimji range has strong penetration with 80 per cent of households owning one of the refrigerators.
       "We are working very hard to get consumer insights. We rely on local insights and consumer knowledge, particularly in major markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, India and China in this region. We bring those local insights back to Korea to develop products that are good for specific markets," he said.
       Boden said Thailand, for example, was a "young" country. The company is building a relationship with young Thai consumers through its electronic products such as mobile phones and televisions. Customer service is very important in building the brand and communicating with Thai consumers.
       "There are many things we can learn from Thailand and then expand those best practices to other markets around the world," he said.
       Boden identifies with the "3C" marketing principles, which are consistency, continuity and creativity - particularly local creativity.
       He feels a great challenge in making LG Electronics a leading global marketing-driven company.
       He said LG was a large company with 82,000 people, and annual sales close to US$50 billion (Bt1.66 trillion).
       "We're a very young brand at only 15 years old. We have transformed ourselves from a manufacturing, research and development and trading company into a marketing-driven firm in just the last two to three years. That's a different business model for us.
       "So now, we're focusing our effort behind the brand and understanding consumers. LG is becoming a very global English-speaking company. All of these changes are challenges, but hopefully they will make us even stronger," said Boden.