S.I.KOREA

I would like to change people's perceptions and behaviors by planning and promoting campaigns on healthy lifestyles, sustainable consumption and lifestyle, and social relationships & communication.

Q.Please introduce yourself and your current job: Hello. I am Gowoon Jeong, general manager of IMC in the Santa Maria Novella Team, Imported Brand Division in the Cosmetics Sector. Currently, I am responsible for monetization of the 'Desire to express luxury experience and express oneself through fragrance.' After studying media, culture, and communication in university, I joined Shinsegae Department Store as a brand buyer , where I gained various experiences. While working for the sales and store management, I closely communicated with customers and stakeholders in the distribution industry, and for the buyer work, I took a role of presenting a direction for the lifestyle including attracting new brands and planning events.

Currently, I am developing differentiated storytelling and effective marketing strategies which reflect Santa Maria Novella's philosophy and values in the Shinsegae International. I am making the best efforts to strengthen the status as a long-loved brand by successfully launching new products and increasing brand awareness and customer loyalty.
Q.How did you start your job?: I work based on whether my work can have a positive influence on the world. The Dove 'Real Beauty Sketches' campaign in 2014 was the beginning. The campaign intended to change the perception of socially acceptable standards of appearance by presenting sketches of actual features of women without editing photographs. It won the sympathy and popularity from many people by delivering messages that made people to recognize the beauty of human and create positive self-images. I also wanted to be a trend setter who plans a campaign with a good influence and leads people's lifestyles in a positive direction.
Q.Do you have your own belief or philosophy as one thing that you are unshaken in?: Recently, there are many controversial issues in the society. Many people often have negative perception about themselves, be anxious, and lose confidence because of the socially acceptable standards of appearance and distorted images.
I want to recover people's self-esteem and confidence, and spread awareness of the precious value.

And I want to lead the trend in lifestyle and bring about positive changes in people's lives. I would like to change people's perceptions and behaviors by planning and promoting campaigns on healthy lifestyles, sustainable consumption and lifestyle, and social relationships & communication.

Q.What kind of efforts do you make to grow your expertise?: I try to conduct the IMC project with an initiative approach and acting power.
Marketing is often considered as static work done at the office. However, it often involves with challenging situations time and dollar wise, so requires more active and dynamic movement to draw the cooperation from various stakeholders and achieve the collaboration within the budget. There may be time and budget constraints, but I try to find the possibilities and a feasible way.
For example, when you collaborate or make a proposal, I closely figure out what others need on the other side of table. After that, I propose what the others need and persuade them in various creative ways.
I may fail if I do not even try, but I experienced there were many situations surprisingly possible if I actually knocked on the door without fear of failure.
Q.Can you recommend anything to prepare in advance to the applicants who are interested in your job?: Today, contents and storytelling are getting more important. So, it is important to be a content-rich person. For that, you need to broaden your horizons and get new ideas through various experiences. I recommend spend enough for the experience of the field where you are interested in, and expand your vision by experiencing anything rich, such as food, culture, travel, and digital media, etc.

Q.What is your favorite brand? And can you tell us why?: "Santa Maria Novella is a dreamlike place for a perfumer. It has a history and a story that no other brands can create."
- Gian Luca Perris, CEO of Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella with 800 years’ history has been loved around the world with its beautiful fragrance and excellent productivity, which I loved even before working for the brand.
The Renaissance culture originated from Florence creates the brand story unique to Santa Maria Novella and offers ingenious and countless marketing sources, making it attractive for marketers to develop and implement marketing strategies in a more diverse and genuine way. I would like to create various contents appealing to MZ generation without compromising heritage.
Q.Do you make any effort for work-life balance?: Work-life balance is important, but in the end, it seems that ‘making the obsession your job’ is more important to enjoy and concentrate on what you do and feel a sense of accomplishment. I think this trend sensitive job is perfect for me because I love to go to new exhibitions, visit every newly opened hot place, and try new cosmetics. At a cafe or a newly opened hot place, I sometimes think about pop-up events or collaboration programs.
I also like to relax watching OTT programs at home, and sometimes think about what kind of product we could collaborate with the cast in the program.
Q.How does the experience at the Shinsegae Department Store work for Shinsegae International?: Various work experiences at Shinsegae Department Store helped me develop a ‘comprehensive problem-solving approach’ and now in the Shinsegae International, it helps me work with a broader perspective on the job of IMC.

Identify customer needs
While working for sales and store management, I was able to understand the purchasing process based on the customer's perspective in the process of directly communicating with customers and selling products. These experiences are helpful to understand customer needs better and plan targeted marketing strategies as a marketing person.

Market analysis and product strategy
From the buyer's job, I was able to develop strategic judgment on the brand store and the composition of the product. It is also helpful to identify product characteristics, plan new product launching strategies, and analyze existing brand portfolios and market trends.

Communication & Collaborations
Working in a department store, I was able to communicate and cooperate with various stakeholders. This is a significant help in collaboration and effective communication with various departments as a marketing person.
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