- Writing
'They ask, you answer' — write the things that answer what they're asking.
It's the title of the book that left the biggest impression on me this year, and it's also a way of writing. Instead of looking elsewhere for things to write about, you get good results when you find them in the questions and anxieties of your customers and the people around you.
That's exactly why I want to collect **'your question marks'** through my activities at Worthpick (a Korean marketer community)!
If you share the worries and questions you're carrying, it's a huge help to everyone's writing!!
- Books
To me, a book is a **'wrong-answer notebook'**, the kind students keep to review the problems they got wrong. You get to indirectly review what someone else has already been through, so you can find clues for the problems you'll have to solve later.
Of course, the exact same question almost never shows up on the test, but it clearly helps.
Let's do our homework for better decisions!💪🏻
- Collabs
It's a pretty old example, but I remember the Cheetos Chicken and Squid Jjamppong Chicken that Mexicana Chicken (a Korean fried-chicken chain) came up with.
Mexicana, Cheetos, and Squid Jjamppong (a Korean instant noodle) all felt like very old-fashioned brands, but combining them created a fresh image and a sense of curiosity, which impressed me.
It also fit well with the trend at the time for powder-coated chicken like Bburinkle.
When it comes to collabs, I think a brand's old-fashionedness can sometimes be a weapon.
The familiar image lodged in people's heads actually creates even more curiosity! Ex) Spicy chipotle-flavored Swing Chip, yukgaejang-flavored potato chips
- Characters
The character I especially love is Ryota Miyagi from Slam Dunk (Song Tae-seop in the Korean release).
Despite the disadvantage of being short, he leads his team to victory with his passion for basketball and steady effort.
I felt a kinship with him because I also want to be someone who gets results through effort rather than talent, and through team play rather than going solo.
This year's Slam Dunk movie made Miyagi the protagonist, so I remember going to the theater as soon as it opened, taking a photo to prove I was there, and buying merch :)
- Pop-ups
The pop-up store from the women's bag brand Stand Oil (a Korean brand) stuck with me!
On their online store, they put a video of a model at the very top of the product page, and it was impressive that they carried that into the interior of the offline store too.
Beyond that, you could see signs everywhere of thinking about how to connect the online and offline purchase experiences, which I liked :)
- YouTube
When I was job hunting, I looked through and paid for a lot of online marketing courses and materials, but the most useful one was the YouTube channel Kwak Team Leader (곽팀장).
On this channel, a marketer with an agency background shares the know-how he's built up, and he explains marketing far more clearly and understandably than most paid courses.
I think the appeal of YouTube is exactly this: you can access useful content with the lowest barrier to entry (cost, time).
https://youtube.com/@marketing0?si=dGQCmd6rpobH7fmv
- Persona
I pursue agility. When I'm given a task, I like to execute quickly and review afterward rather than deliberate.
Because I want to use my time densely, I prefer in-person gatherings and read a lot of books written by people who came before me in my field.
+In B2B, alongside personas, we make heavy use of the concept of the ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).
You could call it a **'company persona'**. That's because purchase decisions are often driven less by individual traits and more by the company's size, position, and organizational culture.
ex) Large enterprises vs. small and mid-sized companies, waterfall vs. agile, companies with big marketing budgets vs. almost none
- The meaning of work
I recently talked about this with a wonderful director I met.
As professional marketers, it's right that we work toward revenue and operating profit, but what we wanted to do when we first started out was, I think, 'work that moves people's hearts.'
I think we're on a journey of figuring out how to achieve both. I'm sharing my notes from a coffee chat with Director Yang Su-seok, who went through the early planning of 29CM and EQL (Korean fashion e-commerce platforms) and is now leading OFM, LF Mall's live commerce project!
mkt.joshlife.co.kr/en/blog/coffee_chat_1
- Marketer
Someone who solves problems between the brand and the customer.
- MBTI
As an ENTP, I use MBTI as 'a way to find what I need to compensate for.' To make up for my P tendencies, I write out plans, even short ones, and post work retrospectives to my blog, and to balance my N-leaning tendencies, whenever I start on something I always look up authoritative sources first.
- I also don't think MBTI is psychology, and I'm wary of defining people by a particular type.
In fact, I'm a T at work, but when I watch a Pixar movie or listen to Aimyon I turn into an F with tears gushing out.
Still, when I meet someone I want to get closer to, I ask their MBTI, and I think that's because I want to know them a little better, even if it takes a test.
The marketer sitting next to me is an ENTP too! And one curious thing: ENTPs, myself included, are almost always extremely cute people. I think there could be a paper on this someday.
ex) Paper title: MBTI isn't psychology, but ENTPs are cute
- Fandom
I'm a fan of the Japanese singer Aimyon.
Her story, from busking in obscurity to becoming a national star, is compelling, and it's fun to listen while reading her lyrics, which carry her honest feelings. Sadly, as a fan there's nothing I can do for Aimyon yet, so I try to live diligently every day and volunteer on weekends to send people the message that 'Aimyon fans are hardworking and do good deeds.'
And at the end of the year, I'm planning to take my first trip abroad ever to see an Aimyon concert!
- Today's recommended song: "Futaba" (Seed Leaves) by Aimyon *Even better if you watch the music video with the lyrics! https://youtu.be/qFD6hsd4ff0?si=-Nzb5u7Q6923Da-f
Among Korean singers, I'm a fan of **Stella Jang**!
She's smart and speaks several languages, and on top of that she's a truly top-tier singer :)
It reminded me that I become a fan of people who work hard, and that I love being motivated by them!
https://youtu.be/DYGWJULfhUc?si=Ywb0CxH4beHzDhQc
- Advertising
Lately, I've been noticing cases that turn ad fatigue to their advantage.
In my opinion, the best case was the product placement (PPL) in **Be Melodramatic** (a Korean drama).
The line 'There's no context anyway, is there?' seemed to speak for the feelings of drama writers and the people in charge of these deals, and I remember finding it hilarious :)
https://youtu.be/pC8xhjfyTVM?si=Cvh0edcdTDuMGxTH
- A teammate of mine previously made a piece covering several cases, starting with the Berocca PPL in The Glory,
and it got a lot of traction on OpenAds and i-boss (Korean marketing communities), so I'm sharing it with Worthpick too :)
https://www.i-boss.co.kr/ab-74668-3064
- Red brands
Coca-Cola is still the first thing that comes to mind for me :) When I studied marketing in college, I heard that 'red = Coca-Cola' is the most representative example of branding, and I think that's just stuck with me!
I remember reading somewhere that so many food brands use red because it stimulates appetite! (Counter-example: purple)
- Dramas
My all-time favorite drama is Be Melodramatic, which I also brought up as Monday's PPL example!
The snappy dialogue and comedy are great, but I liked it even more because, starting with the show-within-the-show **"It'll Be Fine When You're Thirty"**, it got me thinking 'what will happen when I turn thirty?' at a time when I had a lot on my mind.
My favorite character is the writer 'Im Jin-joo', the female lead played by Chun Woo-hee, and my favorite chemistry was the fresh-faced workplace senior-junior couple(?) of 'Han Ji-eun x Gong Myung'.
- Now that I've actually turned thirty, a lot of things did get better! Still no money, though! (Related Shorts)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gp_8zHyd-Ww
- Universes
My love, Spider-Verse
I've watched every Spider-Man movie, game, and animated series released so far. I really, really relate to what Lee Dong-jin (a well-known Korean film critic) wrote about No Way Home: "A smile and a gasp spread on their own at the gift that only a long-beloved series can give."
- Copywriting
"Every coffee wants Lotus"
I think it's copy that planted the perception **'Coffee = Lotus'** in people's minds, letting Lotus (Biscoff) claim a spot anywhere there's coffee.
The book I'm reading right now, **The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing**, treats 'the law of perception' as its most important concept, which made me realize all over again what great copy it is :)
Blue brands
VREVIEW, the brand I market
Pepsi, as a contrast to Coca-Cola
Various financial services (the blue of trust) — this topic brings a lot to mind :) I'm curious what others came up with.
- They say the reason Mark Zuckerberg made Facebook blue is that he's red-green colorblind :)
- Newsletters
I'm a newsletter reader, and since April I've also been a creator who plans and publishes one myself!
As others mentioned above, there are already a lot of newsletters out there with a 'cool mentor' image. So we tried a concept where a 'cute junior' character delivers useful news and original writing to their seniors every Monday, and we've been seeing consistent open and click rates :)
This coming November, we're planning a renewal to differentiate further on the content side too!
https://vreview.stibee.com/p/21/
If you look at why solution companies like AB180 or us publish newsletters from a marketing perspective, it comes down to MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads).
Amplitude, Airbridge, and Braze are all expensive tools, so the buying journey is long and persuading decision-makers is essential, which is why newsletters solve problems like these:
Acquire as many prospect contacts as possible
Secure a touchpoint: "Let's be in touch at least once a week!"
Secure conversation starters like 'You opened and clicked this content, right? Want to talk about it?' -> convert into sales conversations about solution features
Improve site conversion rate under the banner of 'Even if you don't leave an inquiry, at least take the newsletter!'
Small brands
My favorite small brand is a place called **Jojo (죠죠)** in Seongsu (a trendy neighborhood in Seoul) that sells okonomiyaki and yakisoba.
I like the friendly staff and the J-pop playing in the shop, and the food's good, so I stop by now and then.
One reason I especially like this place is that they've calmly documented the process of building the brand on their blog, which gave me a lot to think about as a marketer too :)
- Variety shows that became brands
If YouTube counts as a variety show, I'd like to talk about film critic Lee Dong-jin's **Paiakia** (파이아키아). The main content is conversations on a wide range of topics in a study built from the critic's obsession with movies, books, and content.
I like it because the guests tend to share an exceptional sense of professionalism. You really feel that becoming an expert in a field is incredibly hard, but wonderful.
- Sometimes lighter videos like this one get posted too, and I watch them on my commute :) https://youtu.be/lK-wTZDrniw?si=NkvNlnjvC6qairZ9
- My brand
The brand I'm building, VREVIEW, is 'the purchase-conversion partner for e-commerce companies.'
For the thing practitioners worry about most, 'getting the customers you worked so hard to bring in to decide to buy instead of bouncing', we provide the technology and content to use reviews, the most powerful weapon there is.
When I joined, we were focused on branding around short-form trends like 'video reviews',
but now we're working to build an image of solving our customers' problems together, in a more serious way.
And my personal brand, which is also my nickname at work, Josh, is one I'm building as 'the VREVIEW marketer who motivates others with passion.'
*The nickname itself came about when a former coworker told his girlfriend on the phone, "I worked hard with Jo-ssi (Mr. Jo) the manager again today," and it got misheard as "Josh" 😅
- Marketing books
Among marketing books, I'd like to recommend Growth Hacker Marketing (the Ryan Holiday version), which I read just last month.
It lays out, through many easy-to-follow examples, how startup marketing differs from marketing elsewhere, and why it has to, and I enjoyed reading it.
*Below is part of my recommended list.
—
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
Predictable Revenue
Nae Unmyeongeun Gogaegi Gyeoljeonghanda (My Fate Is Decided by the Customer) (Korean book)
Chiteki Shihon Ron (Intellectual Capital Theory, a Japanese book by Muneaki Masuda)
They Ask, You Answer
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Novelist as a Vocation
- Yellow brands
Pikachu
'If America has Mickey Mouse, Japan has Pikachu'
Pokémon is the most successful IP in the world, and I want to talk about Pikachu in particular, which I've loved since I was a kid.
I remember combing through the tall grass in the Pokémon games trying to catch a Pikachu :)
What stands out especially
- The story of growing together as Ash's running mate
- The design, with its memorable lightning-bolt tail and red cheeks
- The smart use of yellow, red, and black
*Data is as of 2021.
- Lately, Sanrio's Pompompurin is noticeably cute
It nails features like the beret, big ears, bean eyes, and simple mouth.
- Mobile apps that became brands
I'd like to talk about Remember, the business-card app (Korea's leading business card management app).
After exchanging around 50 business cards in a single day at events like trade shows, whenever I log them in Remember I think, 'how on earth did I work without this?'
I was also impressed by the story that in the early days, before OCR technology had matured, nearly all the registered cards were typed in by hand.
- Movies that became brands
In terms of movies that became brands, The Truman Show left an impression on me.
Even in the deflating situation of realizing that the reality he lives in is actually a TV show, the protagonist walks off the stage in search of a self-directed life, which especially struck me.
I enjoyed it as a fresh graduate, when I'd learned that while you're at a company it feels like your whole world, but once you leave it turns out to be no big deal.
- My own content
I'm focused on creating customer success stories, the most influential content in my industry.
The most important point here is making the 'customer's brand', not our product, appear as the protagonist.
That's because what's more attractive than flashy features or design is the message that 'this is a product that makes me the protagonist.'
https://vreview.tv/blog/content/andar-marketing
- How I keep records
I use LinkedIn and my blog :)
What's distinctive about me is that I put my records where other people can see them.
Along with the retrospectives I talked about yesterday, what's appealing is that when my writing reaches someone, we can both benefit.
That's why, when someone asks me something, I prefer to answer with content rather than a DM.
It's how I put into practice 'They ask, you answer',
one of the reasons I joined Worthpick!
- Black brands
Nike comes to mind, with its memorable white logo on a black background :)
Actually, I'm red-green colorblind,
so like with the blue brands last time, I think I tend to pick products and brands in black and white.
- People who became brands
But I read his autobiographical essay Novelist as a Vocation last year on a recommendation.
I learned about his attitude toward his profession and the importance of habits that produce steady achievement.
How he started writing novels was fun too.
At a baseball game, he saw a beautiful double and, out of nowhere, thought "maybe I'll write a novel?", then bought a fountain pen and manuscript paper and started writing.
It made me think that a new beginning can come at any time.
- Me as a brand
A postcard I received as a gift the other day said 'a sweetness that goes with anything and shows up when you need it, like caramel', and I thought: that's it!
Thinking that I want to remain a 'caramel' for the people I love and will come to love,
I was able to settle on a direction for my personal branding :)
—
We've already come full circle on the journey of finding 31 keywords!
*The one I never posted, my answer to 'What is a marketer to me?', was 'someone who solves problems between the brand and the customer.'
