Commonly, people explain the Department of Business Administration with a saying “When you hang it on ears, it becomes earrings, and when you hang it on a nose, it becomes a nose ring.” In other word, it differs with the circumstance, and it can apply anywhere. While people know the wide range of application of the Department of Business Administration, people don't realize the depth which is needed by students who study it, as much as they know the range. That's because we live in a rapid society which doesn’t allow us to study the depth. Therefore, the president of Korea Customer Forum, Jeon Dae-ho (JEON) is teaching the depth which Business Administration should have and branding which should be made with the depth.
SMT It is so unfamiliar to Koreans to train a branding manager, that is to say for an education system to teach branding professionally.
JEON The Brand Academy is composed of four main sections, Do You Have Your Own Hon(魂) · Chang(魂) · Tong(魂)1? by Jeon Dae-ho, the president of Korea Customer Forum, Brand Marketing MBA by Cha Songil, the president of Hankyung Academy Brand Study, Ocean World’s Background of Birth and the Strategy of Marketing by Go Jae-chun, the public relations department head of Daemyung Resort and Masterpiece Branding and the Strategy to Upgrade the Image of the Nation by Ahn In-ok, the director of Korea Customer Forum. It was the program to teach philosophy and wisdom which are needed to a brand manager from September 17 to December 17, 2011. Now, most universities are dealing with branding as a part of marketing or they usually teach marketing
mixed with branding. However, The Brand Academy is dealing with branding the same as the strategy of enterprise management and we teach with the premise that marketing has similarity with branding but they have to be differentiated. We also teach that the brand is the reason for the being of the enterprise, so it should reflect its own philosophy of the management.
SMT Why did you start the program in Korea, and why now?
JEON The purpose of enterprise management is profit-making through the customer’s satisfaction. This phrase is made with profit-making and customer’s satisfaction. Customer’s satisfaction is enhancing the value for customers. In other words, business is making the profit in return for
increasing the value for customer, regardless of the intangible and tangible products. In today’s economic depression, companies have suffered the pressure of the immediate profit-making. The pressure has started with the wrong awareness that the immediate profit-making could predict the ability of profit-making in the future. As a result, companies intend to neglect building up their own brand image, in order to maximize profit now. It was the enterprise management principle from the older generation who achieved compression increase. Now, Korea is the 11th biggest economic powerhouse. However it is difficult to find a brand which we could call a masterpiece or representative of Korea. It means that companies have been good at business, but not at constructing the image of the brand. Mostly brands have been born and died with the market’s flow. For example, the outdated brand Anycall, which was the top brand in Korea once, has been pushed out by Gallaxy in as a subsidiary company in the cell phone market. The markets of the
United State and Europe are opened. Literally, we live in a global village. To intensify the competitiveness in a global market, a strong brand should be constructed. The older generation made Korea the economic powerhouse through the immediate profit that is to say business, from
now on the younger generation has the responsibility to make the strong brand. Therefore, I begin the education for it in Korea.
SMT What is needed to the branding manager, including the knowledge of branding?
JEON To a brand manager, humanities is needed unconditionally. The core of a brand is a brand identity described by concept, philosophy, and essence, and the identity should be managed and maintained coherently. The value of brand is the result in return for the consistency of the brand’s essence and philosophy which has been protected even if the company made a loss. There is a saying in the Chapter 1:1 in Moderation (中庸) that goes: Chun Myung Ji Wi Sung (天命之謂性), Sol Sung Ji Wi Do (率性之謂道). It means that we call essence which God gives to all creation, and following the essence is enlightenment (Do:道). Living by following the essence and mission from God is so difficult as to say enlightenment. Brand is also difficult to keep its own consistency. It is same as realizing enlightenment. Therefore, the personality education through humanities should be carried out with the training of a brand manager, and they also should have the ability to be patient and not to give up.
SMT Are there any limitations in having the education program through the private enterprise than through a university?
JEON In my opinion, the education through university and the one through enterprise are complementary to each other. In university, students learn the theory of management. In our program, I want to teach how to apply the knowledge from university on their own life and brand. “Nothing is complete unless you put it in final shape,” as the saying goes. When you want to make a final shape, you need something to use at first. Teaching how to make something to use is universities’ role. The enterprise’s share of the education is teaching the way to put it in final shape in the real-life situation. When a person or an enterprise makes a balance between knowledge and wisdom, successful brand and life can be made.
SMT Many students major in the Department of Business Administration and many students want to work in the marketing department. As an educator who trains a brand manager, please give any advice.
JEON Like “the rule of ten thousand hours,” a saying goes in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, there is a saying, “A person who makes steady and persistent effort to one thing has one’s own scent” in Hon Chang Tong (魂創通). A person who has one’s own soul (Hon: 魂) is same as the outlier suited to the rule of ten thousand hours, and who has one’s own scent. A person who has one’s own soul has one’s definite concept and because of one’s soul, (s)he has the consistency not to give up. If a product has the soul like it, we call it a masterpiece, and if a family has their own soul, we call it family in terms of dynasty.
Wake up your own soul! A person who makes steady and persistent effort to one thing has her own scent. However the scent can be smelt by others who have their own scent, too. When your personal brand makes its own scent, and you can smell others scent, I am convinced that you will achieve success in your life. 1. the book title which is written by Lee Jihun and published by Sam & Parkers
