South Korea is the most sensitive country to trends and new styles in the world.
In the wake of a financial crisis in the 1990s, the South Korean government proactively orchestrated "Hallyu"(한류) — or the "Korean Wave" — as a way to leverage the emergence of the Internet to boost South Korea’s economy and put this country on the world map by spreading its trendy pop culture to other nations. This phenomenon, which started with the growing popularity of "K (Korean)-Pop," "K-Drama" and "K-Beauty," has now spread beyond Asia to capture the attention of the whole world, expanding its influence on various industries including fashion and beauty.
The biggest reason K-Beauty in particular is setting trends in the world’s beauty market is because Korean women have high personal interest in beauty. Korean women are especially sensitive to ever-changing trends and open to new concepts and ideas that promise to enhance their inner and outer beauty — and women around the world are following suit.
Based on this insight, Almond Board of California (ABC) launched "Almonds, My Beauty Secret," an integrated marketing campaign that targets Korean women and positions almonds as the perfect beauty snack.
Selecting Korean top model Hyejin Han as ABC’s main spokesperson
ABC selected leading model Hyejin Han as its spokesperson for the campaign. Han is not only a top model admired by women in their 20s and 30s and an icon of grace and poise; she is a celebrity with a passion for health and nutrition — an ideal combination to convey ABC’s key messages.
Han in the "Yoga" theme video with the message, “One handful of almonds is rich in vitamin E and dietary fiber, and great for skin.”
ABC created three videos featuring Han under the themes of "My Day with Almonds," "Yoga" and "Skin," delivering the following key message in each: “Almonds are the secret to maintaining healthy beauty amid[st] a busy life.” The Almond Board’s South Korea marketing team also created six series of Q&A videos featuring Han. In these videos, Han uses her role as a beauty mentor to share why she eats almonds to enhance her beauty and manage weight.
These videos were distributed across various online advertising platforms and more than 40 million people may have viewed the at least one video in just one month.
Spreading almonds’ beauty benefits through social media
ABC is leveraging K-Beauty creators to reach core consumer audiences by sharing the beauty benefits of almonds on YouTube. Six beauty influencers are developing tutorial videos focused on skincare, lifestyle, weight management and inner beauty, each of which feature almonds.
K-Beauty Creator Daisy introducing almonds as a beauty snack that viewers can use to stay fit and healthy and offering tips on how to incorporate a handful of almonds into daily life. View her full video here.
K-Beauty Creator Mia highlighting almonds as a convenient snack. View her full video here.
