"Do It Show": A New Mobile Communications Service in Korea

This case presents points of contention and issues in the brand launch of a new telecommunication service of KTF, one of Korea's mobile telecommunication companies. As the second-place player in the 2G service market, which offered voice and text-messaging services, KTF decided to be the number one player in the new 3G service market, which offered stable video communication and high-speed data transmission as well as voice and text-messaging services. To do so, KTF developed a new brand, called "SHOW," and implemented various integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies to attract customers. After only four months since its launch, KTF had successfully attracted more than one million members. Several critical points for successfully launching a new brand in the mobile telecommunication service can be determined from this case. The introduction highlights the success of KTF's new brand launch strategy. Then the mobile telecommunication service market situation in South Korea is summarized. The next section provides a brief explanation of KTF and its new brand launch strategy in the 3G service market, covering topics from the market survey for 3G service to the brand-building processes. This is followed by an examination of how KTF used marketing-integrated communication for its new SHOW 3G service brand. Finally, the competitor's reaction to KTF's successful brand launch is summarized.