Market Economy Shinmun | Overturning the Game with Detail… ‘Card-ui-Jeongseok’ Becomes Jeong Won-jae’s Brand
Market Economy Shinmun spotlighted the secret behind the success of the 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' series, personally led by Woori Card President Jeong Won-jae, reporting that differentiated design using the work of Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung contributed significantly to raising the brand's value. Card-ui-Jeongseok obtained a design patent in October of last year, and Woori Card reported ranking No. 1 in credit card brand reputation in July.
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Woori Card President Jeong Won-jae's ambitious project, 'Card-ui-Jeongseok,' surpassed 3 million cards issued in the industry's fastest time. Photo = Provided by Woori Card
The smooth sailing of the 'Jeong Won-jae ship,' which has shaken up the card industry, continues.
The growth momentum is nothing short of explosive. Since President Jeong Won-jae took office in early last year, Woori Card has posted its best performance since spinning off in 2013. This is the result of the 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' series, personally led by President Jeong, becoming a runaway hit.
'Card-ui-Jeongseok POINT' is the first product in the series. Since its launch in April of last year, it surprised the industry by surpassing 2 million cards issued in just eight and a half months. The Jeongseok series then surpassed 3 million cards sold as of the end of March 2019. This stands as the industry's fastest record for a single product series. It is a remarkable achievement realized amid the upheaval of card merchant fee cuts — the so-called 'Jeong Won-jae Magic.'
Woori Card did not stop there, continuing to roll out follow-up products one after another. It specialized benefits by category to match what consumers wanted, and for check cards, unveiled products tailored to different life stages by age group.
President Jeong Won-jae's baton next pointed to marketing.
Woori Card's standing began to climb the industry rankings within a year and a half, built on more aggressive marketing. This is leadership that dramatically changed Woori Card's previous trajectory. To firmly establish the 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' series, President Jeong increased advertising and promotional spending by nearly 30%, and as a result, branding promotion began to catch fire in earnest.
The 'design collaboration exhibition' with Kim Hyun Jung, 'viral event marketing' using cookies and craft beer, and the web drama 'Work & Love Balance' are seen as having made a significant contribution to raising the value of both the flagship product and the Woori Card brand.
Sports marketing leveraging the Woori Card Wibee Volleyball team also played its part well. Notably, this year Woori Card's Wibee volleyball team advanced to the playoffs by finishing third in the regular season — its best-ever result since the team's founding — and proved so popular that all five of its home games were sellouts this season.
President Jeong Won-jae poured special affection into the team, not only watching home games in person but also making a point of watching every game on TV. It is said he even personally suggested effective ways to expose the 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' product — down to the players' uniform design, the placement of advertising displays inside Jangchung Arena, and even seating positions and camera angles — surprising the staff in charge.
Building on this, Woori Card ranked No. 1 in credit card brand reputation for the second consecutive month, in both June and July.
According to the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, the July survey of domestic credit card brand reputation found the top three ranked, in order, Woori Card, Hyundai Card, and Samsung Card. Woori Card, in first place, recorded a Participation Index of 979,362, a Media Index of 729,904, a Communication Index of 894,972, a Community Index of 3,164,992, a Social Contribution Index of 1,998,562, and a CEO Index of 504,800. Its total Brand Reputation Index was 8,272,592.
The success of 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' was thoroughly calculated — perhaps even an entirely predictable outcome. From the product-planning stage, the Jeong Won-jae ship conducted big data analysis by age group and gender to identify areas customers preferred. It also reflected customer feedback gathered through sales channels such as bank branches, the internet, and call centers, and conducted needs research through specialized agencies. This served to design a product that let customers enjoy benefits easily and conveniently.
If detail was the core of the strategy behind 'Card-ui-Jeongseok's' sensational success, then in sales, President Jeong Won-jae's passion and proactiveness stood out. President Jeong is known to still greet everyone he meets today by saying, "Go with the standard (jeongseok)," while handing them his business card.
His wallet, moreover, holds every product in the 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' series. Whenever the opportunity arises, President Jeong pulls the 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' series — with designs reminiscent of fine art — out of his wallet, styling himself as an ambassador for Woori Card.
'Card-ui-Jeongseok' is distinguished by embroidering the plate with a design anyone would want to own, borrowing the work of Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, who has won public affection for her fresh ideas and expressive technique. A 'ㄱ'-shaped notch placed in the upper right corner of the card plate surface enhances both aesthetics and usability, and varying the coloring on parts of the surface creates a distinctive vertical-stripe-like aesthetic, giving it a differentiated identity. It also arranged the card name vertically, completing an artistic design akin to a Korean painting. This led to the acquisition of a design patent in October of last year, once again proving its originality.
A Woori Card official said, "Sophisticated design that draws on Korean beauty is the differentiated competitive edge of 'Card-ui-Jeongseok,' and we are preparing products and content packed with a variety of benefits to get one step closer to our customers."