Gwangju Shinsegae Launches Summer Marketing Using In-House Character 'Pubilla'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Gwangju Shinsegae Co., Ltd. (CEO Lee Dong-hoon) will transform into a summer fairy tale world starting from the 12th, led by Shinsegae Department Store’s self-produced character ‘Poovilla’.

According to Gwangju Shinsegae on the 11th, ‘Poovilla’ is a proprietary character that Shinsegae Department Store planned, developed, and launched entirely on its own, first introduced in the winter of 2017, making it the first in the industry to do so.

Poovilla, an imaginary animal, is modeled after a friendly white polar bear familiar to children and customers.

This winter-born Poovilla can now also be seen in summer starting this year. The activity scope of Poovilla has expanded from a Christmas character to Shinsegae Department Store’s year-round representative character.

The ‘Poovilla marketing’ has also evolved one step further. Previously, only store displays using ‘Poovilla’ models were conducted, but this year, product sales and animation will be introduced for the first time.

First, this upcoming summer, four types of Poovilla beach bags (9,900 KRW) and two types of Poovilla beach towels (10,200 KRW), which can be used in various ways at vacation spots, will be directly produced and sold, expected to attract the attention of couples and family customers with children.

Pre-orders will start on the 12th through SSG.com, with beach bags available for pickup at the main building’s first-floor gift event hall from the 12th, and beach towels from the 10th of next month.

Customers who pre-order will also receive a cute design cup holder tube as a gift, adding to the joy of visiting the department store.

In addition to purchases on SSG.com, every Friday, customers who spend over 150,000 KRW using Shinsegae partner cards (Citi, Samsung, Shinhan, Hana, Chicor) will receive weekly gifts (one per person) at the main building’s first-floor gift event hall.

On the first day, the 12th, 180 summer beach bags featuring Poovilla and friends’ characters will be given away until supplies last, and another 180 on the second day, the 19th.

On the 10th of next month, 180 beach towels will be given away until supplies last, and another 180 on the 17th.

Store displays will also be held in various ways from the 12th until the 19th of next month.

At the first-floor plaza, a scene depicting everyone enjoying summer together will be created to offer customers a rich visual experience, and a photo zone for taking pictures with Poovilla and friends will be set up.

Also, by following Shinsegae’s official Instagram account and uploading a photo taken at the ‘Poovilla Photo Zone’ or related to ‘Poovilla displays, lounge, Members Bar drinks’ at the first-floor plaza with two hashtags [#ShinsegaeDepartmentStore, #PoovillaAndFriends] on their own Instagram account, customers can enter a contest.

Two hundred people who upload certification shots will receive a Poovilla tube cup holder. Winners will be announced individually via Instagram MD within this month.

Furthermore, throughout the summer, the entire department store will broadcast a newly introduced Summer Classic proposed by the Seoul Arts Center to evoke the unique summer atmosphere.

The representative music pieces include 10 songs such as Ravel’s Jeux d'eau, Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee.

Additionally, from the 12th to the 14th, Samsung C&T’s Summer Week event featuring brands like Beanpole, Kuho, and Theory will be held at the first-floor event hall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.