Seoul City Calls for 'Seoul Brand Partners' from 20 Private Companies

Reflecting Citizen Preferences for Seoul Symbols, Expanding Collaboration Scope to Seoul Brand, Haechi, Hangang, etc.
Expert Brand and Design Consultation, On-Offline Sales Support Including Pop-up Stores and Shopping Mall Entry, Product Promotion

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 11th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it is recruiting companies to collaborate on product development using Seoul’s representative symbols such as the Seoul brand Haechi, the Han River, and N Seoul Tower under the program ‘2021 Seoul Brand Partners.’

‘Seoul Brand Partners’ is a joint branding project where the Seoul Metropolitan Government and private companies develop products and services utilizing Seoul’s symbols, with Seoul supporting promotion and sales channels.

Private companies with excellent products in clothing, accessories, daily necessities, stationery, food, and more can enhance product competitiveness and generate profits by using Seoul’s symbols. Seoul can achieve promotional effects by increasing preference for and spreading the value of Seoul’s symbols.

This year, reflecting the diverse preferences of citizens for Seoul’s beloved symbols, the scope of collaboration, which was previously limited to the existing Seoul brand, has been expanded to include various Seoul symbols such as the Seoul brand ‘I·SEOUL·U,’ the city’s emblem ‘Haechi,’ the Han River, N Seoul Tower, DDP, and Gwanghwamun, among other representative landmarks.

Seoul is recruiting 20 companies for the ‘2021 Seoul Brand Partners’ program until the 28th. In addition to companies, 1 to 2 teams of university (graduate) students interested in designing Seoul’s symbols will also be selected. Foreign residents in Korea are also eligible to participate. Outstanding design proposals from selected university (graduate) students will be matched with the final selected companies to be applied to collaborative products or supported by Seoul in producing Seoul Brand collaborative products.

Selected companies will receive three major benefits: expert consultation and one-on-one coaching, business networking, support for online and offline sales channels for collaborative products, and promotion through major Seoul media.

First, to enhance the brand competitiveness of companies, consultation and coaching will be provided by experts in various fields such as brand strategy, design, and marketing. Consultation will be conducted in the form of three workshops to build business networks among companies. Starting this year, one-on-one mentoring will also be newly supported to help companies improve design and marketing on an as-needed basis.

Active support will be provided to develop online and offline sales channels to help increase actual sales. Online support includes practical training and product photography for small business owners who have little experience operating online shopping malls, specifically for opening ‘Naver Smart Store (online mall).’ All participating companies will be able to participate in ‘live commerce,’ a real-time sales broadcast, to help increase actual sales.

Additionally, a dedicated space for Seoul Brand Partners will be created in Seoul’s social economy enterprise online shopping mall ‘Hamkke Nuri Mall,’ and support will be provided for store entry. Offline, popup stores will be opened in locations with high foot traffic and easy access, and support will be given for entry into distribution platforms of Seoul-related institutions.

A promotional video for Seoul Brand Partners will be produced and disseminated through major Seoul media such as outdoor electronic billboards and subways within Seoul. Promotion and marketing will also focus on collaborative product information and viral marketing.

Companies and university (graduate) students wishing to apply can download the collaboration application form from the ‘News’ section on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website or the Seoul communication portal ‘Naesonane Seoul (Contest),’ fill it out, and submit it via email. Seoul will conduct a first-round document screening and a second-round proposal presentation evaluation, comprehensively assessing expertise, feasibility, and willingness to participate before making the final selection.

Meanwhile, last year, Seoul collaborated with a total of 23 companies and 2 teams of university students to showcase about 100 products including clothing, accessories, stationery, and food through a popup store at the Hongdae festival street.

Han Young-hee, Director of Citizen Communication Planning, said, “We hope to enhance the competitiveness of companies with excellent products but low brand awareness by adding the power of diverse and attractive Seoul symbols and to share the value of Seoul with citizens. We look forward to the participation of many companies and university (graduate) students.”

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