[Report] "Our Store on TV Commercial"... KT Creator Factory Center Supporting Small Business Owners

Professional Support in Advertising Production, Digital Promotion, and Online Commerce
230 Million Genie TV Ads Broadcast Over 3 Years... Flower Crab Sauce Sales Increased 10-Fold

Creators at the KT Creator Factory Center are filming a Qton advertisement. Photo by KT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] KT supports small business owners struggling due to COVID-19 at the KT Creator Factory Center. By assisting with advertising production, digital promotion, and the use of online commerce platforms, KT helps strengthen the competitiveness of small business owners.

On the 11th, I visited the KT Creator Factory Center, which recently expanded and relocated to Dongjak-gu from the Mokdong building in Seoul. Located in the same building as KT Alpha, it is expected to create synergy among group companies through live commerce practice and more. The center consists of studios, recording rooms, editing rooms, classrooms, and lounges. The main activities of the center are broadly divided into two: customized advertising production for small business owners and support for promotional strategies.

KT, together with the Small Business Broadcasting Information Center, produces promotional content for small business products using Genie TV LiveAD+. Two-minute video advertisements are broadcast between programs on about 100 channels of Genie TV and Skylife TV.

One-stop support is a key feature. Due to the small scale of many small business operations, they often lack the manpower and time to engage in advertising production, regardless of cost. Once the product is provided, KT selects the most suitable template and handles everything from production to broadcasting in one go. The advertisements produced this way are broadcast to 11.5 million TV subscribers nationwide. Over the past three years, 1,930 advertisements have been produced and broadcast approximately 230 million times. The number of advertisements produced has doubled compared to two years ago.

At the studio visited that day, advertisements for cosmetics and health functional foods by Qton were being filmed. Although these advertisements are conducted as part of social contribution, they are handled by professionals. In the case of health functional foods, KT even takes care of the complex advertising review procedures. The advertisements created this way are provided free of charge and can be used on other channels as well.

A show host and a small business owner are practicing live commerce. Photo by KT

KT supports live commerce-related online and offline lectures twice a week and also offers networking parties and special lectures for small business owners. In the classroom, students who took time out of their busy schedules were attentively attending the classes. After acquiring basic knowledge of shooting and editing videos using smartphone apps, they proceed with live commerce and product shooting and editing practice. On one side of the center, a professional show host was conducting a live commerce broadcast on the Grip platform together with small business owners. Afterwards, the show host monitors the broadcast and provides mentoring such as feedback to the trainees. According to a KT official, about 30% of trainees generate sales during the practical training.

Seo Bo-sang, CEO of 'Green Natural,' a diffuser sales company participating in this year's educational program, said, "Due to the nature of diffuser products, where customers smell the scent directly before purchasing, on-site sales felt limited during the COVID-19 period, which caused much concern. Through the classes supported by the center, I was able to conduct live broadcasts with a show host and learned sales know-how that vividly expresses the diffuser scent, which actually resulted in sales."

Kim Se-jong, KT team leader, said, "So far, 4,540 small business owners have undergone digital transformation through the center. Small business owners have had a particularly hard time over the past two years due to COVID-19, but I believe this program has helped them endure these difficult times well."

The KT Creator Factory Center is unique in that it is operated by departments responsible for media businesses such as Genie TV and advertising, rather than the social contribution department. This allows for more practical and efficient support. KT's support is translating into actual sales and strengthened competitiveness.

Kim Joo-dae, KT Media Planning Manager, is answering reporters' questions at the KT Creator Factory Center. Photo by KT

Kim Ju-dae, KT Media Planning Manager, said, "Although it is difficult to disclose company names, the results have actually improved. One small business owner selling crab marinated in soy sauce saw sales increase nearly tenfold. There are many cases, including some businesses entering duty-free shops, so I believe they are doing well."

Kim added, "I believe KT's mission is to use the technology KT possesses to provide capabilities that satisfy customers and enable things that were previously impossible."

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