Lee Hyori Juicer·Kim Yuna Rice Cooker...Mid-sized Home Appliance Star Marketing Boosts Sales

Hurom Sees Increase in Website Visitors After Lee Hyori Advertisement
Cuchen Reports Sales Growth of 'Kim Yuna Rice Cooker'

Mid-sized home appliance companies are reaping significant benefits from 'star marketing.' As stars promote products backed by technology, they simultaneously raise awareness of both the brand and the company, resulting in increased sales. Lee Hyori and Kim Yuna have recently been spotlighted as the 'faces' of mid-sized home appliance companies.

Hurom's Lee Hyori Advertisement
Photo by Hurom

According to Hurom on the 6th, domestic sales last month rose by more than 13% compared to the previous month. Hurom has been airing the 'Raw Campaign' advertisement featuring Lee Hyori, encouraging the consumption of vegetables and fruits in daily life, on TV and online since the end of last year. This is the first time in about seven years since actress Lee Young-ae in 2016 that Hurom has hired a top star as an advertising model.

The marketing effect was even more pronounced on Hurom's own online store. Last month, sales on the official mall increased 3.7 times compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the number of visitors increased 9.4 times, and the number of visits increased 9.7 times. New member registrations also increased more than 7.6 times, indicating growing consumer interest in Hurom. A Hurom representative explained, “The common denominator of health between Hurom and Lee Hyori is showing synergy.”

Since August last year, Cuchen, which appointed 'Figure Queen' Kim Yuna as its model, has also been attracting consumers' attention with the phrase “Use Yuna rice cookers in the New Year.” Cuchen's flagship product, the 'Brain Rice Cooker,' is famously known as the 'Kim Yuna rice cooker.' Immediately after the TV commercial featuring Kim Yuna aired on August 30 last year, sales volume and revenue of the Brain Rice Cooker in September increased by 262% and 3.5 times compared to the previous month, respectively. Overall, sales volume and revenue of the Brain Rice Cooker increased by approximately 159% and 2.5 times, respectively, in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter.

Cuchen emphasized that the company's direction of developing innovative products aligns with Kim Yuna, who made a mark in figure skating history. Kim Yuna, a former national figure skating athlete, won the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. She was also the first in 100 years of women's figure skating history to achieve an all-podium finish. An all-podium finish means that the athlete placed within the top three in every competition they participated in and stood on the podium. A Cuchen representative said, “The image of Kim Yuna, who enjoys high favorability and trust nationwide, combined with Cuchen's brand image representing Korean rice taste, is producing good results.”

This kind of star marketing is analyzed to contribute to raising awareness and improving the image of mid-sized home appliance companies. In the case of Cheongho Nice, which used singer Lim Young-woong as a model for three years, the YouTube views of their advertisement videos exceeded 11 million at their peak. Most comments also contained favorable content about Cheongho Nice. An industry insider said, “From the perspective of companies that are not large corporations, it is necessary to make consumers watch once more, and star advertisements are one of the marketing methods that can achieve this in a short period.”

Cuchen's Brain Rice Cooker and Model Kim Yuna
[Photo by Cuchen]

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