Global COO of Korea’s Largest Ad Agency, Cheil Worldwide; Bruce Haines

Interview by David Carruth, Shots by Ethan James

1. How does a Londoner end up at the top of a Korean communications firm?

As long as I can remember, I’ve always been interested in communication. Even as a student in the UK, I was involved with school papers and the student council, and after I graduated, I got a job with advertising in London and stayed in that market for a number of years. In fact, I first got to know Samsung through the account that I was handling in London.

My first visit to Korea took place in 1990 while I was working on an account for Hyundai Motors. At the time, I don’t think I would have been willing to move to Korea, but fortunately Korea has changed quite a bit since then. Early in 2008, Cheil Worldwide approached me about coming to Korea.  At first, I hesitated and wondered whether I could take the job without leaving my London office. In fact, it was my wife who made the final decision. With our kids grown up and my wife ready for an adventure, it turned out to be the right timing for the move, so I took the job.

2. Tell us about your first 18 months here in Korea.

Actually, they’ve been a complete roller coaster. I generally divide my experience so far into two parts, cultural and business. Before I came, I thought that it would be a lot harder for me to adjust culturally than professionally, but in fact things have not gone quite as expected. My wife and I have taken to life here like ducks to water, but adjusting to business culture turned out to be a bit more difficult.

3. What are some of the biggest obstacles you’ve encountered while doing business in Korea?

To begin with, it’s a little confusing. On the surface, business structure appears to be the same here as in the UK. However, once you go below the surface, you realize that so many of the business fundamentals that you tend to take for granted, such as the role of the human resources and financial divisions, are quite different. For example, communications firms in England are built around the creative department, but in Korea, account management is more central.

4. How does a typical ad campaign come to be?

First, of course, there must be the product to be marketed, a new mobile phone, for example. Next, the client sends us a brief containing technical information on the product, comparisons with competing products, and directions about the markets the client wants to target. With the brief in hand, we develop a creative strategy for the product, which we then pitch to the client. Assuming somewhat optimistically that the client approves our proposal, we move on to production. We generally outsource technically demanding work like photography and filming to firms that specialize in it. Finally, we place the finished advertising content on TV, in the media, online, and in other places.

5. Can you explain your approach to using the Internet in marketing?

The internet is absolutely vital to a successful marketing strategy, but you’ve got to use common sense. To take an easy example, think about getting a new camera. How do you decide what product you are going to buy? Most people today go to the internet to find information and reviews about the product they’re thinking about purchasing. Basically, the internet has become the point of decision in the buying process even if the point of purchase remains an actual store. It’s crucial to cement the potential customer’s relationship with the brand while they’re online.

6. What is one current project that Cheil Communication is working on?

Samsung has an exciting new product that we’re handling right now. They’re already the world leader in TV manufacturing, and now they’ve released the PAVV LED TV. It’s just an outstanding product, as thin as a finger! We’re working on the next stage of the global ad campaign right now and you’ll see a lot of ads in the Korean market as well.

7. Who are some of your major clients?

Our clients include KT, Amore Pacific, Dongseo Foods, Pernod Ricard, and TESCO, but 45% of our projects come directly from various divisions within Samsung. In fact Cheil began as Samsung’s in-house communications firm, though we’ve since become more autonomous. It’s very common in Korea for chaebols (business conglomerates) to manage their own communication firm.

8. What’s one big difference between advertising in Korea and the UK?

Celebrity endorsement—a huge proportion of Korean ads depend on famous people. Of course, it’s not uncommon in the West for stars to endorse a product, but generally the ad has a core idea and makes use of the celebrity endorsement to enhance the original concept. Not so in Korea. In its crudest form, Korean advertising degenerates to beautiful people holding a bottle. This is one of the things holding back the reputation of Korean advertising worldwide.

9. Is there anything that irritates you about life in Korea?

The most annoying thing is the free-for-all on the roads in Seoul. The traffic situation has got to improve, and it will start when drivers realize that red lights are not just advisory. I would also love to see Korea start feeling more confident about itself. Seoul is an extremely safe city, yet I still see dozens of buses full of riot police lined up whenever I go downtown. If there was one thing I could change about Seoul, it would be to get rid of all of those police buses.

10. What’s something you absolutely love about your life in Korea?

My wife and I got lucky. We live up in Gahwae-dong near Samcheong-dong. It’s a great location with a really friendly local community, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

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