Hanhwa Investment & Securities MZ Generation Makes Waves... Industry Focuses on Wine Bar Marketing

Industry's First Wine Marketing
Inspired by Commonalities Between Wine and TDF
Vintage and Long-Term Investment
Winemaker and Asset Manager
Collaborative Marketing with 'Purpledog' Also Draws Attention

Bae Jae-gyu, CEO of Korea Investment Trust Management, is introducing a new product at a press conference held at a wine bar in Itaewon on October 6.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Korea Investment Management (KIM) is delivering a fresh shock to the industry with its wine marketing. It was planned by MZ (Millennial + Generation Z) employees, reflecting a shift toward a younger organization.

On the 6th, KIM held a press conference at the Itaewon wine bar 'Falls Anchor Wine Market' to unveil the 'Korea Investment TDF Self-Managed ETF Focus Fund,' a target date fund (TDF).

The concept and venue of the conference attracted attention. Typically, asset management firms book hotels when launching new products or announcing business strategies. This is the first time marketing has been done by renting a wine bar and applying such a concept, as KIM did.

The idea came from an MZ (Millennial + Generation Z) employee in the PR department. It is said that KIM accepted the employee’s proposal to apply wine marketing based on the commonality between the EMP (ETF Managed Portfolio)-type TDF 'Korea Investment TDF Self-Managed ETF Focus Fund' introduced that day and wine.

The wine butler service 'Purple Dog,' which collaborated on the marketing, also drew attention. It is a service where customers pay a fixed monthly fee and receive one bottle of wine tailored to their taste every month at home.

Just as the 'Korea Investment TDF Self-Managed ETF Focus' manages investments 'self-managed' according to the investor’s retirement timing, the marketing collaboration was conducted with 'Purple Dog,' which sends wine 'self-managed' according to customer preferences.

A KIM official explained, "Just as aged wine has a deeper taste over time, the longer you invest, the better the results (returns). Also, just as excellent winemakers produce good wine, asset managers with expertise generate good returns."

The industry is positively evaluating the environment where young employees can voice their opinions on marketing and the PR department actively embraces and implements these ideas.

An industry insider said, "Recently, KIM has expanded its PR team by hiring department heads and marketing experts. It seems they are trying to be more proactive than in the past."

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