Euro wins $25m deal with Dodgers pitcher

<p>SEOUL: Euro RSCG Next has won the US$25 million Kookmin </p><p>credit cards account and is launching a television campaign around </p><p>January 10, starring Los Angeles Dodgers baseball pitcher Chan Ho </p><p>Park. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Scott Rhee, executive partner at Euro RSCG Next, said it won the account </p><p>because the client liked the idea of having Park, the first Korean </p><p>pitcher to play in the US major baseball league, endorsing its credit </p><p>card. Rhee said: "He is the first Korean pitcher in the major league and </p><p>Kookmin is using the tagline 'Korea's first credit card'." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He said having a male sports hero also helped with brand differentiation </p><p>because Kookmin's competitors LG and Samsung used female celebrities </p><p>Young Ae Lee and So Young Ko respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In terms of customer benefits all the credit cards are similar so </p><p>branding is crucial," said Rhee, adding that Kookmin faces stiff </p><p>competition. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Kookmin is one of Korea's biggest banks, but Korea's chaebols </p><p>(conglomerates) often encourage their employees to sign up for </p><p>chaebol-branded credit cards. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Euro RSCG Next won Kookmin's creative and media account after pitching </p><p>against Oricom, BBDO Dongpang, Han Comm, Young Comm and incumbent Ad </p><p>Venture, partly owned by J. Walter Thompson. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Sungwook Hong, chief executive of Euro Next, said: "Even though it was a </p><p>local win, our Asia-Pacific network gave us strong support. The other </p><p>Euro offices gave us insights into the business card category." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Euro works for Diners Club in Hong Kong, Maybank in Malaysia, Macquarie </p><p>Bank in Australia and handles projects for Citibank in Singapore. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Vincent Digonnet, Euro's Asia-Pacific chief executive, said: "This win </p><p>is a fantastic example of how our (international agency) network can add </p><p>value to local businesses". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He said Euro's Starnet interactive platform allowed agency personnel to </p><p>share information, ideas and intelligence with local clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>