Euro wins $25m deal with Dodgers pitcher

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

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