Jinro rebrands to capitalise on growing female segment

The company is the latest to take radical steps to address soju’s shrinking market share in Korea. Traditionally perceived as a drink for men aged 40 and over, soju has steadily been losing ground to beer, both domestic and imported, and wine over the past three years.

While traditional spirits such as soju commanded around half of the domestic drinks market until five years ago, share has since dropped to 29 per cent, according to statistics from Chosun.com. Meanwhile beer and wine account for around 60 and two per cent, respectively. Within the soju market itself, Jinro has seen its share drop from 55 per cent in 2005 to 49.5 per cent last year.

Steve Yi, director of strategic planning at Grey Korea, attributes soju’s decline in popularity to a combination of recently relaxed import restrictions on wine and beer, and growing personal image and health awareness that is fuelling a trend for drinks with a lower alcohol content.

But Yi says that an opportunity exists for soju brands that successfully rebrand themselves to appeal to a younger demographic, pointing out that drinks such as vodka and gin have managed to overhaul their image in the West to regain favour among drinkers in their twenties. He adds that consumption of spirits by young women is gaining acceptance in Korea, opening up a new potential market.

The new campaign, developed by TBWA Korea, features a combination of images symbolising clean, fashionable living including among others a tape measure, scales, and a bicycle shown in quick succession, punctuated by the words ‘slim’, ‘trendy’ and ‘cool’. While not aimed exclusively at a female audience, the ad is skewed towards female drinkers, featuring a young woman shown drinking the product at the end of the spot.

Other brands to have recently taken a similar approach include Cham i seul and Chum Churum.

Due to censorship laws that prohibit the promotion of drinks with a high alcoholic content on terrestrial TV, the spot is to be screened exclusively in cinemas. It is supported by a series of print and outdoor ads.