Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times: Asian Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact during COVID-19

ASIA BUSINESS COUNCIL HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 6 2 Lotte Group (South Korea) Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times Digital Marketing Campaign While traditional marketing relies on advertisements at physical retail outlets like department stores, social media channels such as blogs, YouTube, and Instagram have become more important with the shift toward online shopping since the onset of COVID-19. To that end, rapper Cheetah was invited to be the brand ambassador for deMonZ, and Lotte On created a series of videos that identified three insight keywords for the entire fashion A.I. project. The first insight keyword is “contain” ( 담다 ) and refers to containing A.I. In the first video, Cheetah recalls her interest in fashion from a young age, and her experiences of not being able to find what she wanted when she had an interest in a certain type of clothing. 22 When an engine “containing” A.I. is able to come up with new products based on the photos that she provides, she reflects that technology has truly become very advanced, which is, in her view, a positive development. 23 The second insight keyword is “protect” ( 지키다 ) and refers to protecting the en- vironment. Instead of manufacturing clothes that might not be sold, deMonZ only produces products for consumers who have purchased it. Indeed, in the second video, Cheetah says that she wants to “protect all the people who are precious to me, the earth that I live in, as well as the dogs and cats,” and that the eco-friendly element of the project was an important factor in convincing her to be its “muse.” 24 The third insight keyword is “change” ( 바꾸다 ) and refers to new ways of doing things. In Cheetah’s words, “It is time to move and change. Not changing to match the changing world but changing myself on my own initiative.” 25 To be sure, as a final keyword, “change” seems to be a fitting theme. Choi and the Future Strategic Planning Team at Lotte Shopping emphasize that it is time to move beyond price competition to build a new eco-system for e-commerce – New brand on Lotte On offering A.I. designed street fashion Lotte Members boasts 39 million registered members, or 76% of the total population of South Korea…As of October 2020, Lotte On had around 35 million user sessions per month and 13.5 million monthly active users. Customers in their 30s comprised 38 percent of all customers, followed by customers in their 40s...