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[HanCinema's News] South Korean Bedding Companies Compete With High Profile Endorsements

In theory, South Korean mattress companies market by trying to sell their customers on sleeponomics- namely, that a high quality bed is worth the investment because a person needs good rest. But increasingly, bedding companies have focused more on high-profile celebrity endorsements to obtain customers. So it is that Allerman, the number one South Korean mattress brand, is relying on Song Joong-ki to promote their brand.

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The news of Allerman ascending to the top of the South Korean mattress industry comes following a marketing campaign that began back in April of this year heavily featuring the actor. Allerman was the first innovator in the bedding industry for celebrity endorsements, with a marketing deal made with Kim Tae-hee in 2012 representing a big shift in the industry. They followed up this endorsement with Park Shin-hye and Jun Ji-hyun, who likewise did well with the 30-40 age demographic.

Song Joong-ki was selected as a new model in part because he casts a wider appeal, with the actor also being popular with consumer in their fifties. There's no denying the success of the campaign- sales of the Sphinx model, which is the mattress Song Joong-ki is specifically advocating for, are up forty percent compared to this time period last year. Mattresses in general are a much bigger industry in the age of celebrity endorsements.

Allerman did about thirteen million dollars worth of business in South Korea in 2012. This quadrupled to sixty million dollars worth of business in 2015, then to seventy-seven million dollars worth of business in 2016. It was at this point that Allerman edged out Good Bedding as the market leader in South Korea, with Good Bedding only having seventy-two million dollars of revenue in the South Korean mattress industry.

Good Bedding has had to take on its own celebrity models to compete, starting with Jo In-sung from 2015 to 2020. Starting last year, Lee Ji-eun became the main advertising model for the mattress company. Good Bedding is optimistic that the sincerity associated with Lee Ji-eun will make a positive long-term impact on the brand, as demographics and tastes among consumer likewise continue to change.

Written by William Schwartz

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