When someone asked Kim Hong-tack if he knew where the highest number of suicide attempts took place in Seoul, his mind immediately went blank.
“I always thought of suicide as a major and pressing social issue, but this kind of concrete question had not occurred to me before,” said Kim, an executive creative director for Cheil Worldwide, Korea’s largest advertising agency.
Little did he know that the answer ― the Mapo Bridge ― would later become one of his most critically acclaimed projects, winning numerous international awards, including a prestigious Cannes Lion award.
In 2012, Kim led a project to transform Mapo Bridge into a “Bridge of Life” with uplifting messages and pictures on the guardrails and LED lighting that detect people’s movements.
When he was brainstorming for the solution, he walked across the bridge and tried to think in the minds of suicide attempters. It was then when he realized that most people who attempt suicide send text messages or call their acquaintances first.
“They all earnestly wanted to communicate,” said Kim. “So that was the solution to the problem ― communication.”
That is why the railings are inscribed with casual, everyday messages, such as the Korean standard greeting of “Have you eaten yet?”
The solution of the problem had to be a very practical one, according to Kim. And to find an effective solution, “you have to be at the place where the problem started.”
That is why when many young people ask Kim for insights and how to be successful in the field of advertising, he tells them to be at the place and experience as much as possible.
“It is important to be out there, see more, feel more and smell more to increase creativity and insights, if that means to travel, meet people and read a lot,” said Kim. “The solution is already there. It is matter of discovering what is already presented to us.”
To him, advertisement is about the creation of new values.
“When I say values, they are not only limited to the social values, but also extend to the values of improved brand images and awareness, economic values such as increased sales and many more.”
But Kim, whose job requires to be creative on demand, admits creativity and eureka moments don’t come for free.
“It is a combination of hard work and diverse experiences,” the director said.
“You have to input hard-earned experiences and insights into your system,” said Kim. “When experiences and information pile up, that becomes what we call high-quality output ― a solution.”
For Kim, writing is a method to collate his observances and thoughts. The result is his two most recently published books.
“Digging Deep without Getting Narrow,” published by VegaBooks, is based on the Creative Convergence Concert, in which experts from engineering, humanities and cultural fields held a panel discussion on convergence between technology and the humanities. Kim is among 13 experts, including popular philosophy professor Kang Shin-joo, who share their insights in the book.
He also published a marketing book titled “Digital Playground,” depicting today’s marketing situation in 10 keywords. The book shares real examples of unique and value-creating campaigns that changed people’s way of thinking and improved brand awareness.
“Marketing becomes effective and viral when consumers hang out together and spread the fun and values of the product on their own,” said Kim. “Our job (as marketers) is to create that platform, the playground for people to gather and have fun.”
Kim has been creating proactive platforms, including the recent Minewater campaign by CJ Group. There are two barcodes on a Minewater bottle, one to check out for $1 and the other water-shaped barcode to add 10 cents for a donation to Africa. Consumers can choose to pay either $1 or $1.10 at the checkout register. The campaign raised over 100 million won in donations.
Kim, who believes in communication as a key to understanding consumers, is an active communicator through his daily posts on his Facebook page, “Taktalk1119.”
“I made a promise to myself to post my thoughts and insightful messages every day through SNS,” said Kim.
Kim says writing every day has helped him to make careful observations in the midst of mundane happenings. “You can find so much insight when you look out.”
When asked what design is for the adman whose adcareer has spanned two decades, Kim simply said. “It is shaping thoughts, not shaping form.” “When the thought is shaped with a concept, the form follows.”
By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)
