• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.227-251
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• 2012

This study analyzed Woori Investment and Securities' industry-leading marketing from both a brand management and a marketing decision-making perspective. By executing a different marketing strategy from its competitors, Woori Investment and Securities recognized recent changes in the asset management and investment markets as an open opportunity, and quickly responded to the market changes. First, the company launched the octo brand as a multi-account product, two years before its competitors offered their own products. In particular, it created a differentiated brand image, using the blue octopus character, which became familiar to the general financial community, and was consistently employed as part of an integrated marketing communications strategy. Second, it executed a brand expansion strategy by sub-branding octo in a variety of new financial products, responding to rapid changes in the domestic financial and asset management markets. Through this strategic evolution, the octo brand became a successful wealth management brand and representative of Woori Investment & Securities. Third, it has converged market research, demand and trend analysis, and customer needs acquired through various customer contact channels into a marketing perspective. Thus, marketing has participated in the product development stage, a rarity in the finance industry. Woori Investment and Securities has a leading marketing system. The heart of the successful product creation lies in a collaboration of their customer bases among the finance companies in the Woori Financial Group. The present study suggested a corresponding strategy for octo brand, which is expected to enter into the maturity stage of its product life cycle. In addition, this study found a need to modify the current positioning strategy in order to position and preserve sustainability in the increasingly competitive asset management market. It also suggested the need for an offensive strategy to counter the number one M/S company, and address the issue of cannibalism in the Woori Financial Group.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.53-76
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• 2005

With rapid technological and market change, new product development (NPD) complexity is a significant issue that organizations continually face in their development projects. There are numerous factors, which cause development projects to become increasingly costly & complex. A product is more likely to be successfully developed and marketed when the complexity inherent in NPD projects is clearly understood and carefully managed. Based upon the previous studies, this study examines the nature and importance of complexity in developing new products and then identifies several issues in managing complexity. Issues considered include: definition of complexity : consequences of complexity; and methods for managing complexity in NPD projects. To achieve high performance in managing complexity in development projects, these issues need to be addressed, for example: A. Complexity inherent in NPD projects is multi-faceted and multidimensional. What factors need to be considered in defining and/or measuring complexity in a development project? For example, is it sufficient if complexity is defined only from a technological perspective, or is it more desirable to consider the entire array of complexity sources which NPD teams with different functions (e.g., marketing, R&D, manufacturing, etc.) face in the development process? Moreover, is it sufficient if complexity is measured only once during a development project, or is it more effective and useful to trace complexity changes over the entire development life cycle? B. Complexity inherent in a project can have negative as well as positive influences on NPD performance. Thus, which complexity impacts are usually considered negative and which are positive? Project complexity also can affect the entire organization. Any complexity could be better assessed in broader and longer perspective. What are some ways in which the long-term impact of complexity on an organization can be assessed and managed? C. Based upon previous studies, several approaches for managing complexity are derived. What are the weaknesses & strengths of each approach? Is there a desirable hierarchy or order among these approaches when more than one approach is used? Are there differences in the outcomes according to industry and product types (incremental or radical)? Answers to these and other questions can help organizations effectively manage the complexity inherent in most development projects. Complexity is worthy of additional attention from researchers and practitioners alike. Large-scale empirical investigations, jointly conducted by researchers and practitioners, will help gain useful insights into understanding and managing complexity. Those organizations that can accurately identify, assess, and manage the complexity inherent in projects are likely to gain important competitive advantages.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.1-29
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• 2008

The objective of our study is to provide an exploratory model for forecasting sales take-off timing of a product in the context of multi-national markets. We evaluated the usefulness of key predictors such as multiple market information, product attributes, price, and sales for the forecasting of sales take-off timing by applying the suggested model to monthly sales data for PDP and LCD TV provided by a Korean electronics manufacturer. We have found some important results for global companies from the empirical analysis. Firstly, innovation coefficients obtained from sales data of a particular product in other markets can provide the most useful information on sales take-off timing of the product in a target market. However, imitation coefficients obtained from the sales data of a particular product in the target market and other markets are not useful for sales take-off timing of the product in the target market. Secondly, price and product attributes significantly influence on take-off timing. It is noteworthy that the ratio of the price of the target product to the average price of the market is more important than the price ofthe target product itself. Lastly, the cumulative sales of the product are still useful for the prediction of sales take-off timing. Our model outperformed the average model in terms of hit-rate.