LG Australia marketing director Gemma Lemieux had been out of the consumer electronics market for six years before taking up the top marketing gig at LG Electronics a Company that 20 years ago was known for great marketing.
Now she is bringing back to life real marking at LG, and she has the pedigree to do this having been responsible for the now famous skipping commercials produced by her for former employer Panasonic Australia that was also used overseas by the Japanese consumer giant.
Gone are South Korean factory led marketing campaigns such as their real shocker out of home poster campaign that some say did more damage than good for LG’s OLED TV marketing last year.
It also led to former marketing director Angus Jones quitting the Company after a falling out with Korean management.
20 years ago, the then marketing director of LG Paul Reeves created the branding ‘Life’s Good’ he proved that LG technology which when it comes to appliances and TV’s is among the best in the world actually delivered.
He placed four washing machines on poles and the only one that did not fall off because it had unique vibration technology built in was the LG model. It not only led to a boom in demand for LG appliances, it saw the global birth of the ‘Life’s Good’ slogan that is today used globally by LG Electronics.
Yesterday Lemieux rolled out a new campaign for a new complex era of COVID, people working, entertaining and living from home.
“I really felt that the brand had slipped in turn in terms of connection. We knew that once our products were owned, they were loved. However, I felt very strongly that we had stepped away from connecting with new consumers she claimed resulting in LG Korean management finally giving the local subsidiary budget for a major new initiative.
“I was very dogged about making sure that we have our own voice. We have our own brand positioning, we own it. Whilst retail are extremely important to us, we have let them tell our brand story and I wanted to take that ownership back and be the custodian of our brand messaging.”
Lemieux said that her objective with the new campaign was to re-establish the brand to reflect on how lives have changed since its “life’s good” was coined by the Australian LG team in 1999.
Lemieux said over the years LG has stepped away from the true meaning of the slogan and it now had the opportunity to reframe how “life’s good” relates to the brand and “allows us to authentically connect with the Australian consumer”.
There is no standout positioning of LG products, it’s all about lifestyle and the home which is where LG products are used every day of the week and often.
“We really wanted to rethink how we relate to consumers locally and understood how ‘life’s good’ is relevant today for Australian consumers,” she said.
The campaign, created by advertising agency The Works aims to celebrate normal life moments, with one execution featuring a family’s busy morning routine – complete with LG product.
The big question is whether this “norm” style of advertising will get lost among a sea of other brands who are using free and paid TV to try and get a brand message across with several big brands investing millions in ‘home’ marketing.
One advertisement a young man cleaning his house in preparation for friends coming over to watch a movie. Both end with the tagline: “Life’s full of good, when you look for it”.
The strategy and the decision to target inside home activities was taken following an extensive research study that found that Australians were actually ‘coping’ during COVID lockdowns.
LG conducted consumer research during the height of the pandemic in Australia to assess how it could best reach existing and new consumers.
What they discovered was that “The home was a source of control in their lives and source of comfort. As a brand, we really wanted to tap into that,” Ms Lemieux said.
“We also unearthed that as Australians, fundamentally, we adopt a really positive outlook on life, seeking good in the small little moments. That for us was really important. That really shaped the way that we started to communicate with our consumers.”
Lemieux claims that LG Electronics has invested in its marketing team to ensure it can best leverage the financial success it had last year. The division has been restructured with long time executive Brad Reed given more responsibility for marketing activities.
She has refused to say how much LG is spending on the campaign, but she did say it was “50%” up on last year.
