‘Re-imagine! Life beyond Media’ slogan represents Herald’s future


Herald Corp., the parent company of The Korea Herald, will present its new corporate identity focused on “Life beyond Media.”

Aiming to be at the center of consumers’ lives by taking on new projects like eco-friendly manufacturing and distribution, it expects to grow to 10 times its current size within a decade, its officials said.

The firm has also changed its company name from Herald Media to Herald Corp. to emphasize its goal to expand into other fields.

The company’s new corporate identity, launched ahead of its 60th anniversary next year, features the capital letter “H” of Herald in blue, which has long been a symbolic color for the firm.

The thick blue lines forming the letter “H” represent the company’s strong, solid corporate image and its determination for future growth, according to Park Seo-won, chief executive of Big Ant International. The company worked on Herald’s new CI for the past six months.

“The Korea Herald is an international brand,” he said. “The CI, represented by the letter ‘H’ logo, is simple but also delivers a strong message. It was designed to be understood by an international audience.”

With the new CI in place, Herald is striving to explore new territories with its new growth projects, which put an emphasis on two different areas: information and knowledge, and lifestyle and environment.

Information and knowledge includes the newspaper business ― The Korea Herald, Herald Business and Junior Herald ― and lifestyle and environment points to non-media businesses like Herald EcoChem, Herald Artday and online shopping site Bonpon.

Herald EcoChem, launched on May 3, is a polyethylene-based sheet film manufacturing plant in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.

Targeting 3 billion won ($2.66 million) in sales by the end of this year, it sold nearly 40 tons of sheet film in May alone to expand its customer portfolio.

The firm also aims to reach 30 billion won in sales in 2014 and 50 billion won in sales in 2016, company officials said.

“Herald EcoChem, which uses eco-friendly material, will not only achieve further growth but also contribute to the community through regional hiring efforts,” said its chief executive Lee Seung-seob.

Herald Artday is another project representing the company’s effort to go beyond media.

Artday has established the top position in the field of online art auctioning. Since holding its first auction in October last year, it has recorded a successful bidding rate of 70 percent ― among the highest in the market ― over the past four auctions.

It has also launched a mobile application that displays information about its artworks, the first app of its kind in the country, which resulted in over 500,000 downloads.

“Artday went up the ladder in the local online auction market, being ranked No.1 a year after its launch,” said Herald Artday vice president Soh Don-young. “Not only are we receiving compliments about the choice of artworks, but we’re getting calls from galleries located in Insa-dong and other parts of Seoul.”

Online shopping site “Bonpon” is another ambitious project led by Herald Corp., offering a new lineup of items ranging from wine and backpacks to cosmetics every week.

Among those products, Toms shoes were a hit item, with more than 600 pairs selling in a single week, its officials said.

Herald also owns Donga TV, a channel that focuses on lifestyle and entertainment, as well as the English- and Korean-language newspapers.

The company is now preparing to expand its horizons in manufacturing and lifestyle businesses on top of those already established projects.

Under a philosophy tentatively named “Herald Concept,” the firm will re-establish its position as what it calls a “life brand” by providing consumers with lifestyle suggestions that are new and environment-friendly.

“This is an innovative process that transforms readers into consumers through Herald’s brand power with dignity and elegance,” said a Herald official.

As part of the process, it will attempt to unify various platforms such as newspaper, Internet, TV and mobile and have its affiliates collaborate in the re-designing effort.

“Herald, which has grown over the past 60 years in its media, English village and newspaper-in-education businesses, will now feature an image distinct from others and create content that will lead challenges and innovation,” said Herald’s chief executive Lee Young-man.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)