[Marketing Secret] "The Secret Behind Achieving Tens of Billions in Annual Sales with 'Chapsaltteok' Blankets..."

Interview with Kim Hwi, General Director of DoaDream

"Sales have grown 30 times in just two years since we fully launched our online business. Next year, we plan to turn our eyes overseas and knock on new market doors."

Kim Hwi, General Director of DoaDream, recently said in an interview with Asia Economy, "We have made relentless efforts to break the prejudice against goose down bedding, and our strategy to market efficiently online seems to have worked well," he said.

Kim Hwi, General Director of Doa Dream. [Photo by Doa Dream]

DoaDream is a premium goose down bedding brand with 28 years of experience. It is known for its excellent product quality, supplying bedding to 5-star hotels. Consumers have praised DoaDream bedding, saying it is "so soft it feels like touching chapssaltteok (Korean rice cake)" and "I buy it together with my daughter and granddaughter."

DoaDream began to gain word-of-mouth recognition among consumers in earnest starting in 2021, when General Director Kim Hwi joined. At that time, DoaDream's product awareness was almost at rock bottom because it focused mainly on business-to-business (B2B) deliveries. Although the company had operated an online shopping mall for over 10 years, it was difficult to find consumers coming to buy DoaDream products.

To increase brand awareness, Director Kim implemented a strategy to expand consumer touchpoints and strengthen marketing. He is also the person who raised sales from 1 billion KRW to 35 billion KRW over seven years as General Director at his previous company, the women's fashion brand Benito.

First, he worked to eliminate prejudice against goose down products. Among consumers, goose down products have an uncomfortable perception that "they can only be used in midwinter, are expensive, and shed a lot of feathers that prick the body." To break these negative thoughts, Director Kim presented information about goose down products through articles and webtoon content. He emphasized that products containing many "feathers," which are tail feathers that often cause pricking, are different from DoaDream's products, which contain over 80% soft "down," the breast feathers, so they do not shed or prick the body. He also explained that although the initial purchase price may be high, once bought, the product can be used for more than 10 years, making it not expensive when considering the usage period.

Sales began to grow significantly after collaborating with Cafe24's Marketing Center. The Marketing Center's consultants recommended various new advertising media such as Google, Naver, and Today’s House, and by utilizing big data to objectively inform DoaDream of its position in the industry, they were able to conduct marketing efficiently. Director Kim said, "The Marketing Center recommended trying box-type ads (shopping boxes), which achieved more than three times the efficiency compared to existing ads with the same cost."

DoaDream will begin overseas expansion next year. Director Kim stated, "The meaning of DoaDream is to spread dreams beyond Asia," and expressed his ambition, saying, "We will make DoaDream goose down products essential items in life."