SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has appointed superstar girl band Twice to its blockbuster celebrity line-up to boost the retailer’s new global marketing campaign designed to reinforce international travel’s rapid recovery.
The Korean number one and world number two travel retailer last week released a video on Instagram highlighting the recruitment of the best-selling girl group in South Korea and Japan. Twice is only the second Korean girl group (after Blackpink) to ever chart in Billboard 200’s top 10.
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Twice join fellow superstars Lee Jun-ho, Aespa, Super Junior and Stray Kids as Lotte Duty Free models. “With the selection of Twice, Lotte Duty Free’s ultra-luxurious global model line-up has been confirmed,” the company said.
Twice, a nine-member group, debuted in 2015 and has reeled off a string of smash hits, including ‘Likely’, ‘TT’ and ‘Yes or Yes’. The group’s Mini 11 album, released in August, and the title song ‘Talk That Talk’ have reached the Billboard 200 main chart for five consecutive weeks.
The group has been active as a model for Lotte Duty Free since 2016 until the pandemic, participating in advertising campaigns and major events. They have also appeared at the Lotte Duty Free Family Concert.
From 12 October, any member of the Lotte Internet Duty Free Shop programme can apply via the platform’s event page for a fan meeting with Lee Jun-ho, regardless of the amount they spend. The fan meeting, themed ‘Lotte Duty Free Family Premier with Lee Jun-ho’, will be held in Seoul on 19 November with about 700 people in attendance.
Additionally, hand-printing of the models will be installed in the ‘high five’ zone of Star Avenue, the celebrity-themed entrance to Lotte Duty Free’s flagship store in Myeong-dong Seoul. The whole area, including its renowned mirror zone, hugely popular for fan photos and selfies, has been refurbished (see Instagram post below).
Star Avenue is an experiential Hallyu (Korean wave) cultural space created with photos and videos of Hallyu stars, which has become a must-visit for K-Pop fans in recent years. Before the pandemic, some 2.9 million K-pop fans visited the attraction annually.
Lotte Duty Free said it plans to continuously attract more tourists to Korea through the renewal of Star Avenue.
Lotte Duty Free Head of Marketing Division Lee Sang-jin said, “Lotte Duty Free will present various events with our new models in earnest in line with this transition period from the COVID-19 pandemic. As a leader in entertainment marketing, we will do our utmost to continue the Korean wave craze.”
Lotte Duty Free emphasised its leadership in entertainment marketing that combines tourism and entertainment. The company has a long heritage of creating K-content such as concerts, web dramas, and fan meetings with Hallyu stars. In particular, the Lotte Duty Free Family Concert has been visited by 1 million Koreans and foreigners since 2006. The 31st concert held online last year as a result of the pandemic recorded 3 million views.
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