The highly anticipated  British rock band Coldplay hit the stage with “A Head Full of Dreams Tour” on April 15 and 16 at Jamsil Olympic Stadium. An audience of 90,000 gathered from all over Korea and even from neighboring countries to witness its visit. There was an outburst of anticipation when Coldplay’s visit was first announced last November; it had never visited Korea before. This excitement became more evident when 900,000 hopefuls competed for tickets to the show. Though the concert was initially scheduled only for Saturday, the explosive response, with all tickets sold out in minutes, called for an additional show that was eventually scheduled for the next day. This excitement built up until show-day. The media focused on this phenomenal reception to the band as well; “Coldplay” was one of the top keywords searched during the weekend of the concert.

The band proved themselves with an excellent show. Opening the show with an apology for coming to Korea too late, — it took 20 years — they sang many of their classic hit songs such as “Yellow”, “Fix You”, “Viva La Vida” and “The Scientist”, as well as its recent hits “Adventures of a Lifetime” and “Something Just Like This”. Packed with full and wholesome instrumentals accompanied by Martin’s amazing vocals, each live performance exceeded expectations. Moreover, not only did it deliver a show that was pleasing to the ears, but also to the other senses as well. Audiences were visually and physically surprised by the lighting and video effects that enhanced the musical experience, as well as the vast array of props such as paper petals and large, colorful balloons introduced in the middle of the concert. The band thanked the Korean audiences for being one of the best.

Behind this amazing cultural experience — a phenomenon, almost — was the sponsor of the concert, Hyundai Card. In fact, the “Hyundai Card Super Concert Series” is an excellent example of a successful cultural marketing done by a private company. Their first attempts of the “Hyundai Card Super Concert Series” dates back to January 2007, with Il Divo. It has since been staged 21 more times, including big names such as Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Lady Gaga, and Sir Paul McCartney, aiming to capture the needs and the cultural lifestyles of the customers and potential customers alike. This was an early ride in the paradigm shift to companies aiming to dominate the customers’ lifestyles, from the traditional aims of dominating the market shares. Many companies, including Hyundai Card, are attempting to create a cultural experience for their customers to be fully immersed in their branding.

With unique efforts in areas as extensive as music, art, exhibitions, theater, and dance, Hyundai Card has been offering customers with a lifestyle they could closely follow and enjoy. This has reaped great results for them as well — with drastic increases in usage of their cards. I continue to anticipate their creative efforts in bringing value to their customers in unprecedented areas.

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