Now that the number of ’S-Fone (www.stelecom.com.vn)’ subscribers exceeds 100 thousand, SK Telecom will carry out large-scale marketing and brand PR activities to secure more subscribers. ’S-Fone’ is a CDMA cellular service that is now being offered in Vietnam.

As part of a series of differentiated customer-focused marketing strategies, SK Telecom has launched a prepaid cellular services as well as call connection sound service called ’Coloring’ that was introduced for the first time in Vietnam. A variety of rate plans that fit local customers’ needs have also been introduced.

In addition, the company carried out marketing activities that give consideration to Vietnamese cultural characteristics and mobile communications market environments. In this regard, customer membership services that have already proved to be successful in Korea were also introduced. These services will be extended to 96 membership-affiliated companies and 166 stores, in Vietnam. These actions will move SK Telecom toward its goal of achieving 500 thousand subscribers by 2005, and one million subscribers by 2006.

In order to promote the ’S-Fone’ brand in a full-fledged manner, SK Telecom established about one thousand parasols and six hundred placards celebrating a 100 thousand subscriber base for S-Fone service in the centers of Hanoi and Hochimin City (formerly Saigon) on October 12th.

In particular, the company invited Hyun Ju Kim, the heroine in a Korean drama called ’Glass Shoes’ which incited ’Korean fever’ in Vietnam last year, and hosted her ’Autograph Event Celebrating A 100 Thousand Subscriber Base for ’S-Fone Service’. Approximately one thousand fans of Hyun Ju Kim showed up to get her autograph. This is an example of a successful ’S-Fone’ service marketing strategy that capitalizes on the Korean fever generated in Vietnam.

Dae Hyun Jung, head of SK Telecom’s branch in Vietnam, confidently stated "Based on the world’s best CDMA technological expertise and customer-focused marketing know-how accumulated in Korea, SK Telecom will execute strategic marketing activities that consider the cogent aspects of the Vietnamese mobile communications market, and reach our goal of securing one million subscribers by the end of 2006".