Ms. Cornelia Schneider, VP, Hyundai Motor Company’s Head of Space Innovation
Just a decade ago, the marketing toolbox was relatively empty: run ads, open events. However, times have changed and consumers have become more savvy with greater availability of product information. Product quality standards also rose across most industries. Earning customer loyalty required a more novel approach.
Businesses found an answer in providing customers with brilliant experiences. Hyundai Motor Company works with the Hyundai Motor Studio, eyewear brand Gentle Monster creates shops that look like art galleries, Amore Pacific built an architecturally amazing headquarter building. These spaces all serve to strengthen customer relationships. Behind the brilliant experiences and spaces is an expert overseeing everything with keen eye.
September last year, Hyundai Motor announced Cornelia Schneider's appointment as Vice President and Head of Space Innovation. Ms. Schneider is responsible for the conception of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft’s new presence in Berlin, “DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum” and its international representations. The Forum was extraordinarily artistic and hip, hardly what an exhibition stage by an automaker was expected to be. The Forum successfully changed the square, rigid brand-perception of the automaker. We sat down with Ms. Schneider to discuss what spaces she has in mind in Hyundai Motor’s future.
VP Schneider recognized a familiarity with Korea from her very first visit
Q. Last September, you joined Hyundai Motor as Vice President and Head of Space Innovation. Nearly 10 months have passed since your arrival. How has it been, living in Korea?
Very good, I like living here. Step by step I discover more about Korean society and culture and the many challenges we face here.
Q. What were some memorable spaces you encountered in Korea, as an expert in space?
I like Cafe Onion in different locations very much. They combine old and traditional buildings with modern architecture and thus enliven them with a young target group. I also find the headquarters of Amore Pacific very interesting, not forgetting the Sulhwasoo building, and on Jeju Island I visited the showroom of Osulloc, which I liked very much.
Q. DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin was conceived and overseen by you. You created it to be much more than an automobile showroom. It felt like a gorgeous art gallery. So when you were creating this space, what were you focusing on?
We have tried to create a space that can present a variety of themes, not just focused on car. The company deals with a variety of topics and the aim was to show people that Volkswagen not only builds cars, but also actively deals with social and cultural as well future mobility issues. The next generation wants to know whether we as a company behave responsibly in society. They will decide accordingly which product they will buy.
So it is important for the future to show what we are working on and how we are doing it.
Q. You were doing quite well with Volkswagen, then you made a career choice and joined Hyundai in September last year. Did anything worry you about coming to Korea?
I always wanted to work abroad, but to be honest, I never thought about Korea. Then Hyundai knocked on my door and I started to deal with the country and its history. I'm from Berlin, there are a lot of Koreans living there - so I had some exciting conversations there.
I then visited the country with my life partner and from the first day on, we felt comfortable here. And the further talks with the Hyundai management convinced me to come to Korea and take that challenge and chance.
Q. Your official title says Vice President of Space Innovation. Space Innovation may sound unfamiliar to the general public. What roles and responsibilities does such a position entail?
That's right, the title is unusual. I'm responsible for the whole universe - no, I'm making a joke! My team and I are responsible for the International Motor Shows, the development of new platforms in which we participate, Hyundai Motorstudios worldwide and the local Genesis showrooms.
Q. Your many marketing successes are often described as experience as marketing, or experiential marketing. Experiential marketing is catching on in many industries, even in consumer goods, and manufacturers are meeting directly with the consumers. How do you explain this growing trend?
Our way of communicating has changed dramatically in recent years. Through social media, we now talk directly to our customers, and customers can talk to us directly, give us feedback. Customers also want to design their favourite products.
It's more about infotainment and interaction than pure presentation or information. People want to have an emotional connection to the brand, which naturally results in a different way of presenting our brand. And that also means that branding is very important.
Q. Experiential marketing takes time. It requires long-term perspectives and investments. It is intangible in many and cannot always be quantified. Does that cause any kind of pressure?
Emotional attachment and acceptance cannot be evaluated with conventional measurements. It is important to be authentic, to meet customers openly and at eye level.
It must be clear what you are standing for and you need to stand your ground for that. To do this, however, you have to be open for discussion and this requires you to deal with contents in advance, consider exactly what the message should be and what the storyline is.
It’s only then when you have the chance to be accepted - but there is always a risk involved. Exactly this is the challenge.
Q. Among Hyundai Motor's various space-marketing needs and challenges, which do you consider paramount?
Interesting topics, well-coordinated global cooperation and communication: Timely exchange with all participating areas, cooperation and good planning in terms of content and schedule.
Q. Let’s talk about Hyundai Motor booth at the Milan Design Week. The space was extraordinary. The collaboration with Monocle Magazine is another great example. How was it received on-site?
The visitors were amazed and delighted at how Hyundai presented itself at Milan Design Week. Our competitors’ exhibitions were mainly dealing with their products. We respected the core theme of the MDW and presented our theme, “Style Set Free”, artistically and interactively in our own way. This was well-received by the visitors.
Social media results clearly showed this - as did the queues in front of our building.
Q. The Hyundai Motor booth at Milan Design Week was a sensorial experience, as if a media artist had planned it. What was the design focus for the Hyundai Motor booth in Milan?
The design focus was individualization, personalization of our future interior. We have created an inspiring world around “Style Set Free”.
Milan exhibition was design-oriented, and artistically interpreted “Style Set Free”. We made it possible for the visitors to experience it by means of various exhibits: Sound, material, image, movement and colour. At the center of the room was a sculpture of a vehicle that adapted SSF with the help of project mapping.
The communication around “Style Set Free” has three steps in 2019: announcement at the CES, artistic interpretation at MDW and the first insight into the product at Frankfurt Motor Show.
Q. Automakers’ interests reach beyond just motor shows now. They're showing up in more diverse shows, like the CES and MDW. How are those exhibition platforms different and why are they important?
We are evolving from a car manufacturer to a mobility company that has to address completely new target groups and we also have to address younger target groups. That’s why other platforms have become important for us.
It is now a matter of looking at each individual platform and telling stories about the company or the product and you must never lose the entire storyline. By the way, we should do the same at motor shows as well.
Q. Hyundai Motor has several experiential spaces. Hyundai Motor Studio Goyang/Seoul/Hanam, Hyundai Motor Studio Digital, Hyundai Motor Studio Beijing/Moscow. Do you plan on expanding or creating more of such experiential spaces?
At the moment we are checking our current Motor Studios in its effect. At one point or the other we have to revise our topics and check our message. In addition, we have developed a joint strategy within the team.
But we are also considering, together with the markets, where it makes sense to open another Motor Studio.
Q. What would your version of Hyundai Motor Studio bring to the table? Do you have a general blueprint you can share at this point?
For me, there is not a general blueprint of an Motor Studio. The specific story we want to tell there is crucial. The location and the surroundings are important factors. Basically we always have to think about the concept and our target groups first and then find the right place - otherwise you can hardly be successful.
Q. What long, mid, and short-term goals have you set for Hyundai Motor?
Let me put it this way. Hyundai builds excellent cars, we are great at alternative driving technology - but we urgently need to work on our image and communication. That is the central task for me and my team and for many colleagues in the various markets as well.
Hyundai must become more tangible and emotional - the competition for the future of mobility has already begun.
Q. Last but not least. Undoubtedly you must first be creative and innovative in order to deliver such amazing experiences to customers. How do you cultivate your creative and innovative capacity?
Being open for new thoughts, ideas and movements. Stay in touch with the next generation and the generation after that. Going curiously through the world, listen and discover.
It's really exciting out there!
