November 25, 2024

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Oriental Brewery CEO Ben Verhaert gives a special lecture at Korea University in Seoul, Nov. 24. (Oriental Brewery)

South Korea’s largest beer maker, Oriental Brewery, made efforts to broaden its outreach to Generation Z and university students in 2023, in a bid to more closely communicate with young consumers.

In November and December, OB CEO Ben Verhaert gave lectures on OB’s marketing strategies at Korea University and Ewha Womans University, where he was able to meet face-to-face with students.

Verhaert has built a strong career in the sales and logistics fields at Anheuser-Busch InBev -- the parent company of OB -- since 2001, serving his roles in Belgium, Luxembourg, Southern Europe, South Asia, and now in East Asia.

In the lectures, Verhaert started by explaining the structure and distinguishing features of each country’s beer market, beyond just brewing techniques. The CEO also shared some anecdotes and examples of how his interest and curiosity in Korean culture gave him a competitive edge in the local beer market.

Verhaert also presented AB InBev’s expertise in creative marketing, as proven by two consecutive wins of the Creative Marketer of the Year award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Since 2022, the beer maker has run the “OB Beer Marketing School,” an educational program designed to nurture future marketing specialists, including college students and job seekers pursuing a career in the marketing field.

The mentors for this program are OB’s brand managers, who provide know-how based on OB’s marketing procedures and expertise while offering valuable feedback on students' progress and projects.

“OB is ramping up diverse efforts to interact with Gen Zs, a new emerging target in consumer markets,” said an OB official.

“We will continue to reflect the younger generation’s preferences and opinions in corporate management and marketing, too.”

By Mun So-jeong (munsojeong@heraldcorp.com)