PacRim Marketing Group’s (PRMG) Korean language “Hawaii Style” video (click here to view) has been viewed more than 26,000 times in two months and is attracting Asian travelers interested in Hawaii.  Posted on YouTube and the interactive Korean language website, MyHawaii.kr, on September 4, “Hawaii Style” is gaining attention in Hawaii print media as well.

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PRMG developed and produced the “Hawaii Style” video to be a parody of PSY’s “Gangnam Style” video, now one of the most viewed on YouTube.  “Hawaii Style” was filmed throughout Oahu and showcases Hawaii’s beautiful beaches, harbors, the newly renovated Waikiki Beach Walk, and iconic sites like King Kamehameha statue, and Ala Moana Beach Park.  PRMG has since posted the video on its Chinese website, MyHawaii.cn.

PRMG’s Online Strategy Manager, Stephen Curtis, watches emerging trends to see how they can benefit promoting MyHawaii brands and PRMG clients. “I had been watching for the perfect viral video or meme trend to use to Hawaii’s advantage that would be attractive to Asian International Travelers when Gangnam Style parodies became popular,” he said. “I knew a similar parody could help promote Hawaii in a fun and entertaining way.”

“Producing the video took the cooperation of PRMG’s video team and its friends, and families,” said Jiyeon Kim, Korean Editor/Writer/Translator at PRMG.   She says video and YouTube are very popular in Korea and provide a good way for travelers to get more information on destination.   “Nearly 100 percent of households in Korean have internet access and the number of smart phone users reached over 30 million there recently. Following trends of celebrities through viral marketing was key to the video’s popularity.”

The video and MyHawaii Korean and Chinese websites are part of PRMG’s strategy to harness the power of social media to attract Asian International Travelers to Hawaii.  As part of an integrated online marketing strategy for clients, the international marketing firm uses YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, websites, and blogs such as Korea’s Naver and China’s Weibo and YouKu to post appealing and timely content in Asian languages.  The online strategy helps PRMG clients who want to increase the Asian portion of their customer bases.

The MyHawaii websites feature Hawaiian culture, latest trends and news about hospitality, retail, food and beverage, events and activities in Hawaii.  Clients advertise, post advertorials, or sponsor content as a way to get exposure in Asia.

PRMG launched MyHawaii.kr, the first commercial website about Hawaii in Korean, in June 2008 in anticipation of an increasing number of visitors from Korea following the visa waiver.  MyHawaii.kr hosts more than 100 videos and gets about 85,000 page views per month.  The Chinese language site, MyHawaii.cn, was launched in May 2012.  Both are based on PRMG’s popular Japanese language  website about Hawaii, which gets about 600,000 unique visits and 2.2 million page views per month.  All have been designated as approved advertising media by local Hawaii shopping centers.

"PacRim is excited about the strong growth in the Korean market and has encouraged its partners and clients to market to these important emerging visitors," said Dave Erdman, President and CEO of PRMG and PRTech, its sister company specializing in online marketing web and software development.

PRMG, which was founded 22 years ago, has been involved with marketing in the Korean market for more than fifteen years.  Prior to the Korean visa waiver, PRMG started a post arrival visitor publication called Pacific Journey, "My Hawaii,” that is distributed at International Arrivals at the Honolulu Airport, Waikiki, key concierge desks and hotels that serve the Korean market. The focus of the publication is shopping, fashion, beauty, dining, and driving around Oahu.  It includes maps of Oahu, Waikiki, and shopping venues in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.

“In anticipation of the changing marketplace, PRMG now has an even greater depth of Asian language and cultural specialists and teams to develop and monitor integrated online and traditional marketing programs to international travelers from Japan, Korea, and China,” said Erdman.  “We are refining and refocusing our tools and strategies for clients wanting to continue to increase market share of Asian International Travelers.”