[비즈한국] The ‘Fan Signal Light Balm,’ a collaborative project between Amorepacific090430 and SM Entertainment, has been selected as the ‘Brand of the Year 2025,’ the highest honor given to the top brand of the year. At the third annual ‘Object by Prize’ awards ceremony, winners were announced across six categories, including the top honor Brand of the Year: See.Dat, Amorepacific, Korean Air003490, Pelicana, Dodram Food, and Binggrae005180.
The 3rd Object by Prize awards ceremony was held on October 28 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Representatives from the winning companies in each category attended the ceremony, which took place ahead of the ‘BrandBiz Conference 2025.’ During the event, the winner of the Grand Prize-level Brand of the Year 2025 was unveiled.
The ‘Fan Signal Light Balm,’ selected as Brand of the Year, is a beauty merchandise development project where Amorepacific collaborated with SM Entertainment to create lip balms resembling the official cheering sticks of three artists under the label: Red Velvet, NCT, and aespa, sharing the unique worldviews of the artists.
The Fan Signal Light Balm is cited as an example of extending fandom culture into a new brand experience through the meeting of the beauty industry and the K-pop industry. It was highly praised for its exceptional completion, featuring vibrant colors, light interactions, and content planning that encompasses the fandom communities of each brand.
The jury unanimously stated, “This is a creative collaboration that broke down industry boundaries and serves as an example of translating the global influence of the K-content industry into a brand experience.” They also remarked, “It is a symbolic initiative that demonstrates how Korean brands can create synergy with cultural content.”
Kang Yoon-goo, a team leader at Amorepacific who stepped onto the stage, shared his thoughts: “I believe we were able to win because this was a case where we expanded customer value by collaborating with external companies and ecosystems to foster our brand. We will continue to transform into a company that provides value to customers through our brands.”
Hosted by BizHankook, ‘Object by Prize’ announces winners annually by comprehensively evaluating all touchpoints where a brand interacts with consumers, including rebranding, campaigns, collaborations, physical spaces, and experiences, with a focus on merchandise. Starting this year, the selection process moved away from open applications, opting instead for an impartial evaluation based on internal market research and a curated candidate list.
Branding experts, including brand strategists and design directors, served as jurors and judged entries based on six criteria: planning ability, design quality, creativity, message delivery, consumer experience, and brand synergy. The jury was chaired by Na Gun, a professor at Hongik University (General Director of the Gwangju Biennale, juror for the Red Dot Design Award), who also led the panel last year.
The winners by category are as follows: △Best Merchandise: See.Dat ‘National Museum of Korea Dancheong Keyboard’ △Best Rebranding: Korean Air △Best Collaboration: Amorepacific × SM Entertainment ‘Fan Signal Light Balm’ △Best Space: Pelicana ‘Pelitage Timeless’ △Best Experience: Dodram Food ‘Candon’ △Best Campaign: Binggrae ‘The Liberation We Heard for the First Time’.
Jury Chair Na Gun remarked, “Good design and a strong brand are the means to draw customers toward a company. I hope this award ceremony becomes a stepping stone for Korean brands to expand across the globe.”