Project nominated for the Excellence in Communications Steelie Award 2022
HYUNDAI Steel Company has successfully operated the Hyundai Steel Children’s Vocational Experience Center in KidZania (Seoul branch) for three years (July 2019 to July 2022) to promote the sustainability of the company and the steel industry to internal/external stakeholders.
In the perspective of ESG, the company has set the operating theme of the vocational experience centre as a ‘Steel Material Research Center’ grounded on the company’s earthquake-resistant steel brand H-CORE(1st Operating Period), and subsequently set as an ‘Eco-friendly Steel Works’ based on the electric arc furnace system. Children who have participated in each theme could naturally become familiar with the sustainability of the company and the steel industry through various programmes, such as earthquake-resistant building model experience, mini car driving test, electric arc furnace simulation control, and audio-visual materials on safe and eco-friendly steel.
In addition to this, during the summer vacation season (Aug 2021), the ‘Can Crush Challenge’ event (steel recycling) was effectively delivered to children to play and become viral through social networks, and various events will be planned in the 2nd operating period.
Currently, Hyundai Steel Children’s Vocational Experience Center has an estimated 22,000 visitors per year for children (about 40,000 including parents) and indirect exposure of the company brand to about 540,000 visitors to KidZania (Jun 2021- Jun 2022, for one year).
According to a visitor survey by Gallup Korea, an external research institute, children showed an increase in positive responses in both brand funnel analysis and image analysis compared to that prior to the visit (especially, the level of perception that the company fulfilling social responsibility was largely increased). In addition, the company estimates that it will benefit from cost savings of 1.66 billion won per year in terms of promotion to potential human resources.
As the COVID-19 situation improves in the future, the number of visitors is expected to increase, and as a result, the effect of communication through job experience centres is also expected to expand further.