#wishtrender: Cassie Jeong, PR Lab Leader at Wishcompany

We’ve finally made it to May and social distancing has become a new norm around the world. Korea kicked off May with a long holiday. We are spotting more people out in the public (still with masks on) than before, however, still taking cautionary measures. In the midst of social distancing, Wishtrend wishes to stay connected with our readers. One of the great way to do so is to come back with another episode of #wishtrender. And this time, we would like to introduce you to Cassie Jeong, the team leader of the PR department at Wishcompany. She takes on the grand strategy of Wishcompany’s PR and aims to deliver the goal, the works, and the story of people and brands of Wishcompany in the most precise and interesting way as possible.Get to learn a little more about the mind behind making Wishcompany the place where your journey to positive beauty takes off.

"Positive beauty for me is ‘as long as you are sound, all is well’

Cassie Jeong, PR Lab leader at Wishcompany

• Name: Cassie Jeong (follow her @cassie.o_o)

- • What do you do at Wishtrend?

I am the leader of the PR lab at Wishcompany. You might ask, what does PR Lab do at Wishcompany? We create key messages and contents that represent the company and brands and create the grand strategy of how to communicate that with the world. We plan and operate 'owned media', social media and etc and also keep ties with press, magazines and etc. Sounds a little abstract? Well to put it simple, 1) we find a narrative and a story-to-tell of a brand, 2) design and edit a heck of a story out of them, and 3) deliver it to the world in the best form as we can.Let me give you an example! We discover that Klairs sold more than 1 million bottle of their Supple Preparation Facial Toner and continues to come up with products with 1 million-sold. With this exciting news for the brand, we take time to create a refined and polished story out of it.Then the story either becomes an article or a post on Instagram, or is developed into a campaign and shared with all of you!.Check out:Klairs Cruelty-Free Fundraising Campaign Klairs Good News 2019 Dear, Klairs Brand Kit Klairs #SupplePreparationFacialToner 1 Million+ Bottles Sold!

• Best part about working at Wishcompany?

I always introduce ‘Wishcompany’ as a place where you can find ‘skincare brands, contents, and commerce’. And I always find these identities as a strength and the greatest merit of the company. I think whenever it comes to talking about ‘the best part of doing something’, it all starts from whether someone really enjoys what they are involved in. I think that is why, I have always strived a) to build a career at a company that I absolutely adore, and b) to work for brands that is dear to my heart. Wishcompnay holds a very clear philosophy and never stops to create high quality brands and products, and that impresses me every time. They further invest in creating contents so that their customers can have a first hand experience on the products and own a commerce website to offer the full curation of carefully selected products. This is a very rare case to find in Korea. I love how I have the chance to closely look into the story of how brands create products and are making history. Last year I worked on a story about the 'Klairs brand kit' to share it with our customers. It wasn’t an entertaining story or kind of a story that will keep you up all night, so I wondered, ‘would our followers be bothered to read it’?' However, I was surprised with the number of readers that spared time to learn the story, and I was deeply moved. Especially reading comments like ‘I love how you’re letting people get to know your brand this way’ inspire me and give me a sense of accomplishment. On that note, would love to make a remark that we at Wishcompany never misses a single feedback from you and would love to keep a bond between us two.

• What are your interests apart from skincare?

Since work takes up the biggest portion of a day, a week and a year, it is hard to completely steer away from it. I am very much interested in the way how communication works. What people like, or dislike, what are the stories that people are allured to and find it interesting, which format of contents move people. Exploring the idea of communication helps me to have a better vision of how to create a story for us to tell. As a part of that effort, I try to enjoy all sorts of contents, from video contents on Youtube and Netflix and text contents of books and articles. Whenever I struggle with communicating, I always go back to the book ‘Frame’ and I’ve been doing so for the past decade. (I wonder if there is a translated version of this book). I also love novels and would love to recommend Jung Se Rang! As her fan, I was thrilled to find out that one of her novels will be out as a show on Netflix!Also, I really love how Joguman Studio do their storytelling (fell in love with it even more after working with them on the Klairs Cruelty Free Campaign). Hmm, what else, I’ve been watching a show on Netflix called ‘The Game Changers’ and I scrolling through Tiktok just like many. Now that I say it, I guess I really am a sucker for everything 'contents'. [The slide post on @joguman.studio] : They create English posts, so hope our wishtrenders can check them out!Social Distancing: How its Done MONEY CAN BUY BEER

• How is 2020 so far for you?

We are all struck with 'new normal' in 2020 and I myself am in the process of adapting and creating a lifestyle in the midst of the ‘new normal’. As I started to work from home (which I am thankful for), I had to really think about the effective ways of collaborating, to design what used to be an offline events into an online campaign, and started running in the park instead of going to the gym. Sounds like I am doing a heck of a job however, I have to admit it is a struggle. Realizing that the trip that I planned to take this year has to be cancelled, it hit me hard. However, lately I’ve been thinking of ways to use my time and energy to stay sound - because this year, as long as we have the chance to stay healthy, that is the biggest privilege and success we could ask for. I hope everyone who’s reading this are keeping it strong and healthy!

• You’ve recently worked on the 2020 Klairs Cruelty Free Campaign - Go Cruelty Free: Let Us Be! How was it and please give us more details!

Where to start! First of all, I really had a lot of fun. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this, Klairs launched a cruelty-free campaign again this year GO CRUELTY FREE: LET US BE and unlike before, it is not just restricted to Korea but is a global campaign. [PRESS] Klairs Celebrates World Day for Laboratory Animals With a Cruelty-Free Campaign,‘GO CRUELTY FREE: LET US BE!’When I started planning the campaign, I’ve set up two goals. 1) To deliver the story of how Klairs never stopped to work for cruelty free since 2010, 2) to encourage customers and viewers to take part in the cruelty free movement through creating an effective message in depth yet with humor so that the viewers embrace the message with hopeful mind instead of feeling torpid. I’ve spent days and nights with my team to come up with the narrative and details and if it weren’t for them, all of this would never have been possible. It wasn’t just about designing and selling special edition products but creating a story that you can relate to. That is why we’ve reached out to ‘Joguman Studio’. From the get go, I’ve suggested images of animals that seem to be free and hopeful and Joguman Studio really brought my vision into life. #wishtrender-cassie-insert-image-2

The main illustration of the campaign (as seen above) really well embraces the idea. The story of this campaign circles around Joguman Studio's Brachiosaurus, the head of Unforgiving Brutal Herbivore Club (UBHC), his journey on freeing experiment animals. If you missed the chance to explore, please make sure you do! You can find the Cruelty Free Kit on Wishtrend, so make sure to share the story with your friends and join the movement! The reason why Klairs can continue on with campaigns like such is all thanks to you!

• What is your favorite product from a Cruelty Free brand?

It is hard to choose just one but if I have to, I must say, the Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop. I lost the count on empty bottles! I’ve tried a wide range of Vitamin C products but struggled to find a product that can make Vitamin C a habit in my skincare. But I finally did with the Klairs Vitamin C serum and I believe it is a great Vitamin C product for beginners. The Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop is the second million seller from Klairs (the first is the Supple Preparation Facial Toner) and I know why it is so popular!

Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop

• What is your skin type?

I have a combination - dry skin. I am thankful that I don’t struggle with sensitive skin however, like many of us do, I get pimples here and there occasionally. That is why I am very much interested in spot and pigmentation care products. When By Wishtrend launched the Sulfur 3% Clean Gel, I was thrilled. I can proudly say that it is by far the best spot care product I’ve encountered.

• What is one beauty tip you live by and wish to share?

I always try to fulfill the most basic care the skin needs. I cleanse thoroughly and make sure I apply sunscreen (no matter how much I am bothered). I recently started to add mists between every step of skincare since I have dehydrated skin, let me tell you - it really works wonders!

• What are some efforts you take to stay ‘cruelty-free’?

I start with searching whether the brands that I pursue is against animal testing. Lately I’ve been very much into vegan makeup products. Oh, and I am a huge bread lover and my biggest joy lately is to find vegan bakeries! If you ever have the chance to come visit Seoul, make sure to visit the nilk factory, panhonesta! I recently discovered an app called ‘채식한끼’, where it finds a vegan restaurant near you, so I plan to do a whole vegan foodie tour. Just like this, I aim to take step by step measures.

• What does ‘positive beauty’ mean to you?

It is a difficult question to answer. I have been thinking about this question for years. For now, positive beauty for me is ‘as long as you are sound, all is well’. ‘Beauty’ can be defined in many different ways, however, when we hear the word, it is easy to imagine and recall a certain imagery. All thanks to the stereotype that we’ve built within us through constant consumption of media. It seems like it is hard to escape from the stereotype.However, lately I’ve been thinking ‘it is alright to be not beautiful’. Reminding that to myself is trickier than I imagined. Compared to the past when I thought ‘wish I could lose a few more pounds’, ‘wish I could have a more defined face’, now I lean to ‘as long as I am healthy, it is all good!’. Now, I work out to keep it healthy, and find more joy in keeping a healthy skin condition rather than adding layers of makeup. I expect that we will become more familiar with different looks. We are already witnessing embracement on diversity in movies, ads and shows! I also am keeping away from talking about looks or forcing an idea of certain type of beauty. And with these efforts converge, I hope the definition of beauty comes across as a more inclusive and broad concept to our future generations.