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F rom webinars to virtual shows to what's next, its all happening at a new faster pace with a barrier to entry that is lower," said Mike Simko, global marketing director, Hyosung. "Webinars were new, now everyone does them; online fairs were new, now every- one does it. At the end of the day we've got to differentiate, get in front of customers and get their attention," Simko added. "You have to be innovative with your communication, and keep evolving. Electronic communication is the way of the world." Positioning itself as "one-stop shopping," Hyosung is able to generate push and pull sales strategies with customers. According to Simko this is a similar tactic to how Hyosung presented its trade show booths only now the concept has be adopted virtually. Frequent email blasts identify market trends and provide solutions, whether that is for masks, WFH apparel or the emerging Wellness at Home category, have proved effective. So, too, is solution-oriented responsiveness to customer queries, such as what and how to source specific performance textiles during this time of restricted travel and without face- to-face meetings. According to Simko, the company has matured a lot with virtual media; a new website is slated for 2021 and the current site features a new blog, social media investment. "I'm happy with progress made in the last six months," said Simko. HeiQ has also made gains in 2020. The Swiss firm took full advantage of being first out of the gate with ingredient tech focused on combatting COVID-19 and accelerating its digital tools to get the technology into the marketplace quickly while exploring new avenues to access custom- ers and ramp up interest in Viro-block. The company sidestepped trade shows in favor of HeiQ hosting a number of successful webinars that attracted large audiences. For example, the company participated in a public relations managed launch of an India- based shirting brand customer partnership with HeiQ's Viro-block. "The press conference was on Zoom and there was a huge audience of over 1000 people," commented Hoi Kwan Lam, chief marketing office, product management, HeiQ. A webinar presented via Zoom during the TITAS show Taiwan also generated significant interest. The company continues to build content on its website and has added a HeiQ YouTube channel. According to Lam, there are now one billion masks using Viro-block technology worldwide, with approximately 400 brands just in the past six months. About 20 percent are based in Latin America, which is a new region for HeiQ. Lam recalled a meme on LinkedIn recently about who is the biggest driver of Covid-19. The answer options included: A) CEO or B) CTO or C) Digital trend. sportstylemag.com • sportstyle January 2021 • 31 DIFFERENTIATE & COMMUNICATE "From webinars to virtual shows to what's next, it's all happening at a new faster pace with a barrier to entry that is lower." MIKE SIMKO, GLOBAL MARKETING DIRECTOR, HYOSUNG

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