The Driving Force Behind Successful Global Marketing

With the rise of kimchi and fandom vocabulary (Blinks, BTS Army) that have become part of the global lexicon, the spread of K-culture presents more opportunities than ever before. As a global digital marketing startup, BorderX has blazed trails in connecting Korea to over 33 countries in over 20 languages since 2019 through the power of digital marketing. But working beyond borders is no easy feat, and the mighty team at BorderX describes what gives the company the je nais se quois to make it all happen. Consisting of world travelers, explorers, risk-takers, and energizers, the dynamic makeup of personnel alone speaks volumes about the company’s passion and area of expertise: global digital marketing. The perfect chemistry between people, culture, and mindset doesn’t happen everyday. But when it does, you’ve got fuel to take your company worldwide.

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Diversity and respect continue to be pressing issues in creating positive company culture, and for good reason. “Diverse teams add a richness to the workplace experience; employees like collaborating with people from a range of backgrounds and experiences,” reports Built In. Not only that, but a wide array of experiences and skill sets leads to more creative outcomes. But with a scope as wide as the whole world, diversity at BorderX carries a broader meaning:

• Multifaceted: With members of the team coming from varying backgrounds and levels of experience, there’s more than enough room to learn from others. Yeryung Ko, Art Director at BorderX, notes the significance of this factor in her career shift from branding and graphic design to marketing. “The team is very diverse with different skills so if there’s something I don’t know or need help with, I know that the support will always be there!” she says. 
• Experience Abroad: With most team members having significant experience abroad, the members are as unique as the clients with whom they work. Dahye Kim, Account Executive at BorderX, says, “Our partners are located in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere in the world, so you can truly feel the global feel of the company.” BorderX works from a basis of respect for differing ways of life as experienced first-hand. Understanding one’s own limits and respecting others’ perspectives naturally follows suit when you work with such a diverse crew. 

It only seems natural that these differences ultimately lead to collaboration. “We acknowledge that our perspectives, strengths, and abilities are all different, and because of this setting, we believe that when everyone looks in one direction and puts their heads together, we can produce the best changes and results,” says LJ Sungyoon Paek, CEO at BorderX. 

Nearly all members mention a collaborative decision making process in this positive company culture, seniority and leadership aside. “Usually I discuss with my team and we make each plan that has to be clear. And we think about plans that we made deeply, then make sure together,” says Wonsang Kong, Performance Marketer at BorderX. On the creative side, Ko says, “Through brainstorming sessions and ideation phases, we try to put everyone’s ideas on the table and see what will work the best. The decision is not made by one person, it includes everyone’s opinions.”

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While diversity is important to the health of the workplace at large, it isn’t the sole solution for positive company culture in which each person has a say. “Increasing diversity does not, by itself, increase effectiveness; what matters is how an organization harnesses diversity, and whether it’s willing to reshape its power structure,” according to the Harvard Business Review. Here’s what makes the culture at BorderX so conducive to producing results:

• Egalitarian Structure: While collaboration and free-flowing conversations might be the ultimate goal, it’s difficult to realize the type of openness that many companies aim to achieve, especially with many of the prevalent cultural and societal norms of Korea. In a country that often favors hierarchical structure at work, an egalitarian workplace culture is often a rarity. Phoebe Lam, performance marketer at BorderX, notes just how special this is. She says, “I think it is really difficult to find any other place similar in Korea, even for young startups.” Flavyen Dupont, Art Director and Motion Designer, notes this free expression “makes it possible to advance faster while mixing ideas.”
• Autonomy: At BorderX, you must expect to get your hands dirty from the beginning, with everyone having a hand in creating the results they want to see. “For [the] maximum autonomy of work, anyone can access all the information and communications that happen[s] at BorderX…” says Paek, CEO at BorderX.
• Respect and Humility: The hefty support between coworkers further pushes this collaborative energy forward, building a positive company culture. Kong says the comfort he feels with his coworkers encourages him “...so [he] can work more hard.” Dana Shin, Account Excecutive at BorderX, notes the positive effect this has had on her confidence, “I have changed since I started at BorderX because I am more willing to share my own thoughts and ideas. From my previous work environment, I didn’t really have a chance to express my own thoughts.”

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In the modern world of endless information, creativity is very much of the essence at a digital marketing agency’s ability to produce rare, eye-catching content. Paek says, “We encourage our people to be bold, reach beyond boundaries, and experiment more often based on data and insights we gather along the way.” Here are some ways that this boundary-pushing mindset comes into play to produce successful global campaigns at BorderX:

• Constant Inspiration: Unsurprisingly, the creative team at BorderX takes note of the love of the extraordinary. Dupont points out the positive company culture at the agency that pushes everyone else to take risks and inspire. “By mixing everyone’s ideas, it allows to create something new, everyone having more affinity with music, motion design, art world, all of course respecting the client’s request,” he says. 
• Self-Development and Challenge: Among other factors for employee satisfaction, AcuMax cited self-development as the most important factor besides higher salary. “While uncertainty and change make others pause, they fuel our fire,” says Paek. “We always look for ways to dream bigger and think global.” With many members of the team coming from a variety of backgrounds and skill sets, the room for growth is second nature at BorderX. “I am always confronting challenges every single day but I always  ask for others' opinions to broaden my own perspective. It’s very interesting to see how we can see the same thing but think in so many different ways,” says Shin.
• Confidence: Through being trusted and given room to grow, Lam reports that she is “more confident now than in other agenc[ies].” Learning, growing, and getting results take confidence, after all.

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BorderX not only specializes in a global perspective, they live it together. Marketing to the world at large is a challenge only dreamers accept, and the people at BorderX have bravely accepted that mission as a team. Kim says, “BorderX is free-spirited, where anyone can share their opinions and come to an agreement. You can feel that the environment allows for talking freely with each other, without limitations to work.”

“As someone in the global business helping clients find success in new markets, it’s important to combine diverse cultures and different perspectives,” says Paek. Global marketing is a job that is not only people-first, but impossible to do without people at the center.  

If you’re looking to expand horizons together, you can say hello here.