There have been phones named after celebrities, but this is the first time a star actually participated in the making of contents such as video clips, alarm tone, fonts, and ringtones. Seo composed the ringtones and the sound that comes out when turning the phone on and off and made an alarm tone featuring his voice. Images of Seo are also on display.

The phone features unreleased clips of a music video of Seo’s new single “Bermuda Triangle.” Despite being sold as limited edition, the company expects sales of at least 30,000 units. The company will take order reservations and start selling the phones from Oct. 1. Already, KTF customer service and PR offices are reportedly inundated with calls asking about the phones.

The release signals a shift in marketing strategy for domestic telecoms. Until now, companies only focused on expanding their membership base by cutting the price of the phones. Now, they are turning to developing content. The head of KTF’s marketing strategy division, Im Heon-mun, said if the Seo Tae-ji phones are a success, telecoms will start to come up with more strategies to differentiate their content.

(englishnews@chosun.com )