Resident-driven content strategy earns brand recognition for authentic community engagement
Hyundai Engineering & Construction's (Hyundai E&C) residential brand Hillstate won the top prize in the construction category at the 2026 Korea SNS Awards, the company announced Tuesday.
The Korea SNS Awards were established in 2011 to recognize companies and institutions that communicate actively with customers and to promote healthy SNS practices. Winners are selected through a combination of quantitative evaluation, expert review and public voting based on the operation of SNS channels including blogs, Instagram and YouTube. The awards are hosted by the Korea Social Content Promotion Association and sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Hillstate received high marks in this year's evaluation for its resident-participation content model and customer-centered communication strategy. Beyond delivering brand news, the brand has developed a wide range of content capturing residential culture and everyday life, steadily expanding opportunities for residents to take part and building a communication framework that resonates with customers. Through these efforts, Hillstate has established a participatory content culture co-created by the brand and its customers, enhancing its differentiated brand value.
The official YouTube channel "Hillscasting" is built around resident-participation content. True to its name, residents appear on camera themselves, producing content about their activities and stories, and the channel has become a platform for sharing customer experiences.
The flagship content series "Hills Leader" is a long-term project supporting customers' dreams and personal challenges. Season 1 ran for about five months and centered on producing an audiobook, while Season 2 spanned roughly eight months and guided participants through making an independent film. The completed filmmaking process is available on the Hillscasting YouTube channel.
Another popular series, "Hills Club" (also known as Hillsman Season 3), visits hobby clubs at Hillstate complexes across the country, supporting their activities and documenting the stories and community culture that emerge. Rather than relying on elaborate production or celebrities, the series authentically captures residents' hobbies, experiences and moments of connection, drawing a wide audience.
Hillsman Season 3, released this year, averaged 140,000 views per episode — a 200 percent increase over previous seasons. The result reflects the series' success in channeling audience interest in neighbors' stories and community activities into content that resonates with customers.
"This award carries special meaning because it recognizes how genuinely we have communicated with customers, rather than simply rewarding subscriber counts or view numbers," a Hyundai E&C official said. "As Hillstate marks its 20th anniversary, we will continue to communicate with customers through content that residents participate in and help create, strengthening our value as a lifestyle leader brand."
hss@heraldcorp.com
