Marketing Masterclass: The Rise of BTS

The world has moved on since I was last a fan of a boy band (Backstreet Boys, anyone?). Let me introduce you to K-pop and, in particular, BTS.

BTS is a seven-member South Korean boy band that formed in 2010 and debuted in 2013.

They recently gained international recognition through English songs like Dynamite & Butter. But their success is no accident. BTS is a musical phenomenon, but due to its size also a national interest for South Korea. BTS's popularity fuels tourism to Korea, the study of the Korean language, interest in Korean movies, television, fashion and food. All together, BTS is bringing in an estimated $5 billion a year to South Korea. That's around half a per cent of the country's entire economy.

So based on the above, you can bet that their success is meticulously planned. Let's dive in and explore some of what makes BTS what they are today and what we can learn from it.

Creating a multi-dimensional brand

The world is changing, but a single mission propels BTS: To move their fans deeply. Their songs are gender-neutral and talk about depression, fandom, joy, friendship. You will be hard-pressed to find love songs. Everything I'll highlight in the following connects to their North Star.

When building brands, we always talk about the importance of focus. But for long-term success, it's vital to add layers over time to appeal to a broader audience. Think how Coca-Cola added Diet Coke and Zero Sugar to broaden their mass appeal.

BTS takes this concept to a new level - level 7. Each member has a distinct style, personality, skill set that makes it easy for fans to latch on and become part of ARMY. Fans call this a 'bias'. The challenge here is to balance bias with the total BTS brand. So while every fan has a bias, solo fandom is strongly discouraged and frowned upon in the community.

And, this brings us to ARMY and its unique ecosystem.

A Brand Ecosystem to Build Undying Loyalty

I'm going to make a strong claim and say that ARMY is the most loyal fanbase of any musician/band out there right now. Even entry-level fans learn some level of Korean to sing BTS songs. And again, it's by design.

Part of its success is its strong identity. Shortly after debuting, the band opened voting on what to call their fandom. They settled on Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth, in short ARMY.

Over 90M people identify themselves as ARMY (more than the entire population of Germany). ARMY has its logo and brand nurtured by the fans themselves and the band. You can often spot it in music videos, events, and on stage. BTS members wear ARMY necklaces and showcase their temporary ARMY tattoos with pride at interviews and other events. The fandom even has entire songs dedicated to it (Spotify: Bulletproof).?

Being part of ARMY comes with a whole array of new specific terms, gestures, symbols that are core to the brand & band. There is even an ARMY Birthday on July 9th. Once hooked in, you feel 'in the know', and you're led down a path to explore more, connect with other fans and get closer to the stars.

Now you might think that ARMY is a bunch of screaming pre-teens. And you could not be more wrong. A recent (fan led) census interviewed 400,000 fans and found that:

• 50% of all BTS fans are over 18 years old
• 1 out of 5 fans have some level of college degree
• Over 20,000 are parents
• Some of the biggest fanbases are in Indonesia, Mexico and the US.

BTS fans see themselves as an intelligent, tech-savvy social force achieving good globally, demonstrated by their involvement in UNICEF, Black Lives Matter, and other international philanthropic efforts.

The fandom is diverse, held together by a shared love for BTS. We'll explore how they do this in the next section.

A Distribution System that Lights it up Like Dynamite

BTS' deep understanding of the audience, solid and multifaceted brand foundations and tight-knit community lay the foundation for worldwide success.

At its core, BTS is a boyband. And their core product is songs. And each launch is in itself a work of art.

K-pop bands work on a slower and more rigid schedule vs their western colleagues. This creates FOMO (fear of missing out) and allows plenty of breathing room to give each song a pre, launch, and post sell phase.

Western artists will launch a song and a music video. Not BTS. Each song launch is teased for up to 6 months in advance with teasers to build hype. Once launched, the song comes with a music video as well as an extensive library of secondary content on Bangtan TV:

• live performances?
• dance routines?
• behind the scenes?
• music video commentary by the band?
• and even versions that allow you to focus on a single member for the whole music video?

Their YouTube channel is the 8th most popular music channel globally with 600M monthly views, ahead of artists like Arianna Grande or Ed Sheeran.?

One level down is the actual composition of each song. Each build for virality. Single line English lyrics in each piece to appeal to their international audience. Their choreographies are designed to be replicated on Tiktok, and some of their lyrical poetry is highly tattoable.

And once a year, everything accumulates into a ginormous world tour. BTS initially gained traction due to their elaborate performances. Trust me if I say that these are Beyoncé level good. While COVID hit a pause on the world, BTS and K-pop have been shining examples of how to turn lemons into lemonade. Last year's virtual concert attracted over 1.3 million paid viewers from 195 countries. If you want to check it out for yourself, you can join their 2021 concert on Oct 24th.

Channel Ownership to Maximise Revenue

While BTS is a boyband, you will have realised by now that they are so much more than that. And they are monetising it.

If you are a BTS fan, you will have heard of the social network, Weverse. Big Hit Entertainment, BTS' agency, build and owns the platform. All members use it as their primary social network to share glimpses into their professional and personal lives. None of the members has official accounts on any other social network. Many unique membership systems are in place to make fans feel special. Fans can buy individual subscriptions to connect with celebrities ranging from $30 to $150. It's a win-win on both sides. Fans can connect via a single point of contact, and BTS fully controls their primary distribution & revenue channel.

All this is only the tip of the iceberg. But, I'd like to lastly put a focus on how they take clever advantage of experiential marketing. These run outside their tours and provide even more opportunities for ARMY to interact. In 2019, many activations appeared worldwide for BTS, including a multi-city gallery curated with polaroids, costumes, and art created by the members since their debut. And a pop-up called "House of BTS" explored the group's different eras through different rooms in a house, ending with limited-edition merch available to buy.

Key Takeaways

1. A multi-dimensional brand for an ever faster-evolving world. Know your north star and experiment on everything surrounding it.
2. To achieve extraordinary levels of loyalty, brands need to actively create space for their fans. Consumer brands who do this well include Marmite.
3. Each product launch should be planned like a BTS song release. How do you build hype ahead of time? Do you have virality build into the product? What secondary material will be available that supports the primary product?
4. Leverage through 3rd party platforms for reach, but invest in your own distribution platforms for long-term success.? This could be an email list.

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Footnote: After falling into the BTS rabbit hole for a week, I wrote and shared this article with my partner. After a long awkward pause, he said: I might not understand the obsession with their music, but I highly respect their business sense. It's really cool, and you should share it with the world.

So here it is. I hope you enjoyed it, and welcome to the world of K-Pop!