• Journal of Fashion Business
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.165-178
• /
• 2021

With rise in economic activity of fandoms, fashion brands often collaborate with K-pop stars such as BTS to enhance brand preference and sales. This study analyzes why people engage in fandom activity and its effects on collaboration fashion brand preference by focusing on 'BTS' and fandom 'Army'. This study aims to provide information to establish marketing strategies by identifying the influence of fandom culture related to the Korean Wave and the fashion industry, and empirically analyzing factors affecting active customer formation for long-term growth. The data were collected from BTS fan club 'Army' and a total data sets were analyzed using SPSS25.0 statistics program. The findings of this research were as following. Frist, BTS fandom motivation were identified as Need for Approval, Communication Need, Professionalism Need, Need to Belong, Consumption Need and the BTS fan groups were categorized into 3 groups. Third, comparing BTS goods values and collaboration brand preference an excess in each group was revealed. This study is significant because it provides essential data for the marketing strategy of fandom market by comparing marketing effects of BTS with the characteristics of fandom consumers and identifying the different desires of each group. As a result of this research, it can be seen that BTS an influential leading brand, has been adopted, and the research direction of empirical analysis has been presented. In practice companies can select specific fandom targets by using the sub-levels of fandom types that have become clear and implement marketing strategies of the fandom market.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.27 no.7
• /
• pp.137-144
• /
• 2022

This study is an empirical study on whether the interval of K-pop content updates and price changes consumer purchasing intentions for domestic fandom commerce platforms that turn their profit structure online and strengthen fandom-based marketing to cope with changes in the digital environment. FGI and a survey was conducted using a conjoint analysis designed to confirm the difference in price elasticity according to the content update interval. As a result, the price elasticity of K-pop content was found to be an inelastic characteristic, and the change in price elasticity according to the content update interval was not statistically significant. This study provides basic data to be used to establish a marketing strategy for the fandom commerce market that will grow in the future.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.103-116
• /
• 2021

This research outlines the motivations behind the fan-lead marketing and promotional endeavours undertaken by musical group BTS's fan community, also known as ARMY. In highlighting the reciprocity in intimacy between the group and their fans, I argue that ARMY's desire to elevate BTS is embedded within structures of affect, despite the financial nature of the benefits the group and their company may reap. These fan-lead initiatives represent efforts towards a common goal, where success, whether it comes in the form of money or not, is a gift of gratitude and a show of mutual understanding from fans to BTS. Based on data from 22 interviews with fans, this research explores the motivations behind fan-lead marketing by looking at the affective properties of music consumption, the parasocial relationship, fan community dynamics, and the purchase of intimacy. Within these contexts, the promotion surrounding BTS's music, as organized by the fans, mimics profit-oriented behaviours but is ultimately a gesture towards the exchange of intimacy between fans and artist.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.79-101
• /
• 2021

With the steady rise in global popularity of the Korean music group BTS, the South Korean government and surrounding industries have swiftly begun utilizing their image and international recognition for specific nation branding purposes. While K-pop soft power strategies are not novel to the South Korean state, what is new is the rapid speed at which BTS have become a beacon for South Korean culture, language, and symbolism in the international arena. However, few scholarly works have sought to investigate the role fans have played in this heightened position for the group as state representatives, with minimal research conducted into the work fans do within the framework of ARMY fan culture. This paper will thus aim to fill the gap in scholarship on ARMY as an organized labour network, focusing on the role fans play as labourers in online spaces that work to promote, disseminate, and cultivate wider recognition for BTS as artists. Through the conjunct engagement of a political economy framework and theories of participatory culture, this paper will explore the manner through which the free labour of ARMY, premised on affect, has constructed the fandom as active agents of soft power alongside BTS themselves.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.117-149
• /
• 2021

Over seven years, BTS have organically embedded consistent mental health messaging and modelling of various mental health modalities, representing innovation within mental health discourse, within and outside the pop and K-pop culture and fandom. Their personal and artistic journeys have resulted in songs, imagery, and relationship dynamics within the group and within and between their fans ARMY, that organically model behaviours associated with mental health therapeutic modalities and normalize the discussion of mental health and well-being. This practice is vitally important in the effort to end stigma and encourage mental health well-being and recovery. BTS's authenticity establishes empathy with their audience ARMY and increases their ability to deliver these messages effectively. This includes fostering the creation of a peer support community within the group that extends to their fanbase ARMY, and from which fan-created mental health programs have emerged. BTS's innovation will be explored by examining content creation throughout their career, illustrating their consistent and organic messaging, culminating in overt and conscious mental health content in their latest album BE, which was released three weeks after the initial paper was presented, and provides proof of concept.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.351-361
• /
• 2019

The objective of this article is to identify an alternative strategy for brand marketing through a case study of the Korean boy band BTS, which has recently seen a huge success in the global music scene. BTS has actively used transmedia storytelling as a tool to survive in the competitive music market. Transmedia storytelling refers to stories that are expanded across different media platforms, engaging audiences to explore from one medium to another to undergo multiple experiences. It gives audiences various ways of enjoying cultural content and participating in cultural content production through numerous media outlets. BTS has established and spread its fictional universe through albums, music videos, short films and webtoons, and has launched diverse projects where fans actively share, create, and play with their content. By inviting fans to actively participate in and interact with the BTS universe spreading through multiple media platforms, BTS can keep its fans engaged and energized. These activities have generated an emotional bond between BTS and their fans, which further leads to a worldwide fandom, based not on a producer-customer relationship but on mutual trust. The BTS case demonstrates the potential of transmedia storytelling as a useful benchmark to provide a positive brand experience for customers, which eventually enhances brand attachment and brand loyalty.

• Trans-
• /
• v.12
• /
• pp.173-222
• /
• 2022

This thesis examines the 'universe' acceptance phenomenon, currently used as a content strategy in the K-pop field, from the perspective of K-pop audiences, and then attempts to identify their experience of acceptance and the meaning of the universe. For this, tweets related to the universe acceptance experience of Aespa, the group utilizing the universe as a content strategy the most actively, were collected, and this data was analyzed according to a phenomenological approach, an approach to explore the structure of personal experience and the essence of a phenomenon. As a result of analyzing using Moustakas' method, the semantic structure of the universe acceptance phenomenon of K-pop audiences was derived based on 21 thematic units. It was found that current K-pop audiences are experiencing active cultural consumption rather than unilateral or passive through acceptance of the universe. This means that K-pop audiences have the characteristics of active audiences that produce meaning, interact with other fans, and exert influence on outside of community. At the same time, these characteristics affect acceptance of the universe. Simultaneously, through active acceptance experience, it is found that K-pop audiences give a new meaning in the K-pop universe, as "marketing assets", "fandom community assets", and "K-pop industry expansion assets." Among them, the recognition of 'marketing assets' was reaffirmed as a basis for supporting related previous studies. In addition, it derived the new values of the universe in the K-pop field by discovering the meaning of "fandom's specific assets" and "assets of the K-pop industry for expansion". These meanings had not been found that previous studies from the producers' point of view. And then, for the purpose of expanding the value of the universe in the future, it was discussed the direction of the new meaning of the universe. Finally, this study is meaningful in that it revealed the semantic structure of the universe acceptance phenomenon and discovered a new meaning of the universe in the K-pop field. Additionally, it was intended to contribute to expanding the field of research by suggesting various follow-up studies from various perspectives.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.83-98
• /
• 2022

This study identified the characteristics of the subculture aspects that led to the success of luxury brands and analyzed the implications of those aspects. For this, semantic analysis in a socio-cultural context was performed. Additionally, this study took the theoretical background, the change in subculture and post-subculture, the digital youth generation, and the change in the meaning of subculture style into consideration. The subculture style aspect and its meaning in luxury fashion brands were analyzed as follows: First, there are challenges that betray the legitimacy or values of luxury brands. Through this, the brand gained recognition and increased sales, and the designer gained a reputation as an innovative creative director. It can be seen that more successful branding was promoted by securing a more subcultured fandom. Second, by combining subculture image fragments, these brands cater to the diverse tastes of a myriad of subcultures. This maximizes commercial profits. Third, most promotional marketing activities are collaborative and done digitally, which allows for a wider customer base, but the difference is in digital capabilities. Limited editions or application use on social networks can act as another driver. It is said that the distinction in high-priced luxury brands is not only driven by economic power but also by sub-cultural capital and digital ability.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.111-116
• /
• 2020

This is a case study of corporate culture marketing to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs on October 5, 2021. Corporate culture marketing seeks to derive cultural consumer values through Steve Jobs' fandom, and to increase corporate brand image and achieve profits. According to Big Data, Steve Jobs' brand image was derived from 'Innovation', 'First', 'Creativity', 'Change', and 'Design'. So, the relationship between Spigen convergence culture space 'SpigenHall', which is highly related to Steve Jobs' brand image, and the opera , which is made of the material of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, is analyzed with big data and culture. We investigated the opinions of content experts. SpigenKorea and the digital opera are designed to provide Steve Jobs' story of joy and sorrow, offer VIP members' premium services, press publicity is 'the first in Korea', GangNam's suitable for famous celebrity performance venues and cultural and artistic venues 'SpigenHall', the revenue of the performance ticket was selected as a donation. This study is suitable for researching the life story of male CEOs and planning a cultural city. The limitations of the study need to analyze various works by genre and attempt to analyze consumer values according to the industry.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.26 no.9
• /
• pp.201-212
• /
• 2021

This study aims to empirically measure K-pop fans' content and the extent of online activities. To achieve the purpose of the study, the researchers identify the statistically significant online activities that determine the intensity of fan attachment toward K-pop artists. Further, the research confirms the relative importance of various meaningful online activities. Consequently, we can develop the K-pop Online Activity Index (KOAI) model and apply it to this index model empirically for each respondent. We found that the model consists of five online activities of K-pop fans: whether joining the fan club or not, whether paying per view V live+ or not, whether watching VODs associated with artists or not, the degree of fan club writing, the degree of watching a lot on YouTube to improve the value of my artists. This study has practical significance in that it allows K-pop marketers to improve their marketing performance by providing content that will enable them to more efficiently and effectively allocate marketing resources to various online activities to get fan responses. It allows accumulating academic knowledge to understand the behavior in the field of online behavior for K-pop fans.