4. Wild Card

 

Public Relations Techniques in Korean Pop Music 

   The Korean Wave (Hallyu) refers to the growing popularity of Korean culture through the exportation of pop culture (such as entertainment, music, fashion, TV dramas, and movies). This expansion of Korean culture across the globe has attracted millions of people to the "Seoul" of Korea. From the biggest artists in KPOP to blockbuster K-dramas, the Korean Wave of influence has dominated the western hemisphere. 

How has South Korea succeeded in the global domination of pop culture? It doesn't appear to have effected every person in North America, so how does this wave continue to grow? 

South Korean does an exceptional job promoting each pop culture influence to an outside market through strategic marketing and public relations techniques.

Two of the most successful pop culture advances in South Korea include K-pop music and K-drama (television and movies). Between these two popular entertainment industries, each contribute about $10 million to South Korean economy.

The worldwide popularity of Korean culture stems from a strategic and effective public relations strategy, specifically between the exportation of K-pop and K-dramas in the United States. 

Public Relations Techniques in K-POP

Despite the obvious language barriers between South Korea and the United States, K-POP has remained a dominant example of public relations from a worldwide standpoint.

Throughout the growth of the K-pop genre, the public relation strategies have changed. Each Korean celebrity is referred to as an "idol". This idol is held to highest standards of beauty and perfection and stand as a symbol for Korean culture. These idols were branded as actual idols, a person for people to look up to. The Korean entertainment industry capitalized on this idea of perfection and would train idols years before their debut to create a "cohesive unit". 

From a public relations standpoint, their record labels and companies would market these idols as a product. This precision of marketing included focusing on their cohesiveness, talent, and perfection as a group. Older generations of K-pop groups have faced this intense and toxic side of the industry, but thankfully the younger and recent generations of K-pop idols have taken new and safer public relations techniques to attract a worldwide audience to K-pop. 

While there have been hundreds of popular K-pop groups, one unique band stands out from the rest. BTS, is the most successful K-pop group and boy band in the world, and is known for their successful marketing and public outreach programs. 

Also known as the Bangtan Boys, BTS has created a legacy from their undeniable talents of singing and dancing, but this alone did not achieve them worldwide fame. BTS has created public relations strategies that propelled them from their nameless band debuted 8 years ago, to the global brand they have created today.

Individuality and uniqueness is an automatic selling point, especially in a group with as many members as BTS. Each member of the group has their own distinctive personality and sound, which attracts fans to the chemistry and friendship built in the group. Creating a personal brand is a smart technique that can attract a new audience and demographic. 

Another quality of their brand which contributes to their success, is their honest approach to their music. Most of their Korean songs talk about serious issues such as mental health, love, loneliness, and depression. These topics stand out amongst other groups because of their strong appeal to fans who also struggle with these issues. BTS is a great example of using a personal approach to connect with their audience. 

Along with their personal brand, BTS has committed themselves to their fans. Their audience outreach is a strong appeal to their group from countries across the globe. While the exact numbers of their fan base vary, the estimated amount of fans they have comes close to 100 million worldwide. 

A way BTS connects with their fans is through social media. BTS is one of the most active groups and celebrities on social media and constantly keep their fans updated with new content almost every day. In 2018, BTS won the American Music Award for 'Favorite Social Media Artist' for their active presence on social media. 

Each member of the group has two Instagram accounts- one run by their record label (BigHit) and a new personal one. Just a few days ago, the BTS members were allowed to run their own personal accounts, and within 24 hours each of the pages gained a massive following of over 20 million followers.

The group also maintains a social media presence on Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. Each of these platforms allows their dedicated fans to access new content from the group on a daily basis. The group's active social media accounts definitely reflect the conservative nature and restrictions of their country, but still allows the band to create a personal connection to their fans.

BTS excels at their social media outreach and audience interaction, but they also sell their brand by partnering with the right brands and collaborating with other well known artists, which expand their fan base around the world.

BTS has created deals with over 75 brands, these brands range from technology, clothing, food, figurines and characters, and brand ambassadors. Some of their most well-known deals include: Samsung, McDonald's (BTS Meal), Baskin Robbins, and Louis Vuitton. These deals and collaborations bring recognition and brand association to the group, making their name stand out. 

BTS has collaborated with several well-known artists from across the world, to promote and share their music with a new audience demographic. Each of their collaborations has brought attention to the group as well as their music. Megan Thee Stallion, Coldplay, Halsey, and Steve Aoki have all released and collaborated on music with BTS, providing an opportunity for BTS to attract a broader audience from across the globe.  

Overall, BTS has maintained and perfected excellent public relations strategies over the years, contributing to their worldwide domination and fame in the music industry. BTS is a prime example of the efficient techniques used by the Korean entertainment industry, which keeps the "Hallyu" a strong influence in the global pop culture around the world.