投稿類別：英文寫作類

篇名：

Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group

作者： 吳美津。台北市立景美女中。三年善班

指導老師： 張瓅今 老師

Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group

I. Introduction

A. Research motivation

BTS, also known as “Bangtan Sonyeondan” or “Beyond the Scene,” is an emerging Korean boy group that has accumulated numerous fans all around the world within three years after they debuted in June 2013 (Utami, 2016). Being called as “History maker” or even “the biggest music group on the planet,” BTS was chosen as the next generation leaders by TIME. Aside from its success in the entertainment field, BTS was also invited to deliver a speech at the Youth 2030 United Nations conference in 2018, which made them the first ever K-pop group to address at UN conferences (Wilkinson, 2018).

Since BTS made their debut, the researcher has paid particular attention to the development of this band, including its works and events. After observing its overwhelming success in recent years, a research interest was thus aroused. Therefore, the current research aims to identify the factors contributing to the success of BTS in a holistic way. The data collected for analysis includes the works of BTS as well as their marketing strategies from 2013 to 2020. It is expected that the research can provide an insight into its success. Furthermore, it is hoped that this research offers some suggestions for the entertainment companies in Taiwan and helps people explore how the factors that play a role in the current entertainment field.

B. Research questions

Generally speaking, my research focuses on two dimensions that are considered essential for the boy group’s success - its works and the company’s marketing strategies. Therefore, the research questions include:

1. What are the features in BTS’s works that contribute to its popularity? 2. What are the marketing strategies that shape BTS into a world-known boy group in such a competitive entertainment field?

II. Body

A. Introduction to K-pop and BTS

1. The rise of K-pop

K-pop, which is the abbreviation of “Korean pop,” generally refers to popular music developing in . There are different types of Korean popular music, and overall, K-pop music has a quite unique and catchy rhythm (Utami, 2016). A majority of the Korean pop-music focuses on male and female “idols” groups that feature singer- dancers (Messerlin & Shin, 2017). Their songs are featured by the repetition of the chorus, and the group dance is known for highly synchronized choreography (Utami, 2016).

In 2012, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” hit the whole world. From then on, the world started to be aware of “K-pop.” In fact, K-pop had already started to flourish before Gangnam Style was released. The rise of K-pop can be traced back to the early 1990s. Since the 2000s, K-pop has gained increasing popularity in Asia and the world. It is even dubbed “Hallyu,” which means “Korean trend” (Messerlin & Shin, 2017).

1 Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group

Gradually, K-pop has become one of the most indicative popular music categories in Asia. Since the late 2000s, K-pop has been expanding to other parts of Asia and around the world, including regions such as the Middle East, where the local culture is very different from that of Korea. K-pop has appealed to a diversity of fans around the world, it also overcomes the limitation of the ages and countries. To sum up, K-pop can be seen as an approach to exporting Korean culture to the world (Messerlin & Shin, 2017).

2. The development and achievements of BTS

BTS consists of seven creative members who can produce and write songs (Utami, 2016). According to J-HOPE, one of the members in BTS, the name of BTS originally signifies the group's desire to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim at teenagers like bullets. In July 2017, BTS announced that their name would also have a meaning for “Beyond the Scene,” as part of their new brand identity. This extended the definition of their name to mean “growing youth BTS who is going beyond the realities they are facing, and going forward” (“BTS: The Unstoppable Phenom,” 2018). BTS is under Big Hit Entertainment, an entertainment company whose scale used to be relatively small compared with their competitors (曾薇心, 2018).

BTS was originally supposed to be a hip-hop group. They released their debut album on June 12, 2013. They didn’t win people’s hearts and admiration at first not only because their music had a strong and unique style but also because they were under a relatively small entertainment company. Many harsh comments, abusing words and ironic remarks were made to them. However, they did not give up and kept practicing, and the whole group remained united. Owing to their hard work and the enthusiasm for the stage, music and performance, they gradually become more and more popular.

Nowadays, they have become a world-known k-pop boy group, which is even called “the Beatles of the 21st century (Jackson & Browne, 2019).” They have made history as the first K-pop band to be on the cover of the TIME magazine and also have been chosen as the leader of the next generation by TIME (Bruner, 2018; Lee, 2018). BTS has been nominated and won many awards at home and abroad; moreover, they frequently break the record in the entertainment field of South Korea. For example, BTS is the first Kpop group ever to be nominated for Billboard Music Awards, and won Top Social Artist Award for three years in a row. The band also won the Top Duo/Group as the first K-pop group in South Korea (Haddad, 2019). “Love Yourself: Tear,” has become the first K- Pop album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and it was nominated for best recording package at the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards. BTS has made Grammy history as first K-pop presenters at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards (Vaziri, 2019). A year later, BTS was invited to perform in collaboration with Lil Nas X at the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Award. This also made them the first and only Korean group to have ever performed at the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Grammy Awards (Murphy, 2020a).

According to the International Business Times, BTS has an estimated combined net worth of 60 million and is responsible for about 3.6 billion annually for South Korea’s economy (Soliven, 2020). BTS’ seven members were awarded South Korea’s Hwagwan Orders of Cultural Merit by the president of South Korea in 2018 to honor their efforts at spreading South Korean culture and language throughout the world (Herman, 2018). It can be concluded that BTS is not only an iconic group in Korean pop culture but has also reshaped how the people worldwide get access to Korean culture. 2 Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group

In addition to overcoming the cultural and language barriers, BTS has made many other achievements. For example, the group formed a partnership with the Korean and Japanese Committee for UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) and launched a campaign called “Love Myself,” which is a two-year, anti-violence campaign. It also made BTS the first artist in South Korea to raise funds as part of a social fund for global campaigns (“K-pop group BTS”, 2017). Therefore, they were invited to deliver a speech at the Youth 2030 United Nations conference in 2018 to address a speech in the United Nations (Wilkinson, 2018). Considering the tremendous success BTS has accomplished now, nobody can imagine that they were not positively evaluated initially.

B. Marketing strategies used by BTS

1. Diversity marketing

For manufacturers to increase their market share, it is essential that they produce distinct products that are not available anywhere else. In the same way, to live up to the expectations of fans, entertainment companies have to cultivate human talents with diversified, differentiated and specialized traits that are not shared by other entertainers ( 林 玲 惠 , 2009). Therefore, the diversity in style, differentiation in works and professionalism are the three keys to shaping popular idols. In terms of BTS, they perfectly manifest the features of diversity in their works, or “diversity marketing.”

Diversity marketing refers to the use of diverse channels to communicate and reach potential customers. Different customers tend to be attracted by different types of products; for example, songs featuring gender issues may be popular among certain groups while they are not favored by others. There are various factors that cause the differences in people’s preferred styles, such as gender, race, profession, religion and so on (Diversity Marketing: What is Diversity Marketing? (n.d.)). Hence, diversity in products offer alternatives and develop multiple ways to communicate with various customers, and companies are more likely to attract more customers.

The movie Black Panther is a great example of diversity. Different from people’s established impression, it shows a non-white superhero as a positive representation of not only black people, but African people in general (Stoic, 2018). Another example of diversity is the series Sense 8, which includes not only ethnic but also cultural diversity. It features actors and actresses from around the world, and the series also involves issues about LGBTQ+ community, and there are even transgender characters starred by transgender actors and actresses (Longshore, 2017). These films may not be embraced by everyone in the world, but they can certainly attract the attention of those concerned about the gender issue. In the case of the entertainment field, if a singer or actor can present works of different styles or cover diverse topics, they are likely to cater to the interest of a larger group of audience.

BTS is also characterized by its use of diversity marketing, whether in terms of their music style, the topic covered in their music works, or their presence in other forms of entertainment. BTS was originally a hiphop group, but their music style has evolved to include various genres, including R&B, rock, orchestral strings, electronic dance music, moombahton, neo soul, gospel, future bass, Latin pop, and jazz hip hop (Kim, 2019). Therefore, people interested in different music styles are likely to become their fans.

3 Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group As for the topics in their music productions, BTS is also unique in the entertainment industry in South Korea. Since Korean pop music is strongly supported by the government in South Korea (Rousse-Marquet, 2012), the government’s policy plays an important role in the career development of K-pop idols. Generally speaking, K-pop rarely involves any politically sensitive issues directly; most of the K-pop songs are usually about romance, partying and sometimes friendship and daily life. However, BTS is the one that acts differently from the others in the way that criticism of the Korean society is usually embedded in their music (Herman, 2018). For instance, the single of BTS “No More Dream” tells fans to pursue their dreams rather than sacrificing their dreams for living up to the society’s expectations. The song is highly related to how South Korean youth culture revolves largely around the country’s emphasis on education. It is considered that the song aims to change the current youth culture and the stressful educational system in South Korea (Herman, 2018).

In addition to music productions, BTS has also made their presence in many other forms of the entertainment field. For instance, V, one of the members of BTS, once participated in the Korean drama, “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth” (길혜성, 2016). Furthermore, another member of BTS, RM, once attended a quiz show “Hot Brain: Problematic Men” while another member - - participated in a singing competition program “Mystery Music Show: King of Mask Singer” as a contestant. So far, BTS has released three movies featuring the behind-the-scenes during their world tours (Glasby, 2018) and the show of the band's “Love Yourself Tour” at Seoul Olympic Stadium in Seoul (Park, 2018). Considering their participation in various forms in the entertainment field, it can be concluded that BTS has shown a great deal of diversity in their works.

2. Product-line pricing

For producers and consumers alike, the price of a product plays a role in determining whether or not to mass-produce or purchase a certain product. In the entertainment field, enterprises not only launch albums of singers but also merchandise related to stars, ranging from lower-priced products like mugs and banners to higher- priced ones such as T-shirts and bags. This strategy is called “product-line pricing.” According to Campbell (2020), product-line pricing “involves the separation of goods and services into cost categories in order to create various perceived quality levels in the minds of consumers.” In other words, there are not only products with the most features and at the highest prices but also products with the most basic features as the base alternatives. A common way is to distinguish the products in the same product line into three levels - high, medium and low, so that consumers can buy products according to their economic conditions. The purpose of this strategy is to maximize the profits through product positioning. By offering products with different features and qualities, enterprises can attract different customer groups and expand their sales.

Considering the difference in fans’ economic conditions, companies of idols should also offer various idol-related merchandise at different prices (林玲惠, 2009). The Big Hit Entertainment also adopted the product-line pricing strategy. For example, on the official application for BTS fan base, there are videos and photos of BTS available to anyone for free, including teasers, music videos, and behind-the-scenes footage (Bloch, 2019). In addition to free contents, there are also contents that are only available with a charge. To illustrate, fans of BTS can purchase their membership and view contents that are only viewed by members of BTS Global Official Fanclub ARMY. They are also given the priority to purchase tickets for the tour (Murphy, 2020b). Furthermore, there are 4 Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group differences in membership fees as well. BTS fans can decide whether or not to obtain the membership or which level of the membership they would like to possess depending on their individual economic conditions.

Apart from the membership, the Big Hit Entertainment also offers products of different types and at different price levels. The prices range from approximately NT$150 to NT$6000, which makes the products affordable for potential customers of different needs. Through this pricing strategy, the Big Hit Entertainment can sell their products to various fans in different economic conditions and enhance their market share.

3. Cross-industry cooperation

According to the definition of Barloworld Automotive & Logistics (2018), cross- industry collaboration refers to the act of “drawing companies together through multiple industries and collectively seeking opportunities for differentiated value propositions in order to target customer segments that may not have been accessible before.” One of the benefits of cross-industry collaboration is to increase accessibility to a wider range of services (Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, 2018). It is beneficial to both companies that cooperate with each other. For one thing, companies can gain more profits because of the wider customer pool. For another, companies can reduce the production cost because of the professional division of labor. Also, cross-industry collaboration helps to increase efficiency and enhance market competitiveness. To illustrate, PXMart has collaborated with many companies from other industries, including the food companies, companies that sell cooking utensils and companies like Sanrio. Through cross-industry collaboration, PXMart can attract more customers with different interests.

BTS has cooperated with many different industries as well, ranging from sports brands such as PUMA and FILA, art exhibitions to even car brands like HYUNDAI. They also endorsed cell phones, vitamins, and even coffee. For these companies, they can capitalize on the popularity of BTS to promote their products; meanwhile, BTS and the Big Hit Entertainment can also benefit from the endorsement of these products. Cross- industry cooperation thus brings about a win-win situation for all the parties involved.

4. Extensive use of social media

According to Hudson (2020), social media refers to “websites and applications that are designed to allow people to share content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time.” By this definition, platforms such as Instagram, LINE and Twitter are all categorized into this group. Thanks to the invention of these platforms, people nowadays can use new methods to interact with others and share information without delay. This is one of the reasons why social media platforms seem to have become part of people’s life.

BTS also has multiple social media accounts, including Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, VLIVE, Facebook, WeVerse and so on. On these platforms, BTS share their music videos, photos, live shows, etc. They sometimes also post texts to express their feelings or opinions on certain topics. BTS even regularly communicates with fans through an app called WeVerse, which greatly shortens the distance between their fans 5 Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group and themselves. With the help of social media, fans can get access to information about their idols more easily; meanwhile, it becomes possible for idols to build a direct connection with their fans.

III. Conclusion

Based on the research above, it is found that BTS has used multiple marketing strategies to expand their fandom, maintain their idol-fan relationship and maximize their profits. The strategies include diversity marketing, product-line pricing, cross-industry cooperation and extensive use of social media. With these strategies, BTS are able to reach customers of different preferences and economic conditions, and they can also increase their exposure in different fields. To sum up, in addition to the efforts BTS has made and their talents for music and performance, the marketing strategies are also like the catalyst that facilitates their tremendous growth and success.

IV. References

Barloworld Automotive & Logistics. (2018, March 1). Cross industry collaboration. Retrieved from https://blog.barloworld-logistics.com/cross-industry-collaboration Bloch, B. (2019, January 21). What marketers can learn from K-Pop band BTS. Retrieved from https://www.mumbrella.asia/2019/01/what-marketers-can-learn-from-k-pop- band- Bruner, R. (2018). How BTS is Taking Over the World. Time Magazine. Retrieved from https://time.com/collection-post/5414052/bts-next-generation-leaders/ BTS: The unstoppable phenom (2018). Himalayan Times. Retrieved from https://thehimalayantimes.com/entertainment/bts-the-unstoppable-phenom/ Campbell, P. (2020, September 13). Product Line Pricing: Examples, Definitions and Strategies. Retrieved from https://www.profitwell.com/blog/product-line-pricing Diversity Marketing: What is Diversity Marketing? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/diversity- marketing.html#link1 Glasby, T., & Guardian News & Media Ltd. (2018, November 11). K-Pop stars BTS ready to 'Burn the Stage'. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/music/k-pop- stars-bts-ready-to-burn-the-stage-1.59682108 Haddad, H. (2019). BTS Wins Top Social Artist Award for the Third Year in a Row. E! News. Retrieved from https://www.eonline.com/ap/news/1037610/bts-wins-top- social-artist-award-for-the-third-year-in-a-row Herman, T. (2018, February 13). BTS' Most Political Lyrics: A Guide to Their Social Commentary on South Korean Society. Retrieved from https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8098832/bts-lyrics-social- commentary-political Herman, T. (2018, October 25). BTS Awarded Order of Cultural Merit by South Korean Government. Retrieved from https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/bts/8481640/bts-awarded-order-of-cultural- merit-by-south-korean-government Hudson, M. (2020, June 23). What is social media? Retrieved from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-social-media-2890301 Jackson, M., & Browne, K. (2018, October 9). BTS and K-pop: How to be the perfect fan. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45800924 Kim, Y. (2019). BTS The Review: A Comprehensive Look at the Music of BTS. Ujeong Group, LLP. 6 Factors Making BTS a Successful World-Known Boy Group K-pop group BTS launches anti-violence with UNICEF. (2017). ABS-CBN News. Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/11/01/17/k-pop-group-bts-launches- anti-violence-campaign-with-unicef Lee, M. Y. (2018). Making history: BTS on Time magazine front cover. The Korea Times. Retrieved from http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2020/01/398_256917.html Longshore, B. (2017, January 16). 17 Movies, Comics, And TV Shows That Prove Diversity Works. Retrieved from https://screenrant.com/best-most-diverse-movies-tv-shows- comics-stories-diversity/ Murphy, E. (2020a, January 23). BTS Tour: How BTS Fanclub Members Get Priority When Buying Tickets. Retrieved from https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/bts-tour- how-bts-fanclub-members-get-priority-when-buying-tickets-ticketmaster.html/ Murphy, E. (2020b, January 26). BTS Will Be the First Korean Act to Perform at the Grammy. Cheat Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/bts-will-be-the-first-korean-act-to- perform-at-the-grammy-awards.html/ Messerlin, P., & Shin, W. (2017). The K-pop Success: How Big and Why So Fast?. Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 45(4-5), 409-439. Park, S.-jin. (2018, December 14). BTS' concert film to hit special 270-degree theaters globally next month. Retrieved from http://www.ajudaily.com/view/20181214173931226 Rousse-Marquet, J. (2012, November 29). K-pop: the story of the well-oiled industry of standardized catchy tunes. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20131103182155/http://www.inaglobal.fr/en/music/artic /k-pop-story-well-oiled-industry-standardized-catchy-tunes Soliven, E. (2020, February 10). BTS Net Worth: K-Pop Group Is Highest Paid Boy Band In The World. Retrieved from https://www.ibtimes.com/bts-net-worth-k-pop-group- highest-paid-boy-band-world-2919056 Stoic, M. (2018, August 7). The Importance Of Diversity In Entertainment. Retrieved from https://upyourgeek.com/2018/08/06/the-importance-of-diversity-in-entertainment/ Utami, . S. S. (2016). Fans Participatory Culture in Social Media (Studies on Twitter Utilization by Bangtan Boys Fans in Indonesia). Paper presented at the International Conference of Communication, Industry and Community, Bali. Vaziri, A. (2019, February 11). BTS makes Grammy history as first K-pop presenters. Retrieved from https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/bts-makes-grammy-history- as-first- Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. (2018, March 26). Cross-sector collaboration. Retrieved from https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/for-professionals/health-and- community-professionals/cross-sector-collaboration/ Wilkinson, B. (2018, September 25). K-Pop Band Tells World Youth to ‘Speak Yourself’ at UN. Retrieved February 14, 2020, from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/24/asia/bts- un-korea-intl/index.html 林玲惠（2009）。藝人經紀公司對演藝人員之行銷推廣策略分析。中國文化大學新聞 研究所碩士論文，台北市。 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/11296/6er8ga 曾薇心. (2018, March 26). BTS 效應！Big Hit 營業淨利超越 SM、YG 及 JYP - 大紀元. Retrieved from https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/18/3/25/n10246909.htm 길 혜성. (2016, February 29). 방탄소년단 뷔, 본명으로 연기데뷔..'화랑:더비기닝'. Retrieved from http://star.mt.co.kr/stview.php?no=2016022908161965440&outlink=1&ref=https://en.wiki pedia.org

7