K-Pop & Digital Marketing: A Glimpse into the Success of SuperM & NCT 127
Design: ebbony&lune
Raise your hand if you have felt personally victimized by k-pop! 🙌 (This is me raising both my hands as high as they can go…) I’ve been following the k-pop industry for over 10 years now, and have really seen how the whole marketing and fan experience strategies have developed over the last decade, thanks to the continuously increasing technological advancements and trends.
There is a reason why k-pop is so popular not only in its originating country, Korea, but also internationally (aka the “Hallyu wave”). Of course, the sheer attractiveness and talent of the idols paired with catchy songs and artistically curated performances contribute heavily to the genre’s global success, but how the labels promote their artists and respective releases also plays a huge role - the (loyal) fan experience is everything. The way k-pop marketers engage the fans in the pre-release promotional period is something that North American labels can definitely get inspiration from.
Within the past half-year of being a marketing student, I’ve had the BLESSED opportunity to experience two of my favourite k-pop groups’ debut/comeback, but this time with a different lens and perspective as a fan and an aspiring marketer. Below, I will be covering the various strategies and tactics that the marketers at SM Entertainment used with both these successful groups and their respective albums.
WARNING: VERY Lengthy article ahead!
Background
You may have heard of the buzz surrounding the new SUPER group from the South Korean entertainment conglomerate, SM Entertainment. SuperM; the best of the best in the industry, all in one group - the dance skills, the vocals, the visuals… they’ve got it all! No wonder they’ve been dubbed the “Avengers of K-Pop”. The group is the first of its kind, combining members from internationally-acclaimed k-pop boy groups SHINee (Taemin), EXO (Baekyun, Kai), NCT 127 (Mark, Taeyong), and WayV (Lucas, Ten). On October 4, 2019, they released their debut, self-titled EP in the States in partnership with Capitol Records. The mini-album reached No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart.
And earlier last month, my current favourite boys of NCT 127 made their long-awaited comeback with their second full-length album, ‘Neo Zone’. Within 24h of its release, the album has topped many charts in South Korea and internationally; the album even surpassed 530,000 stock pre-orders, breaking the group’s record for highest volume of album pre-orders to date. They also landed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart - expected nothing less from my hardworking and charismatic boys 💚
SuperM: ‘The 1st Mini Album’
1. Pre-Release: Social Media Strategy
Source: @superm | First IG posts
Source: @superm | Individual covers + promotion schedule
Source: @superm | SuperM promotion schedule
As expected from any promoting artist, SuperM exercised a fairly cohesive and effective social media strategy on platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, to attract and inform their target audiences/fans. Their posts were very strategically scheduled, which was communicated via the posted promotion schedule. The transparency of the social media schedule allowed fans to know when to expect what content, which ultimately generates feelings of anticipation, ensuring that they won’t miss out on content and that they will ENGAGE (for the social charts). During its early stages, the group’s Instagram account used the grid strategy, as exemplified above), establishing their futuristic brand image with the monochrome posts.
During this pre-release promotion period, fans were encouraged to use the hashtags #SuperM #WeAreTheFuture and #SuperMtheFuture on all social media postings to increase awareness and to create the fan community. They even had their logo attached to their hashtags at one point!
Other content on their social media platforms included member teaser photos/videos and exclusive behind-the-scenes views. And because they are under Capitol Records in the States, their Twitter feed included much retweeted content and mentions (i.e. Billboard, Rolling Stones, Refinery29, etc.) - they really leveraged their partnerships well!
2. During Release: Snapchat Lens + Spotify Content
Something of note that is unrelated to the heading of this section is the actual release of the SuperM album. Quick details are as follows:
Press conference at Capitol Records Building
‘Jopping’ music video premiere on YouTube; the members watched it for the 1st time with fans after their press release (video here)
Live show/concert the following evening outside Capitol Records Building
Now, back on track. Following the release of their album, of course their main marketing goal was to encourage sales and number of listens/streams! One thing they did that I haven’t seen before was partnering up with Spotify for various activities: a personality quiz (pictured above - I got Taemin!), an listening party (more on that in the NCT 127 section), and a fan canvas. Fans were encouraged to snap a photo of themselves using the SuperM Snapchat lens, and then post it on their social media feeds with the campaign hashtags. The marketing/social media team then selected some to be featured onto the SuperM Spotify album canvas (you know, those videos that play in the background of the songs, but only visible through the mobile app). These were great ways to generate social media buzz, album streams/listens, and fan engagement.
Scan to unlock! 🔓
3. Pre- & During Release: AR T-Shirt Contest
Oh, the power of technology. AR (augmented reality) technology has become one of the most popular, albeit pricey, marketing tactics out there - it gives viewers a chance to directly interact and engage with the promotional material/merchandise, driving more positive feelings and deeper connections to the brand, or in this case, the artists.
Once fans purchased the AR tees, they were prompted to download the app in order to access the special AR experience. And of course, the purchase of the tees included a copy of SuperM’s digital album, which was counted towards the sales charts. This contest enticed fans’ participation and therefore, purchase of the album. It also helped that the members hyped up the product by modelling and demonstrating the tees and app in a video that was posted across their social media platforms. And it definitely worked, because I was so tempted to purchase one for myself too! 😅
4. Post-Release: Valentine’s Day Card
Source: supermvalentine.com | (Side note: OH NO TAEYONG’S BEAUTIFUL FACE IS COVERED BY THE FLOATING HEART!)
Artist promotions NEVER stop. EVER! Leveraging current events/holidays is key to effective marketing, and that’s exactly what the team did with SuperM for Valentine’s Day this year. A new microsite was launched where fans were able to see & create a card for their loved ones - super simple, but so pleasing to the super-fan’s heart.
NCT 127: ‘Neo Zone’
1. The Neo Zone Timeline
This was one of the smartest social media marketing strategies I have ever seen in the music industry (on that note though, if you know of any that can match this calibre, please tell me in the comments - I’d love to learn more)! The ‘Neo Zone Timeline’ spanned an entire month of promotional material for the album. NCT fans (NCTzens) were gifted content basically every day until the release. This entire ‘campaign’ was very well thought out and executed across Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook (+ probably some Korean social media platforms as well). The delivery of the content was very unique and on-brand with the album’s 90’s/retro/throwback concept, such as VHS-like teaser videos and a ‘shopping channel’ episode. It literally was the treasure box of shareable, engaging content.
Source: @NCTsmtown_127 | A month-long, intensive promotion schedule was posted across all social media platforms
February
12 - Opening Video
13 - Neo Zone Timeline
14 - Crew Video #1
15/16 - Teaser Images #1 & #2 / Pre-Orders Start
17 - Crew Video #2
18 - Chart Show Page Open
19/20 - Mini Track M/Vs
21 - #OpeningShow
22 - Midway Count Video
23/24 - Invite to Neo Zone (#1 | #2)
25 - N.E.O Shopping
26 - Final Result Video
27/28 - Teaser Images #3 & #4
29 - JCC Neo Zone Special Ep.
March
2 - 37.5MHz Haechan Radio (Part 1) & Teaser Image #5
3 - Teaser Image #6
4 - Kick It M/V Teaser & 37.5MHz Haechan Radio (Part 2)
5 - Kick It M/V
6 - Album Release
Post-Release
In this episode of Johnny’s Communication Centre (JCC), Johnny took NCTzens behind-the-scenes to a production centre to see how an album is made, packaged, and distributed. We never really think much about how things are made - it’s like we sometimes just imagine them to have appeared out of thin air all assembled and ready to use - so this part of the Timeline was really interesting to me, and brought me closer to the ENTIRE process of putting together an album, as well as all the people and hard work involved.
2. The Neo Zone Chart
Arguably the most unique ‘segment’ of the Timeline was the Neo Zone Chart. Not only did it reveal the track list, but also provide NCTzens with a sneak preview of the songs themselves via mini music videos. EVERY SINGLE TRACK had a video to accompany it… it was an NCTzen’s paradise! Adding on to the uniqueness was the fan engagement component: NCT 127 provided their fans with social media goals (i.e. shares, likes, views) for each video. Reaching the goals unlocked additional teaser images. And to top it off - the CHERRY BOMB on top lol - members Taeil and Jungwoo kept fans updated on their progress with the Midway Count and Final Results videos. As you can see above, not all the goals were reached, but despite this, all of the special images were released; at the end of the day, it’s all about that fan engagement and relationship, and building HYPE.
3. Texting
Technically, SuperM did this first, but I didn’t subscribe for some reason. However, for these boys, I most certainly did.
The first message you get when you text the number
Sample Text 1 | Fun fact: NCTzens completely crashed the live-streaming site for this event LOL
Sample Text 2
Sample Text 3 (in light of COVID-19)
Marketers are going back to old-school techniques. Through the start-up Community, artists (or, let’s be real, their team) are now able to communicate with their fans via text messaging/SMS. In this digital age, this method is proof that we humans just want to connect with others on a personal level, to make us feel like an individual instead of part of an algorithm. The wishful thinking that the artists might actually read your messages or send you some is another draw factor. We respond well to genuine/real/raw communication, and that is what sticks. For more insight on this topi, read this New York Times article here.
I’ve received updates RE: their album & merchandise releases, as well as a thank you message from the boys (or their PR people) themselves. Probably one of my favourite ones is the team sending an apology text for attaching the incorrect link, because they were busy with prepping for the Houston Rodeo show - it shows the humanity of it all.
4. Spotify Listening Party
These were some of the comments that the members had included.
As mentioned earlier in this post, Spotify listening parties are a THING now (gotta increase those streams!). NCT 127 did two separate listening events with different members. Basically what happens is fans get together on a special Spotify microsite to listen to the entire album together - no skips, no shuffle. And the members join in as well! This method achieved fan engagement and increased album streams. I missed out on the first weekend, but I took part in a bit of the second weekend (because it was Jaehyun’s weekend).
BONUS: Different Album Versions
Doyoung, Jaehyun & Jungwoo unbox Neo Zone ‘T’ Version; use the album to make a customized phone cases
All k-fans know about the MANY different album versions that companies release, as well as “repackaged” versions that feature new tracks. With Neo Zone, rather than individual member versions of the album, SM Entertainment released 3 versions: N, C, and T. The N and C versions were released first (March 6), followed by the T version (March 20). I waited for the T version because LARGE PHOTOBOOK + more goodies = 😍 Currently, NCT 127 is preparing for their repackaged performances of the title track ‘Punch’; the album, titled Neo Zone: The Final Round, is set to be released on May 19th.
TL;DR:
It would be a DREAM to work in marketing for K-pop (SM Entertainment, specifically), honestly! They are so creative with the things that they do to boost fan engagement and album sales/streams. The fan culture is completely different in Asia than it is in North America, and they really do capitalize off of that in smart, innovative, and effective ways. That’s all I have to say about this for now - until next time, my Koreaboos! 💖
