Beyond The Sound: Unveiling BTS' marketing symphony

Social Samosa takes a look at how BTS leveraged the loylalty and passion of their 'ARMYs' and used storytelling in their strategy to revolutionise K-Pop marketing.

Imagine yourself streaming a one-hour-long live video of an animated butter stick melting to find out your favourite band’s new album logo. Sounds absurd? I call it a genius marketing tactic. That’s how BTS (also called Bangtan Boys or Bangtan Sonyeondan) engages with their fans, who are also known as ARMYs. 

In the past, the band has been known for selling out ‘Kambuchas’, ‘Banana Milks’ and ‘Cups’ with just a single mention of the brand in their live streaming videos. The BTS X Mcdonald's collaboration, a.k.a the BTS Meal sold out in under five minutes in Singapore.

The band that brought in the Hallyu wave across the globe, is known for combining their marketing through strategy of engaging content creation with their loyal fanbase.

As BTS turns 10 on June 13 2023, we take a look at how the K-Pop sensation continues to create a huge marketing web through different channels.

BTS’ map to Social Media

Although Bangtan was pretty late to join Instagram, their presence on other social media platforms was prominent from the very beginning. 

During their debut, other K-pop artists relied heavily on K-media channels to create a brand name for themselves. Since BTS came from a relatively smaller agency, they took a different route and found an audience on social media. The band was one of the first K-pop groups to be actively present on Twitter, interacting with their fans, and showcasing their lives and more. 

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A 2020 Twitter survey revealed that BTS were the #6 most tweeted-about people worldwide.  

BTS also used YouTube, Weverse and VLive as a point of interaction. From releasing behind the scenes of their daily schedules called ‘BANGTAN Bomb’, and variety shows like ‘Run BTS’, and ‘BTS in the Soop’,  to doing regular Weverse and Vlive lives to engage with ARMYs, the band has captured a strong hold over social media channels. 

Recently, after the band decided to go on a hiatus, the members, though apart, continued to dominate social media channels. At the end of 2022, Suga (Min Yoongi) launched his talk show called Suchwita on YouTube where he hosts other K-Media personalities. The talk show collaborates with local brands in each episode, thus using branding partnerships to their advantage.

Transmedia Storytelling

The Bangtan Boys don’t just limit their storytelling to a particular song, album or music video, it is woven into their entire discography, hence using transmedia storytelling to further their reach. For the unacquainted, 'Transmedia' is nothing but multi-platform storytelling.

It all started in their early years (April 2015), which gave the world the band's mini-album 'The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Part 1'. This was the beginning of the epic ‘HYYH’ storyline that has been woven into BTS’ music videos, songs, a weekly webtoon named ‘Save Me’, short booklets included within their physical albums, and even concert videos.

More recently, this storyline has been adapted into a K-drama named ‘Youth’ also produced by Hybe Corporation, the company that manages BTS. 

Transmedia storytelling especially acts as a genius marketing strategy for BTS because as and when a new product (song, album, webtoon etc) releases, the fans re-stream their previous music video and songs to piece together the story told through them. And after eight years of the first part’s release, the mini-album to date goes on to break records.

.@BTS_twt's 'The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.1' has now surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify. pic.twitter.com/k7Jpgm2C1g

— chart data (@chartdata) April 2, 2023

Paving the marketing path for K-Pop

In 2020, to promote their newest album ‘Map of the Soul: 7’ (MOTS), Bangtan decided to keep the ARMYs in the dark and directly released their single ‘Black Swan’, resulting in the song topping iTunes’ Top Song charts in 93 countries and regions including India, United States, Canada, and Russia.

Collaboration

Adding to fans’ surprise, BTS also released a YouTube video for Black Swan featuring Slovenia-based MN Dance Company, another attempt at co-branding partnerships. This was the first BTS music video not to star any band members.

Usually, the Korean music industry focuses on generating pre-buzz around a new release through videos, exclusive photocards, and more, launched at least two weeks prior to the release. But with MOTS’ marketing, BTS gave the ARMYs a ‘comeback map’ for the new album, a three-stage timetable leading up to the Feb. 21 release of “7.”

Experiential Marketing

For the new album promotion, the band also took to experiential marketing, taking it across five cities and called it ‘Connect BTS’.

‘Connect, BTS’ was a global project that connected five cities and 22 artists. This project aimed to provide a collective experience that brought new communication between art, music, and people. 

Social Causes

Apart from taking a completely different approach to marketing, in 2017 the band partnered with UNICEF to launch the LOVE MYSELF campaign, aiming to end violence and encourage self-love. 

More recently, before the members started enlisting in the military, the band performed as a group and gave their fans a free in-person and live concert called – BTS ‘Yet to come’ which was held in Busan.

Bangtan's marketing strategy can be described as a fusion of authenticity, innovation, and global connection. With a deep understanding of their audience base, BTS aims to create a brand identity that resonates with millions around the world, breaking the language and cultural barrier.