Bring money to the table: Check out how this girl group prospered to fame! [Monday: Marketing Marvels]
Miles Everson’s The Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Happy Monday!
We hope you’re having a great start to the week so far.
Let’s start the day by talking about “Marvels” who exemplify success and authenticity in the fields of marketing, business, and entertainment. In these articles, we emphasize independent-minded individuals’ experiences, insights, and contributions.
For today’s article, we’ll focus on one of the most influential K-pop girl groups.
Read on to know how you can apply this group’s marketing tactics in your business.
—
UPCOMING EVENT ALERT:
I have written articles about my friend and colleague, Professor Joel Litman, a preeminent accounting expert whose investment research is read and respected by thousands of investors worldwide, including most of the largest.
Given recent financial tumult, bank failures, and levels of fear and panic I haven’t observed since 2008, I asked Joel about his outlook and what worries him most. His answer: Nobody is talking about it.
Joel says that every signal points to a looming stock market crash. Worst of all, Wall Street knows about this—they just haven’t told you yet. This piece of news will likely not see any mainstream coverage until it’s too late to do anything about it.
I invite you to join Professor Litman on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 8:00 PM EDT. Joel will discuss the looming crash and outline what investors should do to protect their investments and get ahead of this massive catastrophe.
Visit this link to register for the event.
I hope you can join!
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Marketing Marvels
“Make ‘em whistle like a missile bomb, bomb
Every time I show up, blow up…”
Today’s feature is not “born to be alone” as this group is loved by millions of fans around the globe.
Even though the team’s activities concentrate beyond the business field, the members’ astonishing talents, head-turning visuals, and unwavering passion can ignite any marketer’s enthusiasm like a missile bomb.
Do you have any guesses about the group we’re referring to? It’s none other than…
BLACKPINK!
Photo from People
BLACKPINK is a four-member South Korean girl group that debuted in 2016 under the management of YG Entertainment. In their rookie year, the group created bursts and blasts in the music scene with the debut single, “Whistle.”
Currently, BLACKPINK consists of four brilliant and phenomenal members:
- Jisoo (Kim Jisoo)
- Jennie (Kim Jennie)
- Rosé (Park Chaeyoung)
- Lisa (Lalisa Manobal)
Following the success of “Whistle,” BLACKPINK continues to make waves in the music industry with subsequent releases like “Boombayah” and “Playing with Fire.”
The track “Boombayah” played a crucial role for the quartet to climb the ladder of massive fame. The song performed remarkably on domestic and international music charts, reaching its peak position 11 times on the monthly Gaon Chart, and securing the 14th spot on the year-end chart of the U.S. World Digital Songs. Meanwhile, “Playing with Fire” was applauded due to its “unique and refreshing” vibes.
Since then, BLACKPINK continued to propel to stardom by releasing studio albums like The Album (2020) and Born Pink (2022), compilation albums such as Blackpink in Your Area (2018), and extended plays like Square Up (2018) and Kill This Love (2019).
BLACKPINK is “the” Revolution
Photo from YG Entertainment
With the presence of “pink” in the group’s name, non-BLINKs (BLINKs is the fandom of BLACKPINK) associate the quartet with femininity. However, the group aims to go beyond stereotypes and delve into a wide range of themes and emotions. BLACKPINK strives to convey messages of empowerment and confidence, explore the concepts of self-love and relationships, and showcase a strong sense of independence.
Above all, BLACKPINK’s lyricism reflects the importance of living and celebrating life. No wonder the girl group’s songs resonate with fans globally, making the girls not just music icons but also inspirations, particularly to the youth.
What’s more?
BLACKPINK is an emblem of awards and achievements. In 2017, the group won the Gaon Chart Music Awards’ New Artist of the Year (Digital) and currently holds the most subscribed female music group on YouTube, according to Guinness World Records.
Photo from Rolling Stone
Proving they are unstoppable, the girls also embarked on a historic moment for K-pop by headlining at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2019. This made them the first South Korean girl group to take that stage and deliver an electrifying performance that left the audience in awe.
BLACKPINK is Back in Your Area
Following a two-year hiatus, BLACKPINK made a highly anticipated comeback with its second Korean studio album titled, “Born Pink” in September 2022. After that, YG Entertainment revealed the quartet would board the largest world tour ever undertaken by a K-pop girl group.
The Born Pink World Tour commenced on October 15, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea, and concluded on August 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, United States. Notably, the tour was acclaimed as the “highest grossing concert tour by a female group.”
Photo from BLACKPINK
The “Kill This Love” hitmakers surpassed the record previously held by the Spice Girls’ Spice World Tour (2019), which generated USD 78.2 million from 13 sold-out shows. Reports revealed that BLACKPINK’s Born Pink World Tour broke that figure, amassing an impressive USD 78.5 million from 26 shows throughout 2022.
International media outlets also cited BLACKPINK as one of South Korea’s driving forces, alongside BTS and TWICE, that simultaneously help boost the country’s economy. Additionally, BLACKPINK made significant contributions to YG’s revenue.
You might be wondering: How does BLACKPINK consistently draw a broad audience and generate revenue?
Let’s take a look at some of the quartet’s marketing strategies:
- Concept of “Scarcity”
BLACKPINK’s marketing strategy revolves around intentionally spacing out their comebacks, performances, and releases. This deliberate approach aims to foster a sense of excitement and exclusivity among BLINKs. By tactically managing music and performances, BLACKPINK becomes even more anticipated and cherished by fans.
What does this marketing approach tell us?
The concept of scarcity must be a careful move for marketers since some customers may express their frustration whenever an enterprise takes on a significant break. Nonetheless, when done properly, this is advantageous since scarcity creates a psychological need that translates to demand and sales.
- Endorsements and partnerships with international brands
Despite being in a group, BLACKPINK members are individual ambassadors of several fashion labels and beauty brands:
Jisoo is the face of Dior Beauty and Cartier. Meanwhile, Jennie is known for her collaboration with Calvin Klein and Porsche.
Rosé endorses Yves Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co. Lisa has major deals with Bulgari, Celine, Mac, Prada, Adidas, and AIS Thailand.
These partnerships increase the group’s influence and reach, attracting more international fans.
What’s the key takeaway from this marketing tactic?
Partnership is an opportunity to reach new markets and deepen one’s marketing insights. Collaborations also allow businesses to understand their target demographics and explore different marketing tactics that align with their values.
- Unique image and identity
Apart from other girl groups in the K-pop industry, BLACKPINK is easily recognized for its fierce and charismatic performances. The girls’ stylish fashion and empowering music are salient agents that help them stand out in a highly competitive K-pop industry.
What does this marketing strategy convey?
Marketers must find a compelling and distinctive angle or concept that can help their brands stand out in a crowded market.
“How [do] you like that,” marketers and entrepreneurs?
All of these show BLACKPINK’s marketing strategies that have played a pivotal role in the group’s success and dominance in the music and entertainment industry.
—
As the K-pop industry is set to enter the “fifth generation,” “third-generation” idols like BLACKPINK need to wisely blend music and marketing to navigate the dynamic and ever-changing entertainment landscape. By doing so, they can maintain a strong presence, expand their influence, and continue to achieve long-term success.
We hope you learned insightful marketing lessons from today’s feature!
Following our “Marvels’” footsteps, you can also revolutionize your business by incorporating the right elements in your marketing strategy. You’ll see, this will increase your business’ chances of succeeding AND building a loyal customer base.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories of individuals in our next “Marketing Marvels” articles!
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Mondays: Marketing Marvels”
Too often, industry experts and the marketing press sing the praises of some brand or company’s marketing strategy.
… only for the audience to later find out that its product was a flop, or worse, that the brand or company went bankrupt.
The true ROI in marketing can’t be separated from the business as a whole.
What good is a marketing case study if one can’t prove that the company’s efforts actually paid off?
At the end of the day, either the entire business is successful or it isn’t. And the roles of marketing and communication are always paramount to that success.
Every Monday, we publish a case study that highlights the world’s greatest marketing strategies, marketers, and communicators.
However, the difference between our articles and the numerous ones out there is that we will always make certain that the firm really did generate and demonstrate earning power worthy of study in the first place (compliments of Valens Research’s finance group) in keeping with a person’s leadership skills in the area of marketing and/or communication.
We’ll also study the greatest marketing fails and analyze what they did wrong, or what they needed to improve. We all make our mistakes, but better we learn from others’ mistakes—and earlier, rather than later.
Hope you found this week’s marketing marvel interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Monday’s “Marketing Marvels!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
Powered by Valens Research
www.valens-research.com
