BTS’ Market Influence — The ARMY Of Smart Consumers
Tags: Marketing, Bts, Bts Army, Consumer, Army

BTS’ Market Influence — The ARMY Of Smart Consumers Euni Follow Mar 8 · 5 min read

As BTS rose to popularity and asserted dominance in both local and international music stages, it cannot be denied that their influence in the global market was massive. ARMY was a huge fandom, so it was no surprise that whenever BTS advertises a product, it immediately sells out.

A fandom as immense as ARMY had the power to influence the general public’s buying decision. BTS was redefining consumers’ decision-making process, and people had to start recognizing BTS’ influence on brands.

Whenever a person expresses their intent to buy a product, they go through a cycle called Consumer Decision Journey. This model included five stages: awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy.

The awareness ARMY had of BTS is extremely high, making it easier for ARMY and the general public they influence to consider purchasing a product that BTS approved. The consumer would retain buying the product after having a great experience with it.

Big Hit was able to harness the power of ARMY to build brands. Zoe Scaman, Founder of Bodacious, a strategy studio, discussed a framework about fandoms’ dominant force in society. Big Hit created a space for fandoms of groups under their label to interact with one another: Weverse.

The volume of BTS’ free content was also astounding, which served as leverage for Big Hit to develop products and services ARMY would buy (as shown in this graphic by Judy Knows). ARMY loved participating in BTS surveys to express their feedback. This showed how Big Hit was able to create a two-way dialogue with their customers to ensure that they listen to them. Through ARMY’s feedback, they were able to create Learn! KOREAN with BTS. BTS’ underdog origin story had a role to play in their brand building, as ARMY still showed enthusiasm in supporting BTS’ goals. BTS also regularly engages with fans in co-creation.

ARMY knows when a product isn’t worth it

Big Hit’s fan engagement model was well-crafted, really putting BTS and ARMY as its core. BTS also had the chance to advertise well-known brands outside their entertainment agency, and ARMY proved that they are smart consumers.

Last July 2020, BTS’ Baskin Robbins commercial leaked online which made the brand post a statement saying that the people responsible for sharing the video would have to face strict action. However, this statement was not taken well by the fandom as it seemed like the words were directed at ARMY and BTS.

ARMY called out Baskin Robbins, asking for proof of allegations. The company faced major backlash through social media posts. Baskin Robbins had to withdraw their statement and deleted the post that caused the outrage.

Many ARMY also pointed out that the original "7" cake design was significantly smaller than other ice cream cakes of the same price point and the company later brought out a redesigned larger cake.

Last April, BODYFRIEND shared promotional posters featuring BTS. However, one of these photos is gaining attention for all the wrong reasons. ARMY found multiple blunders in this particular photo: Jin, Jung Kook, and SUGA were barely recognizable, j-hope appeared to be missing a whole foot, and RM had an extra hand. V even expressed his disbelief on Weverse.

Not all BTS collaborations with other brands are horror stories, fortunately. There are brands that BTS has been supporting for a long time, and their long-time relationship with these brands proved that the products they advertise are trustworthy. ARMY’s support for these brands also influenced the general public to check out their products.

One of these brands is FILA. FILA signed BTS as their global Brand Ambassadors. According to FILA, the brand chose BTS as its global Brand Ambassadors based on two factors: BTS’ relationship with its community and the boys’ individual personalities. FILA gambled by choosing a Brand Ambassador that did not target their consumers and relied on BTS’ immense fanbase, engagement, and popularity. This also marked the first time FILA has worked with a group rather than an individual. They just recently released a new collection.

Coca-Cola started with BTS as their Korean Brand Ambassadors in 2018 ahead of the Fifa World Cup. They continued the partnership for the winter holiday season in 2019 and in late 2020 they made them part of their global campaign. Sharp-eared ARMY heard the snippets of the coke commercial and quickly identified Jung Kook's voice, though much debate ensured until it was confirmed by Coca-Cola themselves. ARMY are still waiting on a release of the cover in full.

ARMY does not blindly consume whatever BTS endorses, but rather, we fact-check whether or not these brands are worth our money. We call out whenever necessary, and support brands that were deemed worth it. That’s the collective power that our fandom holds.

More and more brands will reach out to BTS for collaboration in the future, and ARMY’s role as smart product consumer is one of their major assets.