Marketing With K-Pop Stars Needs Its Own Playbook
On Oct. 17, L.A.-based athleisure brand Alo Yoga created an Instagram post featuring Kim Seok-jin, 31, a member of the blockbuster K-pop boy band BTS, modeling a $158 Make Waves Hoodie in heather gray.
“Introducing our newest global ambassador: worldwide handsome #jin,” it read. The eight-word post racked up over 426,000 likes.
But Brian Nam, CEO of Dive Studios, which matches Korean pop stars with brands in search of influencers, immediately spotted something unusual: Alo Yoga’s keen understanding of K-pop fandom and culture.
