The Korean pop supergroup BTS, the brainchild of a Korean management company, has rewritten the playbook for what is cool–and how to manufacture it. Turns out that not only is stardom a produced good but it is also studied, dissected and maybe even, quite possibly, reproduced in the form of a brand.
That at least is the work for business school professors who analyze the nature of profitable pursuits (BTS' management company raised $50B in its 2020 IPO). Two professors, Doug Chung and Kay Koo, studying global trends spent time researching every BTS move and have come out with research on how BTS created their global juggernaut.*
According to Professor Koo, "BTS was like a startup. They had no resources. They needed to differentiate." That describes a lot of entrepreneurs whether they are starting a new venture or working within an established company.
"BTS was like a startup. They had no resources. They needed to differentiate."
Of the five lessons the research yielded, two caught our attention for their applicability to content marketing.
Anyone who has been anywhere near an office over the past 20 years knows that micromanaging is a big taboo. The professors' research confirms it's a bad idea to overly manage creative output. Korean pop idols are often prohibited in their contracts from the most quotidian acts like using a phone. BTS was the exception — they could interact with fans freely on social media.
Social media is a well trodden path for companies, and the interesting bit that still isn't being heeded is that personality and authenticity matter a lot in a sea of content.
In our work with clients we stress the importance of originality. Translated into content marketing, this means voice, tone, and subject matter. It's tough to be original when you are trying to meet a quota. Consider this stat from HBR: over a five year period between 2013 and 2018, blog output increased by 800% but sharing of blogs decreased by 89%.
It's tempting to keep on the well trodden path of corporate content creation. But we also know that poor results eventually catch up to all of us.
Originating in ecology, an ecosystem is by definition a network or interconnected system. According to Professors Chung and Koo, everything BTS produces is interlinked with everything else. Isn't engagement exactly what we're trying to create in our brands?
Where marketing investments fall down today is inconsistency. An advertising campaign may hit it out of the ballpark but then isn't connected to any follow-up content. PR may generate buzz but then there's nothing to support it on the website.
Where marketing investments fall down today is inconsistency.
Organizations face a similar challenge in communicating at different points in the customer lifecycle. Unfortunately, marketing today is front-loaded on brand awareness or getting leads, but doesn't do enough to convert prospects into customers.
Professors Chung and Koo advise businesses to learn from the BTS model and keep evolving. "Businesses are always changing their outcomes of interest. Successful companies are constantly changing and transforming with the times."
Taking best practices from another domain can provide a new perspective on your content marketing efforts. Give your brand some breathing room, explore ways to make it more authentic, and consider how to make it grow organically. Without trying new approaches, you risk missing outside-the-box opportunities. Test, learn, repeat — it's a winning formula.
*Chung, Doug J., and Kay R. Koo. "BTS & ARMY." Harvard Business School Case 522-077, March 2022.