Read this article in Ad Age and thought I would share:
http://adage.com/article/global-news/gangnam-style-korea-a-pop-culture-products-powerhouse/238522/
The article uses the singer Psy of "Gangnam Style" as an example to his point. This song has become a viral video sensation, penetrating chat rooms, SNL, Google corporate events, the Today Show, evening late night shows, etc. to become the most watched video of all time, surpassing the likes of Justin Bieber and others.
The article uses this as an example of how South Korea is becoming a strong influence on pop culture in multiple ways, through multiple channels, for multiple reasons. Yes, this song and its fun dance moves have led us to see South Korea as an influential player in the music sector, but the author of this article lists many other examples of how South Korea has spent time and money (over a long period of time) to develop their global influence in multiple categories. Examples of brands that have infiltrated themselves into our daily lives include Samsung, Kia, LG, and Hyundai.
The author feels this growth strategy from such a small country (which is made up a population that almost all speaks Korean) is due to three main reasons: geography, investment, and the Underdog mentality. From a geography standpoint, South Korea knew it was stuck in an area with a lot of power players (Japan, China, and Russia), so acknowledged early on that success would come from marketing to exterior partners through exports of quality products from companies like Samsung and Hyundai. On an investment front, South Korea has pushed funds towards infrastructure, while other countries cut back. South Korea was the first to invest in high-speed broadband after the 1997 financial crisis, resulting in a "multimedia-obsessed nation." This, of course, allows South Korea to spread it's influence and be inter-connected to the global landscape. Finally, the Underdog reputation has helped South Korea as it allows the country to offer products in a non-threatening way. To quote the article: "And while Japan's longer branding history looms large, South Koreans seem attuned to the global soft spot for the little country that could. Korean companies don't threaten; they are easy brands to belong to and so they are becoming the new wave of challenger brands, and we all love those."
I liked this article because I was definitely one of the people that brushed off the "Gangnam Style" revolution as just a one-time fad that happened to appeal to everyone's sense of humor and was catchy enough to get into everyone's heads. However, after reflecting further on the content of this article, I began to think of this song as an extremely smart, strategic digital marketing strategy from South Korea - doing what most brands strive to do: subtlety becoming a part of everyday pop culture life without appearing to directly market South Korean assets to global consumers in an obvious way (which would likely turn people off).
I recently watch a documentary on South Korea pop culture. The documentary confirmed the fact that the ministry of tourism and culture is actively promoting Korean pop culture to foreigners: they invited a group of 30 teenagers from all over the world to attend a weekly festival. All those 30 selected happy winners had a free 1 week stay in south Korea. They seemed to have a good time.
ReplyDeleteThe objective of the government is to try to spread the South Korean culture abroad an certainly increase the tourism and "likeability" of the country. it looks like it is a very effective strategy. (I personaly enjoy the music....)...
The US has certainly been doing the same through the global spreading of Hollywood, music, TV series in the past 50 years and the results looks quite positive. South Korea is maybe learning from Uncle Sam!