4. The advertising plan for Korean pop music presents analyses of the situation in context of
the product, the marketing mix, the promotional campaign objectives, the campaign strategy,
including target audience and creative strategy, the media placement strategy, and presents drafts
of advertisements to place into the market in the ending appendix. The beginning starts with the
Situation Analysis, which covers the product research , the target market, and the analysis of
strengths and weaknesses of the campaign. After the situation analysis is the Marketing
Strategy, which covers the product information, the placement of the product, and the price of
the product. Next is the Promotional Campaign Objectives, which highlight key points for the
campaign. The Campaign Strategy follows the objectives and goes over the target audience, the
positioning strategy, the “big idea”, and the creative strategy. Second to last is the Media
Placement Strategy, which selects and explains the placement of the product. Last is the
Appendix, which is a collection of possible advertisements that could be used to promote the
product. Such advertisements include print, radio, television, direct mailer, and a webpage.
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6. Product Research
Korean pop music has always been a big deal in South Korea. It has traveled to the eyes
and ears of many people throughout the years and is still growing more popular by the day, all
over the world. Within the past decade or so, there has been a Korean wave, where the music has
dominated over Asia across many Eastern countries, such as China, Japan, and Thailand. Korean
pop music involves young boys and girls who are trained in their early years for varying periods
of time. When the time is right, those young boys and girls are placed into groups through
auditioning processes held by entertainment companies. The major factors of making the cut are
based on the individual’s appearance and their dancing and vocal skills.
The main listeners and participators of Korean pop music started out with an older and
mature audience, who liked the trot or folk style to the genre. As time went on and the music
became more modernized, the audience for the music changed. The new audience was made up
of younger people who liked the new incorporations of American music styles, such as rap, rock,
and techno, into the Korean pop music.
The current major “brands” of the Korean pop music industry are JYP Entertainment, SM
Entertainment, and YG Entertainment. Each company contains many groups of guys and girls,
but there are also many smaller less-known companies that partake in the music business as well.
Each company’s group has official online fan-cafés with many fans that are able to converse
online, plan events related to the groups, and discuss whatever they like about the groups. There
are also many unofficial fan-sites and fan-clubs that are able to support their favorite groups,
many of which are internationally created.
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7. There are a lot of important factors that influence the set target market; the young people.
In the motherland, personality and attitudes are a big deal. The community is much more
inclined to accept people with warm, comfortable atmospheres who are modest, people who have
bubbly or silly personalities, or people who have a look of innocence and beauty. Another key
factor is based on how natural the musical artists are with their physical appearances. Most of the
community prefers natural beauty over plastic surgery other cosmetics. The Korean community
may view the quality of talents last, as they are very judgmental on other aspects of a person first.
A popular celebrity may not always be the best at performing on the stage, but it’s their person
that keeps the audience attracted to them.
Target Audience
There are two target markets in the Korean pop music industry. The first involves the
local community, the people that are actually in Korea. The locals are young girls and boys,
preferably in their mid-teenager years. The celebrities in Korea tend to be in their early twenties
on average, so they may attract the twenties-age group as well. The second target involves all the
international fans, which are mostly located in North America, from Korean-Americans to
Asian-Americans in general, and even Caucasians. Major Korean entertainment companies had
targeted at young mid-teenagers as well, but they can appeal just as well to a slightly more
mature audience, such as college students, if they wanted to.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Is new and incorporates modern American music
Is catchy in music style
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8. Encourages listeners to move around and dance to the specific song choreography
Appeals to all ages in Korea: from young elementary school students to old-middle aged
adults
Has many varieties and styles of pop with many different groups who appeal to listeners
Gives encouragement and excitement to listeners who can relate to the melody and lyrics
of the songs
Weaknesses
May be too different from American tastes/annoying due to the high level of catchiness
Songs may have a specific audience that may not appeal to others
The themes of the songs may not appeal to American audiences
Few artists actually write their songs, so there is less of a personal feeling
Criticizing of music quality compared to American music
Opportunities
Can be listened to on the web
Music can be imported through Asian ordering websites
Artists can travel to the U.S. and perform at specific events in CA and NY
Music companies have the option of trying to break through into the U.S. music industry
Threats
There are popular American artists
Lack of U.S. fan-base
Possible discrimination due to race
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10. The product strategy for all aspects of the Korean pop music industry targets mid-
teenagers to adults in the early twenties, including both boys and girls. AllKPop, a leader of
news in the Korean entertainment industry, brings the inside scoops from the motherland to
international fans around the world. The main readers of AllKPop are those in their late teens
and early twenties. The placement strategy will target “hot spot” areas where all types of music
gather, such as the radio, music clubs, cafés, music stores, and online music websites or stores
(ITunes or Amazon). Additional areas of interest are on official international fan sites that
support their selected individual Korean music groups. News from AllKPop is free and easily
accessible on the web and during most times, articles posted about the newest music tracks have
a “teaser” or preview clip attached so readers may get a taste of the music to see if it appeals to
them or not. Music tracks from Korean artists are available on an international Asian goods site,
YesAsia.com, and may be imported at an affordable cost. Some Korean entertainment companies
have also made their artists’ music tracks available on ITunes and Amazon at a very low cost as
well.
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12. Provide long-lasting entertainment
Increase international sales of cds and music tracks
Create a bigger or additional fan bases internationally
Introduce the concepts and ideas of Korean pop music
Spark a new interest within the target for Korean pop music
Bring in a breaking competitor into the American music industry
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14. McCann Erickson’s Role-Playing Approach
Who is my target?
Campus students / Young girls/women and boys/men, depending on style of group and music
A connection with Oriental students – students who come here and study abroad may be able to
recognize K-pop stars because most of them, if not all, are famous in the Eastern regions across many
countries.
Where am I now in the mind of this person?
Probably somewhere in the back because K-Pop is unknown for the most part in the U.S. and is rarely
listened to by American college students, but girls/guys in their mid-teens have had some exposure;
some K-Pop artists who were active in the U.S. before were Rain, BoA, and Se7en; recently in the past
few months, a particular group, Wonder Girls, was set towards a younger audience because children
don’t judge foreign people/ideas, for the most part
Where is my competition in the mind of this person?
U.S. pop artists that are/were well-known here in the U.S., such as Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Taylor
Swift, Rihanna, Backstreet Boys, Michael Jackson, etc.
Where would I like to be in the mind of this person?
At the front of their thinking and attention; to bring interest with something new that is super popular
overseas in Korea
What is the consumer promise, the “big idea”?
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15. To keep you entertained – to give you material that you can relate to, since some U.S. music is just made
for entertainment purposes and can have no real emotional value and is just out there to be out there for
the consumers to just take up. Another is to bring you something new and different from the usual
American musical tastes
What is the supporting evidence?
Evidence is from the huge fan-bases that the K-Pop artists have to back them up overseas; the fans
support the artists for everything, from high school/college graduation, military service, stalkers/other
crazy fans, wars between the fan clubs, and more
Specific news articles from the top news sources of k-pop- allkpop.com, and from local news sources
from Korea. Many sales statistics are given through the online music websites that sell the music and cds.
Many celebrities enjoy idols’ music and openly state their preferences for their favorites, which causes
their fans to check out who their favorite artists are. Idols are a major part of Korea as they are
worshipped like royalty, in both good and extremely bad ways.
Example: In a concert within the past few months for DBSK, Korea’s top boy band, a news article states
that about 60 fan-girls fainted from the sight of seeing the group together on stage. They were rushed to
the ER and were found to not have serious injuries, besides from their craziness.
Example: Each group has an official fan club and unofficial international/national fan-clubs and
celebrates all the members’ birthdays and band together to get them expensive and useful gifts, such as
digital cameras and flat screen tvs. Fans also donate to organizations in a group member’s name
whenever the members’ birthday comes around; they also donate food too.
What is the tone of voice for the advertising?
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16. Exciting in a way that draws you in – entertaining and catchy with background music from songs that is
different from the music here in the U.S.
Target Audience
There are two target markets in the Korean pop music industry. The first involves the
local community, the people that are actually in Korea. The locals are young girls and boys,
preferably in their mid-teenager years. The celebrities in Korea tend to be in their early twenties
on average, so they may attract the twenties-age group as well. The second target involves all the
international fans, which are mostly located in North America, from Korean-Americans to
Asian-Americans in general, and even Caucasians. Most teenagers have some source of income,
whether it’s from their parents or a job, so they have a means of getting the product made by
artists. Regarding college students, most have money in general, or money to spare occasionally,
so they are able to purchase goods or even travel to certain events within the United States at
certain times when the artists are performing for a holiday.
Positioning Strategy
When marketing Korean pop music, it should be placed with radio stations that cater to
the tastes of teens. A radio station that teens could listen to with Korean pop airing is Radio
Disney. JYP Entertainment had a Korean group debut in America this past year and got their
song to play on Radio Disney, so it could be a good start for other Korean artists if any other
companies and groups were to debut and break into the music industry in the United States.
Korean artists have done well so far by releasing their songs through compact discs that are
inexpensive and come in unique cases, depending on the company and current concept of the
group. Compact discs sold usually are high in number and always meet or exceed the companies
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17. set expectations. Releasing the compact discs into popular music stores would also be a wise
choice.
“Big Idea”
This whole campaign is about bringing awareness that the Korean pop music industry
exists and that it is steadily rising in popularity across the world. Once someone gets a taste for
Korean pop music, they will be loyal, support the groups that they like, and just have a good time
and a fun lifestyle. The designers and stylists follow all the latest trends, so if the audience listens
and watches Korean pop music, they will be able to see a variety of fashion and in time, even
they might get few new ideas for what they want to wear in the future. The music and concepts
in the music videos are unique, so they can greatly entertain any audience.
Creative Strategy
The advertisements and messages should send out a trendy or ordinary feeling with
respect to their design. If the consumers see a group wearing flashy clothes, they can visualize
the group being able to perform in those flashy clothes with ease and it could inspire them or
give them the energy to dress like the celebrities and mimic their actions. If the consumers see a
group in ordinary clothes with jeans and just a shirt, they can interpret that even celebrities can
still dress in simple clothes and still be talented. The feelings that a consumer should get should
be those of idolization and those of a personal connection, since the artists always try to look and
be their best for their fans.
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19. The target area for Korean pop music is primarily mid-teenagers to their twenties. This
age group is ideal because young children are seen to be less judging and take in whatever is
given to them, with media in general. They are generally open-minded and have some
understanding about diversity in the world. The secondary target for Korean pop music can be
for college students because they can also be open-minded be even more understanding to other
cultures, and be drawn to new and interesting music that sounds different from what they may
hear and listen to on the radio. There is also a chance that the target age groups may be seeking
something very different from normal American pop music because most of it seems to have
similar themes and lyrics. Korean pop music can be appealing because the lyrics don’t use many
clichés and sayings, like most American pop music does, such as “one in a million”, “good
things take time”, “wear your heart on your sleeve”, and many other phrases. The lyrics are also
much more emotional and can be embarrassing or even corny to American audiences, but with
those qualities, the songs gain much charm.
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21. K-Pop
One-page Advertisement
“Girl Power.”
VISUAL: Image of the top k-pop girl group in the background with text in the blank
areas of the image. Girly/ cutesy feminine concept displaying natural
feminine appearance in regular/ordinary clothing.
HEADLINE: Can you handle it?
COPY:
Tired of the same old things remixed and redone over and over? Need something fun and new to
listen to? Go ahead and follow the top female pop-artists in all of Korea and get hooked right
now. These beautifully talented ladies bring fresh and unique styles with their singing and
dancing that will be sure to charm you as they perform on the stage. Interested? Go to
allkpop.com to dive into the K-Pop world and experience.
LOGO: (Group Logo)
BASELINE: Making you move with style.
MANDATORIES: (none)
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23. K-Pop
One-page Advertisement
“The Power of Pretty.”
VISUAL: Image of the top k-pop girl group in the background with text in the blank
areas of the image. Mature/sophisticated/bad girl theme to contrast the
cutesy feminine theme.
HEADLINE: Can you handle it?
COPY:
Tired of the same old things remixed and redone over and over? Need something fun and new to
listen to? Go ahead and follow the top female pop-artists in all of Korea and get hooked right
now. These beautifully talented ladies bring fresh and unique styles with their singing and
dancing that will be sure to charm you as they perform on the stage. Interested? Go to
allkpop.com to dive into the K-Pop world and experience.
LOGO: (Group Logo)
BASELINE: Making you move with style.
MANDATORIES: (none)
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25. AllKpop.com “Show! Show! Show!”:30 Radio
SFX: Voiceless section of instrumentals of the song “Show! Show! Show!” by SNSD start
playing for a few seconds and then the volume gets lower for the announcer.
ANNCR: Allkpop.com. Your source for breaking kpop gossip and news! Don’t stay out of the
loop and dive right in where the cool kids are. Who’s having a flashy comeback soon? Who’s the
hottest group that everyone wants to be in? Who are you to not know any of this!? Get to
allkpop.com right now and find out what you’re missing.
SFX: Background track gets louder and ends with a line of the song, “Show me, show me”, and
echoes or fades out.
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26. AllKpop.com “Again and Again” :30 Radio
SFX: Instrumental track of “Again and Again” by 2PM plays for a few seconds and then the
volume gets lower for the announcer.
ANNCR: Where do you get your kpop news? *wait for a few seconds as if waiting for answer
from the audience* So you don’t know? I’ll tell you what, check out allkpop.com and you can
have your daily fix of the good stuff. *pause*What? You’re not sure if you want to? You don’t
know what you’re missing! Go there now! Or you’ll keep missing it…
SFX: Background track picks up and plays the part with the line “again and again and again and
again”.
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27. K-Pop “Girl Power Version 1” :30 TV
Video Audio
Scene begins in black and white Run Devil Run Track
with a silent noise (beep-ish) silent noise transitioning
Play 5 sec; MV: Run Devil Run into normal sound
Headline: Mischievous
Change video to new source Lupin Track
Play clip for 5 sec; MV: Lupin
Headline: Mysterious
Change video to new source Oh! Track
Play clip for 5 sec; MV: Oh!
Headline: Pretty
Last change of video Crazy Because Of You
Track
Play for 5 sec; MV: Crazy Because of You
Headline: Alluring Cue new instrumental
background music
If no ANNCR, have text move ANNCR: AllKPop. Visit the
onto the screen line by line Biggest international
Fade in website address kpop news base and
(www.allkpop.com) Last few seconds dive into the experience
whisper “Can you handle it?”
Change to blank screen and end View at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgicX725dqU
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28. K-Pop “Girl Power Version 2” :30 TV
Video Audio
Scene begins in black and white Tell Me Your Wish Track
with a silent noise (beep-ish) silent noise transitioning
Play 5 sec; MV: Tell Me Your Wish into normal sound
Headline: Commanding
Change video to new source Honey Track
Play clip for 5 sec; MV: Honey
Headline: Lovely
Change video to new source Nobody Track
Play clip for 5 sec; MV: Nobody
Headline: Classy
Last change of video Chocolate Love Track
Play for 5 sec; MV: Chocolate Love
Headline: Captivating Cue new instrumental
background music
If no ANNCR, have text move ANNCR: AllKPop. Visit the
onto the screen line by line Biggest international
Fade in website address kpop news base and
(www.allkpop.com) Last few seconds dive into the experience
whisper “Can you handle it?”
Change to blank screen and end View at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUZ1gUz0WrQ
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