Have you ever heard of the word “Universe” used when discussing works of fiction? In this context, “universe” literally means a time, spatial, and ideological background that forms that world. You can understand the concept of “universe” through the “Harry Potter” novels which exist in a universe in which wizards and muggles[1] coexist. All media, such as movies, novels, cartoons, and games, exist either in our, or their own, universe, for character setting and narrative development of the story. It has also been actively used in marketing. In Korea, however, various industries started to build their own universe that suits their brand identity and use it for marketing in addition to culture and entertainment industries. What is the Universe Marketing, and why do they build a universe to use it for marketing? Let’s learn about the Universe Marketing going on in Korea with CAH.

Universe Marketing Around the World

           Universe Marketing is mainly used in cultural industries such as movies and animations, resulting in the creation of various commercialization based on the universe. “Harry Potter” and “Marvel Studios” are examples of the best use of Universe Marketing. As aforementioned, the Harry Potter series has an independent and solid universe of a ‘magical world,’ and it enables various marketing based on the universe in the novel. Warner Bros. created a theme park ‘Warner Bros. Studio Tour London,’ which reproduces scenes from the movie, and sells items that look like things from the movie. It offers Hogwarts school uniforms, magic wands, and a variety of food items including butter beer and frog chocolate. In addition, the spin-off film <Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them>, which shares the same universe with the Harry Potter series but expands on its story to an American magical world, earned profits not only by releasing its movies, but also selling various goods including books and dolls related with the movie.

           Marvel Studios is also a leader in Universe Marketing. The ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’ is a virtual universe produced by Marvel Studios. Since Marvel Studios has many films in its universe, characters from many films can gather in a single movie. This approach is effective in marketing too. <Avengers: Endgame>, which was released in 2019 by Marvel Studios, the profit of the movie itself was a record-breaking as 2.79 billion dollars. Moreover, it reaped additional profits by selling goods that commercialized heroes’ weapons, suits, and action figures, and that collaborated with enterprises such as The Lego Group, Adidas, and The Coca-Cola Company. As such, the company’s unique and incomparable universe enables a greater scale of work beyond the boundary of each one, leading to big profits. For these reasons, Universe Marketing has been used actively in various cultural and entertainment industries.

Expand of Universe Marketing in Korea

K-pop Idol Universe Marketing

           What we have to pay attention to is that there has been a recent movement in Korea to use Universe Marketing in various fields besides the existing cultural industries. K-pop idol Universe Marketing is one of the examples. K-pop idol groups build their own universe and make themselves distinctive from the others in a fierce competition. This is because their universe serves to reveal the values and identity that they want to show to the public. A group usually plans several albums in a single universe. And this universe is revealed little by little through their music videos and performances, stimulating fans’ curiosity and influencing the release of a series of albums. According to Herald Corporation, pop music critic Jung Min-jae said, “A universe leading to the trilogy series is common, if fans were interested in the first episode, they would do puzzles in the second and third episodes and have fun finding new stories in concerts and choreography.” The BTS Universe (BU) is a typical one. For six years, BTS has released their universe-based series of albums. In the BU, each member has a different background and story from reality. Together in the BU, they create new stories, which melt into their albums, music videos, performances, and lyrics. And this universe led to a secondary production such as a webtoon “Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa Pt.0 <SAVE ME>,” the games “BTS World” and “BTS Universe Story,” and more, being used for marketing in more diverse fields and generating additional profits. This K-pop idol Universe Marketing is a method used by many groups besides BTS, and is receiving enthusiastic responses from domestic and overseas fans.

Character Universe Marketing of Enterprise

           Recently, character Universe Marketing of Korean food and distribution enterprises has also been active. This is distinguished from traditional character marketing in that it does not merely present the image of the world. Companies build their original universe by using their products or brand features, and actively promote them through various social media. Character Universe Marketing generates consumers’ interest and creates a familiar image of the company with the promotional effect of the product. Specifically, in February last year, Binggrae unveiled the ‘Prince Binggraous’ on its official Instagram account, who has the setting of ‘the heir to the Binggrae Kingdom.’ The setting is one in which Binggraous was ordered to run Binggrae’s official Instagram account, and the characters that personified its products allowed consumers to naturally acquire information about the products. This new marketing approach has gained huge popularity, with the number of followers on Binggrae’s official Instagram account growing from 97,000 to 150,000, and the musical-style animated YouTube video produced by dubbing the characters’ voices has garnered 6.76 million views. This universe continued and recently, Binggraous’s coronation ceremony was held, and commemorative goods were released. According to an interview with Design Jungle, a media strategy team of Binggrae said, “Company social media is becoming the center of brand marketing, not unilaterally announcing notice or news of new products.” And added, “We created the speaker Binggraous to effectively convey information of Binggrae and its product, and to show young and changing aspect of us to customers.” As such, character Universe Marketing of the company plays various roles such as strengthening corporate awareness, promoting its products, changing the image, and expanding the customer base. And it is increasingly being used by many companies.

The Reason Universe Marketing Is Hot in Korea

           Why is Universe Marketing popular in various fields in Korea? Universe Marketing has the advantage of attracting consumers by interesting them. Products with an unpredictable and unique universe catch the eyes of consumers, and if they provide a consistent universe and continuous fun, consumers become fascinated and become fans. Thus, products related to the universe stimulate consumer’s mind as a fan and create a desire for people to possess them, which can naturally lead to purchases. In other words, consumer’s mind as a fan has a great influence on consumer security of the companies. Furthermore, consumers naturally become interested in secondary and tertiary works that share the same universe. Like this, Universe Marketing increases consumer loyalty to products. In addition, Universe Marketing enables active participation of consumers, making them active players. Consumers consume products by being curious about the universe provided by the company and interpreting them directly or sharing them with others like a sort of play. In this process, consumers form bonds and a sense of belonging with each other. This Universe Marketing has emerged as an effective marketing tool with great public attention, coupled with the younger generations’ consumption culture that enjoys active participatory consumption.

Universe Marketing in Korea is actively showing itself in various fields. And this marketing approach is gaining huge popularity and also generating extra profits. Not only in K-pop idol groups, food and distribution enterprises, but also Universe Marketing is likely to be used in broader areas in the future in Korea. Therefore, Korea’s Universe Marketing, which has expanded its scope, is noteworthy. Let’s keep our eyes on Universe Marketing in Korea in the future.