Reason HYBE Held ‘Influencer Party’ Before ILLIT’s Debut

Formed through the survival program “R U NEXT?”, ILLIT made their official debut with the mini album “SUPER REAL ME” produced by HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and held a debut showcase on March 25th. 

On the 23rd, prior to ILLIT’s debut, HYBE held a special event for the group. It was a party to celebrate the group’s debut called “Friends’ Night”. That day, ILLIT invited TikTokers, influencers and YouTubers to their experience zone and showed the choreography.

Recently, HYBE told My Daily, “ILLIT targets teenagers with teen music. Therefore, we held an event to bond with popular users on TikTok, the most used platform by global teenagers. As short-form platforms have become so popular recently, we invited famous TikTok users, fashion influencers and K-pop YouTubers to show them the music and the challenge dance beforehand”, adding “It was like a brand pop-up event. Items that teenage girls will like were used for ILLIT marketing. We prepared zones, photo spots, and spaces for experiences such as making keyrings or dolls”.

With the significant decline in authorized music broadcasts, more and more YouTubers and TikToks are appearing in the K-pop scene. In fact, even the music shows of the three big broadcasting companies are struggling with their ratings in the range of 0%. Many pop culture critics have also emphasized the ripple effect of promoting on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.

As the K-pop trends keep changing, distribution structure and promotional methods also changed. As a result, the more artists approach the public, the more opportunities to gain recognition they can get, especially for new idols. Music critic analyzed, “There is a reason why the marketing environment changed and I predict that it will continue to move in that direction in the future. There’s no need to worry because K-pop consumers can select the products themselves”.