This research is based on the background of the fan economy becoming an increasingly popular trend in the K-pop industry. Companies release albums, design merchandise with photo cards, and create a virtual social platform, Bubble to attract fans. Also, K-pop companies constantly apply fan abuse behavior to manipulate fans emotions and thus strengthen their attachment to the idol groups. The main theme of the research is to analyze the utilization of fan economy in the marketing strategies of K-pop companies and the related communicational impacts, as well as the fan groups feedback. The research uses a questionnaire to inquire about K-pop fans purchasing preferences, consumption behavior, and attitudes towards companies. Moreover, the research takes a specific K-pop girl group, ITZY, as a case study example to support the further analysis of the K-pop industrys common practice. The research found that the K-pop industry expands its business channels from physical merchandise to virtual social platforms and utilizes fan psychology in its marketing strategies. The related reaction of the fans is the increase in consumption and the enhanced loyalty of the core fan groups. In conclusion, fan economy is an essential element in the K-pop industrys marketing strategies, which includes physical merchandise, virtual satisfaction, and mental control of the fans. It also brings crucial communicational impacts and reveals the necessity of balancing K-pop companies aim of earning profit and the fan groups choice of making rational consumption.
Yi Mu (Wed,) studied this question.