BTS and The BT21 Brand
September 27, 2018
“Hi, I hope you’re doing well today! I just wanted to suggest a mini-reading idea :) My suggestion is a miniread on BTS and their LINE collaboration, BT21! Like, their connection with the creative future prospects or opportunities with BT21, something along those lines! Thanks and have a great rest of the week! <3”
VIDEO VERSION AVAILABLE - August 13, 2020
*The video version includes cleaner narration to elaborate and clarify points made in the original reading in 2018.
OMG YES, I have wanted to read for the BT21 stuff.
So, flat out they have a cash cow here and it’s probably one of the smartest business moves they have done. Like, do you realize how much bank they get with the BT21 shit?? Between 16 and 20 I used to work for advertising companies and worked as a consultant on advertising campaigns and shit like the BT21 brand is what companies dream of when they create lines. Like, BTS can be sponsored and have brand deals without actually having to show up and do photo shoots and shit because their BT21 characters can do it for them. It’s just as lucrative, just as “in demand,” and just as complete as BTS themselves when it comes to what different brands and companies want to collaborate with.
The fact that they themselves also represent the BT21 brand as though it is an extension of them rather than just a separate project that they did a while back and now have nothing to do with it, they really cement that connection and anchor in the association leaving the separate BT21 brand open for any and all brand deals and collaborations that they themselves can not or will not accept as BTS.
Not to mention LINE has been smart in selling every single product possible with simple BT21 print. So, everything is cheap to make, but it can be sold a higher price because of the association with BTS, so the profit margins are insane even with the payout to BTS. Even if BTS is not getting direct royalties as co-designers (which they should be) they are still getting massive paychecks for advertising the merchandise constantly in videos and on Twitter. because they are the sole representatives of that brand, meaning no other artist or celebrity will be asked to represent that brand, therefore BigHit can negotiate bigger fees for the continuous advertisement IN ADDITION TO the royalties they should be getting individually for the co-designing and initial campaign for the BT21 line which turned into its own brand.
So, with the cards, I’ll try to keep it short. The Sun and The Moon is the show of BTS’s influence creative with BT21. Basically, there is not a lot of influence from them now, however, the advertising and representing things is a huge part of it. Most of what is done now is handled by Line, however, I’m sure they can be called back in for new campaigns or something like that.
The cards on the top right (7 of Cups, 9 of Pentacles, and The Chariot) show a limitless possibility for products as well as profitability. Literally, all they have to do is print each character’s face on a donut box and you have a campaign worth millions of dollars, lol. They can put the characters on ANYTHING and it will sell, especially if BTS promote it themselves.
In the very middle, you have the Magician and the King of Pentacles which… just sums everything up. The BT21 brand can go anywhere and make millions upon millions of dollars internationally. Even if people don’t know it’s associated with BTS or ~Western~ people are not aware of BTS or LINE, the BT21 brand still stands very, very well all on it’s own. If they made that shit available in WALMART and did nothing but tweet about it from the main BT21 twitter account, it would sell out. It wouldn’t even need BTS to promote it because it has its own following, and the designs and products are attractive and cute enough to pull people in who are not familiar with the origins.
Literal cash cow, billion-dollar brand, love it.