**Despite the trend of virtual human advertising… Distribution industry, ‘star marketing’ effect**
*BYC, image improvement through idol Ahrin*
*Lotteria, Yellow Chicken, Son Heung-min, and Ma Dong-seok Increase in sales*
*Due to the response of the MZ generation, the ‘virtual human advertisement’ craze is unlikely to cool off easily*
Despite the recent craze of ‘virtual human advertising’, some retailers are achieving results through ‘star marketing’. BYC succeeded in improving its corporate image by selecting idol Oh My Girl Arin as a model. Lotteria and Yellow Chicken enjoyed an increase in sales with Son Heung-min and Ma Dong-seok, respectively.
Combining the coverage of E2Day on the 11th, the video of ‘Arin’s Third Summer and Summer’ posted on the BYC YouTube channel exceeded 6.2 million views as of the day. This was achieved in less than three months since the video was released at the end of May of this year.
The video contains the comfort that BYC pursues with the concept that anyone can enjoy comfort. In the video, Arin comfortably wears BYC Lifewear.
BYC has made various attempts for a long time to break away from the old image. As part of that, the idol Arin was hired as a model from 2020. A BYC official said, “After selecting Arin as a model, the number of customers in their 20s and 30s visiting the store has increased, so recognition has increased among Generations M and Z. ” In fact, from January to July this year, the number of visitors to the official BYC online shopping mall increased by 12.4% compared to the same period last year.
Marketing targeting the MZ generation also had a positive effect on performance. BYC recorded 164.4 billion won in sales last year on a consolidated basis. It increased slightly compared to the previous year (KRW 161.9 billion). This is an achievement despite the continued bad news of COVID-19.
Lotteria enjoyed the ‘Sohn Heung-min effect’ to the fullest. In a TV advertisement featuring Son Heung-min, Lotteria introduced a premium product, ‘Hanwoo Bulgogi Burger’. Thanks to the Son Heung-min effect, the Korean beef burger series achieved sales of about 250,000 units in the first week of its release.
Yellow Chicken raised sales through a new campaign advertisement by actor Ma Dong-seok, a brand model. The advertisement ‘Yellow Chicken Crispy Representative Election’ is a video in which Ma Dong-seok appeared as five candidates for yellow fried chicken crispy representative and contained the promises of each candidate. Sales in April, when the advertisement was released, rose 17% from the previous month.
Despite the star marketing effect, the craze for virtual human advertising in the retail industry is not expected to disappear easily. This is because virtual humans are gaining a lot of popularity among the MZ generation. For example, the number of social network service (SNS) followers of virtual human Lucy is about 130,000. Another advantage of virtual human marketing is that it does not cause unpleasant accidents unlike celebrities.
Advertisements featuring real virtual humans continue to increase. In June of this year, Lotte Chilsung Beverage released an advertisement for ‘Chilsung Cider Zero’, a zero-calorie cider with virtual human Ryuid and singer Psy. At the same time, Musinsa introduced a virtual human ‘Mu-in’, who will play an active role as a brand muse. Mu Ah-in appears not only in TV commercials but also on large displays at Musinsa Standard Gangnam branch.
Shinsegae Group is actively using Y.T. YT is a virtual human created through collaboration between Shinsegae Group and Pulse Nine, a graphic specialist. Waite will be active as a model for the W concept project in the second half of the year.
https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/2162741