Discovering change drivers in your business is vital.

 

Those drivers are such as:

• Comforting regulations
• Technological advances
• Consumers’ matureness

 

Some examples are:

• Airlines, insurance, banks, electricity, gas
• AI, Big data

 

The change drivers can be an event that leads to:

• change your standard
• change your assumption
• change rules of business

 

One of the change drivers we want to focus on is consumers’ matureness. It can be a chance to create new services or new products, but it can be a threat. It’s two sides of the same coin. Our cousin’s family, a mother and three daughters, is a big fan of the Japanese boy band Arashi, a member of 5. And the family had pursued their activities as fans for almost two decades. They cherish collectable things at home and headed to concerts at different venues before COVID-19. It’s a fact that their experiences with the boy band have been ripening.

 

Now, it came into our heads a couple of things. Are they still fulfilled as fans to keep the status? How is the relationship between boy bands and fans going now? Does it stay as they are during COVID-19? Or is it changing? What is the next step for our cousin’s family? What are their expectations? In which way they are going?

 

Here is a note for you. The common belief is that Japanese boy bands are beyond the screens. Arashi takes the same path, too. So, you could have a chance to catch their concerts, watch TV programs with them or follow them on ads, magazines, and social media. They are typical as ideal. It’s common in Japan.

 

Japanese boy band

We learned that their agent, Johnny’s & associations, takes a path to entertain fans. The fan services vary from membership-only videos/information to early bird concerts. But their services are based on the assumption that fans can touch any points with artists maintaining the distance. The distance, not far but not close, keep their relationship well in Japan. It is what they do.

 

Korean boy band

Let’s look at BTS, a Korean boy band, and has a member of 7. They provide fan services based on the premise that fans and artists are closer by using the platform.

 

To learn more, we’ll look at their agent, HYBE corporation. In 2020, the platform business generated 40% of total sales. (Source: HYBE IR)

 

 

In the IR, you find Weverse noteworthy. It’s a fandom platform for fans and artists around the world. The platform allows global fans and artists to connect through the virtual area. But more importantly, artists engage highly in the content to interact with fans.

 

Here are what BTS does on the platform:

a) BTS members often reply to fans’ comments

b) The member informs updates themselves (not account managers)

c) Fans could have a rare chance to talk with their favourite members face to face.

d) Fans can exchange comments with each other

 

As you see, fans’ expectations and passion stay high to use the platform. They are keen to welcome unexpected responses from members and hope it will happen again soon. They enjoy what artists post in a closed virtual space. It’s distinct from the official information on Twitter or the homepage that everyone can visit, see and get.

 

It suggests that the relationship between fans and artists are becoming more personal and getting closer thanks to the platform. But in our view, what matters most behind this platform service is that fans are mature. The success of BTS stems, in part, from its discovery. Imagine this. You could find BTS on printing, social media, TVs, and more. Many of them are obtainable for free. Whatever information you could get from those media is becoming less valuable or close to zero value. But personalized content has more value. It is what BTS does.

 

Here are a few questions: What is a change driver in your business? Are you using it to plan your new projects? What would you expect in the end?