“In Marketing, Facing Desires Head-On is a Strength”
Marketing is not merely sales promotion; it is the act of deciphering the map of human desires. What are people attracted to, what do they reject, and what do they seek? Outcomes change depending on how well you can understand these “unconscious behavioral principles.”⚡ K-POP Operates on a “Blueprint for Reaction” When looking at K-POP, one is amazed by its strategic nature.
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First Impression: Incorporating a hook in the first few seconds of a song to steal the viewer’s gaze.
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Dance & Choreography: Designed in shapes that are easily and repeatedly imitated, spreading on TikTok and Reels.
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Fandom Structure: Providing a mechanism where fans actively spread content, centered around “Oshi (Stan) culture.”
Here, we can see traces of creation originating from a map of reactions—a blueprint asking, “How will humans react?” It is not randomly popular; rules have been drawn.
☯️ J-POP Provides “Room for Dialogue” On the other hand, J-POP does not necessarily aim for an immediate reaction. Instead:
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Carefully reading and deciphering the context of the lyrics.
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Savoring the lingering resonance within the balance of stillness and motion in the sound.
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Layering each listener’s own personal story.
In essence, it is not a momentary shock, but an “interactive experience that remains in the heart with a time lag.”
📊 Bringing it Back to Marketing
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K-POP: A “low-involvement” stimulus design tailored to impulses. Strong mass-level diffusion power.
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J-POP: A “high-involvement” design requiring introspection and understanding. Strong penetration power among core fans.
Both are correct answers, and both hold different values.
🎯 What is the Strength of Facing Desires Head-On? The danger in marketing is believing only the customer’s polite facade (Tatemae). People often say “I like X” but actually take different actions. To face desires head-on means to capture these “true behavioral principles” and construct a design around them. K-POP’s strength lies here, and J-POP’s value lies in another direction that steps outside of that framework.
(To be continued) ■Related Article: BC Campus “Low-Involvement Versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions and the Consumer’s Decision-Making Process” ■Thank you for reading. Please check out the other articles in this series as well. →The Key to Successful Advertising Lies in the Balance of Abstract and Concrete (Part 1) – Seeds of Marketing No.53