Part 1: Short case study

South Korea rapper and musician Psy (real name Park Jae-Sang) burst onto the world stage in 2012 with his smash hit music video ‘Gangnam style”. It was such a global phenomenon that in four short months since its launch in July 2012, it became the most watched YouTube video of all time. It currently retains this title with over 1.6 billion views and counting.

An analysis of “Gangnam style” and Psy’s rise to fame shows that it is no accident. While the most visible aspect of Psy’s marketing communications of his music and brand is on Youtube, it is through the planning and implementation of an integrated communications strategy that such explosive exposure was achieved.

Long before launching the “Gangnam style” video, Psy’s record label YG Entertainment had been building up the foundation for maximum reach across a number of channels. Their line-up of artists had accounts across multiple social media platforms with millions of subscribers (YouTube), followers (Twitter) and fans (Facebook). YG Entertainment also spend time setting up partnerships with other influential players in the music industry such as Will.i.am and websites such as AllKpop.com. These preparations beforehand ensured that any outgoing communications would gain high-volume views and reach from day one.

One the video was launched, the initial high volume was leveraged to gain the attention of more traditional and generalist media sources. First, the song’s popularity was covered by online technology publications Gizmo and Gawker, which then lead to coverage by traditional media powerhouses such as Billboard, CNN and Skynews. One mainstream attention was achieved, all other major media

sources began taking note and spotlighting “Gangnam style”, thus ensuring its record-breaking success.

Questions for discussion

1. Analyse the “Gangnam style” case using the 5 Ws (Who, What, How, Where, When) model in the integrated marketing communications planning process.

2. Watch the “Gangnam style” video. Explain how the communications content adds value to consumers of Psy’s music. What impact does content have on the video’s success?

Gangnam Style video can be found on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIQToVqDMb8