Thousands of people have been confined to their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn't stop BTS from bringing joy to its fans during these difficult times.
With the help of advanced information and communications technology, the group presented on June 14 an online concert at 6 p.m. Korean Standard Time through the Weverse platform. The event proved as profitable as the Super Bowl of American football to promote the brands sponsored by BTS.
Why was this event so profitable and attractive to the public? Thousands of fans had no problem paying for tickets priced at USD 26-36, not to mention related merchandise for the event sold on Weverse Shop.
At the beginning of the concert, viewers could see how people from across the world were watching the event at the same time. Minutes before it began, the global viewer tally reached 568,000 and in addition, 148,000 light sticks of the group's fan club Army were synchronized with the broadcast.
BTS's global influence is so pervasive that brands that sponsor the group like Fila and Lemona utilized the opportunity to fully promote themselves at this massive concert by repeatedly showing their commercials.
The concert presented a modality never before seen at a virtual K-pop concert. Viewers could customize their views from six cameras at different angles and could change the viewing angles with their smartphones or computers with the press of a button or see all of them at once. And the broadcast featured subtitles in Korean, Japanese, Chinese and English.
The right side of the screen from a computer showed comments that the group read in between songs as the members interacted with their Army corps.
The opening number of the concert was "Dope," after which like at any BTS concert, the members presented themselves with their characteristic group greeting. Each member then appeared in front of the main camera with words for Army.
The concert had several stages adorned with Army light sticks including a stage with a black background, a digital track showing images and a room decorated with photos of the members, clothes, toys and drinks where they interacted with fans by reading comments or playing and joking with each other.
At the end of the concert, BTS expressed the wish of seeing its fans again face to face and how much the group missed physical concerts featuring screams of support from their fans and hearing their songs and fan chants.
Despite the pandemic and quarantine measures, BTS held a concert from the comfort of each fan's home with no lines to wait in, the ability to see the members up close and more affordable ticket prices. This experience is what every K-pop fan should enjoy.
chaey0726@korea.kr
Source: www.korea.net
