American brands have been fighting for Army’s attention for quite a while now and they’re using BTS as their weapon. It makes sense considering vocalist Jungkook sold out a fabric softener with a simple mention during a Vlive and a pair of sunglasses that vocalist Jimin wore during the Billboard Music Awards sold out less than 2 hours later.

The marketing wars began in early 2018, where BTS’s music video for Fake Love featured rapper Jhope falling into a pile of Snickers. Naturally the Mars brand Snickers was pleased with the mention. Other chocolate bars, however, were not so happy and a comedic candy brawl broke out on twitter:

Brands then started to witness the power that posting anything about BTS held. Where they would normally receive a few hundred or thousand likes on a typical post- brands were now getting tens of thousands of likes, retweets and comments. The goal of these brands is engagement on Twitter and they had just found a way to get it. 

The simple mention of individual BTS members can get unprecedented engagement. Many can remember this gem from Denny’s-

Even hair care companies like Tresemme and Pantene got in on the action -

These major brands are aware of the fandom’s buying power and as MTV mentioned in their documentary last year- BTS’s ARMY is the biggest and most powerful fandom on the planet, so marketing directly to them makes sense. 

Major brands see this as an opportunity to spike sales and they’ll do whatever it takes to get a fan’s attention. Take a look at what happened last year when car manufacturer Hyundai made BTS their global ambassadors - 

The most interesting thing about Hyundai motors’ unprecedented sales is the fact that fans are disproving the myth of being a bunch of crazed 12 year olds. It also demonstrates that products typically marketed to older consumers can see overwhelming success when properly targeted. It shows a diverse fandom with buying power and buying power is what brands really care about. 

The makers of Funko Pops wanted a piece of that buying power when they introduced BTS inspired figurines that instantly sold out on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers. 

Mattel will also cash in on Army’s buying power when they begin selling BTS dolls available this summer. The dolls, like many things associated with BTS, are expected to sell out. 

The takeaway? This is the beginning of new marketing strategies from companies not normally associated with boybands or even music. And fans now have the power to make or break a product marketed directly to them based solely on the band they listen to.