What Korean boy band BTS topping the US charts teaches us about being a game changer
Douglas Young says the elusive road to soft power success will not come by sticking to the straight and narrow, but by taking risks and keeping an eye on youth culture
Someone must be making a conscious effort to push culture as an agenda for penetrating foreign markets. This sort of thing does not happen by accident. Those at the top are able to materialise their vision.
Of the three, soft power is the most difficult to measure. It is for the same reason that it has been the most elusive. Essentially, it appeals to human emotions and is abstract in form. Asian brands have long been trying to capture it, but with scant success. They recognise it to be the essential ingredient for desirability, one that can elevate a brand to another level. The term “class” aptly describes what can be achieved; it is the province of the elites.
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China has gained a reputation for producing counterfeit products, many of which are comparable if not equal on many levels to the real thing. But the main reason they can only be sold at a fraction of the price of the original is because they are, at the end of the day, fakes.
Numbers are absolute, they are indisputable. On the other hand, human emotions are intangible and subjective; while numbers can be gripped like rocks, feelings are fluid and offer no immediate traction. In a part of the world that does not place much emphasis on cultural appreciation, we are only beginning to learn how to exercise soft power. We are nowhere near confident in measuring the emotional appeal of the unknown.
Through our various institutions, we have studied how Western brands have succeeded and have made attempts at emulating their successes. But the top brands have upped their game with new breakthroughs. It seems like they are constantly changing the rules of the game and we are always playing catch-up.
Good design used to be the selling point, and we have set up schools to teach it. Now it is about something else. Consumers want new experiences and stimulation. They want to be presented with the unexpected.
This is where counterculture becomes relevant.
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We Asians often are content living in conservative societies. We see it as free from the ills of liberal societies. We see a conservative environment as a safe haven for our children. We shun the rebellious or disruptive nature of counterculture.
But counterculture is the precursor to mainstream culture. It is the next wave. If we do not courageously embrace it and try to deal with it constructively, we are at risk of missing the moment when it becomes suddenly mainstream and relevant to us. That is why conservatism is always anathema to innovation.
The jobs of tomorrow do not exist today. It is better to be ahead of the change than to follow. In a game of catch-up, we can never be leaders.
Douglas Young is co-founder of Hong Kong-lifestyle brand G.O.D