Menu
Close
.svg)
A few weeks ago, a colleague—whose desk is covered with photos of Jungkook, RM, and Jimin—showed me a video that truly gave me pause.
It featured thousands of BTS fans—known proudly as ARMY—waiting for hours, just for the chance to hug a band member who had completed his mandatory Korean military service. No concert. No red carpet. Just a hug.
I’ve spent my career in pharma, listening to customers, building brands, launching treatments, and trying to help our clients connect with patients, physicians, and caregivers in authentic, meaningful ways. But I've never seen anything in our industry that remotely matches the intensity of this fandom.
So I started digging. What makes BTS different? And more importantly—what can we, as healthcare marketers, glean from them?
BTS isn't just a band. It's a global movement. And it's one we should be paying close attention to.
Here’s why:
BTS wasn’t born out of a powerhouse label. They launched under Big Hit Entertainment, a tiny, almost unknown agency at the time. The company bet everything on these seven young men—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—and together, they built the biggest music label in South Korea.
The lesson? Origin stories matter. Authenticity matters. In pharma, startups and challenger brands can punch far above their weight when they stay grounded in purpose and relentless in execution.
BTS fans don’t just listen to music—they join a cause. The band talks openly about self-acceptance, mental health, and resilience. Fans aren’t passive—they’re advocates. They create fan art, translate content, raise money for charity.
This is brand-building at its highest form. Pharma often talks about “patient-centricity,” but the real unlock is moving from patient support to patient identity. Are we building communities—or just issuing communications?
BTS has achieved what few Western artists ever have: deep emotional intimacy with their fans. They share personal struggles, fears, and failures—especially leader RM and fan-favorite Jungkook, who has openly spoken about vulnerability.
Compare this with Taylor Swift or even The Beatles—both global sensations, yes, but their brands are often built on performance, not participation. BTS flips that. It’s not just about being adored—it’s about being understood.
Healthcare, too, is deeply emotional. But are we leaning into that, or hiding behind the science?
BTS doesn’t “launch campaigns.” They build ecosystems—live streams, social content, docuseries, virtual concerts, behind-the-scenes videos. They meet fans where they are, with content that feels organic, not orchestrated.
In pharma, our omnichannel strategies can often feel like a checklist. But imagine an ecosystem where patients actually want to engage. Where every touchpoint is both useful and meaningful.
Big Pharma struggles with trust. BTS, despite their fame, has never stopped being human. They’ve been honest about mental health, burnout, even controversies. And ARMY has stuck by them—not despite that, but because of it.
In our world, transparency is often treated as risk. But in reality, it could be our greatest untapped asset.
________
Is BTS the blueprint for pharma marketing? Not exactly. But in an industry where trust is fragile, engagement is low, and genuine loyalty is rare—we could do worse than to learn from a group that’s built one of the most devoted global communities of all time.
The Beatles changed music. Taylor Swift reshaped storytelling. But BTS? They created something else entirely: a tribe.
And if we, in pharma, can start thinking less like marketers and more like movement-makers—well, maybe we can build something just as enduring.
Thoughts? I’d love to hear from fellow marketers—or even from ARMYs in disguise.
