NewJeans, about to debut in Japan, will Korea's decalcomania strategy work?

 June 17th, 2024

Four days before their debut in Japan, NewJeans has started to warm up the atmosphere of their comeback in earnest. There is only a slight difference in detail, and it used a strategy similar to the recent comeback in Korea. If the strategy shown by NewJeans works in the Japanese market, it means that it can be applied to other markets as well. 

NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) released their music video for "Right Now" on Thursday. "Right Now" is a track from NewJeans' Japanese debut single, "Supernatural," which will be released on the 21st. With drum and bass at the center, the members' bouncy vocals are big, raising expectations for an official music release.

The music video is centered on member Hanni. Hanni, who is anxious while sending a message to the person she likes and waiting for a reply, and other members' expressions on her face make her look lovely. The Powerpuff Girls character that she was worked with since their second mini album "Get Up" and Takashi Murakami, who newly collaborated with each other through this album, are also attractive 

The strategy of generating interest by releasing the music video of the two songs in the album is similar to that of "How Sweet," which was released on the 24th if last month. There was a track from "How Sweet," and the release of the official album, but there is a difference that the official music video will be released four days later this time.

There are may be several reasons for this shortening the gap between the pre-release and the official release of the music, but the one of them is to drive the momentum before interest cools down. This double single of NewJeans' official debut album in the Japanese music market. Now, it is possible to attract fans around the world just by promoting in Korea. NewJeans also attracted fans from all over the world, including Japan, through the album. Released in Korea.

Even so, this album is the first official announcement to the Japanese market. In the Korea market, which has secured some solid fandom as well as public interest, it is possible to maintain the interest even if there is a gap between the release of the music video and the release of the official album. However, the Japanese market can be interpreted as narrowing the gap between the release of the new song's music video and the release of the official song because the exact response to the Japanese market cannot be predicted.

If narrowing the gap between the release of the music video for "Right Now" and the official album was intended to generate explosive interest, the preparatory work for this was also similar. "Bubble Gum," a song included in the Korean album, was selected and pre-release as a Japanese shampoo commercial CM song and a terrestrial channel them song on April 8. The "Right Now" was also released first as a commercial CM song in Korea and Japan. The fact that they did not leave out Japan in a similar strategy of making it familiar to people's ears through CM songs before releasing the music video shows how much effort NewJeans putting into the Japanese market.

"How Sweet" and "Supernatural," which be released with a difference of about a month, include the two songs and each performance, including the composition of an album containing a total of four songs, the insertion of C. Singa → the pre-release of music videos → the promotion of the track leading to the release of the official music, and the existence of a relatively obscure title song, are similar to decalcomania in many ways. The two albums are separate albums, but they interlock and create synergy and make you feel like they are in one album.

NewJeans, who has set their own unique promotion formula since their debut album, continued to refine it by adding some tweaks and details. This formula did not change when entering the new market, the Japanese market. If NewJeans' formula works in the Japanese market as well, it means that it is likely to work in other markets as well. The next market may be the United States.

Of course the top priority right now is a successf soft landing in the Japanese market. Having just taken their first steps, NewJeans will continue to be busy. In the day of the album's release, NewJeans will perform their new songs on various TV programs such as Nihon TV with Music, Fuji TV FNS Song Festival, and TBS with Music Day 2024.

In the meantime, on June 26th and 27th, a fan meeting "2024 Bunnies Camp in Tokyo Dome" will be held at Tokyo Dome. The Tokyo Dome fan meeting is one of the most emphasized by Min Heejin, CEO of ADOR, who has a conflict with HYBE, and means that she has a lot of expectations. Attention is focusing on what kind of report card NewJeans will accept, which made its first move to the Japanese market with its own formula.

Original article: Daum