What the insanity around BTS can teach us about branding in 2026

Confession time: I'm not in the ARMY. That's what fans of the South Korean boy band BTS call themselves, and before you ask, yes, they're absolutely serious. 

But here's the thing: even if you think K-pop is just bland pop and hair gel, what's happening with this group's comeback tour right now is a masterclass in modern branding that, like all the best celebrity branding, all creatives should be paying attention to.

Let me paint you a picture. Seven lads from South Korea go off to do their military service, but while they're gone, their fans don't just wait patiently. They book flights and hotels to 11 different cities before tickets even go on sale. Mexico's actual President writes to South Korea's actual President begging for more concert dates. Economists are predicting tens of billions in economic impact. And this is for a band that hasn't performed together in over three years.

So what exactly is going on here?

Enter the universe

The key thing to understand here is that BTS's management company, Hybe, didn't just create a boy band. They also created the Bangtan Universe: a dark, parallel storyline where the band members are fictional characters dealing with trauma, suicide attempts and abuse. It's told across multiple media in non-chronological order, like some sort of emo-pop version of the Marvel Universe.

Sounds bonkers, right? But what they've done is to give fans a reason to engage with BTS, beyond just listening to songs. It's Taylor Swift's Easter Eggs times a million. Every video is a puzzle piece. Every comeback is an event. The product isn't just music any more; it's a story that fans actively decode and discuss. 

But the really clever (and slightly uncomfortable) bit is how Hybe has pushed what's called "parasocial relationships" between BTS and their fans. That's the fancy term for when you feel like you know someone, even though you've never actually met.

Falling in love

Unlike Western pop stars who often push back when fans get too intense (hello, Chappell Roan), BTS and their management lean right into it. The band members share everything on social media. They do live streams from their bedrooms. Fans wake up to content and go to sleep to content. It creates this sensation that you're genuinely friends with these people, even though you're one of millions and they have absolutely no idea you exist.

One executive at Hybe actually told The New Yorker that they're "digging into the psychological mechanism of falling in love." Which is both brilliant marketing and deeply creepy at the same.

The result? Fans like Leslie, a 28-year-old from New York, who told The Guardian she's planning to attend 22 shows across 11 cities, spending at least $6,000. Or Cailey from New Jersey, who says "BTS got me through the worst parts of my life." These aren't just customers. They're emotionally invested stakeholders who have made the band part of their personal identity.

Less is the new more

But here's where it gets really interesting. After years of this always-on, maximum-availability approach, Hybe is trying something radical for BTS's comeback. In his New Year's address, CEO Jason Jaesang Lee announced "Hybe 2.0: an experience model based on scarcity." In plain English, this means fans are getting less of BTS, and you're going to have to fight for what's there.

To start with they'll have to sign up to Hype's own "global fan platform" WeVerse (which is also being used by other groups like BlackPink and Seventeen). Members get a whole day to buy tickets before anyone else. There'll be limited VIP events. Exclusive offline experiences. Things money alone can't necessarily buy. It's the complete opposite of the Netflix model where everything's available instantly, forever. And it makes a lot of sense.

Think about it. In an era when you can stream any song instantly and scroll through infinite content, what becomes valuable? The stuff you can't easily have, of course. The Supreme drop that sells out in seconds. The experience that only happens once. The Glastonbury or Oasis ticket. The feeling of being one of the chosen few who got in.

Hybe has worked out that after training fans to expect everything, everywhere, all at once, you can flip the script and make scarcity the new premium product.

Key branding takeaways

So is there anything we can learn from all this K-pop madness, while avoiding losing our souls in the process? Three things, I reckon.

First, narrative matters. Give people something to decode, discuss and feel part of. Your brand doesn't need a cinematic universe (please, please don't), but it needs a story that goes beyond "buy this thing".

Second, emotional investment beats transaction every time. The brands winning in 2026 aren't the ones with the cleverest ads; they're the ones that make people feel something real (even if that feeling is carefully engineered).

And third, scarcity is making a comeback. In a world drowning in content and choice, the ability to say "not everyone can have this" might be the most powerful tool in your branding arsenal.

Just maybe don't tell your customers you're studying the psychological mechanism of falling in love. Some things are better left unsaid.