Client
smash.
Industry
Entertainment
Tags
Brand Management, Performance Marketing
Building Market Awareness and Cultural Relevance through Localised PR, Influencer, and Social Campaigns
FGI Planning & Production with Key Target Audiences
+200%
Brand Awareness
+300%
Search Visibility
Introduction
smash., a Japan-based short-form entertainment app backed by SHOWROOM Inc., set out to expand its footprint in Korea - the world’s most mature and fast-moving K-pop market. Although the platform already hosted premium artist content from top agencies, its Japanese origin and limited cultural familiarity presented a barrier to resonance among Korean fans accustomed to local fandom platforms and short-form ecosystems.
To navigate this, smash. partnered with expand k to design and execute a fully localised digital marketing programme combining research, PR, influencer collaborations, and paid social activations. The objective was to translate smash.’s exclusive content proposition into narratives that Korean audiences could identify with, bridging fandom culture, consumption behaviour, and digital communication style.
Challenges & Objectives
Penetrating Korea’s entertainment-tech market required more than just translation. K-pop fandoms operate within closed digital communities and rely heavily on peer validation through Naver, Twitter (X), and blog ecosystems. As a Japanese app targeting Korean users, smash. needed to overcome cultural distance, limited brand awareness, and unfamiliarity with Japanese media platforms.
The project’s core objectives were to uncover local fandom insights through qualitative research, strengthen brand visibility via digital PR and influencer placements, and activate paid social campaigns to drive engagement and app trial. Ultimately, the campaign sought to validate smash.’s positioning as a credible, fan-centric entertainment platform for Korean K-pop audiences.
Activities
expand k initiated the engagement with FGI-based user research, conducting in-depth interviews with Korean K-pop fans to analyse content preferences, consumption frequency, and emotional triggers in short-form viewing. Findings informed all subsequent creative and media decisions.
Building on these insights, digital PR campaigns were executed through sponsored articles across leading Korean entertainment and tech outlets, framing smash. as a new platform connecting fans with exclusive behind-the-scenes content. Simultaneously, influencer collaborations with top-tier Naver Blog creators produced organic-style reviews highlighting user experience, app usability, and exclusive artist videos.
Finally, expand k launched Twitter Ads campaigns optimised for fandom engagement metrics - likes, retweets, and click-throughs - featuring K-pop artist visuals and event teasers. Continuous creative testing and performance monitoring ensured alignment with fan culture dynamics and platform algorithms.
Results
The campaign successfully bridged smash.’s Japanese brand identity with the Korean K-pop digital ecosystem. Sponsored articles and influencer activations generated strong organic visibility across search and social channels, while Twitter campaigns achieved high engagement rates among target fandom clusters.
User research delivered critical insights into local fandom behaviour - from preferred content lengths to discovery triggers - enabling smash. to refine its content strategy for sustained localisation. Through this integrated approach, expand k transformed smash.’s Korea launch from a cross-border experiment into a culturally grounded digital marketing framework adaptable for other Asian fan-driven markets.