-Dividing members, such as Daniel’s lawsuit, and shaking hands that shake the foundation of the community
-Renewal that loses its essence is sure to fail, New Genes’ ‘complete promise’ is abandoned by Hive
Hive, Korea’s largest entertainment company, took out an unprecedented card against New Genes called ‘member splitting’. Following Hae-rin and Hye-in, Hani was reinstated, but Daniel’s exclusive contract was terminated, demanding a large amount of compensation.
A brand is not a property that a company can wield as it pleases. In that sense, Hive misunderstands the brand ‘New Jeans’ as their own property and is directly denying the public’s choice.
What fans love is not Hive’s system, but New Genes itself, with five people laughing and singing together. Hive’s ‘split strategy’ to reinstate Hani and punish Daniel is an act that shakes the foundation of the community called New Jeans. What kind of sincerity can we expect from the members who were forced to stay behind as they watched their colleagues being dragged to the slaughterhouse?
If Hive truly cares about New Genes, it should not use its members as a strategic tool to prove former CEO Min Hee-jin’s mistakes. As a brand expert, I warn you. The public quickly realizes the company’s cowardly calculator.
The moment arrogance sets in, a brand begins to fail. Rather than planning a weak strategy, companies should be afraid of the true nature of why consumers choose this brand.
New Jeans without Daniel is no longer New Jeans. Hive did not fulfill its ‘full promise’. In order for Hive to escape from various judicial issues and take a leap forward as a respected entertainment company, Hive must realize the way to protect the essence of its brand even now. That would be the only way to prevent the moral disintegration of the entire K-pop industry and preserve the value of the IP they created.
Contributed by: ‘Brand expert’ Son Hye-won
