[Distribution Hot People] Convenience Store's First 'Gold Button'... The Power of Entertainment Content

Irieonora Reaches 1.06 Million Subscribers
Big Success in Transition to Variety-Style YouTube
Focusing on Shorts Content This Year

Eunjin Lee, Manager of the Platform Marketing Team at GS Retail. [Photo by GS Retail]

"GS25 YouTube is a channel that is truly dedicated to entertainment."

On the afternoon of the 27th, Lee Eun-jin, manager of the GS Retail Platform Marketing Team, whom we met at the GS Retail headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, said, "Most viewers are brought to the channel by the algorithm by chance, and if they are satisfied after watching the content, they proceed to subscribe," adding, "Since switching to an entertainment-style YouTube channel, that ratio has increased."

In 2021, GS25 changed its YouTube channel name to ‘Iri-onora’ and reorganized it into an entertainment-style studio. As a result, it became the first in the industry to surpass 1 million subscribers. The manager explained, "Iri-onora was intended to creatively express GS25’s number 25 and means 'Come watch our channel.' We present content where our products are naturally exposed while viewers enjoy entertaining variety shows rather than blatant brand promotion."

Focusing on regular content rather than one-off videos greatly contributed to building a fandom. The manager emphasized, "We operate the channel based on regular content published on specific days each week. This is what sets us apart from other corporate channels. We build trust with subscribers this way and grow our YouTube channel."

Close communication with subscribers is also important. The manager introduced, "The ‘MZ Mollayo’ content had viewers name the segment through comments. The first episode was uploaded without a title, and the best comment chosen by viewer votes became the actual title. Comedian Lee Yong-jin learned directly through the content and created something that was used as a viewer prize."

YouTube content ideas are mainly sourced from social networking services (SNS). The manager said, "We often look at what is trending on other YouTube channels or Instagram. The MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) often take one-day classes, and I am also learning pottery making. Reflecting this trend, the pottery workshop content was created."

This year’s goal is to produce powerful killer content. The manager stated, "The big picture is focused on Shorts (short videos). We want to leverage GS25’s unique marketing content capabilities to build a strong fandom and discover videos that can rank among the trending videos."