Rise, 98 Days Since Debut, Appointed Louis Vuitton Global Ambassador
Louis Vuitton Forms 'Dedicated Team' to Recruit K-pop Stars
Dior's New Global Ambassadors This Year All From K-pop
As the popularity of K-pop rises, the competition among global luxury brands to secure idols is becoming increasingly fierce. There has even been a case where an idol who debuted just three months ago was abruptly recruited as a luxury brand's ‘global ambassador.’ This is a preemptive strategy to secure promising talents early on.
Rise, an idol group under SM Entertainment, has been appointed as the house ambassador for the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton. The announcement by SM Entertainment on the 11th came exactly 98 days after Rise's debut. Louis Vuitton stated, "Rise has achieved remarkable success, including becoming a super-fast million-seller with their first album," and added, "We welcome Rise as our new ambassador to create a creative vision together."
Ambassadors are broadly categorized into two types based on their activity range: global ambassadors who operate worldwide, and local ambassadors who focus on specific regions. House ambassadors belong to the global ambassador category. Ambassadors promote the brand through activities such as advertising campaigns, fashion shows, photo shoots, and social media platforms like Instagram. Unlike typical advertising models, ambassadors are recruited to elevate the brand's image itself.
Unprecedented Popularity of 'K-pop Ambassadors'
Rise is the fastest K-pop group to be recruited as a global ambassador for the so-called 'EruShadi' (Herm?s, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior) brands based on debut timing. The previous record was held by 'NewJeans' member Hyein, who was appointed as Louis Vuitton's global ambassador five months after debut. Generally, idols with more experience and a solid fan base, especially the most popular members, are recruited as ambassadors. In Rise's case, all five members signed contracts, preventing other brands from signing individual members. Rise, SM Entertainment's first new male idol group in seven years since NCT, has attracted attention as a rookie with a debut album first-week sales of 1.01 million copies.
Louis Vuitton's love for 'K-pop stars' is exceptional. Of the 13 global ambassador contracts announced this year, five were with 'K-pop artists.' Louis Vuitton even has a dedicated department called the 'Celeb Team' to recruit and manage Korean idols. This team is part of the global headquarters, not the Korean branch. Dior's three newly announced global ambassador contracts this year were all with K-pop artists, including the brand's first group ambassador 'Tomorrow X Together,' BTS's Jimin, and NewJeans' Haerin. Chanel's 'human Chanel,' BLACKPINK's Jennie, has been a global ambassador since 2017, while Herm?s does not appoint ambassadors separately. Expanding beyond EruShadi luxury brands, there have been over 30 new ambassador contracts with K-pop artists announced this year.
Targeting the 'MZ Generation' Leading the Luxury Market
Global consulting firm Bain & Company reported earlier this year that "luxury consumption by the MZ generation (born 1981?2010) surged by more than 80%, from 123 billion euros (about 174 trillion KRW) in 2019 to 229 billion euros (about 324 trillion KRW) last year," and added, "Including the Alpha generation (born after 2011), their share is expected to reach 80% by 2030." This is precisely why luxury brands are actively recruiting idols.
Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, often mentions that K-pop fandoms "show more intense immersion and spending than any other fandom," and their main age groups are the MZ and Alpha generations.
The luxury industry cites Jisoo's rise as the turning point for Dior reaching the level of Herm?s, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel, calling it the ‘Jisoo effect.’ Jisoo has been Dior's global ambassador since 2021. Dior's sales in Korea jumped from 328.5 billion KRW in 2020 to 613.9 billion KRW in 2021, moving from fourth to third place in the industry. Last year's sales reached 930.5 billion KRW. Pietro Beccari, Dior's chairman, openly expressed his affection for Jisoo by saying, “If YG (her agency) fires Jisoo, I will take her.”
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