HYBE shared examples of collaborations that span brands, cities and sports based on artist IP, suggesting possibilities for new partnership expansion.
HYBE held the 'HYBE Brand Synergy Day 2026' at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 20th.
'HYBE Brand Synergy Day' is a networking event that showcases various collaboration cases between artists belonging to HYBE Music Group and global brands and seeks new partnership opportunities; this year marks its third edition.
About 90 domestic and international brand and institutional officials attended the event. The program introduced, in three sessions, the process by which artist IPs formed around fandom expand into popular culture and actual cases: brand collaborations, integration with city infrastructure, and linkage with international sports events.
In the first session, brand collaboration cases based on artists' music and content were revealed. A representative case introduced was NongHyup Economic Holding's rice consumption promotion campaign, which cleverly played on the title track It's Me from ILLIT's mini fourth album as the homophone It's 米. The campaign connected the artist's musical elements with the brand message to generate strong online response.
The Valentine's Day campaign Hotter Than My EX (HTMX) with Samyang Foods' Buldak, which reinterpreted BOYNEXTDOOR's mega hit Earth, Wind & Fire with a 'spicy breakup' concept, was also mentioned as a major collaboration case.
In the following session, cases combining cities and artist IP and artist storytelling using international sports events were introduced. 'BTS the City Arirang,' carried out in connection with BTS's fifth full-length album Arirang, released in March, was highlighted as a case that provided diverse fan experiences tailored to each city's characteristics in Seoul, Las Vegas, Busan, London and New York.
It gained additional significance in that it expanded BTS's music and message, which were previously accessible only at concerts, throughout the city so that not only fans but also visitors and citizens in the city could experience the artist's content.
ENHYPEN's Sunghoon's activities related to the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics were also introduced. Starting from Sunghoon's personal narrative as a former member of the national figure skating reserve team, and continuing through his role as an Olympic torchbearer, the storytelling was cited as a case that drew interest not only from the artist's fandom but also from global sports fans.
YDongju HYBE Music Group APAC representative said, "The cases shared at this 'HYBE Brand Synergy Day' show that when an artist's unique music and narrative combine with a brand message, they can elicit broad response from fandoms to the general public," and said, "In addition to collaborations where artists participate as brand models, we will expand the scope of partnerships to include cities and large international events."
[Photo] Provided by HYBE
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