4minute has been burning hot for the past 45 days. Even now, 4minute’s charting positions have been more than amazing. From facing off PSY and Roy Kim in the beginning to more recently Lee Hyori and CL, 4minute has been up against fierce competition. Their longevity on the charts has caused 4minute’s level to rise among girl groups.
Through eccentric marketing, the public has slowly gotten addicted. From bars to clubs, whenever you step onto the streets, you can hear people singing along to 4minute’s latest title track “What’s Your Name?”, showing the epidemic spread of the new trend.
Before the sale of 4minute’s new mini album, posters were put up in various places across cities with the phrase, “What’s Your Name?” With no explanation given, these mysterious teasers raised the curiosity of people who passed by. When people realized it was related to 4minute once their mini album released, the title of the song had already been imprinted into the everyone’s mind.
The partnership with a popular game also played a huge role. 4minute surprisingly appeared as characters in smartphone SNS games and “What’s Your Name?” would stream on the phone while the game was loading. From this, millions of people were exposed to 4minute’s new song every day. 4minute was able to gain much from their promotions without special price cuts or promotional rates, showing the effectiveness of the strategy that their agency thought of.
The icon of 4minute is Hyunah. Hyunah’s image is one of extreme sexiness, but 4minute was able to break this image. 4minute was able to find a balance between all five members without resorting to a formulaic sexiness and showcased all the charms of their members. The overall feel of the group was lively and cute, while still retaining parts of their sexiness during the performances.
4minute was also able to attract many new fans through unit promotions before promoting as a group. This year, Jiyoon and Gayoon promoted as a subunit named 2YOON. The most important effect of the unit promotions were that awareness of the members increased, which translated into more interest in 4minute as a whole.
4minute was able to achieve an all-kill after releasing their new mini album on major online charts. However, matched against the unrelenting force of PSY’s “Gentlemen” and the strong breakthrough of Roy Kim’s “Spring Spring Spring”, 4minute seemed to be at a disadvantage. To make matters worse, Hyunah was admitted into a hospital due to fatigue in the middle of promotions. Meanwhile, strong competitors such as 2PM, 4men, Lee Hyori, and CL entered the charts at once.
The force of 4minute’s power was shown during this time. 4minute was able to rise on the charts again, slowly returning to number 1 a month after the song was released, proving that idols too can achieve longevity on charts. As a group that is reaching their 4th anniversary, 4minute washed away all worries that they too would give in to the ‘5-year curse’ that many idol groups have fallen victim to.
However, 4minute will not settle here. 4minute will immediately jump into preparations for their new album after the promotions of “What’s Your Name?” They will make their comeback in July at the earliest and August at the latest, taking charge of the summer season. 2013, the year of 4minute, is not over yet.
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