Comebacks, Brand Trust And Why I Bought Every BTS “Arirang” Album Version Before Hearing A Single Song
Early March, I kicked a vermin human out of my life. And then BTS dropped their comeback album "ARIRANG" on March 20th and I ugly cried on my sofa like the devoted ARMY I am.
Four days later on March 24th, I sent my first newsletter in four months. My comeback, if you will, except nobody was streaming me 110 million times on Spotify in 24 hours or filling 44,000 stadium seats in the rain in Goyang. But hey, we take what we can get.
Here's the thing about BTS's return that I can't stop thinking about as someone who does brand strategy for a living.
In February, before the album even had a tracklist, before anyone knew what the concept was, what the photos looked like, what songs were on it - pre-orders opened on Weverse. I bought everything. Every CD variation, every vinyl, all the merch. Around $400, without hesitating for even a second. I didn't need to know what I was getting because thirteen years of them never letting me down had already made the decision for me.
This wasn't just another purchase on a random Tuesday. This was trust built so slowly and so consistently that by the time the pre-order button appeared, my brain (and wallet) were just a formality. I also have a dedicated display cabinet for my BTS collection at home. This is relevant context.
Most brands launch and go quiet.
They treat the launch like the finish line and then wonder why nobody's still paying attention three months later. BTS did the opposite.
From January onwards they just kept dropping things - handwritten letters to fans on New Year's Day, billboards, a Google scavenger hunt, secret voice notes hidden inside Spotify, a Netflix comeback concert that 18.4 million people watched live (the live stream editing choice was dismal but that's another discussion for another day), a documentary, sixteen physical album versions. Every week, something new, and that isn't counting the Weverse live streams, music video drops, the return of RUN BTS! episodes. I mean, does BTS even sleep? They never once let the anticipation die because they understood something most founders don't - your audience needs a reason to keep leaning in, not just once but again and again.
I went quiet for four months. Nobody checked in on me from LinkedIn the entire time. And honestly? GOOD. Because if I'd tied my whole identity to that silence I'd have been in trouble. And I know now exactly what role LinkedIn gets to play in my life. I came back on March 24th not because the world was waiting but because I had something to say again - whether people cared or not. Turns out, that's the only reason worth returning for: not because people were waiting, but because your voice was.
BTS came back as who they'd become after four years of growing up, military service, solo eras, real life. Some people were upset it didn't sound like 2019. Which is always funny to me Of course it didn't! They're not who they were in 2019. Neither am I. Neither are you, probably.
The ones who stayed anyway - well, those are your real people. Treasure them and go all the way for and with them.
New era. For them, for me, and honestly maybe for you too if you've been quiet for a while and wondering if it's too late to come back. It's not.
Just come back as who you are now. 🪭
