The Korean entertainment industry in 2007 can be represented with a group of singers, ‘Wonder Girls.’ The group consists of 5 young singers, who were trained as singers since childhood. In the competitive market of the Korean entertainment industry, these young singers achieved fame and popularity within few months after their first performance on the television. At first, professionals on the field judged ‘Wonder Girls’ as uncompetitive because some of the members lacked vocal skills and the music was not following the current trend of the Korean pop music. At first, everybody thought that “Wonder Girls” were just 3rd rank singers, but the group became the most well-known singers of the country.

What made this sudden success? It is hotly debated on internet, newspapers, and presses that the successful and well planned marketing of the song, “Tell Me,” was the primary basis. The song was out of the trend, but the management team used large proportion of their finance on advertisements. The company tried to connect the music to popular show programs, where the ‘untrended’ music could be related to the ‘trended’ popular television shows. Also, the management team sold its music to dance clubs with a cheap price, encouraging the clubs to turn on the music and spread it out.

These marketing skills not only influenced people who saw the show and heard the music, but also helped build a network effect. Rumors of the song spread out within the country, and interest on this group of singers shown by the continuous requests for interviews. People posted writings on their blogs about “Wonder Girls” and their songs, and people who visited the blogs also spread these new singers. TV shows all showed the music video of their hit song “Tell Me” every time they had a time for advertisement, and advertisements of other goods also tried to somehow relate their product to the singers.

With an objective view, “Wonder Girls” could not have survived in the entertainment industry only with their skills. Their songs and skills were not enough to compete with other older singers with greater skills. However, the marketing skills of the management team that considered the Network Effect helped the group gain popularity and fame within a short period of time.

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