The Branding of Imaginary Couples in Boys’ Love Series

Abstract

This research aimed 1) to study the branding process of the "imaginary couples" in the Boys’ Love (BL) series; and 2) to examine the brand communication of the "imaginary couple" in the BL series with their fan groups. The researcher studied two couples: Bright-Win and Yin-War. This study was qualitative research, using in-depth interviews as the primary tool for data collection. The participants included 4 BL series producers and marketing executives. The research findings were as follows: 1. The Branding Process of the "Imaginary Couples" has involved 2 approaches: (1) A full-scale conventional branding of an "imaginary couple," starting from being actors in a BL series, led to the emergence of an “imaginary couple" representing product brands, eventually becoming international idols and global brand ambassadors, such as the Bright-Win couple; and (2) A brand extension approach where an already established and successful "imaginary couple" was featured in the BL series to further boost their popularity and name recognition, with the Yin-War couple; and 2. Brand Communication differed between the two companies. For the actors, Bright-Win, GMMTV utilized online communication strategies through owned media to reach their teenage audience, presenting content across multiple platforms to engage the target group. In contrast, fans of the Yin-War couple were more attached to the actors themselves than their characters in the series "Love Mechanics." Therefore, WeTV Thailand primarily used a social media, focusing on Twitter and YouTube, as its communication strategy. Since WeTV Thailand did not have its own channel, Yin-War's reach was not as broad as Bright-Win's.