Idol Commercialization in China

Abstract

Produce 101 has been successful as a hot and new fandom industry-based show since 2018 in China under the influence of social media and video platforms. Based on the result of the case study example, this article studies how Produce 101 helps some trainees gain huge attention through marketing, and promote large-scale fund-raising activities through specific voting channels. In addition, the paper analyzed how sponsors generate revenue by selecting some contestants as their product endorsers. As a result, the popularity of the trainees turned into a marketing strategy that allows the endorsers gaining huge profits.