From KWANGYA Universe to the Billboard Top: SM’s Signature Communication Formula

In celebration of World PR Day 2025, EloQ Communications is pleased to reshare this article as a way to promote a spirit of learning and passion for the profession, particularly from the next generation, where fresh perspectives meet real-world experiences in a practice-oriented academic environment. The following piece presents a student’s perspective from the class of Dr. Clāra Ly-Le, Managing Director of EloQ Communications and university lecturer.

With the release of Hello Future, SM Entertainment didn’t just launch a standard repackaged album. Instead, they executed a comprehensive communication strategy where music served as the starting point for storytelling, community building, and brand positioning.

Through a combination of uplifting messaging, vibrant visuals, immersive fan engagement platforms, and the exclusive KWANGYA “brand universe,” the campaign illustrates how an entertainment product can be elevated into a powerful emotional experience for global audiences. Every element from teaser release and MV design to announcement timing and fan interactions was a carefully crafted piece of a much larger narrative. Hello Future thus succeeded not only commercially, but also as a prime example of strategic, creative, and deeply layered communications.

Hello Future Banner – NCT DREAM

(Source: NCT DREAM Center ON X)

1. A Message of Inner Peace: Emotional Resonance with Listeners

Unlike the typical “cool” and edgy image often seen in K-pop boy groups, NCT DREAM’s Hello Future conveys a rare sense of optimism and clarity. The title track doesn’t focus on personal romance, but delivers a socially and emotionally relevant message: if we can overcome our wounds, inner struggles, and conflicts with the world around us, a bright and hopeful future awaits.

Lyrics, melody, and music video visuals all align under the theme of healing, particularly poignant during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when anxiety and uncertainty clouded the lives of youth globally. By choosing a message grounded in hope and future-forward thinking, SM made a strategic move: turning a music release into a source of emotional empowerment that fans would want to share and rally behind.

MV Hello Future – NCT DREAM

(Nguồn: SMTOWN)

2. KWANGYA Universe: A Cross-Project Communication Platform

One of SM Entertainment’s most powerful strategic assets is its fictional multiverse, KWANGYA – a shared universe where SM artists co-exist and interact across creative outputs. Hello Future marked NCT DREAM’s official entry into KWANGYA, aligning them with Aespa, EXO, and other SM groups. This not only strengthens inter-fandom connections but also enables communication campaigns to transcend the boundaries of a single artist group, laying the foundation for long-term, scalable storytelling.

SM uses KWANGYA as a second layer of meaning across MVs, live stages, and visual design, immersing audiences in a continually expanding narrative rather than standalone releases. This is a textbook case of transmedia storytelling, turning artists into characters within a living content ecosystem.

3. A Multi-Phase Communication Process: Sustained Audience Engagement

SM ran the Hello Future campaign through a clear, phased approach in line with modern marketing principles. It began with a rollout schedule and teaser content to build anticipation and drive fan sharing. This was followed by a multi-version pre-order campaign to boost physical sales and generate FOMO. The MV and digital album dropped simultaneously across platforms like YouTube, Spotify, Melon, Apple Music, and QQ Music, maximizing reach and trending potential.

Post-release, the group made multiple music show appearances (e.g., Music Bank, M! Countdown, Inkigayo) to maintain visibility. Supplementary content like livestreams, behind-the-scenes videos, and fan events sustained interest and community engagement. Each stage had a distinct goal: generate buzz → drive action → sustain interaction → build community. This demonstrates that successful communication isn’t just about compelling content but also precise operational execution.

“Hello Future” MV Teaser

(Nguồn: SMTOWN)

NCT DREAM – Hello Future | Comeback Stage | Mnet 210701

(Source: Mnet K-POP)

NCT DREAM – Hello Future (Music Bank) | 210702

(Source: KBS WORLD TV)

Comeback Stage | NCT DREAM – Hello Future | Show Music core 20210703

(Source: MBCkpop)

NCT DREAM – Hello Future inkigayo (20210704)

(Source: SBSKPOP X INKIGAYO)

4. Communication Metrics & Results: Chart-Topping Performance

Thanks to a well-executed media strategy and captivating music-visual package, Hello Future achieved impressive commercial and engagement milestones. On its first day, the repackaged album sold over 500,000 copies, an extraordinary figure for a non-mainline release. Within a week, it surpassed 1 million sales, making NCT DREAM the first SM act to hit this milestone with a repack. The MV earned 34 million views in the first 24 hours, a personal record for the group at the time.

The album and title track topped iTunes charts in over 20 countries, led QQ Music in China, and appeared on Japan’s Oricon and Line Music charts. Domestically, the group won several consecutive music show trophies, further cementing the campaign’s success on both local and global fronts. These figures reflect not only fan enthusiasm, but the measurable effectiveness of a thoroughly planned communication strategy.

5. Key Learnings from SM’s Communication Playbook

SM’s Hello Future campaign is a standout case of holistic brand communication, integrating brand thinking with on-the-ground execution. Here are five core takeaways:

5.1. Cross-Project Brand Universe: A Foundation for Long-Term Storytelling

Rather than treating each release as a standalone product, SM built an overarching universe, KWANGYA where all their artists coexist. This turns each campaign into a new chapter in a collective narrative. For Hello Future, NCT DREAM’s entry into KWANGYA made fans feel they were witnessing a milestone in an ever-expanding musical novel not just another comeback.

This long-term storytelling model builds brand depth and loyalty, especially relevant for businesses investing in scalable content ecosystems.

5.2. Lifecycle Communication: Sustaining Buzz Over Time

SM executed Hello Future in distinct phases: teaser drops, pre-orders, release, music shows, livestreams, fan events, and post-launch content (e.g., interviews, behind-the-scenes).

Instead of concentrating all efforts on launch day, SM spaced out media touchpoints, creating continuous engagement before, during, and after release. This helped Hello Future avoid the common fate of fast-burn content in today’s attention economy.

This tactic is applicable beyond music: brands in any sector can benefit from mapping a content journey along the consumer path to purchase and loyalty.

5.3. Product Diversification: Driving Ownership and Collectability

A key tactic in the campaign was releasing multiple versions of the album, photobook, kit, poster, each with unique visuals and collectible items. This encouraged fans to “collect them all,” turning purchases into personalized experiences.

Though common in K-pop, SM executed this flawlessly, boosting revenue, increasing unboxing content, and driving repeat interaction.

For consumer brands, the lesson is this: product versioning isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s a powerful nudge toward social sharing, emotional ownership, and even gamified purchasing.

5.4. Interactive Content: Fostering Emotional Bonds

Beyond the release itself, SM designed experiences that enabled authentic fan connection. From livestream showcases and MV behind-the-scenes to “reaction to reaction” videos, NCT DREAM became more approachable and emotionally accessible.

This transformed the campaign into a two-way relationship, fans felt heard, seen, and involved. Loyalty and organic engagement grew as a result.

Brands outside music can replicate this by designing social content that speaks with not just their audiences.

5.5. Shareable Design: Creating “Open-Ended” Content

The MV for Hello Future features vibrant colors, synchronized choreography, and catchy hooks, all designed for meme-making, dance covers, and TikTok/Instagram/YouTube challenges. This wasn’t incidental. It was built into the content from day one.

Rather than paying influencers for virality, SM created content that inspired fans to spread it naturally. MVs were clipped, remixed, and embedded into fans’ daily lives.

For any brand, this strategy is worth adopting: design content with shareability in mind structures, visuals, or emotions compelling enough for others to retell in their own way.

Final Thought for the Communications Community
Even if you’re not in entertainment, can you apply the “brand universe” model like KWANGYA to other industries, e.g., tech, fashion, or food?
SM’s use of pre-orders and multiple versions drives sales, but could it also create unhealthy pressure among fans? Is it empowering or problematic?

Conclusion

More than just a repackaged album, Hello Future is a masterclass in strategic communications, rooted in emotional storytelling, amplified by fandom experience, and validated by measurable results. SM Entertainment proves that when music and storytelling merge within a cohesive brand universe, the impact of communication can far exceed artistic value alone.

Các thành viên lần đầu trải nghiệm tự Unboxing Album của mình

(Nguồn: NCT DREAM)

References

Source: Brands Vietnam

Insights on PR and marketing in Vietnam and ASEAN