Synergistic Co-operations in the Cosmetic Industry: Learning and Convergence between Firms and Social Media

• Main Author: Lee, Yeon W.
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: convergence; co-operation; Hallyu; K-beauty; learning; social media; synergy creation
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk/vol1/iss32/13; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/kk/article/1783/viewcontent/KK_2032_2C_202019_2013_20Special_20Forum_20Kritika_20__20Lee.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Hallyu’s creative content, in the form of dramas, music, and movies, has not only expanded and popularized Korean beauty (or K-beauty) products, but has also helped sell Korean fashion and aesthetics throughout the world. This study examines the various success factors behind K-beauty’s competitiveness—particularly by emphasizing the interactive roles of creative content, cosmetic firms, and make-up artists working through their vlogs based on social media and the resultant convergence effects—which has propelled the rapid growth of the K-beauty industry. On top of the cosmetic firms that utilize diverse and effective strategies to penetrate the global market, professional and semi-professional make-up artists have helped spread K-beauty beyond product sales. They offer make-up lessons on social media, which has become enormously successful in spreading Korean-style cosmetics. In this paper, the co- operation between popular beauty vloggers and firms is explained through the new role of social media. This study explains how the convergence of firms and vloggers has connected and established a business ecosystem that generates synergy through the four co-operations of co-existence, co-learning, co-creation, and co-evolution.