Consumer Behavior Current Events in Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior

Current Events in Consumer Behavior

I choose to write about the first video on Youtube to reach over one billion views, as of very recently this year. The video comes from South Korea, and is an example of K-Pop, a genre of music and popular culture that has become increasingly popular around the world during this decade. The named of the video is "Gangham Style" by a South Korean artist named Psy. The video is a music video for a song and the video was only posted in July of 2012. Within less than six months, the number of views on this video have surpassed all of the greatest all time leaders in views on Youtube, mostly notably, pop star, Justin Bieber, who became famous because of the sheer number of views on his videos. Bieber went from a nobody, just an aspiring singer, to one of the most popular young singing stars in the 21st century. If "Gangnam Style" has received hundreds of millions more views than Bieber's videos, then one can only imagine what kind of effect one billion views will have upon Psy's career.

This phenomenon is relevant to studies in Consumer Behavior for a number of reasons. Views on Youtube are a way to measure the popularity and consumptive behaviors of users and viewers on Youtube. While certainly there are videos that people watch over and over again, one billion views is unheard of; it is historic. This is a clear example of the relationship between consumer behavior, a particular industry (music and/or media), and consumer behavior. The consumer behavior of those viewers who watched "Gangnam Style" has been clearly identified by the tally of views. Again, Justin Bieber is a prime example, yet clearly, Psy has surpassed Bieber. If we use the two artists in a comparison or analogy, then there is a moderate amount of certainty that the consumer behaviors of the viewers of Psy's video will translate into more income and more popularity than when Bieber transitioned from aspiring singer to world famous celebrity and pop star. The consumer behavior of the viewers of "Gangnam Style" additionally reflect how the trend of consuming K-Pop culture has passed a tipping point. It went from a kind of obscure interest to a substantial trend in global culture.