Blimey is a Korean Youtube channel that covers Malaysian culture and was started by three close friends (Jade, Yerim, and Dasol) from Korea University. Jade wanted to enter into broadcasting to become a producer. However, by mid-2016, she started to notice a shift in the broadcasting industry. She saw that Youtube allowed for a great outlet to produce the kind of content she wanted. She is not alone, in Korea more and more content creators started to join Youtube. Now in 2020, being a Youtuber or a social media influencer in Korea is a desired career choice. Youtube alone has a reach of over 1 billion views a day. As the years go on, Youtube’s user base keeps going up while traditional T.V. views go down. Some of the more popular channels on Youtube are gaming, tutorials, comedy shorts/sketches, and lifestyle vlogs.
Blimey is more of a lifestyle vlog as most of their videos showcase their experience exploring Malaysian culture and products. Most of their content is about Malaysia. So how did 3 Korean Youtubers become the #1 source of Malaysian culture content on Youtube? For the first five months, the three looked at the channel as more of a hobby. Therefore at first, their channel didn’t have a focus. Then one day one of their friends brought back a snack from Malaysia and they created a snack review video. The video took off immediately. Currently, they have over 400,000 subscribers on Youtube and positioned themselves as the perfect gateway for Korean companies to enter the Malaysian market. In addition, they are a part of the KUBS startup accelerator program at Korea University.
The Potential of the Malaysian Market
From watching Blimey, you can tell Malaysia has a lot of potential for businesses looking to expand outside of Korea. According to the World Bank’s global Doing Business report for 2018, Malaysia in the top 25 in regards to countries that are easy to do business in. The Malaysian government set up an initiative called the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) which creates a favorable environment for multimedia companies that want to set up a business in Malaysia. Licensing or incorporating a business in Malaysia is easy and can be very profitable. Furthermore, they have a very open, liberal, and multi-racial/religious culture. Therefore Malaysia is a very safe place to conduct business.
For Korean startups looking to enter into Southeast Asia, Malaysia is a great starting point. Today many multinational corporations are choosing Malaysia as a hub to base their operations for the Southeast Asian market. There are over 31.6 million people living in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur (the capital of Malaysia) alone has over 1.8 million people. Access to the internet continues to grow every year. Therefore the country is a great market to target for technology-based companies.
Learn Everything About Malaysian Culture with Blimey
Jade, Yerim, and Dasol do a great job of covering many aspects of Malaysian culture, from music to food. Malaysian people are very friendly and welcoming. Therefore Blimey has no issues filming inside restaurants and shops in Malaysia. Some of my personal favorite videos on the channel are their cooking tutorials of some of the popular dishes in Malaysia. The Kangkung Sambal Belacan, a spicy stir-fry vegetable dish looks absolutely delicious.
The three travel to Malaysia every 2-3 months to gather content and visit interesting restaurants and shops. They average about 2 uploads a week and have over 250 videos on their Youtube channel. Therefore the channel is a great one-stop-shop to learn everything about Malaysian culture.
Why Korean Companies Should Work with Blimey
Companies started to contact Blimey for business opportunities once Blimey passed 100,000 subscribers. For those looking to become Youtubers, the 100,000 mark is a good part to target if you are looking to turn your passion into a business. Currently, Blimey has over 400,000 combined followers on social media (Youtube, Facebook page, Instagram) after 2 years.
What separates Blimey from most Korean Youtubers is that their comments are vastly positive and their videos have a 98.7% positive approval rating. Most of their viewers are from Malaysia which goes to show the Malaysian culture is very warm and friendly. Over 12 million people in Malaysia use Youtube. Therefore mobile advertising is increasing in Malaysia, especially video and social media advertising. Therefore with the help of Blimey, entering the Malaysian market could be an easy transition for many Korean companies. They Blimey community is very passionate and loyal because the team spends a lot of time bonding with their community members. It will only be a matter of time before the channel hits its goal of 1 million subscribers.
The Future of Blimey
On their road to 1 million subscribers, Blimey has other plans to grow its business. They will start to sell their Blimey merchandise within this year! In addition, they are now focused on creating their own animated characters. Blimey has already set in motion to develop its animated characters and will be launching them soon. The characters will be based on each of the creators of Blimey (Jade, Dasol, and Yerim) and each member is taking part in the whole process of creating their own characters. These characters will not only be merchandise but also digital downloadable characters that can be used for stickers and emojis. Wait for their announcement of their animated characters soon on their Youtube channel.
They will continue to work with Korean companies looking to expand into the Malaysian market. Their help with content creation which is perfect for companies that are unsure about Malaysian consumers. Blimey will meet with the companies to come up with creative and innovative content that will showcase their brand in a fun and entertaining way. For those curious to learn more check out their branded content with Ginseng on their channel!
Blimey, an Inspiration for Future Korean Youtubers!
Blimey has been able to turn their passion into profit. They are giving hope to millions of young Koreans that want to follow their dream. However, being a Youtube takes a lot of hard work and talent. Furthermore, while online careers are booming, the popularity and presence of new social media platforms are constantly evolving. Therefore it is important for young people to keep their options open and have a fallback plan when setting their goals. Blimey is positioning itself as the gateway for companies to enter the Malaysian market and not just a Youtube channel. However, their Youtube channel is what has allowed them to become that gateway. Therefore, creating interesting content, being expressive, and building an online following is always a good fundamental base to have and can lead to many other business opportunities.
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