UBS Arena is a state-of-the-art venue designed to elevate the fan experience to unprecedented heights. Through our fan activations, we strive to immerse attendees in unique and unforgettable moments by tapping into the passion and enthusiasm of engaged K-pop fan communities. These activations are designed to cultivate a strong sense of community, offering fans a shared and interconnected experience. Our primary objective with this run of Spring 2023 K-pop concerts was to spark excitement amongst fans leading up to the show. The venue is dedicated to creating a space where fans not only feel listened to and heard, but also revel in a sense of uniqueness, with elements at each show tailored specifically for them and their group. Our overarching goal is to foster a strong sense of community at every show, ensuring that every fan feels special and valued. Furthermore, we aim to reinforce the tradition of K-pop fans, transforming concert nights into all-day community gatherings through our dedicated efforts.
Regardless of the K-pop artist, fans line up for the best spot for the shows far before the concert starts. The arena’s biggest challenge was to ensure that, during this time fans are not only able to create connections with each other, but also partake in a shared and distinctive enjoyment of their favorite artist.
For all three of our K-pop artists hosted last spring, our campus took center stage as the focal point to enhance the fan experience. Complimentary chalk was provided for everyone to adorn the cement of UBS Arena’s plaza with drawings and heartfelt messages, expressing their enthusiasm for these artists. Throughout the day, the artists’ music played from the loudspeakers, creating a vibrant atmosphere and building excitement among the crowds. To engage fans, fun facts and trivia were showcased on the outside billboard, providing an opportunity for fans to test their knowledge. Furthermore, a live feed of fan tweets was showcased on the billboard, giving the fans the exciting opportunity to see their tweets displayed on the big screen for everyone to enjoy. Inside the venue, fans discovered specialty food and beverage items, including the Japanese snack Pocky, bubble tea, and smoothies.
Our fan engagement activities for K-pop shows kicked off with SUGA’s two sold out performances. Fans were invited to embark on a journey across the campus to search for puzzle pieces, each featuring a part of an image of SUGA. Each puzzle piece came with the added perk of a food and beverage voucher, granting fans the opportunity to enjoy special food and refreshments throughout the concert. Fostering a sense of collaboration, fans were encouraged to work together in assembling the pieces to unveil the complete image.
Tomorrow x Together two sold out shows fostered a strong sense of community among their fans through our campus location. The vibrant atmosphere was complemented by fans enthusiastically dancing along to TXT’s chart-topping hits blaring from our speakers, effortlessly hitting the choreography to their favorite songs. Adding a personal touch, we set up a friendship bracelet-making station, enabling fans to craft a memento of their time at the arena or trade creations with fellow fans. Inside the venue, we recreated the tour admat for TXT where fans were given the opportunity to take photos next to life size cutouts of the band members, allowing them to immerse themselves in the experience and pretend they were a part of the cover. In addition, we created a special concert themed cocktail, the Electric Lemonade, inspired by TXT’s own song “Blue Orangeade”.
Mamamoo fans were another community UBS Arena crafted personalized touches for. To pay homage to the fan base name "Moo Moos," where the term "Moo" in Korean translates to radish, we created temporary tattoos for fans to proudly wear. Adding to the festive sold-out show atmosphere, we provided complimentary bubbles and outdoor games like giant Jenga and cornhole. Additionally, we added a friendship bracelet-making station, allowing fans to come together and share in the spirit of camaraderie.
Our K-pop activations resonated widely with all the fan communities, marking a resounding success for the arena. Throughout this time, the UBS Arena atmosphere was electric - you could feel the fans' excitement and passion at every turn. The excitement touched all aspects of our arena - from our parking attendants waving K-pop light bongs to our on-the-ground staff dancing along with fans as they exited the campus. Our campus quickly became a vibrant canvas filled with heartfelt messages and drawings from enthusiastic fans, leaving no piece of cement on our plaza untouched. Each activation buzzed with the energy of fans connecting and engaging with one another. Fans left the experiences with arms adorned within a colorful array of temporary tattoos and friendship bracelets, showcasing a vibrant and tight-knit community.
Once the SUGA activations were revealed, TXT and Mamamoo fans quickly rushed to share their excitement about the upcoming show and curiosity about what surprises await them. This excitement across socials continued into every show day with an array of tweets about the activations encouraging others to immerse themselves in these unique experiences. Fans from across the nation also expressed their appreciation for our fan engagement activities, flooding social media with posts that acknowledged the arena’s meticulous planning and dedication to creating an unforgettable experience for fans. Our efforts not only cultivated a sense of community among those physically present as well as throughout the whole fanbase.
UBS Arena quickly became a fan favorite venue for K-pop enthusiasts.
