The Numbers
JINRO, the South Korean soju brand owned by HiteJinro, disclosed on August 27 that cumulative views of content tied to its debut global campaign, "My Favorite JINRO," have exceeded 500 million across all social media channels since the campaign launched in July — a milestone the company reached in under two months.
The main commercial video alone logged more than 300 million views. Campaign-related engagement — likes, comments, and shares — totaled approximately 10 million interactions across JINRO's global social channels. The brand's combined follower count grew by roughly 200,000 from the period before the campaign teaser's release, a signal of net-new audience acquisition rather than simply activating an existing base.
The campaign teaser poster, released on July 3, ranked first in real-time searches on Yahoo Japan's trending tab immediately after publication. Fan communities and media accounts subsequently created and amplified secondary content around V's appointment as global ambassador, extending organic reach well beyond JINRO's owned channels.
Out-of-Home Expansion
Having established the campaign's digital footprint, JINRO is now broadening its out-of-home presence across major international markets. Outdoor placements are running in Times Square in New York, as well as in Toronto, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, and Sydney. The Times Square activation, live since late July, has itself generated social content as visitors film and share the billboard — a dynamic the brand is deliberately leveraging to create offline-to-online engagement loops.
The geographic spread reflects HiteJinro's strategic prioritisation of markets where soju consumption is growing beyond its traditional Korean-diaspora base. Southeast Asia and East Asia remain core volume markets for the category, while North America, Europe, and Australia represent incremental expansion territories where premium imported spirits are gaining shelf space in both on-premise and off-premise retail channels.
What It Means for the Category
The campaign's scale signals an intensifying effort by Korean spirits producers to build mainstream brand equity in Western markets, moving beyond ethnic grocery channels into broader lifestyle positioning. Celebrity-driven global marketing of this magnitude — anchored by one of K-pop's most commercially active figures — raises the competitive bar for other imported spirits vying for shelf space and consumer mindshare in the same geographies.
For foodservice operators and importers, the 500 million-view figure provides a tangible measure of consumer awareness that can support ranging decisions and cocktail menu development. Soju's lower alcohol-by-volume relative to Western spirits and its versatility as a cocktail base have contributed to growing interest among on-premise beverage directors seeking differentiated pours at accessible price points.
Jung-ho Hwang, Head of Overseas Business at HiteJinro, said the campaign succeeded in expanding global consumers' interest in JINRO and increasing touchpoints with them, adding that the company intends to continue communicating JINRO's brand values through varied marketing activities to broaden its mainstream appeal worldwide.
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Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
