bemyfriends' 'BBD' Unveils SOL's Official Character 'TEAM01' First MD Collection, Expanding Fan Experience with Lifestyle Products

Global fandom business company bemyfriends' in-house creative brand 'BBD (BIBBIDI)' has unveiled the first MD collection for BIGBANG's SOL's official character 'TEAM01', with pre-orders beginning last Friday (3rd).

This MD is the first official merchandise for SOL's official character project 'TEAM01', which was launched last month. It is characterized by its composition of lifestyle items that fans can use in their daily lives, in addition to its value as collectible artist character merchandise. The collection includes a wide range of practical items such as plush keyrings, light stick covers, cushions, t-shirts, pajamas, miniature bedding, bandanas, and sticker packs, closely connecting fans' daily lives with the character experience. These products are scheduled for sequential delivery starting in August, with some items to be delivered in September.

Notably, the individuality and signature colors of the main character '01 (YOUNGWON)' and sub-characters 'Re', 'Gree', and 'Blu' are reflected throughout the merchandise design. SOL directly participated in the character development stage, imbuing the products with his identity and worldview, thereby enhancing their completeness.

The initial response has been enthusiastic. The early bird set, consisting of the 'YOUNGWON' plush keyring and the 'Re, Gree, Blu' plush keyrings, sold out just 6 minutes after sales began. Following SOL being spotted wearing a plush keyring at the airport prior to this, which garnered significant fan attention, the rapid sell-out of the early bird set upon official sales launch once again demonstrated the high global fandom interest in the character IP.

Beyond merchandise sales, 'TEAM01' is expanding into character world-building and storytelling experiences centered around SOL's b.stage. Various content, including animations introducing the characters, is being released, and natural interactions are occurring, such as SOL himself leaving comments to converse with fans. Storytelling content incorporating the characters' individuality and worldview is planned to be continuously released through b.stage in the future.

In this project, BBD was responsible for the overall character planning, design, and product development. This allowed bemyfriends to internalize the entire business process from character creation to production and sales, showcasing the power of fandom business where content and commerce are organically linked.

Ha Se-jung, CBO of bemyfriends, stated, "'TEAM01' is an official character project that expands artist SOL's long-standing messages and sensibilities to fans into a new language of characters." He added, "We will continue to create new fan experiences where artists and fans can interact more deeply through characters by organically connecting characters, content, and commerce through creative endeavors that delicately reflect the artist's identity and fandom's emotions."

bemyfriends plans to sequentially release more BBD-based creative projects in collaboration with various global IPs. The company aims to further enhance its 'Fandom Business 360' model by continuously expanding projects that extend character IPs into content, commerce, and lifestyle experiences.