KPop Demon Hunters: Animation creates new market category
I’m done hidin’, now I’m shinin’
Like I’m born to be
We dreamin’ hard, we came so far
Now I believe”
–Lyrics from “Golden” by Huntr/x
Last August, my daughter Tricia Gosingtian approached me with a recommendation: “Dad, you have to watch this movie on Netflix. It’s an animated film. Everyone is watching it and dancing to the music!”
As a business strategist and marketer, I’ve always believed that innovation can come from unlikely places. Still, I hesitated. Cartoons (as my generation calls it), in my mind, were for kids—something to entertain, not necessarily to enlighten.
But Tricia persisted, called it animation (as her generation calls it) and I gave in.
That’s how I discovered KPop Demon Hunters, a high-energy, visually stunning animated film about a fictional Korean pop girl group by day, demon slayers by night.
It is a genre-defining product: part anime, part K-pop concert, part coming-of-age drama, wrapped in a highly stylized animated format. It’s bold, emotional and above all, it’s new.
But what struck me most wasn’t the plot; it was the innovation strategy behind the film. This wasn’t just a movie. It was a blueprint for how to create and lead a new market category, packaged in music, mythology, demonology and glitter.
5 lessons on new market creation
Lesson 1: Don’t just serve a market. Create one.
In business, we’re often taught to find a target market and serve it better than the competition. That’s valid.
But the real breakthroughs happen when someone creates a product that’s so new it doesn’t fit into any existing category; so they build their own.
That’s exactly what storyteller and codirector Maggie Kang did. She created a Korean myth-based fantasy about K-pop idols fighting demons. Netflix took the risk and it’s now the highest-watched original animation movie in Netflix history.
Innovation isn’t always about iteration; it’s often about reframing. Not just improving what already exists, but imagining what doesn’t.
Lesson 2: Serve the underserved—exceptionally
The film didn’t try to appeal to everyone. Instead of just chasing K-pop trends, it connected with specific communities:
- K-pop fans, who saw their culture treated with depth and reverence
- The Asian diaspora, who rarely see themselves as leads in global media
- Those with “queer identity”, who connected with the themes of identity and self-acceptance
- Adult animation fans, who are increasingly looking for complex, emotional storytelling beyond kids’ cartoons.
This is a critical lesson in desegmentation. It’s no longer just about identifying the right market segment. It’s about building deep emotional connection with four committed groups, then unlocking the shared values that helped them scale. When people feel truly seen, they stop being just consumers. They become believers. They become advocates.
Lesson 3: Market fiction like it’s reality
Huntr/x (pronounced Huntrix), the girl group from the film, isn’t real. But you wouldn’t know it. Their debut single “Golden” became No. 1 globally. The group had a real Spotify presence. Netflix even hosted sing-along theater events.
They blurred the line between fiction and reality so effectively that fans treated them like a real band. This is the future of brand building, where storytelling and marketing are no longer separate functions but an integrated experience.
The result? A fictional group charted higher than many real ones, and the audience felt like they were part of something real, even if it came from animation.
Lesson 4: Cartoons are no longer for kids
KPop Demon Hunters proves that animation is a flexible, powerful storytelling medium. It can combine metaphor, music, drama, fantasy and deep emotion in a way that feels timeless.
Adults today are consuming anime, adult animation and animated dramas not for nostalgia, but for meaning.
Medium is not the message anymore; emotion is the currency of attention.
Lesson 5: Culture is the new driver of commerce
What’s fascinating about KPop Demon Hunters is how it draws from real Korean mythology and K-pop culture, but turns it into a commercial engine.
It’s not just promoting Korean culture. It’s celebrating it, and because it’s done with authenticity, it becomes marketable.
When culture is approached as a source of depth, not a trend to exploit, it becomes a source of long-term value creation.
In an age of artificial intelligence, noise and imitation, authenticity, especially cultural relevance, is a massive competitive edge.
Think like a category creator
I watched KPop Demon Hunters because my daughter insisted. I stayed with it because I saw something remarkable: not just storytelling excellence, but a working playbook for innovation and market-driving strategy leadership.
KPop Demon Hunters didn’t just compete with existing animated musicals or K-pop films. It redefined the category entirely, merging multiple industries (animation, pop music, mythology, fandom culture) into a new entertainment blueprint.
Ask: What kind of world hasn’t been built yet, and how can we lead it? As innovators, we must learn from KPop Demon Hunters.
Let’s reflect on the following questions:
- Are you creating something that fits into a new category, or something that forces a new one to exist?
- Who are you deeply serving, and how can you make them feel seen?
Innovation doesn’t always wear a suit. Sometimes, it dances on stage in glitter and slays demons. And sometimes, it’s your daughter who helps you see it.
