Rookie Girl Group KiiiKiii Claims 2 Consecutive Months at Top of Brand Reputation Rankings; Appointed as First Ambassadors for KakaoBank

The five-member girl group KiiiKiii has garnered the highest level of attention among rookie idols by being selected as KakaoBank’s brand ambassador just 10 days after their Debut. According to the big data analysis of rookie idol group brand reputation released by the Korea Enterprise Reputation Institute in April, KiiiKiii ranked first with a brand reputation index of 2,359,448. This represents an 85.04% increase compared to their March index of 1,592,255. Ku Chang-hwan, director of the Korea Enterprise Reputation Institute, explained that “in link analysis, terms like ‘cool,’ ‘genzy,’ and ‘natural’ scored highly for KiiiKiii, while in keyword analysis, ‘I DO ME,’ ‘genzy me,’ and ‘Uncut Gem’ appeared at the top,” adding that “the positive rating reached 85.04%.” All five members of KiiiKiii are teenagers, and they have been performing on music shows with the title track “I DO ME” from their Debut album “Uncut Gem” and its follow-up song “BTG.” From their very first broadcast, they demonstrated solid live performance skills, proving their strong fundamentals and a casual team identity. Their ability to handle diverse concepts on each stage has further solidified their reputation as “monster rookies.” Their musical achievements are also notable. “I DO ME” immediately topped the Spotify Viral 50 Korea chart upon release, reaching third place on Melon’s Hot 100 chart and tenth place on its Top 100 chart. It also consistently ranks high on major domestic music charts such as Bugs, VIBE, Genie, Flo, and YouTube Music. According to Hanteo Charts, the initial sales volume of “Uncut Gem” reached 206,703 copies, securing first place on both the weekly and daily album charts for the third week of March, as well as third place on the weekly world chart. KakaoBank chose KiiiKiii as ambassadors to attract the “Z+Alpha generation” of customers. The bank plans to strengthen the brand image of its youth-focused financial service, “KakaoBank mini,” and accelerate customer acquisition through collaboration with KiiiKiii. Launched in October 2020, “KakaoBank mini” has partnered with companies frequented by teens such as Lotte World, Olive Young, and Zigzag, and by the end of last year, it had surpassed 2.5 million customers. A KakaoBank official said, “We are pleased to appoint KiiiKiii, who have received overwhelming support since their Debut, as our ambassadors. We will create various content together to strengthen communication with the Z+Alpha generation customers.” The industry believes this selection was made considering the synergy between KakaoBank and Starship Entertainment, which is under Kakao Entertainment. Beyond their music activities, KiiiKiii is exerting influence as a “genzy icon” in various fields such as fashion and finance. They have appeared on covers of major domestic fashion magazines and, as the first K-pop group, on the cover of Ten Magazine USA even before their Debut.