Top brand leaders and bemyfriends at Sundance 2023
by BEMYFRIENDS02.01.23
On Friday, January 20, bemyfriends hosted a Brand Leaders Dinner with United Talent Agency (UTA) at the Sundance Film Festival. More than 80 well-known brand leaders from media, art, business, and culture were in attendance. At the dinner, bemyfriends emphasized the importance of the fandom business while sharing accumulated insights about how vital it is for businesses to maintain ownership of their content and data. bemyfriends also introduced the solutions and services that the company provides for fandom businesses, which will serve as game-changers for the next generation of fandom businesses.
bemyfriends is a South Korean startup that just celebrated its second anniversary. Even though the company has only been around for a short time, it has distinguished itself as an industry leader for the next generation by giving advice on strategies for the global fandom business and sharing success stories with global brand leaders.
In 2023, bemyfriends plans to take its global fandom business to the next level, starting with the United States. By networking with top brand leaders, the company is taking concerted steps to spread its wings in the global market and lay the groundwork for the fandom business worldwide.
What is UTA?
United Talent Agency (UTA) is a large-scale talent agency in the United States. UTA has built strong networks across industries with clients in esports, sports, and brands, as well as world-famous entertainers like Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy. Currently, UTA is expanding the scope of its business areas to include Ethereum-based Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) and intellectual property (IP).
UTA signed a strategic partnership with bemyfriends in January. The two companies are expected to collaborate actively in industries like entertainment, sports, esports, brands, creators, and Web3.
▶Related articles:
bemyfriends Brings the Fandom Business to the Next Level for the Global Market
The Goal of the Sundance UTA Brand Leaders Dinner
Every year, independent movies and documentaries from around the world are shown at the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place in Utah, United States. The festival brings together industry professionals from sectors like entertainment, sports, music, film, and leading brands.
The Sundance Festival also serves as the occasion for UTA's networking events for industry figures and brand leaders, held in a place called UTA House. The events are attended by brand CMOs, marketing and advertising leaders, entertainment executives, filmmakers, celebrities, influencers, and artists who aim to build mutual awareness and positive perceptions of their brands.
Major brands like Apple, Google, HBO, Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix have all attended the UTA Brand Leaders Dinner in the past. This particular event was attended by globally influential brand leaders like Adobe, Condé Nast, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta, Procter & Gamble, and Paramount+.
bemyfriends is spreading the success story of the fandom business to the world
▲ Steve Wooseok Seo (first from the left), co-CEO of bemyfriends, and Samuel Hwiewon Son (second from the left), Head of Sales & Partnerships, take a commemorative photo with UTA officials and global brand leaders. @UTA House
Steve Seo, co-CEO of bemyfriends and the event host, kicked off the dinner with a speech revealing his thoughts on the fandom business.
“To introduce myself briefly, I am one of the leaders who have contributed to the global fandom business through a BTS fandom platform. By building a digital space for business opportunities and monetization, we strengthened the relationship between artists and super fans. Many of you here know how successful BTS and its global fandom have been. I was delighted with the success that exceeded all our expectations.
Over the years, I have experienced and learned how powerful the magic of the fandom business is and how we can apply this magic. Currently, I am working hard to apply this mechanism to industries outside of entertainment by allowing people to build their own fandom and take fan engagement to the next level.
bemyfriends offers an all-inclusive service that allows you to create a separate space with tools for super fans. Our service includes 100% ownership of all data generated within the space, fandom business consulting, IP business management, global fulfillment service, and logistics.
As I have already experienced what it takes to create a successful fandom business, I want to help all brands gathered here to connect with each other and change the paradigm of visible fan engagement.”
▲ The Brand Leaders Dinner hosted by UTA was held on Friday, January 20, at the Sundance International Film Festival in Utah, USA. @UTA House
▲ Branded Activations. Leaders from each field introduce themselves. @UTA House
▲ Curated Dinners. Networking with global brand leaders and sharing industry trends. @UTA House
▲ Cocktail Receptions. bemyfriends’s Head of Sales & Partnerships introduces the company to global brand leaders. @UTA House
▲ Cocktail Receptions, Steve Seo (right), co-CEO of bemyfriends, shares his successful experiences in the fandom business with global brand leaders. @UTA House
▲ Cocktail Receptions. CMO Hanna Park (left), co-CEO Steve Seo (middle), and Head of Sales & Partnerships Samuel Hwiewon Son (right) attended the Sundance UTA Brand Leaders Dinner as representatives for bemyfriends. @UTA House
▲ Representatives of bemyfriends and UTA leave a commemorative photo in front of the UTA House. @UTA House
bemyfriends plans to use its wealth of experience, knowledge, and success story to enhance the global fandom business while building networks with UTA's clients from various industries, including entertainment and Web3. The company will serve as a bridgehead to strengthen the global fandoms of domestic owners (b.stage users) of IP content like K-Pop, dramas, and movies, along with corporate and personal brands. In doing so, bemyfriends wants to inform the world about the success of the fandom business and become a leader in the creator economy market.
bemyfriends is a South Korean startup that just celebrated its second anniversary. Even though the company has only been around for a short time, it has distinguished itself as an industry leader for the next generation by giving advice on strategies for the global fandom business and sharing success stories with global brand leaders.
In 2023, bemyfriends plans to take its global fandom business to the next level, starting with the United States. By networking with top brand leaders, the company is taking concerted steps to spread its wings in the global market and lay the groundwork for the fandom business worldwide.
What is UTA?
United Talent Agency (UTA) is a large-scale talent agency in the United States. UTA has built strong networks across industries with clients in esports, sports, and brands, as well as world-famous entertainers like Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy. Currently, UTA is expanding the scope of its business areas to include Ethereum-based Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) and intellectual property (IP).
UTA signed a strategic partnership with bemyfriends in January. The two companies are expected to collaborate actively in industries like entertainment, sports, esports, brands, creators, and Web3.
▶Related articles:
bemyfriends Brings the Fandom Business to the Next Level for the Global Market
The Goal of the Sundance UTA Brand Leaders Dinner
Every year, independent movies and documentaries from around the world are shown at the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place in Utah, United States. The festival brings together industry professionals from sectors like entertainment, sports, music, film, and leading brands.
The Sundance Festival also serves as the occasion for UTA's networking events for industry figures and brand leaders, held in a place called UTA House. The events are attended by brand CMOs, marketing and advertising leaders, entertainment executives, filmmakers, celebrities, influencers, and artists who aim to build mutual awareness and positive perceptions of their brands.
Major brands like Apple, Google, HBO, Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix have all attended the UTA Brand Leaders Dinner in the past. This particular event was attended by globally influential brand leaders like Adobe, Condé Nast, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta, Procter & Gamble, and Paramount+.
bemyfriends is spreading the success story of the fandom business to the world
▲ Steve Wooseok Seo (first from the left), co-CEO of bemyfriends, and Samuel Hwiewon Son (second from the left), Head of Sales & Partnerships, take a commemorative photo with UTA officials and global brand leaders. @UTA HouseSteve Seo, co-CEO of bemyfriends and the event host, kicked off the dinner with a speech revealing his thoughts on the fandom business.
“To introduce myself briefly, I am one of the leaders who have contributed to the global fandom business through a BTS fandom platform. By building a digital space for business opportunities and monetization, we strengthened the relationship between artists and super fans. Many of you here know how successful BTS and its global fandom have been. I was delighted with the success that exceeded all our expectations.
Over the years, I have experienced and learned how powerful the magic of the fandom business is and how we can apply this magic. Currently, I am working hard to apply this mechanism to industries outside of entertainment by allowing people to build their own fandom and take fan engagement to the next level.
bemyfriends offers an all-inclusive service that allows you to create a separate space with tools for super fans. Our service includes 100% ownership of all data generated within the space, fandom business consulting, IP business management, global fulfillment service, and logistics.
As I have already experienced what it takes to create a successful fandom business, I want to help all brands gathered here to connect with each other and change the paradigm of visible fan engagement.”
▲ The Brand Leaders Dinner hosted by UTA was held on Friday, January 20, at the Sundance International Film Festival in Utah, USA. @UTA House▲ Branded Activations. Leaders from each field introduce themselves. @UTA House▲ Curated Dinners. Networking with global brand leaders and sharing industry trends. @UTA House▲ Cocktail Receptions. bemyfriends’s Head of Sales & Partnerships introduces the company to global brand leaders. @UTA House▲ Cocktail Receptions, Steve Seo (right), co-CEO of bemyfriends, shares his successful experiences in the fandom business with global brand leaders. @UTA House▲ Cocktail Receptions. CMO Hanna Park (left), co-CEO Steve Seo (middle), and Head of Sales & Partnerships Samuel Hwiewon Son (right) attended the Sundance UTA Brand Leaders Dinner as representatives for bemyfriends. @UTA House▲ Representatives of bemyfriends and UTA leave a commemorative photo in front of the UTA House. @UTA Housebemyfriends plans to use its wealth of experience, knowledge, and success story to enhance the global fandom business while building networks with UTA's clients from various industries, including entertainment and Web3. The company will serve as a bridgehead to strengthen the global fandoms of domestic owners (b.stage users) of IP content like K-Pop, dramas, and movies, along with corporate and personal brands. In doing so, bemyfriends wants to inform the world about the success of the fandom business and become a leader in the creator economy market.