▲ UNNi / CEO Seungeun Park

The rise of YouTube and TikTok is reshaping the media content market. Many people are enthusiastic about short videos and live broadcasts and it has become an attractive market for advertisers. Challenges, live matches, cover dances, and more are becoming available to the general public as creators to earn money.

Multi Channel Network (MCN) is a business that partners with TikTok and YouTube to manage influencers and creators, helping them with content creation, promotion, advertising, copyright, and revenue management. Among them, UNNi is gaining attention by creating a new buzz in the MCN industry.

UNNi CEO Seungeun Park

Seungeun Park, CEO of UNNi, worked as a marketing team leader at an MCN company from 2017, when MCN was in its infancy. She graduated from Seoul Arts High School and majored in broadcasting and arts management at Seoul Institute of the Arts, and has been communicating with influencers as a PD and artist. “I started the company because I wanted to be a big sister to creators.” said she. 

Influencers affiliated with UNNi include rapper Cheetah and Shim Ha-eun, the wife of former football player Lee Cheon-soo. The company is participating in content production with them, and other employees are also setting the direction of advertising and sales channels.

UNNi focuses on the process of transforming influential star-level celebrities into creators. Representatively, the company is expanding its scope of activity by signing exclusive contracts with foreign creators living in Korea, such as Jeong Sook from ‘I Am Solo’, Japanese creators living in Korea, and Thai creators.

Business overseas

“Our strength is that we have a lot of friends and community elements, unlike traditional MCN companies. We’re trying to break down the distance and create a new culture rather than formality.” said Park.

The CELEBRITY CREW, led by Park, has been gaining traction as it has become one of TikTok’s top five in Korea and top 20 globally. Last year, the crew earned an award from TikTok headquarters for its rapid growth by becoming the No. 1 host in Korea in average revenue per host. Currently, CELEBRITY CREW has about 450 members.

“As overseas recognition of Korean MCN companies is growing, I want to allow my creators to play more overseas, and I’m also thinking about how to collaborate with overseas creators.“ said Park., adding, 

“We’re not only working with female creators, but also with male performers from shows like ‘Solojiok’ and ‘Physical 100,’ and we’re also working with friends who are competing in world beauty pageants.”