BTS has once again proven their massive commercial power by taking first place in the September 2026 advertising model brand reputation rankings. The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute released the monthly data on September 3, showing the global K-pop group at the number one position. Rookie girl group RESCENE made a huge jump to secure second place, while trot singer Lim Young Woong came in third.
The institute analyzed 34,915,880 pieces of big data collected from August 3 to September 3. This was a slight decrease of 0.27 percent compared to the previous month’s data. The rankings measure how strongly celebrities perform as advertising models by looking at consumer participation, media exposure, communication, and community activity. The index also includes weight for advertising channels.
BTS Holds Strong with Record-Breaking Index
BTS recorded a brand reputation index of 3,932,230 for September. This marks a 10.70 percent increase from their August score of 3,552,236. The group’s strong performance comes during a busy period as they continue their ‘ARIRANG’ world tour. They are scheduled to perform four shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles this month. The city of Los Angeles even declared September 1 through September 8 as “BTS Week” to mark the group’s concerts.
The institute’s analysis showed that high-ranking terms linked to BTS included “hot,” “certify,” and “confident”. Key associated words were “ARMY,” “Arirang,” and “Billboard”. The group also recorded an impressive positive sentiment score of 93.09 percent.
“In the link analysis for the BTS brand, which recorded first place in the September 2026 advertising model brand reputation rankings, terms like ‘hot,’ ‘certify,’ and ‘confident’ came out high, and in the keyword analysis, ‘ARMY,’ ‘Arirang,’ and ‘Billboard’ came out high,” said Koo Chang-hwan, director of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute.
RESCENE Makes a Massive Leap to Second Place
The biggest talking point from this month’s rankings is RESCENE’s rise to second place. The girl group secured a brand reputation index of 3,427,885. What makes this jump so remarkable is the growth rate. RESCENE’s score rose by a staggering 118.01 percent from their previous month’s score of 1,572,383. This was the largest increase among all the top five ranked names.
RESCENE’s strong showing comes shortly after they were chosen as a brand model for coffee chain Hollys last month. This campaign marked their first major advertising partnership and appears to have significantly boosted their public visibility. The group’s rise demonstrates how quickly advertising exposure can help newer acts build recognition among the wider public.
The breakdown of RESCENE’s index includes a participation index of 390,622, media index of 518,600, communication index of 1,737,947, and community index of 780,716.
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Top 10 and Notable Names in the Rankings
Completing the top five were Yoo Jae Suk in fourth place with 1,473,244 and IVE in fifth with 1,367,588. Unlike BTS and RESCENE, the other three names in the top five saw decreases compared to the previous month. Lim Young Woong’s score fell by 23.04 percent, Yoo Jae Suk’s by 9.61 percent, and IVE’s by 7.55 percent.
The rest of the top 10 included BLACKPINK at No. 6, Park Ji Hoon at No. 7, Kim Do Young at No. 8, Byeon Woo Seok at No. 9, and Go Youn Jung at No. 10. Other celebrities and artists placing within the top 20 included PSY, Son Heung Min, Lee Jung Hoo, Jung Hae In, Park Jin Young, Gong Yoo, Lee Chan Won, So Ji Sub, BIBI, and Kim Go Eun. The full ranking covered 30 advertising models, bringing together singers, actors, entertainers, and other public figures.
The advertising model reputation index is released every month and is designed to measure the commercial presence of celebrities rather than just their success in music or acting. For K-pop groups, these rankings provide another way to measure their influence outside traditional metrics like album sales or streaming numbers. A high position indicates that a celebrity is attracting significant attention from consumers, media outlets, and online communities.
Also Read: BTS ARMY Turns SoFi Stadium Into Giant Birthday Party for Jungkook’s 29th
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