Pengaruh Brand Image Dan Personal Brand Idol K-Pop Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Official Merchandise NCT Dream Pada Komunitas NCTzen Di Jakarta

The Influence of K-Pop Idol Brand Image and Personal Brand on NCT Dream's Official Merchandise Purchase Decision On the NCTzen Community in Jakarta

Abstract

This study examines the influence of collective Brand Image and individual Personal Brand of K-Pop idols on the purchase decision of NCT Dream official merchandise among members of the NCTzen fan community in Jakarta. A quantitative approach with multiple linear regression was used, involving 384 respondents selected through purposive sampling from active members of the NCTzen Jakarta community who had purchased NCT Dream official merchandise at least once. Data were collected online through community platforms (WhatsApp group, Instagram, and Twitter/X) during April–June 2026 and analyzed using SPSS version 24, beginning with validity, reliability, and classical assumption tests. The results show that Brand Image and Personal Brand each have a positive and significant partial effect on purchase decisions (t = 14.180 and t = 17.215 respectively; p < 0.05), and jointly explain 53.6% of the variance in purchase decisions (F = 222.114; p < 0.05; R² = 0.536). Personal Brand was found to be the more dominant predictor compared to Brand Image. These findings suggest that emotional closeness toward individual idol personas plays a stronger role than the collective group image in driving merchandise purchase decisions within an organized local fan community, and provide practical implications for talent agencies in designing personal-branding strategies for group members.