The trend of domestic products has revived the Chinese comic IP, and Shanghai Meiying Factory won

Editor/Xu Shiyu

If you pass by a subway station in the core business district of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou this spring, you may be attracted by a large advertisement with a bright monochrome background - style Fashionable models wear trendy T-shirts, each of which incorporates elements of the "Havoc in Heaven" animation. Also in the same frame is Liu Xiaolingtong, who plays the Monkey King. This is a joint series of national T-shirts launched by Heilan House and the IP of "Havoc in Heaven".

△ Heilan House "Havoc in Heaven Series"

This is not surprising for Heilan House. Everyone has adapted to the transformation of this man's wardrobe from "middle-aged and earthy" to young and minimalist, testing the national trend. Of note is its partner, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, the creators of "Havoc in Heaven."

In fact, you will find that this animation film production base with a long history is becoming more and more keen on IP co-branding, with its animated images appearing in fields ranging from clothing and daily necessities to food and electrical appliances.

It is undeniable that brand co-branding will definitely occupy a place in the most popular marketing methods nowadays. This trend was triggered by the fashion industry and then spread from clothing retail to various fields. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for trendy brands to collaborate, and you can also see unexpected combinations in domestic product collaborations such as Want Want It seems that as long as you add an "×" in the middle, everything can be "connected".

In addition to traditional co-branding between brands, there are more and more combinations between brands and cultural IP (Intellectual Property, intellectual property), such as cooperation with artists and animation images. Uniqlo UT is a leader - the most popular right now is the Uniqlo × KAWS series, and the Heilan House and Havoc in Heaven are also examples.

The concept to be clear is that for Shanghai Art Film Studio, brand co-branding is an IP licensing business within the cultural industry. In the cultural field, IP refers specifically to cultural symbols that are highly recognizable, have a large fan base, and have strong monetization capabilities. For holders and operators, IP with commercial development value can be understood as image branding.

From "Havoc in Heaven" co-branded T-shirts to White Rabbit co-branded milk tea, although co-branding everywhere is no longer new, old state-owned brands like Shanghai Animation Film Studio have rushed to join this wave The cultural IP cross-border trend makes people curious. Why do these "veterans" also become interested in joint cross-border collaborations?

Function 1: Opportunities for rejuvenation of old brands

In the Shanghai Film Museum, the history of animated films occupies a small exhibition hall to commemorate the peak of artistic animation in the era of planned economy: " "Tadpole Looking for Mom", "Three Monks", "Shuke and Beta"... and most viewers' impressions of American Film Studio stop there.

In 2012, "The Return of the Great Sage" produced by a group of new animators took in a box office of 956 million, showing the vitality of classic IP in the contemporary era, and also provided new ideas for domestic two-dimensional business.

The then director Qian Jianping once said that the overall strategic plan of Meiying Factory in the future is to activate classics with new thinking and new creations, and to create new stories. Subsequently, classic animated remakes such as "Black Cat Sheriff: Emerald Star", "Aventi's Adventures" and the restored version of "Tales from Heaven" were released. At the same time, new works such as "Warrior", "Ma Lanhua" and "Goral Flying" have been launched one after another.

For brands with a long history, traditional style, and are classified as "old school" by consumers, catching up with the trend of co-branding is an opportunity to change their solid labels. The LV × Supreme series, which can be recorded in the history of joint brands, has helped LOUIS VUITTON successfully enter the trend of fashion.

"Our marketing work is more focused on the content of the work." said Zhou Ruilin, manager of the IP licensing department of Shanghai Art Film Studio. IP business is an extension of the influence of works, which in turn empowers works and deepens the new image of Meiying Studio in the contemporary era.

"Cross-border cooperation is an example of expanding boundaries. It can reach groups that the original category cannot reach." said Xu Menglin, deputy director of brand and marketing strategy at Kantar Consulting.

Brand co-branding requires finding accurate target audiences and fully finding resonance with target consumers in terms of creative marketing, design appearance and cultural connotation.

"The people who grew up in the 80s and 90s watching the content of Meiying Studio's works are the main consumer group, and they will also guide their children." Zhou Ruilin said that this group of people is the target that Meiying Studio needs to consolidate. And young people are the targets that Meiying Studio needs to develop.

Meiying Studio has more than 400 animation works and more than 500 animation IPs, including many high-profile IPs such as Havoc in Heaven, Calabash Brothers, Black Cat Sheriff, Tianshu Qitan, Big Ears Tutu, etc. image. "We will make a distinction based on consumer preferences and re-create classic IP images, such as the classic version and the Q version."

The classic version is relatively artistic and follows the prototype in the work, while the Q version is both ends The body, a cuter image with a head-to-body ratio of 1:1, and some new materials are also added, but they are all based on the characteristic adjustments of the original image, which is relatively in line with contemporary aesthetics, and can also be changed to meet the needs of different joint brands.

△ Q version Calabash Baby series

Specific to each joint name, the crude practice of printing cartoon images on products has long been outdated. In order to ensure the effect, both parties now usually redesign a product. series of products. Take the T-shirts of Heilan House as an example. Elements such as the feathers and pheasant tails worn by Sun Wukong and the flat peaches he eats are also used, as well as supporting characters such as Nezha, Tota Li Tianwang, and the heavenly soldiers and generals. Screenshots of animation stills were made into rectangular prints common among trendy brands, and the lines became a concise and avant-garde slogan.

"Among the parent-child clothes, the adult clothes are printed with "My grandson is here", and the children's clothes are printed with "My little grandson is here". This kind of small interaction makes the national T-shirts more fun for the whole family. Feeling." Heilan House told Jinzibao Research Laboratory.

However, during the process, Meiying Studio will continue to follow up to ensure the stability and continuity of the image's own tone. Heilan House also needs to keep the meaning of the original painting in mind when designing. "Every print on the clothing has been reviewed by Shanghai Art Film Studio."

Function 2: Communication between brands Leverage each other

No matter what kind of brand co-branding, the most basic business logic of sharing is to achieve a win-win effect of "1+1>2" by leveraging and complementing each other's strengths.

"There are two ways to measure it, one is topicality, and the other is sales volume." Chen Jingxue, a cultural strategy consultant at Kantar Consulting, said that the ideal state is to have both. The one that produces and sells physical products uses fan traffic to attract money and gives it its own cultural attributes, while the IP holder can expand its image exposure. Both parties export energy and each takes what they need.

How to achieve satisfactory leverage is the result of the combination of factors such as who to cooperate with, how to cooperate, and when to cooperate.

"We will do a certain screening of cooperation partners." Zhou Ruilin said that Meiying Factory divides its customers into brand categories and product categories. "Brand marketing categories generally have their own brands and pay attention to the reputation of the brand. They will Consider how the highlights of marketing can be more attractive; some product manufacturers do not have their own brands, or the brands are not so well-known. If you want to enhance your brand power through cooperation with IP, we will identify their capabilities in all aspects to ensure the effectiveness of the cooperation. ”

According to Chen Jingxue’s observation, the phenomenon of chasing hot spots in IP co-branding is relatively common nowadays. "For example, Line Friends has become a big IP. Everyone wants to take advantage of it. No matter what, it is launched first." Similarly, there are a large number of homogeneous cooperation forms on the market.

Finding the match in the genes of both parties is the key to differentiation. "Each partner of an IP co-branding may belong to different fields, so it is crucial to find the essential point of convergence." Xu Menglin said, The larger the span, the more clever the incisions are needed.

"National Men's Wear Brand" is Heilan House's self-positioning, while "National Classic" is its refinement of "Havoc in Heaven". The purpose of using "Rebirth of National Classics" as the slogan of the joint series is to use the cartoon with the highest social recognition in China to strengthen the T-shirt's "appropriateness for all ages".

KFC is an old partner of American Film Studio. The first cooperation started with a successful case during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Monkey. "In the Year of the Monkey, we couldn't find a more suitable cartoon image than Havoc in Heaven, and it was also combined with very interesting product design at the time," said Zhou Ruilin.

KFC used Q-version images such as Sun Wukong and other characters to make three gift toys for the New Year set, and designed the paper tube packaging into a headgear that can be disassembled and assembled, and the bucket lid can also be removed with small inserts to make small ornaments.

△ KFC’s Year of the Monkey New Year’s Set Photo | Deng Xiaonan

The final feedback was beyond expectations. "Shanghai was sold out in almost a week. Many people went to surrounding areas to buy the three figures in order to collect them, and the prices were also higher online." Zhou Ruilin recalled.

Function 3: Realizing the value of traditional cultural IP

Chen Jingxue attributed the characteristics of high-value IP to three points: “First, your appearance must be good-looking and recognizable; second, Your own story must be relatively complete and not attached to any other brand. In the end, the value of the IP being loved by the audience must always exist.”

Because we invite painters to participate in the creation, we focus on exploring ink animation and paper-cut animation. , puppet animation and other experimental techniques, Meiying Studio is called the "Chinese School" because of its strong artistic style. The content is drawn from classical mythology and idiom stories, making the work profound and easy to recite. The art films accumulated in the last century have provided high-quality soil for incubating IP, and the vitality of classic animations has been relatively long-lasting.

It is not difficult to see that the nostalgic meaning of Meiying Studio’s classic animation IP and the emotional connection it forms with consumers are one of the selling points of this time-honored brand. However, since the beginning of the new century, except for the passionate boy in "I'm Crazy about Singing" and the big-eared Tutu in the early days, Meiying Studio has no more iconic images for the time being. During the period when the animation industry is transforming from volume to quality, there is a long way to go to create IP for all.

Although Meiying Studio itself emphasizes that it "does not imitate others, and does not repeat itself", it cannot escape the doubts of "selling feelings" and "refrigerating rice" by successively renovating classic IPs.

Chen Jingxue, a cultural strategy consultant at Kantar Consulting, analyzed how to continue to inject new connotations on the basis of maintaining the tonality of IP, which poses a long-term test for operators. "It may be a live-action version, or even a sequel. In short, it is not a simple re-release, there will be a renovation process." She believes that communicating with young audiences is a big problem, which requires using movies that are more in line with contemporary aesthetics and values. Expressions are given to IP content.

From the perspective of the partners, the traditional cultural characteristics contained in the IP of Meiying Studio are the value that domestic brands need to explore. "Some foreign brands want to enter the Chinese market. The way to integrate quickly and efficiently is to find a symbol of Chinese cultural characteristics to cooperate with, so that Chinese consumers will be more accepting." Zhou Ruilin said.

△ Q version of the Sun Wukong series

"This classic IP rooted in traditional culture can break the time limit with its appeal. The affinity for traditional culture is innate to Chinese children "Even if you haven't seen the animation back then, you will still like it." This is how KFC described the reason for choosing American Film Studio.

At the same time, in the domestic mainstream context, emphasizing traditional national culture can, to a certain extent, highlight the brand's "social responsibility."

Li Bo, Chief Marketing Officer of Yum China, said that he is a fan of American Film Studio's cartoons. He personally supported KFC's Year of the Pig set meal in the documentary "Guardian of Chinese Comics". In 2019, the latest joint venture between American Film Studio and KFC closely cooperated with the promotion of the reissue of "Tales from Heaven" and filmed the film restoration process. The new word "national comics" was invented in this wave of joint brands. The term "protecting national comics" highlights the role of the two brands in "inheriting traditional culture." The "Chinese Comics Hero Group" consisting of four figures: Sun Wukong, Calabash Baby, Black Cat Sheriff and Nezha, sounds like local superheroes that compete with Marvel.

△ "Guardian of Chinese Comics" poster

From the perspective of the entire cultural industry, cultural IP can realize the realization of intangible assets in various forms, and then build a pan-entertainment industry chain, making IP The economy has become a new growth point.

With rich and high-quality works as the core, we develop derivative products such as peripherals, games, stage plays, music, etc., and then implement them in physical scenes such as theme parks and restaurants, whether it is big-name Disney, Marvel or Upstart Line Friends all adopt this type of model to lengthen their monetization cycle.

According to the rules, this is also the path that Meiying Studio wants to explore.

According to the official website of Meiying Factory, its IP business is currently divided into image licensing, derivatives, games, activities and stage plays. Its offline experience stores Mein Friends Coffee have opened in Shanghai and Nanjing. "Nowadays, theater movie box office and IP image content licensing are the main parts of revenue." Zhou Ruilin said.

Although co-branding is popular, it is not the same as Turin

Compared with methods with many variables such as celebrity endorsements, co-branding is a relatively safe marketing method. Domestic products have subverted the "old-fashioned" image, using novel ideas from cross-border collisions and with the support of new media communication to repeatedly create hot spots, spawning many joint brands that seem impossible to achieve nowadays.

This does not mean that co-branding must always be successful. Even if domestic products enjoy a good reputation, co-branding for the sake of co-branding will only have temporary popularity and lack sustainability. Not only is it difficult to say that it is successful, but it may also be unfortunately self-defeating.

Xu Menglin took the Forbidden City hot pot restaurant that caused controversy some time ago as an example. “If we cannot deeply explore the connotation of the Forbidden City and develop an all-round supporting experience, it will be difficult to use the Forbidden City as a selling point to form a relationship with other restaurants. Clear and powerful distinctions are likely to be short-lived. ”

If the same routine is repeated too much, consumers will eventually become tired of it, and it will be difficult for a co-branded product that is old-fashioned and follows the trend to attract attention.

"It's not that you can't do it, but it's that if you do it too crudely, or it will give people the impression of plagiarism, there will be potential risks." Chen Jingxue said. Unfortunately, HLA JEANS, a trendy brand owned by Heilan House, is caught in a plagiarism scandal, which undoubtedly casts a shadow on the popular Havoc in Heaven co-branded T-shirt.

The eternal key point of marketing methods including co-branding is to remain true to the same principles and create a more accurate and in-depth connection with consumers.

Chen Jingxue judged that as more and more fancy co-branded games are played, high-end immersive experiences are the future trend, such as the themed pop-up store activities of Costa Coffee and Ghost Blowing Deng in 2017, "putting your own The retail environment has become like a tomb-raiding environment in a movie, and fans want to see how the imagination of the novel can become a reality. It will be more effective to impress consumers from a derivative value perspective."