[August 26 Industry News] Collaborations That Sell Out, What Made Them Different?

We will elaborate a little more deeply on the news briefly covered in the newsletter.

NEWS #1How did SAMG generate 75.1 billion won in revenue with multiple IPs?

SAMG Entertainment recorded its highest-ever first-half performance, with consolidated revenue of 75.1 billion won in the first half of this year, a 5.6% increase compared to the same period last year. However, if we analyze these figures...The fact that it is not the result of a single specific IP hitting the jackpot.You can find out.
'The Teenieping' sees an average of over 13,000 monthly visitors to its Seongsu flagship store, and the IP's target audience has expanded by approximately 25% to include those aged 18 to 34. Additionally, 'Metal Cardbot' maintained its position as the number one brand in the domestic boys' market, with sales in the first half of the year increasing by about 65% year-on-year and cumulative sales in China exceeding 11.8 million units.
On top of this, the theatrical release 'Love's Hachuping: Legend of the Whale Jewel' surpassed 500,000 viewers in just 10 days after its release, adding to the growth trend in the second half of the year.
Then, did a company's approach of operating multiple IPs simultaneously lead to such stable performance?

The reason we don't go all-in on a single IP is for risk management.

The content business is an area where it is difficult to predict success. No matter how well-made an IP is, the response can drop in a specific quarter, and if trends change, even popular characters can suddenly lose momentum.
If you look at SAMG Entertainment's lineupTeenieping targets girls and MZ generation women, Metal Cardbot targets boys, and Wishcat targets yet another demographic.You can see that it is being done. Like this.A structure where operating IPs with non-overlapping targets simultaneously allows one IP to support performance even when the growth of the other slows down.It is being created. In fact, in this earnings report, the expansion of Teenieping's target audience and the increase in overseas sales of Metal Cardbot occurred simultaneously, boosting overall revenue.

SAMG established different operational goals for each IP and implemented strategies tailored to them.

In the case of Teenieping, SAMG aims to expand its target audience from the existing infants and children to include adult women (Generation MZ).We set this as our goal. To achieve this, we focused on offline lifestyle experiences, such as the Seongsu flagship store, rather than the content itself, and as a result, the proportion of active members aged 18 to 34 on our online store increased to about 25%.

the other side'Metal Cardbot' is an IP targeting the boys' toy market.We focused on maintaining our position in the toy category rather than expanding our content. As a result, we have maintained the number one spot in the domestic market. We adopted a strategy to expand toy sales and broadcast programming targeting not only the domestic market but also global markets such as China and Russia.
In addition, the new project co-produced with SM Entertainment is an idol-style IP that combines music and choreography, newly targeting a global fandom distinct from the existing lineup. ThusIf the target is different, the purpose and operational methods must also be different to suit that target.

NEWS #2Preparing for your first collaboration? Start with crowdfunding!

PONOS has released official merchandise to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the Korean service of the mobile game 'The Battle Cats'. They have prepared a diverse lineup of products, including power banks, figures, and keychains. Here, you should pay attention to the channels selling the official merchandise.Selling goods through crowdfunding instead of pop-ups or Kakao Gift.That is because.

Despite being an IP that has already secured a long-standing fanbase—having been released in Japan in 2012 and continued its service in Korea since 2014—it chose crowdfunding as a sales channel. So why did even a proven IP opt for this approach?

Why Did The Battle Cats Choose Funding Instead of an Official Release?

In-game popularity and the purchase of physical goods are completely different matters. Like Battle Cats, which has over 1,000 types of characters.Even for an IP that has built a solid fandom over a long period, whether that fandom opens their wallets outside the game is a separate matter that needs to be verified.no see.

In particular, everyday consumer goods such as power banks and desk mats tend to be on the pricier side for IP merchandise, so simply liking them may not lead to a purchase. That is why Pocos also chose the safe option of crowdfunding.
in other words, Going through the crowdfunding process before official distribution means that even the game company is verifying whether the character will be successful as a physical product.are you.

Crowdfunding is actually a tool that goes beyond inventory management.

The biggest advantage of crowdfunding is that it reduces inventory risk.People often say that it lies in that. Since they only accept orders for the target quantity and produce only that amount, there is no risk of being stuck with unsold inventory.

However, if we take this a step further, crowdfunding is actually a verification process for quantitatively checking market response. Numbers such as the final achievement rate relative to the target amount, the number of participants, and the speed of funding progress are the most honest indicators showing how much commercialization potential the IP actually possesses.Collaboration data that is much more reliable than indirect indicators such as social media follower counts or game download numbersThat is essentially the case.

There is a separate number that the IP holder really needs to verify.

From the perspective of managing a character, when planning merchandise, rather than preparing a wide variety of items in large quantities from the startIt is a much safer approach to first launch into the market with a small, limited edition and gauge the reaction.is. The number to look at at this point isIt is not the total number of sales itself, but the achievement rate relative to the target and which items saw the most purchases.
If you list multiple items for funding but participation is concentrated on only a specific item, that becomes the most reliable basis for deciding the next lineup.

NEWS #3Why Looking 'Low-Quality' Actually Became a Weapon for Success in the AI ​​Era

"New Lai," a Chinese animation completed by a mother and son who had no prior experience in animation production and spent five years self-taught in drawing and scriptwriting, is causing an unexpected sensation. The 86-minute film tells the story of a calf named New Lai who learns about friendship, trust, and sacrifice through his adventures.
At the time of its release, it was subjected to ridicule and harsh criticism for its crude animation and sloppy direction, but ironically, this went viral, leading to an increase in viewers who wanted to "see for themselves just how poorly made it was." And lastCumulative box office revenue of 29 million yuan, or over 6 billion won, as of August 20It achieved that. Then, how did a work that was ridiculed for its lack of polish manage to create such a surprising box office success?

Why did the ridicule of being ‘ugly’ lead to box office success?

It is easy to think that harsh criticism usually drives audiences away, but for New Lie, the opposite worked. As the mockery of the crude art style became a hot topic online,Just how poorly made was it?That curiosity is what drew the audience to the theater.
This is a case that demonstrates that even negative reactions can translate into ticket power simply by being constantly talked about.no see.

What is even more interesting is that New Light had absolutely no official promotional materials. It was so extreme that posters drawn by the theater staff themselves became the talk of the town. The fact that there was a compelling storyline that made the staff want to participate themselves, rather than a budget-driven advertisement, actually turned out to be a more authentic form of marketing.

Experts identified ‘this’ as the factor behind Newrai’s success.

Experts analyzed this success in the context of the AI ​​era.In these times when anyone can quickly create plausible content using AI, the clumsy traces left by human hands actually feel rare and authentic.That is the point.
Rather than the level of perfection, the true story itself—that a mother and son who had never made an animation before completed it through five years of self-study—became the core driving force that attracted the audience.

NEWS #4A collaboration between IP and classic literature? Current trends X the power of fandom

GS25 has launched 'Munhak Bread' as a new product in collaboration with the publisher Minumsa and the character IP brand 'Today's Cuteness'. AndThe two initial products sold approximately 50,000 units within three days of launch, generating 150 million won in sales.It was released, and with 95% of the supply sold out, it ranked 1st and 2nd in sales across the entire GS25 bread category. In addition, the Minumsa and Today's Cuteness pop-up became such a hot topic that long queues formed on-site.
Then, what was different about this compared to a collaboration that just featured a single character that made people so enthusiastic?

We lowered the entry barrier to the Texthip trend with IP.

What Minumsa brought from this collaboration is not simply 'literature,' but what is spreading among the 2030 generation'Texthip' trendAs a culture of consuming books and writing as a means to express one's taste took root, Minumsa seized the exact timing to utilize assets such as the World Literature Collection and Minum Poetry Collection.

The problem is that classic literature can sometimes feel heavy. This is where the collaboration with 'Today's Cuteness' lowers the barrier to entry. By reinterpreting book covers with cute characters, it lightens the image associated with heavy literature.In other words, Minumsa provided trends and content, while 'Today's Cuteness' provided the characters to digest that content.no see.

We designed repurchase incentives with random and limited editions.

Munhakppang contains one of 20 random transparent bookmarks featuring the 'Today's Cuteness' character on the cover of Minumsa's representative works. Three of these are GS25 exclusive limited editions that have never been revealed before.
Consumers do not simply buy a loaf of bread; instead, they make repeat purchases out of anticipation of "what will come out this time," and even existing Minumsa merchandise collectors repurchase to obtain the goods they desire. On top of this, GS25 added an event called the "Sweetest Sentence Contest," designing another point of contact that encourages those who buy bread to actually read the book.

NEWS #5Bestseller + IP Collaboration, the Strategy Chosen by the Industry Leader?

It is often thought that collaborations are usually conducted to promote new products. However, the hair care brand Anove took the exact opposite approach. For their first collaboration with the Powerpuff Girls, instead of introducing new products, they applied the characters to three of their best-selling items, including the 'Deep Damage Repair Hair Mask,' which has won first place in the hair care category at the Olive Young Awards for four consecutive years.

Why did you choose a bestseller instead of a new product?

As mentioned earlier, character collaborations are usually conducted to promote new products upon their launch. However, Anov has applied characters to its already best-selling line.A method of adding buzz to proven sales without simultaneously bearing the risks of new product development and IP collaboration.It is.
Especially at times when the risk of failure is high, such as with a first collaboration, it can be a safer choice not to start anew with both the product and the IP.

However, relying solely on IP popularity can lead to failure.

Simply adding IP to a bestseller doesn't guarantee success. Relying solely on the character's popularity can actually lead to a reaction like, "Why bother attaching this character?" This is precisely why Anov did not fail. They combined the Powerpuff Girls' "Super Power" with the brand's core value of "Powerful Repair" to create the message "Super Powerful Repair."
Ultimately, this demonstrates that the collaboration effect is maximized only when the product's strengths and brand message actually align with the IP's concept.

NEWS #6Finding IPs That Sell Out? How to Open Wallets During a Recession

While high inflation has made it difficult to open wallets with price discounts alone, 'fandom consumption,' where consumers actively spend on limited edition products featuring their favorite characters, remains alive.The industry's marketing formula is also shifting from 'how cheaply to sell' to 'making people want to own'.However, the brands that gain the upper hand in this competition are not those that attach a highly話題性 IP, but those that select an IP that is a good match for their own products.
When considering a character collaboration, the first thing we look at is IP recognition. It is easy to assume that partnering with an IP that has a large following and high buzz is a safe bet, but looking at actual sell-out cases, that is not necessarily the case. On the contrary, there are IPs that sell out two or three times in a row despite having low recognition, while there are collaborations where the response is lukewarm even with high recognition. This difference lies precisely here.

There are also cases where famous brands have succeeded by collaborating with indie IP.

Isoi's Purple Potato Cooling Soothing Gel, created in collaboration with the character 'Babu Gamja,' is a prime example of a counter-example. Babu Gamja is not a character instantly recognizable by name, like Sanrio or Moomin. Although it lags far behind in brand recognition, it topped the sales rankings on the official website immediately after launch and recorded its second sell-out following the collaboration with the popular IP 'Mangled Bear.' The reason for the sell-out is simple.Babu Gamja is a character based on a potato, and the collaboration product is made primarily from purple potatoes.That is the case. In other words, the IP and the product collaborated based on their commonalities.

How do I find a good IP address?

This principle applies not only to the beauty industry. The same logic can be applied: for F&B, find a character that aligns with the characteristics of the ingredients or recipes; for fashion, find a character with a worldview that resonates with the materials or brand mood. For living and home appliances, simply look for whether the character's personality aligns with the product's functional strengths (storage, organization, efficiency, etc.).

Even if the industry is different, there is one thing you need to check.Whether the themes, personalities, and worldviews symbolized by the character actually overlap with the core story of our productHowever, if there is no overlap, it is perceived as a forced collaboration even with high brand recognition, but if there is overlap, it can lead to a sell-out even with low recognition.