Why have TV ads become ineffective? In the past, consumption was about following the crowd. If others consumed something, I would too. So you saw all ads emphasizing luxury, high-end, and status—everyone else is using it, so I should too. Now, consumption is about leading. When it comes to clothing, we fear wearing the same outfit as others. I absolutely won't wear what others wear. Regardless of what the ad says, I only care if I like it and if it fits my style. In this era, consumers no longer want mass conformity but niche self-expression. As subcultures, communities, and individuals rise, brands and marketing face numerous uncertainties. Before the internet, especially before mobile internet, brands lacked the ability to directly connect with users. The relationship was weak, so brands relied on advertising bombardment and promotions to buy traffic and increase conversion. With the proliferation of mobile internet, although brands can reach users directly online, the cost for users to obtain information has become extremely low and vast. Consumer attention has become a scarce resource. No matter how dense or strong your ads and promotions are, they may not reach users, and even if they do, they may not provide a reason to buy. Therefore, if a brand lacks the ability to build strong relationships with users, it will quickly be annihilated by the vast amount of information in the internet age. So we see that brands that only advertise on TV seem to be forgotten by us all.
How to build strong relationships with customers? The best methodology is IP. Why IP? IP stands for intellectual property, meaning an intangible image or content with independent intellectual property rights. You can think of it as a charismatic internet celebrity, an anime character, or a specific star or brand. In simple terms, it can widely connect with users, build strong relationships, ignite user passion, and make users contribute traffic and consumption to a content symbol. In short, in the past, brands satisfied consumers; now, IPs make consumers follow. In an era of material abundance, the meaning of purchasing goods has shifted from meeting basic needs to higher-level spiritual pursuits, which all brands lack. If the significance of a brand is more about making users pay for products, you can understand the value of IP as making users pay more for spiritual experiences. Why can Wahaha only do beverages, and fail in children's clothing? Because in the public's mind, Wahaha is a beverage brand, not a spiritual leader that everyone can follow. Why can Xiaomi do not only phones but also more smart home products? Because in the public's mind, Xiaomi is born for enthusiasts, an enterprise born to pursue ultimate products. In many fields, Xiaomi's products may not be the best, but it is the most craftsman-like and offers super cost-effectiveness.
This is the difference between IP and brand. Peppa Pig, known as the "number one internet celebrity in the universe," is a good example. It once became the most featured material on social and content platforms like Zhihu, Weibo, and Kuaishou. "Tattoo Peppa Pig on your body, applause for the social person"—it's hard to imagine this Kuaishou-style copy refers to a children's animated IP. This work, called one of the most profitable animated films in history, has broken through the children's animation market and advanced into the adult domain to become a national IP. In the future, all products must have content attributes, all enterprises must have media capabilities, in the post-consumption era, all industries must have entertainment attributes, and all brands must have IP capabilities.
In summary, in the future, everything must be reconstructed: New relationships, new connections, new channels, new products, new models, new personalities. For any brand, having an IP means having the power to control traffic. IP can turn the weak relationship between enterprises and users into a strong one. This strong relationship enables users to automatically and spontaneously search, follow, discuss, spread, and place orders. Within the strong relationship built by super IP, brands naturally carry purchase reasons. The process of IP appearing can itself be seen as a form of marketing and advertising. It can be said that user relationship building is preemptive. In the internet age, you must have users first, then products. Products are born for users, and users come for products.
IP has several characteristics: 01 Very distinct personality or highly charismatic persona Possess differentiated, exclusive, and unique super image or content. 2 Good reputation/content While consuming, willing to share, and through sharing, gain user recognition for the product/content.
Why does IP use content as a carrier?
Content has a sufficiently broad consumer base, and content naturally carries transmissibility. Moreover, specific content can unite specific groups of people.
Content includes: copy, topics, products, and all information flows with inherent communication value can be considered content.
Of course, not all content has broad transmissibility. Content must have sufficient scarcity, recognizability, and value for discussion and dissemination. More importantly, it must have a broad topic consumer base.
Content is the core of IP, but it is not IP itself. IP is the value orientation, identity recognition, and resonance projected through content.
3 Continuous topic output capability Through a steady stream of content, continuously touch and awaken the public's psychology, making users repeatedly discuss. 4 Content attributes that naturally spread Valuable content with broad consensus and topicality. Through interesting content, find recognition from similar groups. 5 Can directly generate transactions Content is product, product is content.
In summary, use three sentences to summarize IP's characteristics: 1. Ability to produce/control traffic 2. User acquisition capability 3. Ability to distribute content across platforms/categories
How to become an IP? 1. Ability to output strong content 2. Content has recognizability and scarcity 3. Has value for discussion and dissemination 4. Possesses broad connectivity 5. Must have strong operational capabilities 6. Can cross borders, platforms, and categories
Let's take Peppa Pig as an example again. In 2015, CCTV introduced Peppa Pig and sparked a ratings boom. At the same time, on social media, this pig resembling a "pink hairdryer" also triggered a wave of internet frenzy. The Peppa Pig craze quickly spread from the initial social media meme stage to offline. The astonishing topics and cross-age spread made this pig a super IP with its own traffic. After Peppa Pig became a hit, some companies sensitive to new trends acted quickly. For example, Shandong Haojiayi quickly contacted the British Peppa Pig copyright owner and signed an exclusive license for the Peppa Pig series in the lactic acid bacteria beverage category in China. Haojiayi's Peppa Pig series entered the 10-billion-yuan lactic acid bacteria category, which grows at 40% annually, precisely targeting distributors' pain points of distribution, sales, and profit, providing one-stop solutions for distributors in bottleneck or transition periods. Haojiayi's Peppa Pig lactic acid bacteria series, through IP activities, deeply relieves distributors' concerns about market sales. IP products with sales capability make terminal displays more vivid, standing out among competitors and attracting consumers' initial purchase intention. At the same time, with the "three no's" (no pigments, no preservatives, no artificial sweeteners) and aseptic cold-fill production process, the excellent taste and quality greatly increase repurchase rates, laying a solid foundation for healthy sales. In the pan-entertainment field, IP peripheral development is very common. During this World Cup, we saw Mengniu as a sponsor, spending $50 million to secure a sponsorship spot. According to the latest data, the topic #天生要强# initiated by Mengniu on Weibo has exceeded 5.2 billion reads and over 6.86 million discussions. In addition, brands like Coca-Cola, vivo, Budweiser, and McDonald's all used the World Cup IP for topic discussions to obtain low-cost traffic. So, for a brand, if you don't have the ability to produce IP, don't have the ability to use IP to generate traffic for yourself, and still talk about how good your products are and how strong your channels are, you will inevitably be eliminated by this era.
Scan the QR code to learn more about anime IP products (Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Octonauts) Central China Region (Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Jiangxi) Liu Huibo North China Region (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia) Ji Qian Northeast and South China Regions (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang) Bai Yongwang East China Region (Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanghai) Yin Lili Southwest Region (Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Tibet, Chongqing) Sun Lili Northwest Region and Others (Ningxia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Gansu) Investment Promotion Customer Service Center, Investment Promotion Director · Wen Yang -END-