Repeat duck, bubble Mate, dancing fairy palm ... How hot is Chinese tide playing overseas?

In recent years, the Chinese tide played through the Internet has recently been going abroad. From the enchanting flowers of sand sculptures, re -reading ducks, to the magical dancing fairy palm, lotus ritual lights, and blind boxes, etc. Continuously output and become popular overseas. And in June this year, the bubble Matt, known as the "first share of domestic tide play", entered the US offline market for the first time in the form of a pop -up store. Then on July 2, the bubble Mate was the first Overseas flagship stores opened in Seoul, South Korea, and many foreigners began to lift up long lines to buy ...

Author | Liu Qijing (Author of Cultural Industry Review, Researcher Sanchuan Huiwen Travel Sports Research Institute)

Editing | Time

Edit | Peninsula

Source | Cultural Industry Review

Recently, a collection video about China's tide play has caused warm discussions on Weibo. In the video, the electric cactus, re -reading duck, enchanting flowers, and bubblers who had previously burst into the fire of Douyin are interacting crazy with netizens. Lotus ’s birthday lights make Korean netizens amazing. Artifact.

When Chinese toys make overseas netizens transform into creative ghosts and big emoticons, when foreigners run a big queue for blind boxes such as Bubble Mart, people can't help asking: How much is China Tide Playing overseas? What traffic passwords do it have to become popular? In this issue, the cultural industry comment (ID: whcyPl) takes you to find out.

Expanded overseas market

Last year, the "Dancing Fairy Palm" became popular on Douyin and Overseas Douyin Tiktok, and became the best -selling toys in the market in Egypt. According to foreign media reports, in just one week, the price of "dancing immortals" soared 150%in Egypt. Among them, smart models with USB interfaces and can be charged in the Egyptian market are 300-500 pounds (about about Between RMB 2400 and 4,000), the price of non -charged ordinary models is also between 135 and 165 pounds (about 1080 to 1320 yuan), but in this case, supply is still in short supply.

It is worth mentioning that this high -priced toy selling high prices in China is in China. Most of the models of different configurations are only between 30 and 60 yuan. From domestic to foreign countries, the price can be described as at least 30 times.

△ The price range of "dancing fairy palm" on Taobao is 30-60 yuan

This magic toy that will not only twist the concert and speak, but also follows the rhythm of music. For young people who like novelty and interesting things, their attractiveness and spread are unquestionable.

Compared with the online celebrity toys that have become popular through overseas social platforms, such as dancing cactus, the blind box player companies that organize the market from online and offline are more strategic and scale. In China, toys such as blind boxes and hand -made are now occupying the mainstream of tide. Among them, the most representative is the Bubble Mart Mart, which is known as the "first share of domestic tide".

From the first domestic store opened in Beijing in November 2010, to the first direct -operated store overseas in Seoul, South Korea in September 2020, and officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December of the same year. It took ten years; since 2018, Bubble Mart has won the first place in the sales list of Tmall's "Double Eleven" tide in four consecutive years.

Judging from the full annual financial report of 2021, the bubble Mate revenue in 2021, which was 4.49 billion yuan, an increase of 78.7%year -on -year; the net profit after adjustment was 1.02 billion yuan, a year -on -year increase of 69.6%. Among them, overseas revenue has increased from 74.2 million yuan in 2020 to 137.4 million yuan in 2021, an increase of 85.2%year -on -year, with a strong growth momentum.

△ Data comes from Bubble Mart's 2021 full annual financial report

After that, the trendy giant, which has been deeply cultivated in the domestic market for many years, accelerated its business territory to overseas with its first advantage and a complete supply chain system. In January 2022, the bubble Mate London store opened for the first time in the European offline market. In April 2022, the first store of Bubble Mate Ocean was officially opened in New Zealand; in June 2022, the Bubble Mate United States The first pop -up store was officially opened in California; on July 2, 2022, the first overseas flagship store in Bubble Mart officially opened in Hongda, Seoul, South Korea. △ On January 20, 2022, Bubble Mart's London Store opened in the central part of London.

As of now, Bubble Mart has successively deployed offline retail channels in 23 countries and regions around the world in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand. According to insiders, it is expected that overseas stores will reach 40 this year, and the revenue will reach 2 to 3 times last year. The North American market that entered the international toy giant in June means that the global strategy of Bubble Mart has entered a stage of comprehensive acceleration.

△ Bubble Mart's overseas market layout (from the official website of Bubble Mart)

Influenced by Bubble Mart, in the past two years, the domestic head -headed brand headed by Bubble Mart is very fierce. IPs have deployed overseas markets. Since then, the acceleration key of China Tide Playing IP has been pressed.

Copy traffic password

So the question is, how did they capture the hearts of consumers at home and abroad step by step? What overseas popularity passwords do you master in China, headed by Bubble Mart?

The reason can be explored from the five dimensions of products, marketing, IP, crowd, and channels.

product:

On the one hand, the shape is cute or magical, hitting the laughter and emotional needs of modern people. Many foreign friends call "too fun!" When facing toys such as re -reading ducks and dancing fairy palms, their contrast can not only fill the entertainment effect, but also make players feel easily cured.

On the other hand, the design is well -designed and knows how to mine and integrate art design resources. Today, the words "designer original", "artist joint name" and "limited models" are enough for many young consumers to pay for it. At this point, Matt -leading industry, while signed a contract with 26 well -known tide players, also kept closely linked with more than 350 artists, and cooperated with 28 talented artists from the world through authorization. , Inject art, design, trend, painting, sculpture and other concepts into a small toy.

△ Bubble Mart Cooperative Artist Matrix (from the official website of Bubble Mart)

This time, the first pop -up store in the United States has exhibited and released a number of limited products in Mart's collection. Among them, the limited SKULLPANDA black maids sold during the opening of overseas stores only attracted the attention of many local fans. Mega The series also gained high popularity and sold out on the day of the release.

△ Bubble Mart limited SKULLPANDA black maid handle

Marketing:

Surprising blind box mode, stimulating consumers' strange psychology. Gacha and blind box gameplay, which has been popular in Japan for decades, is no stranger to Asian players, but it is a fresh gameplay for consumers in Europe and the United States. Obtain dolls in a random way under a specific theme. This kind of marketing method that makes full use of consumer curiosity makes blind boxes popular.

The price is generally cheap, and you can buy a lot of happiness for a small price. In recent years, the domestic broad and tide play has prevailed, and consumer groups mainly based on young people have become wider and wider, and this group of consumers often pursue some personalized and novel things. Therefore Diversified, in addition to the unexpected popularity of dancing fairy palms, the price of high -priced prices is high, the price of popular consumption tide is more concentrated between dozens of yuan to hundreds of yuan, whether in China or overseas markets. You can buy it with tens of yuan. Who is not exciting?

△ Most of the ordinary best -selling models in the Overseas Store of Mart's Overseas Store sells for about $ 15

Ip:

The incubation of IP creates the output of national tide culture, bringing foreigners a freshness of transnational entertainment culture. Playing with Chinese elements will make overseas more attractive people who are interested in Chinese culture. In November 2021, Bubble Mate appeared at the DESIGNERCON trend art event in the United States, exhibiting many artist IP series products, of which DIMOO, Yuki, HIRONO and other Chinese designers created IP image.

In addition, the incubation of IP also stimulates the business model from 2B to 2C. When entering the overseas market in the early days, because of its small overseas influence and unfamiliarity with overseas business, Bubble Mart can only choose offline exhibitions, cross -border e -commerce, and sales cooperation. possibility. For example, in December 2021, the Bubble Mart App "POP MART GLOBAL" was officially launched in the US version. The main functions include the online mall and the POP MART community. Users can directly buy bubble Mate products on the application. At the same time Community sharing and interaction.

Later, Bubble Mart actively improved the level of cooperation with artists and brands from overseas. At present, there are 93 self -owned, exclusive and non -independent IPs in the bubble Mate. Overseas business models have gradually relying on 2B cooperation marketing of dealers and regions, to switch to IP cooperation with artists and brands from overseas parts, independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent or independent of. The 2C method of participating in operation further strengthened the connection with overseas users. crowd:

Guo Chao Culture and Product Creativity are in line with the aesthetics of overseas young people. At the moment, generations Z and women have become the main force of the consumption of Blind Box consumption. Blind boxes that are incorporated into Guo Chao culture are not only fire by young people in China, but also cater to the tastes of overseas young consumers who like Chinese culture, pursue individual creativity and consumer quality.

channel:

First of all, the location of the offline store is superior. Taking Bubble Mart as an example, on the one hand, it is located in the business district where the core target user group gathers, and on the other hand, through the furnishings of novel and stylish stores, consumers can strengthen and realize user conversion. Before the overseas offline stores opened, the Bubble Mart will first explore the road through a robot self -service store, and then open stores in countries with clear needs. This behavior has been well received by overseas consumers and partners.

△ The first pop -up store in the United States, which opened on June 18 this year, is the largest and third largest landmark shopping center in California -the South Coast Square Shopping Center in the United States. It is the gathering place for young American groups and trendy enthusiasts.

△ South Korea ’s flagship store opened on July 2 this year is located in Seoul Hongdaqiao Cave, one of the favorite shopping places in Korean young people.

Secondly, online e -commerce accelerates the layout. Bubble Mart has settled in mainstream cross -border e -commerce speed sales, Amazon platforms, and Shopee platforms since 2019. At the same time, in order to improve channel autonomy and play its own brand awareness faster, Bubble Mart has also via the official website on the official website. Build a station for sale. Another tide -playing head brand 52TOYS also entered Amazon, Japan in 2020, and quickly opened the Japanese market.

There is also the help of social platforms. China Wide Playing overseas is inseparable from the credit of overseas social and video platforms. For example, "Dancing Fairy Palm" is out of getting out of Tiktok. In the relevant labels, there will be more than 3.5 million playback volume; Lotus ’s birthday The lights attract overseas netizens to frequently call Call.

Use the exhibition to promote the culture. The exhibition is the most direct way to harvest fans in the tide. In addition to domestic tide game exhibitions, Bubble Mart has also participated in many overseas exhibitions. For example, in February 2020, Bubble Mart participated in the Wonder Festival exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. Its IP image was loved by local fans. In August of that year, Bubble Mart opened the first robot store in Japan, and the official Japanese website was also officially launched. After that, many pop -up stores were successively opened. Sales performance and consumer feedback were good. In the same industry, 52TOYS has also been invited to participate in various large -scale players, animation and IP authorization exhibitions, such as the American Animation Show SDCC, Toy Show DCON, and Japan's Hand Exhibition WF Winter/Summer.

The future of going to sea

Going to sea is a choice made by the Chinese tide game brand in order to continue to maintain high -speed development and find a broader market. At present, overseas is a star in the Chinese tide. According to the "Fifrus Sands Report", the global tide market size increased from US $ 8.7 billion in 2015 to 19.8 billion US dollars in 2019, with a rapid growth rate; it is expected to reach 41.8 billion US dollars in 2024.

△ Data comes from Fhstan Shalin Report

However, in the face of competitive overseas markets -Japan, which has a long history, South Korea, which is known as the "trend distribution center", North America, which is deeply cultivated in trendy culture, and many emerging markets that have not yet been fully developed. How far can the charm and advantage of China go to sea? How will its overall measures help Chinese culture to go to sea and create cultural self -confidence and soft power?

On this road, there is no so -called "standard answer". Generally speaking, the cultural industry review (ID: whcypl) believes that it can start from the following three aspects.

The first is to introduce new and maintain the core competitiveness of its own cultural IP.

One of the core competitiveness of Chinese tide is cultural IP, and the more core competitiveness is to accurately and innovate cultural IP. In the final analysis, Chao Play is the mission of the world's cultural IP image to the world to show the Chinese cultural IP image to the world. Along with the rise of the national tide, Tide Playing products have also become an important carrier for the inheritance and activation of China's excellent traditional culture, such as the integration of Chinese opera in the tide game, mythical stories, and so on.

Take 52TOYS as an example. In 2018, it launched the "Super Activation Series" of Guocheng products in 2018. This series is based on the concept of "transcending traditional, activating history, and inheritance culture". Integration; and cooperation with the "National Treasure" column and the Silk Road Film Festival to explore the activation model to promote the IP of traditional Chinese culture. 52TOYS's canned pig Lulu, one of the IPs of the IP, also launched the "Playing Westward Journey Series" this summer. The cute image is covered with classical colors of Journey to the West, and is loved by fans.

The second is to incubate overseas original IPs according to local conditions and deeply excavate overseas cultural elements.

Consumers in different regions have different preferences for the style of tide. For example, Japanese and Korean preferences are cute anime, and Europe and the United States are more interested in science fiction and heroism. In the Japanese tide playing market, male consumers prefer the cool models of Gundam and One Piece, while female consumers love Surprise toys represented by Blind Box. This requires the tide game brand to always take customer preference as the starting point, adopt differentiated product strategies, inject and incubate original IP with local cultural elements overseas, and strive to win the favor of overseas consumers to greaterly. The third is cross -border union, actively develop marketing channels, and enhance consumers' reach.

Cross -circle cooperation is the usual measure of the tide play brand to promote promotion. The Chao Play brand has launched limited models by cooperating with well -known overseas brands and artists to expand the brand awareness and reputation. In 2021, MakeupForever and other beauty products such as MakeupForever opened new markets and released new noodles+Xiong Meow Blind Blind Blinds; in April 2022, they also launched the "We Are the Monsters" cooperation series UT in April 2022, causing consumers to cause consumers Get the boom. These cross -border joint names not only attract new consumers, but also increase the scarcity of tide -play products. In the future, the cross -border union of my country's tide game industry will gradually normalize.

Conclusion

Whether it is a magical toys that make a smile, or to capture the blind boxes of people's hearts by personality and creativity, they are inseparable from domestic fires to overseas, and they are inseparable from the various opportunities and winds in the Chinese tide game industry. Choosing to go to sea is a forward -looking strategic layout. In the process of going to sea, the economic development status of the target market, people's consumption capacity, and the degree of sensitivity and demand for the trend are all factors that need to be measured and consider.

Behind the national trend is the process of gradually showing national confidence and cultural self -confidence. How will the road to go to sea in the future will be performed? How will the relationship between Chinese tide play brand and overseas consumers write? Let's look forward to it.

Reference materials:

36 氪: "The Overseas" Ideal Country "of China's Tide Play Brands"

IP Finance: "Deep 丨 Chinese Tide Play Ocean"

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "2021 China Trendy Toys Market Development Report"

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