There are traditional products such as mobile phone shells and toy dolls, and Internet celebrity products such as cat claw cups

The business experience of "Moe Economy": From selling cute to "selling" cute

  Our reporter Zhou Yi

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  From mobile phone shells to snack packaging, from toy dolls to cat's claw cups, the "cute economy" has quietly emerged as a new economic format.

However, experts pointed out that it is not enough for a product to have a "cute" point. Only by strictly controlling the quality of the product and making a good product can it truly become popular.

  Dolls, posters, pendants, clothing... In the post-90s Yu Zihan's bedroom, you can see Pikachu's "figures" everywhere. She spends thousands of yuan on collecting Pikachu dolls and purchasing peripheral products every year.

  Like Yu Zihan, many people have no resistance to cute things.

"Moe" not only likes hobbies, but also productivity.

Nowadays, from mobile phone casings to snack packaging, from toy dolls to cat's claw cups, the "cute economy" has quietly risen and become a new economic format.

  "Moe Culture" Derives "Moe Economy"

  "Pikachu is very cute, and his personality in film and television is also very cute. When I come home from work, I feel very good when I see it." Talking about why he likes Pikachu, Yu Zihan said.

  The reporter entered "Pikachu" on a large e-commerce platform to search, and all kinds of Pikachu peripheral products appeared in front of him.

It is reported that when the movie "Detective Pikachu" was released in 2019, it was a single-day box office champion for more than ten days, and the box office exceeded 500 million yuan.

According to statistics, in the past 20 years, the copyright owner of Pokémon products represented by Pikachu has earned more than US$90 billion through product sales and derivative licenses, ranking No. 1 in the category of video, animation, and game IP.

  The reason why a small Pikachu has such a large ability to attract money is due to the "cute culture" behind Pikachu and the "cute economy" derived from it.

  The "Moe Economy" is derived from the "Moe Culture".

It is generally believed that "Moe culture" originated from Japanese animation and gradually formed a trend of urban culture.

Nowadays, with the help of Internet platforms, the consumption craze related to "Moe culture" is sweeping the world.

  "One of the important reasons for the rapid spread and rise of'Moe Culture' is that it satisfies the psychological and emotional demands of people, especially young people. Therefore,'Moe Economy' is a brand new marketing model based on satisfying consumers' emotional demands. And the rapid development of new media also helps it." said Zhang Zengyi, professor of journalism and communication at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  "Moe economy" has become an important force driving consumption

  In the summer of 2019, Uniqlo and KAWS jointly launched a series of T-shirts "KAWS: SUMMER". Once it went online, it set off a panic buying frenzy. Fanatic fans squeezed into various Uniqlo stores to snap up.

  Also in 2019, Starbucks China stores launched a cat's claw cup made of cherry blossom powder. Although it is expensive, it has also become a target for young people.

  Peppa Pig created US$1.1 billion in retail sales in 2016, and Kumamoto, the mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan, contributed 6.8 billion yuan in economic income from 2011 to 2013... In recent years, "Moe Economy" Rapid development has become an important force driving consumption.

  Although "cute culture" originated from abroad, it is also very popular in our country.

Speaking of my country's "cute economy", we have to mention pet economy.

  According to the "Pet Industry Enterprise Data Report (2020)" released by Tianyancha in November last year, there are more than 670,000 pet-related companies in my country, and the number of new companies in the first October of 2020 has increased by over 76% year-on-year.

As pet consumption becomes more and more specialized and refined, the growth of related companies has become more and more popular. For example, my country has 420,000 pet products-related companies, nearly 200,000 pet food-related companies, and 62,000 pet grooming companies. related business.

  “We only need to buy cat food every year for more than 3,000 yuan, plus deworming, physical examination, doctors, etc., the annual cost is almost tens of thousands.” Zhao Wanqi, who has been raising cats for many years, told reporters that she has often raised three cats. "I don't know, it's a lot."

  In addition, in recent years, the Forbidden City has also begun to become "moe" and an important member of the "moe economy".

Whether it is the "Moe Doll" of the Forbidden City, which sells 1 billion yuan a year, or a series of emoticons created with the classic IP of the Forbidden City.

Thanks to the cute culture, the 600-year-old Forbidden City has become younger, more fashionable, and more grounded.

  How to make the "Moe Economy" go further?

  Industry insiders pointed out that there is a lot to do in taking the road of "selling" cute and digging into the "cute economy".

So, how can "selling" the road of cuteness go further?

  Zhang Zengyi suggested that merchants and enterprises can combine "selling" cuteness with experiential consumption, focus on communication and interaction with consumers, and attract customer participation.

Especially through new media to carry out entertainment marketing, attract customers to actively participate in the marketing process.

  "When consumers have emotional resonance with products, they will not only not dislike marketing activities, but will have great enthusiasm for participation and dissemination. In the long run, they can accumulate consumer loyalty to cute things and increase user stickiness. Merchants You can also take this opportunity to build a product brand culture, unite consumers, make them a sense of community belonging, and then actively participate in product communication and consumption." Zhang Zengyi said.

  In the "Moe Economy", an industry insider is most optimistic about the development potential of animation.

The person pointed out that animation is an emerging cultural and creative industry that is extremely creative in the cultural and creative industry and is very close to the consumer aesthetic preferences of the new era.

  "The core asset in the cultural and creative industry or the digital creative industry should be IP. The animation industry is a typical industry that creates intellectual property rights, because animation is actually the most typical regardless of whether it is an image or a story based on a worldview. Intellectual property rights. The animation industry revolves around intellectual property rights and can form a long industrial chain. We look at all the cultural and creative industries. The animation industry is the best for derivative development, because it has very clear intellectual property rights and it is doing peripherals When products and derivatives are being developed, they are relatively mature and convenient," said an insider.

  At the same time, Zhang Zengyi said that it’s not enough for products to have only “cute” points. You must understand that product quality is the foundation of your life. Only by making a good product with your heart can it really become popular; if you don’t work hard on product quality, you can “sell” cuteness The road is turning the cart before the horse.