Every cultural symbol has two kinds of inherent energy:

①Arouse sexual emotions

②Shape collective identity,

These two are intrinsic values.

The external manifestations are cultural symbols,

forming a unique recognition.

The relationship between cultural symbols and social currency is complementary to each other. The first is that only when it becomes social currency can it be recognized as a cultural symbol; the second is that only when it has the characteristics of a cultural symbol can it become a long-term Social currency.

Character images, props, rituals, and scenes and situations are the three most important ways of expressing cultural symbols, and behind them are the power of emotion and culture.

① That is, roles and images, including various personalized images, anthropomorphic animal pet robot images, as well as less personalized images and elves.

From virtual idols to Guevara and Monroe, from Pikachu to Emperor Yongzheng in the Forbidden City, from Superman Spider-Man to JD JOY puppy, from Doraemon to Kumamon Bear, from Dong Mingzhu to Michelin Tire Uncle , are all role-image cultural symbols.

②That is, scenes, rituals and props, including Hogwarts College, wands and spells, including spaceships wandering the earth, including the little red flower mentioned in this article, the Iron Throne, including what we eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes, fireworks during the Spring Festival, etc., these are all materialized cultural symbols.

As long as we create cultural symbols, we can have better brand appeal and communication power, because all social communication, community sharing, and favorite purchases actually occur around cultural symbols.

IP is a cultural symbol, and brand IP is a brand with cultural symbols. This is more practical and easier than building a super IP.

IP-based brands rely on cultural symbols to express themselves,

Ordinary brands mainly rely on advertising slogans to express themselves.

Why do brands need advertising slogans? This is because the advertising slogan can explain the brand's values ??and the reasons why consumers choose the brand.

But IP often does not use advertising slogans, so how can we show the value of IP?

Relying on cultural symbols, relying on cultural symbols with high cohesion of emotions to present, and often not just one cultural symbol, but a set of cultural symbol systems.

The difference between cultural symbols and advertising slogans is the most obvious difference between IP and brands. IP relies on cultural symbols, and brands rely on trademarks + advertising slogans.

Brand positioning can be expressed in advertising slogans, but IP positioning cannot solve the problem with advertising slogans. Advertising slogans are often useless, even cumbersome and counterproductive, so if someone tells you, you do IP, as long as the image + slogan will be solved, this is a trick on you and cannot be solved.

The difficulty of IP is here: it cannot be solved by making an advertising slogan with values, but by making a cultural symbol with emotional positioning that can open up the subconscious.

Foreign film and television animations often pay great attention to the creation of symbols, so they are more likely to have lasting influence. For example, the Pixar animation "Soul" currently in theaters has a symbol composed of 6+1 concentric circles, which represents the self-cultivation and enlightenment of the soul. If these circles are not all lit up, the soul will not be able to be reborn as a human. ——

The symbol "Little Red Flower" has collective memory and can be connected with the inner childhood learning of every Chinese. In the movie, it has the originality of the situation and the hand-painted It has design originality, a combination of cultural collective memory and situational originality, so I believe that "Little Red Flower" can develop independently as a cultural symbol IP for a long time, because it comes from stories and can transcend stories.

This It is the magic power of cultural symbols. It can become a symbol of communication and communication, representing a certain emotion, a certain culture, and a certain value, allowing people to believe in it and love it together, to express themselves, and to find similar people. And become a token of exchange value (social currency).

From a business point of view, I think this little red flower has become a brand and many products, and can be operated for a long time... Of course, this kind of operation is not an ordinary content authorization, but a "small red flower". We will focus on the "Safflower" symbol instead of the movie, carry out long-term brand operations, carefully select and produce products, and build an IP-based brand.