[Edit this paragraph]★Hello Kitty’s brand story★
There is such a kitten with no mouth, a round face, a bow on its left ear, and... She has a small tail and her name is Hello Kitty.
[Edit this paragraph]★Hello Kitty is the most marketable cat in history★
Hello Kitty’s founder Shintaro sold silk and ran a rubber sandal business. He is very I like to add some small designs to the products to increase the sales of the products. He discovered that if he added flowers to his shoes, he could sell them at a higher price. Then he started flipping around for other cheap items, each time adding some design to the product. Over the past 40 years, Shintaro's Sanrio company has developed 450 characters, but only Kitty is a real success.
Kitty the cat was born in 1974. At that time, Sanrio planned to launch a small wallet, and the pattern on it hoped to design a brand new character. Kitty's first-generation designer Yuko Shimizu thought at the beginning of the design that children's favorite animals were nothing more than bears, puppies and kittens. Since the first two had already been launched, she decided to use her favorite cat. , so this little white cat with a red bow appeared on the wallet. Shintaro didn't like it very much at the time, but surprisingly, the kitten became uncontrollably popular.
The grassroots marketing strategy has made Kitty cat deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. When it launched Kitty Cat, Sanrio did almost no market testing or advertising. Moreover, as long as it did not tarnish the cute and innocent image of Kitty Cat, Sanrio almost did not do any product (except cigarettes, alcohol and guns). Will grant permission to use.
After Kitty became famous, Sanrio rarely spent money on advertising. Instead, it adopted the concept of all-round marketing. Hello Kitty was printed on every product you can imagine, as small as stickers, Pens, notebooks, clothes, toys, watches, cups, plates, chopsticks, mobile phones, toasters, trash cans, as large as computers, treadmills, cars, and even adventure theme parks where people can immerse themselves in them! And occasionally use limited edition products to stimulate collecting behavior and repeat purchase rates.
Kitty’s success has also brought huge commercial benefits to her business partners. Sanrio has licensed its products to more than 500 companies in Japan and hundreds of companies overseas.
Today, the unique image of Kitty cat has appeared on about 22,000 different products, selling well in more than 40 countries. In 2004, McDonald's officially launched mini Hello Kitty ornaments in restaurants. Different colors and cute shapes immediately won the recognition of consumers. In Taiwan, because the mini Kitty launched by McDonald's is very popular, whether or not to buy a set of Hello Kitty for each other has even become a sign for couples to determine whether the other party loves them. McDonald's customers in Singapore even rioted while queuing for Kitty and her boyfriend Dear Daniel-themed Happy Meals.
A series of effective sales strategies have fully unleashed the commercial value of Kitty cats. It is reported that Kitty cat generates US$500 million in profits for copyright owner Sanrio every year, and also earns billions of US dollars in revenue for companies that have authorized the use of her image. It is said that Microsoft Corporation of the United States once considered offering 5.6 billion US dollars to acquire the copyright of Kitty Cat. Her influence even spilled over into the business field - the Taiwanese government-identified political spat incident, Hong Kong's Kitty murder case, global cultural movements... until someone made her the subject of a paper. "She is like my good luck charm," as the popular Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson said. This innocent kitten with a round face has not only fulfilled the dreams of countless people, but also established her own animation business kingdom.
What started as a nameless kitten on a cheap plastic wallet has transformed into an adorable icon making a fortune around the world. Moreover, don’t forget that unlike Doraemon and Garfield, Kitty Cat is just a commodity and is not supported by any movies or comics.
The world's most marketable cat is the same as the world's most famous dog - SNOOPY (Snoopy), the world's most popular bear - Winnie Pooh (Winnie Pooh) and other cartoon characters, The reason for its longevity lies in its ability to create products that not only appeal to children, but also capture the hearts of women around the world.
For more than 30 years, this mouthless kitten has continued to smile, becoming the most reassuring companion and role model for children, especially little girls; when a generation of girls grow up and become mothers, they will still Like her daughter, she loves the cat.
So what does this mouthless kitten do to win the hearts of girls? It turns out that supporters rely on this expressionless cat face to interpret her thoughts at will. This is also Sanrio's idea, allowing the mouthless Kitty cat to give consumers room for imagination, allowing people to project their emotions onto Kitty cat. In other words: if you think Kitty the cat is happy today, she will be happy; if you are in a bad mood today, Kitty the cat will be sad. This kind of role substitution makes it easy for people to feel that she is a close partner.
Japan is a developed industrial country, and the fast-paced work and life make people feel a lot of pressure. However, the Japanese have their own way of relieving stress, which is to have a child-like mentality of not wanting to grow up.
They like those cute plush toys, clothes, backpacks, and even laptops with cartoon characters on them. Many girls in their twenties like to wear babydolls and bows to act innocent and cute.
This pursuit of cute elements has become a unique landscape in Japan. Kitty is a cute, sarcastic, and subversive cat. Therefore, she became very popular in Japan.
In today's urbanization era, not only in Japan, but urbanites all over the world are generally facing the gradual alienation of interpersonal relationships. More and more new urban generations have become lonely and do not know how to interact with other people. Communication, and machines and toys became the objects for them to express their feelings, which also contributed to the success of various cartoon products.
Therefore, Kitty the cat can not only win the hearts of children, adults and even the elderly will fall in love with her. Kitty Cat seems to have a multi-faceted influence on consumers. For children, she is a cute toy; for mature women, Kitty Cat evokes nostalgia and recalls the innocence of childhood; for fathers, Complying with a child's purchase wishes can show a father's love. In other words, the same product attracts different ages, tastes, styles, and desires, causing people of different age groups to join the buying ranks.
This cute kitten has no accompanying stories, movies, or books... It can be said that Kitty Cat has almost none of the successful elements of Disney’s cartoon product model, but it does. One of the most profitable cartoon characters of all time. Kitty the cat satisfies people's desire for innocence and relies entirely on its own charisma to become an enduring cultural symbol in the 20th and 21st centuries.
[Edit this paragraph]★Hello Kitty’s shrewd diversification extension strategy★
Today, Kitty is over 30 years old, which is quite old for a cat . Moreover, in a market like Japan where fashion trends change rapidly, it is indeed not easy for a 32-year-old cartoon brand to always stay fresh. However, Sanrio has always been able to follow the fashion trend as quickly as possible. The perception and grasp of the pulse of fashion are the key factors for the success of Kitty Cat. Every month, Kitty cat will have 500 new products on the market and eliminate 500 old products; it has been adjusting its product line so that its products can comply with different trends. In the early 1980s, when teddy bears were sweeping Japan, Kitty could be seen clinging to a little bear as her friend. In the mid-1980s, almost all Japanese little girls from middle-class families learned piano, so Kitty the cat who played the grand piano appeared...
It can also fit in different locations. For example: Sanrio in Japan designed 200 "localized" Kitty dolls to represent their respective regions. These dolls eventually became very popular souvenirs for tourists.
Tokyo’s Kitty looks like a city hall official; Kyoto’s Kabuki fan has a beautiful shape; Okinawa’s citrus juice has a refreshing taste, and the citrus-packed Kitty has a unique and fresh look; dominating the Japanese kitchen ——Osaka Sister-in-law’s Kitty style presents you with an exquisite snack; Kitty cats in various shapes allow consumers to appreciate the customs and customs of various regions in Japan.
Sanrio also launches suitable products based on the growth of mainstream consumer groups. In 2004, in order to commemorate Kitty the cat's 30th birthday, the newly launched products were mainly aimed at capturing the adult market, such as toasters, coffee machines, microwave ovens, etc., in order to retain adult fans who grew up with her at the same age.
In fact, we also need to understand the underlying reason that really made Kitty a booming brand at the end of the last century: she successfully entered the adult market. She introduced adults to a new kind of cartoon.
Faced with increasing life or work pressure, complex interpersonal relationships, increasingly creative working conditions, uncertainty about the future and anxiety about reality, many young people, especially I am a woman who misses the simplicity, innocence and dream-filled mentality of my childhood very much. Harry Potter's appeal to millions of adults is a prime example of this.
Now, Kitty cats provide a way for consumers to return to their childhood, but also appear more chic and fashionable. She represents the typical "cute" culture nowadays, which puts an emotional and idealistic coating on real life. In the eyes of Kitty, life should be emotionally charged, which speaks to the voices of young consumers.
If we can understand this grasp of culture, we can naturally understand why the cartoon brand represented by Kitty Cat can occupy the hearts of so many young people, and we can also understand why Kitty Cat It can carry out such diverse cross-category extensions - its consumers want it to do so.
When extending products, many mass consumer goods brands mainly consider that the extended products cannot conflict with their own brand core values. Kitty’s approach is different. She provides her consumers with a way to define themselves. The personalized approach allows consumers to escape from the real world into a very innocent and lovely Kitty brand world. This extension method is not oriented to strengthen brand equity, but oriented to the lifestyle of target consumers. This is specifically reflected in the fact that any product that Kitty Cat’s target consumers will use is likely to become the target of its involvement.
It can be said that Sanrio does not just provide a cute kitten, but provides an opportunity for those who like Kitty cats to create a lifestyle of their own. This gives the brand a breadth and depth unmatched by ordinary cartoon images or ordinary fast-moving consumer goods. Hello Kitty is no longer an image name, but a symbol of an attitude towards life. This is the deep reason why Kitty the cat is so successful.