To save 30 billion in waste, how can IP operations adapt to the correct gameplay?

IP exhibitions are no longer a new way of operating commercial activities and are becoming more and more mainstream. The report "Research on Shopping Center Activities in China" issued by RET China Commercial Real Estate Research Center shows that if shopping center activities are divided into four types according to purpose and profitability, namely scene IP, discount promotions, membership operations and resource exchange, the number of scene IP activities accounts for 71.67% of the total. For consumers, IP exhibitions can bring about a scenario-based emotional experience, and creating such an experience is also the core focus of current shopping mall activities.

In commercial activity operations, IP mainly comes from two sources:

• The first category is IPs that originate from well-known film and television works, animation, literary works or online games , which have their own traffic and can arouse fans' emotional memory and resonance;
• The other type is the shopping mall’s self-created IP, which is relatively less well-known, but as an IP with exclusive copyright to the shopping mall, it can represent the shopping mall’s brand image.

So, what trends does IP exhibition show in shopping mall event operations? What are the reasons behind these characteristics? What implications does this have for the operation of shopping malls?

1. Well-known IP is still the mainstream

Since well-known IPs have advantages such as their own traffic, they still dominate the IP exhibitions in shopping malls.

Commercial projects use inherent IP to carry out marketing , and usually can promote and accumulate traffic through the IP’s own traffic channels before the event. For consumers, even if they are not die-hard fans of the IP, the probability of taking photos and checking in at well-known IP events and sharing them on social networks is very high. This kind of sharing on social networks will bring secondary exposure to the entire event, thereby attracting more people and forming a snowball-like communication effect.

Since copyright licensing fees for well-known IP exhibitions are costly, shopping malls usually prepare larger spaces for events to maximize the utility of well-known IPs during their exhibitions. Even during events, shopping malls will completely transform their spaces. With concentrated customer flow, shopping malls can present scene effects that are different from the past, highlight the experience effects at different times, and increase the overall attractiveness of the project.

In addition, IP design and fan operations require continuous investment, and there is huge uncertainty as to its success or failure. Borrowing well-known IPs can reduce the risk of shopping malls investing too much in this regard, and directly skip the IP's growth period and share the traffic brought by its maturity.

2. Challenges of well-known IP

Although well-known IPs are still the mainstream, this is not a suitable option for all commercial projects. Simply pursuing IP popularity does not necessarily bring the effects that business needs most. The reasons are not difficult to understand.

1. Licensing fees take up too much of the budget, squeezing out the budget for material production, etc.

The introduction of well-known IPs saves shopping malls time and manpower costs in the early stages, but as competition intensifies, the demand for well-known IP resources becomes more and more urgent, which also makes the licensing fees higher and higher. The popularity of IPs and fees even increase exponentially. The licensing fees of top IPs account for more than half of the event budget. The high cost will undoubtedly squeeze out cost investment in other areas, resulting in a decline in the quality of event materials and other aspects. For consumers, poor material quality will bring about the most intuitive decline in experience. For fans of well-known IPs, the requirements for material quality are even higher.

2. Misalignment with the shopping mall market

"Research on Shopping Center Activities in China" shows that nearly 30 billion yuan of promotional expenses in the current market are ineffective investments, a large part of which is due to market misalignment. Well-known IPs bring a large number of traffic, but their attributes and characteristics may not necessarily match the positioning of a shopping mall. For the consumer groups in shopping malls, these IPs cannot enhance the experience. Although it can have a traffic-attracting effect within a certain period of time, it cannot generate value for the long-term brand building of the project, and may even harm the shopping center’s own consumer groups due to serious misalignment with its positioning.

3. The stickiness and shopping depth of the introduced customers are low

Well-known IPs can bring about a significant increase in customer traffic in the short term, but in some cases the stickiness and shopping depth of the consumers they attract are relatively low. Many IP fans come simply for the IP, and they usually disperse quickly when the IP exhibition ends. They consume less on-site, which puts pressure on the maintenance of the space but does not generate any revenue, making the event look lively but ineffective.

3. Opportunities for shopping malls to create their own IP

In fact, for some small shopping malls, large shopping malls that have entered a mature stage, and high-end shopping malls, well-known IP exhibitions require large investments but have limited effects. Small IPs or self-created IPs will have more advantages. The saved licensing fees can be allocated more to the production of event materials and scene building, thereby improving the quality of the event. For general consumers who are not IP fans, the experience improvement brought about is very obvious.

In addition to more flexible budget allocation, shopping malls’ self-created IPs are more customized. IP is originally a combination of culture and emotion, and the IP created by the shopping mall itself is highly consistent with its own characteristics and cultural propositions, highlighting its own personality and forming an emotional connection with the target consumer group.

It is not easy for shopping malls to create their own IP: on the one hand, it requires continuous investment in design, creative planning, and fan operations; on the other hand, looking at the world's first-line IP images, most of them have formed their current influence through the sedimentation and accumulation of time. The influence of self-created IP may not be helpful to business operations in the short term.

In addition to investment in design, planning, and operation, the success of a self-created IP depends on the following key points:

1. Clarify the long-term positioning of the project itself. Self-created IP must be rooted in the project

An excellent visual design can only make consumers like the IP rather than the project it represents. Only an IP that is truly rooted in the project and accompanies the project's development for a long time can become a symbol of the endorsement project. However, even if the IP is self-created, there is still a possibility of misalignment with the project positioning. Before creating its own IP, shopping malls must have an in-depth understanding of their customer base, explore their lifestyles and emotional appeals, and clarify their long-term positioning. Based on the effective positioning of the project, the self-created IP will not become an independent existence from the project.

2. Integrate operational details to win internal recognition

As a symbol, if the self-created IP simply produces relevant materials for the event and only takes them out of the warehouse for display during the event, it is dispensable if it is difficult for internal business personnel to form an understanding of it. Its value can only be realized if it is integrated into all aspects of operations, becomes an element that operators can utilize in the details of various activities, and wins high internal recognition.

3. Avoid talking to yourself and interact with your fans

If self-created IP is merely viewed as a symbol or mascot, its influence on consumers will still be limited, and may even give consumers a sense of being self-talking. A high-quality IP must form dialogue and interaction with its target audience and build a circle-based fan feedback mechanism in order to truly become a business "spokesperson".

As material wealth becomes increasingly abundant, content consumption is gradually replacing the demand for material things. This is also the reason why the value of IP, as a content cohesion point, in enabling business is becoming increasingly prominent. Against the backdrop of the incremental market gradually transforming into a stock market, more and more shopping malls will enter a stable period, which also means that the value of self-created IP will become increasingly valued.

Author: RET Ruiyi De, authorized to publish by Qinggua Media .

Source: RET Ruiyi De (ID: retweixin)