On December 11, 2020, Pop Mart (09992.HK) was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. After opening on the first day of listing, Pop Mart’s share price reached HK$77.1, an increase of more than 100% from the issue price of HK$38.5, and its total market value reached HK$106.5 billion.
This is the answer that Pop Mart submitted half a year after releasing its prospectus.
The picture comes from the Internet
Related stock information from Eastmoney.com on December 15
When the spotlight was cast on Pop Mart, which has the halo of "the first blind box stock", CEO Wang Ning could not escape the ridicule.
There is a passage circulating on the Internet:
Previous investors’ evaluation of Wang Ning was that he had a mediocre education, had never worked a proper job, had a calm and unconvincing expression when he spoke, and had no elites on his team. After the listing, every investor mentioned that Wang Ning is calm, quiet, and never shows his emotions, and possesses many excellent qualities of a "consumer entrepreneur."
Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning's picture comes from the Internet
This ironic joke seems to confirm another statement circulating online - Bao Fan, the head of Huaxing Capital, the investor of Pop Mart, did not quite understand this consumer newcomer at first. When Pop Mart reached a market value of hundreds of billions, even investment veterans who had been active in the capital market for many years exclaimed that they "could not understand it."
What they don’t understand is nothing more than Generation Z.
The "Post-95 Players' Shopping Power List" released by Tmall shows that trendy toys rank first, among which blind box collections have become the fastest growing area among hardcore players.
2020 can be said to be the first year of blind boxes.
Although Pop Mart has single-handedly leveraged the trillion-dollar market behind trendy toys represented by blind boxes, proving that blind boxes are one of the links connecting the consumption habits of Generation Z, it is also inseparable from the timely follow-up of major brands, which have pushed "blind boxes" to the marketing keyword in 2020.
When those born in the 1990s were pressured to get married, trapped by mortgage and car loans, and the 996 work schedule, they set their sights on the market of those born after 1995 and 2000. They took the opportunity to follow suit under the blind box economy, making blind box marketing an important part of brand layout.
1. Wangzai: Blind Box Strategy Blind box is just a means, the core can be changed at any time
If we talk about which brand, apart from Pop Mart, has mastered the blind box game to perfection, Wangzai must be one of them.
Since 2019, Wangzai has successively launched ethnic cans, professional cans, the "I really want to pinch" series, co-branded input method skins, etc., and all of them are bundled with blind boxes without exception.
Ethnic Can: A blind box gift package priced at 76 yuan, which includes ethnic cans of 4 random ethnic groups among the 56 ethnic groups, 3 random peripherals and a random snack combination.
Occupational Can: The gameplay is similar to that of the National Can, but the difference is that this time Wangzai is more adept at playing with blind boxes - 7 hidden modelshave been added on the basis of 18 normal models. Doesn’t it have more authentic flavor?
Co-branded input method skin: Wangzai cooperated with iFLYTEK Input Method to launch the "Wangwang Keyboard" co-branded blind box skin - there is a virtual blind box on the button, and different WantWang IP elements will appear when users click on the "blind box".
"I Want to Pin" series: well-known items such as senbei, crushed ice, QQ candy, etc. are made into small simulated snack pendants, which feel chewy and have a soft and cute appearance. And there are 8 models in total, so it doesn’t seem too difficult to collect them all.
The above pictures are from the Internet
Wangzai’s blind box strategy is very clear: whether it is a professional can, a national can, a peripheral product, or a twelve-zodiac can, a hundred-family name can, a birthday can (just to name a few), the purpose is to package the product 360 degrees from different angles, so that young people feel that this thing belongs to the unique me. The blind box is just a shell, a means, and a marketing method. What’s important is whether brands seized the opportunity when blind boxes were at their peak.
2. Wedding Anniversary: Blind Box Strategy Create IP stories and extend brand reach
After Wedding.com completed its brand upgrade in 2019, its mascot image also took on a new look. For wedding brands that emphasize brand happiness, the love blind box is naturally an indispensable magic weapon. The two mascots of Wedding Ji - "Chief Happiness Officer" Ji Xiaoxi and "Chief Creative Officer" Ji Xiaoling - form the "Xi Ling CP". The official also gave interpretations of the different CPs.
The above pictures are from the official Weibo of Wedding.com
Similar ones include Tencent’s “Mouse Q” series and Zhihu’s Liu Kanshan’s artisan blind box.
The above pictures are from the Internet
When the mascot IPs of major brands all choose animals and gather together to look more and more like a zoo, in order to let the public remember which one is a cat, which one is a dog, and which one is a rhino, using powerful marketing methods becomes an indispensable element. Knowing this well, Wedding.com adopts the blind box strategy. The purpose behind this is to highlight the brand’s memory points and reflect the brand’s youthfulness and vitality.
Unlike other blind boxes, its mascot is CP, which adds more storytelling and collection interactive fun to the blind box.
3. Luckin Coffee: Blind Box Strategy Surprise economy + fan economy, Let celebrity spokespersons have more fun
Luckin Coffee made its spokesperson, "National Brother" Liu Haoran, into a cute doll and put it in a blind box. Customers only need to buy a straw cup to get the blind box doll. At the same time, the topic #暖阳遇浩然# was created on Weibo to accumulate netizens' content about blind boxes.
The picture comes from the Internet
How to maximize the value of a celebrity spokesperson after signing him/her?
Take a few sets of endorsement photos and set up a shop offline? Shoot a few TVCs and hang them all over the screen? This is an early practice that is far from being adapted to the present. Not only can it not meet the needs of the brand, but its drainage effect on fans is also gradually declining. Therefore, many brands have turned the influence of celebrity spokespersons to Xiaohongshu and Douyin.
On this basis, Luckin Coffee has opened up another path - blind boxes. Its blind box strategy revolves around how to "maximize the value of celebrity spokespersons" and use the combined effect of star effect and brand effect to achieve the effect of attracting fans and giving back.
So, if you happen to have a "killer weapon" in your hand, why not consider putting it into a blind box?
Joyoung Blind Box: Brand Spokesperson Deng Lun
4. Shanghai University: Blind Box Strategy Innovation rally order, use blind boxes to add some spice to tradition
In recent years, there have been more and more styles of university admission letters. In order to better highlight the characteristics of the school and say hi to the increasingly trendy university "freshmen", colleges and universities are no longer satisfied with the traditional styles.
Shanghai University uses blind boxes as an innovative focus for admission letters. Shanghai University is a "red institution". The 2020 admission letter is mainly red in color, and the packaging is carefully designed starting from the EMS envelope, which looks very much like the gift bags we bought when we were children.
In addition to the notification book, it also includes postcards, USB flash drives, and school badge blind boxes. The school emblem has nine colors, divided into three color themes. The official announced a hidden way to play: if you can collect school badges of different colors, you can redeem them for gifts when school starts.
EMS packaging looks like a lucky bag
School badge blind box
The above pictures are from the official WeChat account of Shanghai University
Shanghai University’s blind box strategy can be seen from the official explanation:
Its official WeChat public account explained this year's blind box admission letter as follows: Shanghai University has achieved tremendous development and achievements through the hard work of generations of Shanghai University students, and has become a highland of innovation. I hope that you who are about to enter Shanghai University will take up the torch of innovation. I hope that this innovation call will allow you to plan for the future in advance and yearn for innovation. I look forward to seeing you shining on the stage of innovation one day in the future!
It can be seen that the admission letter, which is regarded as a rallying cry for innovation by Shanghai University, chose the currently popular blind box as an innovative form to embody the theme of innovation. Blind boxes have become a way to express youth, fashion and innovation. Similarly, if you are troubled by the fact that your brand is too traditional and is drifting away from young people, and you hope to make your brand younger, you might as well incorporate trendy elements into it . This will transform your brand, and perhaps it will not only attract attention but also bring new vitality.
Henan Museum launches archaeological blind box
5. Pop Mart: Blind Box Strategy IP is the best product, using blind boxes to cross-border "marriage"
The inspiration that Pop Mart provides to brands is far more than just making its own blind boxes. Let’s see what else it has done besides selling blind boxes.
The above pictures are from Pop Mart’s official website
As of June 30 this year, Pop Mart operates 93 IPs, including 12 self-owned IPs, 25 exclusive IPs and 56 non-exclusive IPs. Pop Mart, which is famous for its blind box IP marketing, has taken a leading position in the toy market because the brand is well aware that IP is its most important competitive barrier and IP is the lifeblood of Pop Mart.
Therefore, the core of Pop Mart’s blind box strategy is not only to do a good job of its own IP, but also to strengthen its barriers and expand the influence of IP through continuous cooperation and cross-border cooperation. We are no strangers to cross-border business. Pop Mart uses cross-border approach to create a powerful combination of IP and products, which makes fans of both parties "cry with envy".
Not only Pop Mart, many brands have also begun to use blind boxes to find their own "marriage" partners.
McDonald's x Minions Blind Box
RIO × ACTOYS
It is said that after going public, Pop Mart will still focus on "IP", including enhancing internal IP discovery capabilities, increasing the number of its own IPs, enhancing IP redesign and commercialization capabilities, extending the IP life cycle, and strengthening cooperation between different IPs.
Bao Fan explained his outlook from an investor's perspective: on the one hand, by expanding IP and entering lower-tier and overseas markets to attract more people; on the other hand, by crossing borders to engage in movies, theme parks, etc. Its future may be a "large entertainment platform based on IP."
6. Vegetable Blind Box
Finally, let’s end with an interesting case.
Have you heard of “vegetable blind box” ?
When "what to eat" becomes the top priority for many people every day, stall owners born in the 1990s have launched "vegetable blind boxes" online - the portion of each category is 2 to 3, and the price is between 20 yuan and 40 yuan, which is a blessing for those with decision-making difficulties.
The above pictures are from the Internet, the copyright is shown in the watermark
When young people begin to have an impact on the business world and even influence the business landscape, we are also delighted to see that they are also making their own positive changes to the world.
The world is constantly changing, and blind boxes may one day fade off the stage. What matters is, are you part of this continuous process of change?
