The IP derivatives market is booming: is it a blue ocean or a bubble?

IP derivatives have become a new target for entertainment investment in recent years. With the commercial benefits of related derivatives brought by the "Warcraft" movie, investors have seen the dawn, and more film and television investment companies have turned their attention to this industry. Although it is not an early starter in China, Yulebao, a subsidiary of Alibaba Pictures, is very confident in this field.

Alibaba Pictures has already made its wishful thinking

As early as last year, Alibaba Pictures had already started working on derivative projects. Before the release of Avengers 2, Alibaba Pictures, as a platform, matched resources between film producers and merchants to facilitate cooperation. In terms of TV series and variety shows, such as Hunan Satellite TV's Dad, Where Are We Going? and last year's hit Love in the Tomb Raider, producers not only received advertising and brand licensing fees, but also commissions from the sales of derivatives.

Yulebao, which has a fixed user base, can support derivatives that mostly come from high-quality user groups. For example, for a fan base that loves a certain movie or TV series, Yulebao will try to produce some derivatives about related content. Through big data behavior analysis and collection, Yulebao can analyze the key points of users. For example, are users willing to spend 100 yuan or more on such derivatives?

At the 2nd anniversary celebration of Yulebao in Shanghai on June 12, Yulebao General Manager Yu Wei, Vice President of Alibaba Pictures, talked about the four crowdfunding projects of Yulebao Financial Management in the latest round, which easily earned 30 million yuan in just three hours. For any company, such high profit reports are coveted and can't wait.

Can everyone eat this piece of cake?

In fact, in addition to Alibaba Pictures' Yulebao, other similar companies are also doing the same thing. In mid-2016, Microfilm Times and Rococo Design Company jointly announced the establishment of "Koko Film Derivatives Design and Production Company"; on the same day, Mtime also held a platform strategy upgrade press conference to fully develop the film derivatives market.

However, compared with previous companies, Yulebao is more economical in all aspects.

Through the current big data flow analysis and user positioning, Yulebao can directly recommend relevant derivatives for purchase according to each level of user groups. In combination with Taobao and Tmall platforms, it provides a convenient and fast payment platform. This operating model has unique advantages over derivative projects launched by other companies. Yulebao has obtained authorization from all parties involved in the film industry. Some film companies have exclusive stores on Taobao. Through Taobao's internal resources, Yulebao can help these film manufacturers promote their products.

On the day of the press conference, Yulebao CEO signed relevant cooperation agreements with several foreign film companies. It is expected that in the future, when many Hollywood blockbusters are released in China, the promotion of derivatives will also enter the public's attention along with the movies. This method can not only help the film companies build their own brand effect, but also use the influence of these movie IPs to promote related derivative products, thus achieving a win-win situation.

However, some analysts believe that the development of this derivatives industry is unsustainable and dependent. With a large number of other companies entering the market, there is a risk of capital bubble or market saturation in the future.

For Yulebao and Alibaba Pictures at present, no one can predict what will happen in the future. Perhaps at some stage in the future, the derivative industry will gradually expand into new industries.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.