The battle between enthusiasm and rationality in the video industry from the hit of "The Pancake Man"

The movie "The Pancake Man" invested and produced by Sohu Video has grossed nearly 1 billion yuan at the box office two weeks after its release. This movie, which cost only 20 million yuan to produce, has been sought after by a large number of moviegoers, making people start to think about how to develop a super IP and truly achieve diversified operations, and whether the craze for IP resources should return to rationality.

Obviously, the attention and competition for high-quality IP resources actually reflects the film and television market's pursuit of high-quality content resources, because compared with original script content, copyright IP has a stock market and popularity. However, as the competition for film and television and video resources becomes increasingly fierce, the exploration of self-made original IP resources has also begun to become an important focus of attention and thinking in the video industry.

“Diaosi” IP also has its day

In the film and television market where the imprint of the Internet is deepening, the utilization of high-quality IP resources can be said to be an evolution and promotion of the times. However, as the guiding role of IP resources themselves in film and television works becomes more and more obvious and intensified, and even shows a trend of surpassing other original dominant factors such as directors and actors, how to truly realize the transformation of IP resources has become a difficulty.

In this regard, Ma Ke, senior director of the copyright film and television center of Sohu Video, said that the copyright IPs that investors and film and television companies are vying for at ever-increasing high prices cannot actually be called IPs, but can at most be called bestsellers, popular novels, and classic songs. The user base that has paid for the experience may exist, and the fan economy market may also be ready-made, but how to turn it into a particularly excellent film and television work has become a new problem.

Especially since last year, after a series of film works transformed from IP resources such as "One Step Away", "You Are the One Sitting Next to Me", "Everything Grows", "Why Sheng Xiaomo", and "Gardenia Blossoms" had unsatisfactory box office and reputation, the craze for copyright IP has begun to enter the real thinking level.

Ma Ke believes that truly high-quality IPs need to be cultivated, and the work itself needs to be sufficiently extensible in order to allow it to continue to return. The success of the movie "The Pancake Man" not only illustrates the strong potential of self-made original IPs, but also reflects that sustainability and innovation are the two important core criteria for evaluating the excellence of current and future works.

In addition, the film promotion method of "Jianbing Man" maximizes the use of the Internet + media + entertainment platform, which is also not available in traditional film promotion. It is estimated that the investment made by Sohu Video in the later stage of marketing promotion is worth nearly 200 million yuan, far exceeding the investment in the film itself.

Outdoor promotion of "The Pancake Man"

"Now 'The Pancake Man' and 'Diaosi Nanzi' have grown into the most conspicuous huge icebergs on the sea, and in terms of decision-making and execution behind the scenes, Sohu Video and even the entire Sohu team are cooperating with Dapeng to strive for the best," said Zhang Pingyu, senior director of Sohu Video's marketing center. Dapeng and the super IPs of the Pancake Man and Diaosi Nanzi series were all created by the Internet, and Sohu has a better understanding of the needs of the Internet and is closer to users in its genes. Therefore, the entire Sohu team strives to infiltrate the influence and promotion of IP into and outside the site to maximize the power of media resources.

The way to operate original IP in a high-quality manner

As an important producer and investor of the movie "The Pancake Man", Sohu Video has reconsidered the importance of original content to video website companies after this phased success.

An industry insider once made this joke about the video industry in the past two years: "This industry has been going on for the same thing over and over again. It seems to be getting more and more prosperous, but it can't get rid of the reality of burning money. The only topic of conversation is nothing more than the mutual observation between competitors."

Of course, the success of the movie "The Pancake Man" completely overturned this one-sided statement. In the video industry, the purchase of traditional content copyrights may be irreplaceable, but the real commercial value is still the self-made content. For example, Sohu Video's self-made drama "Fleeting Time" was not only followed by a movie version at the same time, but also made people in the film and television industry begin to pay attention to the interaction between online dramas and the film industry, and cultivated and discovered a large number of new film and television stars.

Of course, unfavorable situations should not be underestimated. At this stage, the diversified IP operations in the video industry have entered a dilemma. It is like a group of people playing cards, but it is impossible for everyone to get a good hand of cards. How to better utilize the few good cards in their hands to create and produce the greatest commercial value and brand value has become the key to victory or defeat in this game.

Dapeng visits theaters to promote the movie

While video website companies are flocking to online variety shows and reality shows, Sohu Video has been heavily involved in a series of links, from original copyright to creation, and then to post-marketing and publicity, making "Jianbing Man" recognized by the audience. In the domestic video industry, it is rare for a video website's original IP to remain vibrant after many years and have a large number of loyal fans. This is also the most thought-provoking aspect behind the success of the "Diaosi Nanren" series.

Recently, when interpreting Sohu's latest quarterly financial report, Zhang Chaoyang revealed that the movie "The Pancake Man" contributed approximately US$18 million in profits, which will be included in the third quarter financial report.

This time, with the diversified operation of the IP, the brand recognition of Sohu Video, the producer of "Jian Bing Man", has been improved, and it has brought it a lot of derivative value and traffic value. However, the Sohu team still maintains a rational judgment on the future. Zhang Pingyu believes that "The success of "Jian Bing Man" at the box office has greater brand value for Sohu, and Dapeng represents the level and style of Sohu's self-production. Unlike other manufacturers, Sohu is a media and entertainment company. We will work hard to maximize the value of brand, value and traffic."

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.