Labubu, a collectible plush toy monster elf designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and marketed by the Chinese company Pop Mart, has become a global sensation, especially among teenagers and young adults, with its popularity reflected in viral trends, celebrity endorsements, and a dramatic surge in Pop Mart’s global revenue, making the company’s founder significantly wealthier .

The phenomenon is rooted in a complex interplay of design appeal, psychological motivations, social media virality, strategic marketing, and evolving consumer behavior.

**Design Appeal and Emotional Resonance** Labubu’s design is central to its allure.

The character’s whimsical, cute, and quirky aesthetic appeals to a broad demographic, blending nostalgia with playful artistry that resonates with both children and adults .

This design taps into consumers’ desire for comfort and joy, evoking nostalgia and emotional connection, especially during stressful times such as the COVID-19 pandemic .

For many, Labubu is more than a toy; it becomes a companion and a vessel for personal memories, offering psychological comfort and a sense of happiness .

This emotional resonance is a key driver behind the desire to collect, as it allows individuals to reconnect with their childhood and find solace in familiar, comforting objects .

**Psychological Motivations and Collecting Culture** The act of collecting Labubu toys fulfills several psychological needs, including self-expression, achievement, and belonging .

The urge to “collect them all” taps into a drive for completion and mastery, providing satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment, particularly for teenagers .

Collecting also serves as a coping mechanism, offering escapism and fulfillment during uncertain times .

The aesthetic appreciation of Labubu’s unique design and craftsmanship further motivates collectors to curate sets that reflect their personal tastes .

These psychological factors are amplified by the social aspect of collecting, as enthusiasts engage with communities, share stories, and trade items, fostering a sense of identity and belonging .

**Community, Social Interaction, and Storytelling** Labubu’s rise is closely tied to the vibrant community culture that has developed around it.

Fans share their collections, trade figures, and engage in discussions on social media platforms, creating a strong sense of belonging and sustained engagement .

Storytelling plays a crucial role in this dynamic, as consumers integrate Labubu into their personal narratives, transforming the toy into a companion in their life journey .

This communal storytelling, often shared through social media, deepens emotional bonds and builds brand loyalty .

The introduction of new characters and storylines with each product release keeps the narrative fresh, encouraging repeat purchases and ongoing interest .

**Social Media Virality and TikTok’s Role** The viral success of Labubu is inseparable from the influence of social media, particularly TikTok.

The platform’s short-form, visually engaging videos are ideal for showcasing Labubu’s whimsical design and collectible nature .

Unboxing videos, collection showcases, and creative content featuring Labubu are widely shared, creating a bandwagon effect and amplifying demand .

TikTok’s algorithm-driven “For You” page ensures that trending content reaches vast audiences, fueling viral trends and encouraging impulse buying .

The platform’s integration of e-commerce features, such as in-app storefronts and livestream shopping, further blurs the line between entertainment and shopping, making it easy for users to purchase Labubu toys directly after seeing them in videos .

Influencer marketing is another critical factor, with both micro-influencers and celebrities like Rihanna being spotted with Labubu toys, adding to their desirability and cultural cachet .

Influencers create authentic, relatable content that resonates with younger audiences, who are more likely to engage with peer recommendations than traditional advertisements .

This influencer-driven content, combined with user-generated posts, fosters a vibrant community and drives viral engagement .

**Marketing Strategy and Exclusivity** Pop Mart’s marketing strategy is multifaceted, leveraging limited edition releases, collaborations, and performance-based digital campaigns to maximize engagement and sales .

Limited edition Labubu figures and themed collections, such as the “LABUBU Let’s Christmas” range, create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, enticing collectors to act quickly to avoid missing out .

Collaborative marketing initiatives, such as partnerships with lifestyle brands and venues like The Peninsula Shanghai’s Labubu-themed afternoon tea, extend the brand’s presence beyond toys and create shareable, festive experiences .

These strategies are supported by data-driven digital marketing, ensuring that campaigns are optimized for real-time engagement with the target demographic .

**Economic Impact and Market Growth** The Labubu phenomenon has had a profound economic impact on both Pop Mart and the broader toy industry.

The global collectible toy market is projected to grow from USD 12.5 billion in 2021 to USD 35.3 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.2% .

Pop Mart’s mystery box offerings, including Labubu, contributed to a more than tenfold increase in total sales volume in 2020, with the company accounting for over 35% of overseas sales of mystery boxes that year .

This surge in demand has made Pop Mart’s founder significantly wealthier and enabled the company to expand its product lines and enter new markets .

The collectible toy segment has demonstrated economic resilience, maintaining stable demand even during downturns, as consumers view these toys as sources of entertainment, nostalgia, and potential investment .

**Consumer Behavior Trends and Demographic Shifts** Labubu’s popularity reflects broader trends in consumer behavior.

The rise of “kidults”—adults who collect toys for nostalgia and self-expression—has contributed to a 37% increase in U.S.

toy sales over two years .

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified this trend, as consumers sought comfort and self-expression through collectibles, redirecting disposable income from travel and leisure to hobbies like toy collecting .

The market also balances nostalgia with novelty, offering unique designs and limited editions that create excitement and exclusivity .

Additionally, there is a growing preference for eco-friendly and sustainable products, with brands that emphasize ethical production practices gaining favor among consumers .

**Role of Social Media Algorithms and Shoppertainment** Social media algorithms play a pivotal role in amplifying Labubu’s reach.

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram prioritize content that generates high engagement, ensuring that posts featuring Labubu toys are seen by highly targeted audiences .

The dominance of short-form video content and the rise of “shoppertainment”—the fusion of shopping and entertainment—have transformed product marketing, increasing conversion rates as consumers are more likely to purchase products they find entertaining and engaging .

Shoppable features within these platforms facilitate impulse purchases, making it easier for fans to acquire Labubu toys as soon as they see them .

**Cultural Significance and Investment Value** Labubu and similar collectibles have transcended their status as mere toys to become cultural icons and investment assets.

The rarity and desirability of limited edition figures drive significant resale value, attracting both collectors and investors .

The cultural resonance of Labubu is further enhanced by its integration into lifestyle experiences and its role as a symbol of happiness, creativity, and community, particularly appealing to younger generations .

In conclusion, the Labubu phenomenon is the result of a synergistic

Labubu, a collectible plush toy monster elf designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and marketed by the Chinese company Pop Mart, has become a global sensation, especially among teenagers and young adults, with its popularity reflected in viral trends, celebrity endorsements, and a dramatic surge in Pop Mart’s global revenue, making the company’s founder significantly wealthier .

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It’s a clear, crisp, late-January day in the middle of the Major League Baseball lockout, but the hot stove is on fire.

“What’s it going to take to get me Ohtani?” a voice from across the table inquires. “I’m willing to overpay for that guy.”

A few feet away, a small group watches with great interest as numbers are traded and then punched into cellphone calculators. In the end, negotiations for another of the game’s biggest stars fall apart before it really gets serious: “I’d love Trout, but you’re just asking too much; people are starting to figure out he’s kinda overrated.”

No, this isn’t a scene from the baseball’s winter meetings. Welcome to the world of baseball card collecting 2.0.

Those colorful, cardboard treasures have existed in one form or another since the late 1800s. They were a pretty big deal in the early 1960s and a REALLY big deal in the early 1990s but were mostly forgotten at the start of this century because they were barely worth the cardstock they were printed on.

But if you haven’t collected since the days when chewing gum came with your packs, let alone before the age of serial-number autograph cards, you may be surprised to learn the hobby is enjoying a historic revival.

It’s one nobody saw coming – and was fueled by, of all things, the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The lockdown put us kind of all in a place where we had to sit down, stay home and do nothing,” recalled Keane Dasalla, a memorabilia collector and vlogger from Fremont. “It didn’t take long before everything kind of went crazy.”

Jim Bernardini opened Lefty’s Sports Cards in Burlingame in 1987 and has seen it through the Bash Brothers, the Loma Prieta earthquake, two Gulf Wars, the baseball strike, 9/11, the stock market crash and three Giants World Championships. But the pandemic era has been something else.

“We’ve had some ups and downs in our industry over the years,” said Bernardini. “This is an up. For the first time, we are debt-free.”

Vintage cards. New releases. Prospects. Everything took off, virtually overnight.

“Five years ago, I was telling people the hobby would be dead in 10 years,” said Ray Krause, who has owned and operated MVP Sportscards in Pleasant Hill since 1991. “Basically everybody who used to collect who were in their 20s, 30s and even 50-year-olds jumped back in.”

They were not alone.

CLEANING UP

Baseball card collecting began showing signs of life in the mid-2010s with the emergence of instant-impact rookies from big-market teams like Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge.

Then a couple of seemingly unrelated events brought the real heat.

The pandemic created an abundance of spare time during the lockdowns as well as an influx of spending money from stimulus checks. Around the same time, several prominent social media influencers started turning their attention – and their followers – from buying and selling sneakers to sports memorabilia.

The final element was nostalgia, which baseball is practically built around.

Extra time meant more screen time for many. But we all know people – or ARE those people – who during the pandemic began rummaging through closets and sheds to organize and declutter. For many, hidden – or simply forgotten – under those old sweaters and school papers were cardboard treasures.

Jennifer Starks from San Francisco said she was a big collector as a kid. Her dad gave her rookie Joe Montana and Jerry Rice football cards for her 16th birthday, but, “I kind of forgot about them.

“Then I decided to get my old cards out. Everybody else was doing it.”

Practically everyone has heard the collecting horror stories about someone’s childhood stash that might have been worth thousands – Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle cards almost always seem to be involved, right?  – that was thrown out or lost during a move or spring cleaning, or simply because the collector had outgrown the hobby.

Modern collections, by and large, didn’t meet the same three strikes and you’re out fate. Millions of cards have been safely stored away because parents and kids alike swore that  “one day these will pay for college or a down payment on a house.”

During the pandemic, some of those bold financial claims actually came true. Or at least helped pay some bills and cover some Starbucks runs.

“I saw (some of the prices vintage cards were getting) and said, ‘Wait, I have a stash of cards in the closet, let me look into those,’” Vanson Nguyen of Alameda said of his return to the hobby, which included rediscovering a Mookie Betts rookie card worth more than $100.

“I was a collector in the early 2000s, and I got back in during the pandemic because I was looking for a community. I found it. I’m a kid again. But to be clear, I’ve always been a kid.”

BIG LEAGUE BUSINESS

Interest in the hobby was surging by the late spring of 2020. By the end of the year, eBay reported that more than 4 million sports cards had been sold on the site, an increase of 142 percent from the previous year. Card shops couldn’t keep up with demand.

It wasn’t just the volume of cards being bought, sold, and traded that was off the charts. Prices for cards, and especially unopened materials, suddenly made the Bay Area housing market appear reasonable.

At least two dozen baseball cards are believed to have been sold for more than $1 million since the spring of 2020, including a legendary Honus Wagner T-206 card that went for a record $6.6 million.

But it wasn’t just vintage or rare autograph cards that were getting huge bucks.

Take Trout’s 2011 Topps Update card for example. It has been one of the most valuable baseball cards since the Angels star debuted and was going for about $500 in February 2020. A year later, collectors were asking for – and getting – $2,500.

“The hobby was just on fire,” said Dion Noriega, a card dealer for The Card Attic and promoter from Vallejo.

Even the popular grading services that for a fee will determine and log the overall condition of a car, which can increase value significantly, weren’t ready for the boom. The two largest, PSA and Beckett Grading Services, suspended operations temporarily when they faced a backlog of more than 11 million cards. Cards submitted last year still haven’t been processed.

When the pandemic hit, card shop owners were understandably concerned. In the 1990s most towns had multiple card shops. There are about 1,000 left nationwide, including about a dozen in the Bay Area. The pandemic wiped out many small businesses, but card shops largely survived. Many thrived even though customers couldn’t come inside the doors for most of the card boom.

But owners had to hustle. Krause of MVP Sportscards stayed in touch with customers via email and delivered orders to doorsteps. Bernardini and his staff at Lefty’s would pack up phone and online orders, spray the plastic covering with disinfectant and then leave the cards at the front of the store for the customers to pick up. As it did for everyone else, mail and delivery orders became a lifeline.

As prices soared – it wasn’t unheard of to “flip” a $40 box of cards for nearly 10 times that – new products became scarce.

Not only were kids and adults being priced out, hoarding was a big problem. Almost overnight, the retail store displays that for years were overflowing with boxes and packs of sports cards were reduced to empty wire racks.

“It was like the toilet paper problem all over again,” Starks said with a laugh.

NEW SEASON AHEAD

The hobby was at its hottest last August, when prices for some of the most valuable cards on the secondary market doubled – or much more – from just months earlier. Demand for new products was so high that finding unopened packs of cards was virtually impossible unless collectors were willing to spend like the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees. Major retail stores stopped selling packs of cards because fights were breaking out in the aisles and parking lots.

“They’d cut in front of you and start taking everything off the shelves,” said Dominick Rodriguez of Newman, describing one of his card-purchasing experiences. “Then you go outside to the parking lot, and they try to sell it to you for twice as much!”

Tempers – and prices – have started to cool, leading some investors to leave the hobby. But it wasn’t only finances that had people flocking back to the hobby. There’s more reason to believe the card market will remain healthy.

“The joy of opening the packs, we enjoy doing that together,” said Jeff of San Mateo while attending a card show with his youngest son, David, adding that he wasn’t a big collector growing up, but, “I wish I had kept them; Mom kind of threw them out.”

Collectors have never had more access to cards – just type in “Buster Posey Topps rookie card” on eBay and see how many results pop up. Even social media sites like Instagram and Facebook are places fans can buy and trade cards online. And there are the old standbys – neighborhood hobby shops and card shows, which are beginning to pop up again as COVID-19 guidelines loosen.

Hundreds of collectors gathered for a two-day show on the concourse at Serramonte Center in Daly City in January, with the tables bustling with activity as names big and small were bought, sold, and traded.

One of the first big shows in the region was staged last April in Fairfield by Noriega. He figures about 3,000 collectors showed up for the 75-table event. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, only 100 people could be in the building at a time, and the wait to get in for some was 2 ½ hours.

“They weren’t happy to wait that long, but they all stayed,” Noriega said. “You couldn’t find product anywhere else.”

Collectors are still on the hunt. Topps released this season’s Series I cards in mid-February and, with budding superstar Wander Franco’s rookie card as the centerpiece of the set, the site was sold out within 24 hours.

“I still get new people to the hobby about every day,” Krause said. “A lot of people who got into the hobby during the pandemic had fun and will stick with it. The guys who were trying to become instant millionaires without actually doing any work are all starting to leave.”

Many returnees to the hobby are now parents. They want to share their card memories as well help make new ones by chasing after cards of the stars of this generation like Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatís Jr. and Ronald Acuña.

Will the cards of today pay for college tuition and down payments down the road? Is another bust like the post-90’s era on the horizon? Who knows? Why worry?

“Collectors who love the hobby are going to stick with it no matter what,” said Union City’s Craig Queyrel, owner of Vintage Cards & Collectibles in Newark. “My advice has always been buy what you like.

“Then, you can never go wrong.”

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Top 5 Collectibles Product to Revolutionize the Memorabilia Industry in 2023: Market Decipher

PUNE, India, Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MarketDecipher.com has revamped the "Collectible Market Size, Statistics, Growth Trend Analysis and Forecast Report, 2022 - 2032" forecasting the Collectible Industry size during the forecast period for 5 potential products in the industry. Market Decipher has completely revised the huge database of the Collectible Industry in October 2022 covering the country level analysis and statistics. The latest insights and forecasts have revealed new areas of profitability. NFT Fantasy Sports, NFT Trading Cards and the Sports NFT collectibles are new sensations in the industry among the top products.

Complete Collectibles Industry: https://www.marketdecipher.com/report/collectibles-market

The Toy Collectibles Market:

The Toy Collectibles Market is bright and booming. The market stood at USD 12.5 Billion in 2021, with the growth of the internet and social media the market is forecasted to reach USD 35.3 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 10.2%. The growing interest among adults is the major factor spurring demand for toy collectibles.  Toy collectibles featuring old cartoon character dolls such as barbie dolls, cabbage patch dolls, transformers toys, mama dolls, raggedy Ann & Andy, and others are among the most popular and sought-after collectible toys as adults who played with them have started to rebuild their childhood collections.

Strategic Developments in the Market:

  • VeeFriends, created by serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, is set to launch its first-ever limited series of collectible characters exclusively at Macy's and Toys"R" Us®.
  • McDonald's announced their collaboration with the streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market for a new happy meal for adults with nostalgic collectibles toys.

Get this research: https://www.marketdecipher.com/report/toy-collectibles-market

NFT Collectibles Market:

NFT collectible Tokens witnessed 1785% of business Cap growth in three months from January to March of 2021. The first half of 2021 witnessed USD 2.5 billion in sales. The NFT Collectibles market includes Sports NFTs, Music NFTs, Art NFTs, and Movie Avatar NFTs. The Sports NFTs Collectible Market has witnessed the highest growth and is valued at USD 2.6 Billion in 2022. Movie Avatars NFT was launched in 2021 when Warner Bros. teamed up with Nifty. The NFT Avatar market is flooded with fans of CrytoPunks, the highest revenue-generating project, with a sale of USD 1.3 billion.

Strategic Developments in the Market:

  • Minti Labs, announces an exclusive partnership with Dapper Wallet, the market leader for digital collectibles including top-tier sports organizations, leagues, and entertainment companies such as NFL All Day, NBA Top Shot, UFC Strike, and others.
  • In collaboration with IGG Games, SmileyWorld branded NFT digital items are set to appear in Lords Mobile for a limited-time event beginning September 30, 2022, that includes collectible NFTs for players powered by Epik Prime.

Get this research: https://www.marketdecipher.com/report/digital-collectibles-market

Sports Memorabilia Market:

Sports Memorabilia Market has rapidly risen owing to e-commerce sites and online auctions. The core sports memorabilia market excluding NFT, and trading cards is estimated at $12.2 Billion in 2021 and is growing at a CAGR of 21.8%.  A Babe Ruth uniform was sold for more than USD 5.6 million and two Jackie Robinson contracts, including one from the minor-league Montreal Royals, were appraised and insured for USD 36 million. Football leads the market with USD 2.5 billion in sales considering the memorabilia sales only. The United States of America and China dictate 65% of the Memorabilia market.

Strategic Developments in the Market:

  • Fanatics a leading sports memorabilia company is heavily involved in the acquisition and investments in the sports apparel collectibles segment and has recently secured rights from major league baseball and the NFL players association.
  • The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Fanatics, a leading provider of licensed sports merchandise and global digital sports platform announced a new partnership to take advantage of Fanatics' global footprint and state-of-the-art technology to better serve cricket fans across the world.

Get this research: https://www.marketdecipher.com/report/sports-collectibles-market

Sports NFT Market:

The Sports NFT market doubled in 2022 valuing it at USD 2.6 billion as compared to 2021 and is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 36.6%. Sports NFTs include cards, accessories, collectibles, video clips, and images. The NFT Trading Card Market has witnessed the highest growth and is further expected to grow as people collect them as a hobby and others resell them for higher prices. Accessories like T-shirts, caps, watches, shoes, and glasses are widely popular, and digitizing these accessories into NFTs makes them even more unique and constantly increases their market price. Video NFTs are created by sports organizations as they tokenize a video clip or image and sell them to earn a huge amount of revenue.

NFT trading cards also offer holders perks like playability in NFT games, exclusive access to events, and much more. Because NFT trading cards are digital, they are resistant to general wear and tear. This effectively eliminates the risk of damage, loss, and theft. NFT Fantasy Sports is a new trend in the industry attracting strategic attempts by companies.

Strategic Developments in the Market:

  • Liverpool football club is deepening its ties with the crypto world by expanding a partnership with French blockchain-based sports start-up Sorare.
  • The NBA and NBPA have come to a multiyear agreement with Sorare to be their official NFT fantasy partner in a deal that will combine NFTs and fantasy basketball.

Get this research: https://www.marketdecipher.com/report/sports-nft-market

Sports Trading Cards Market:

The global sports trading card market is driven by significant technological advancements in the field of trading cards. The Sports Trading Cards market is estimated at USD 12.93 billion in 2021 and is growing at a CAGR of 13%. The North American Region has the largest market share followed by the European Region. China and India are among two of the biggest emerging markets, holding lucrative opportunities for business expansions across the sports trading card industry. The 1909 Honus Wagner T206 SGC 3 card was sold for USD 6.6 million and in 2022, Heritage Auctions sold a Mickey Mantle baseball card for USD 12.6 million.

Strategic Developments in the Market:

  • New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter has started a new trading-card platform called Arena Club as the boom in sports collectibles attracts new investors.
  • PWCC Marketplace has secured $175 million to create liquidity for its commercial financing business, which allows sports trading cards to be used as collateral for cash advances and loans.

Get this research: https://www.marketdecipher.com/report/sports-trading-cards-market

Complete List of Collectibles Product we have researched on:

  • Coins
  • Stamps
  • Shares
  • Militaria
  • Books
  • Music NFT Market
  • Timepieces and Scientific Instruments
  • Sports Memorabilia Market
  • Maps
  • Porcelain and Glass
  • Vintage Fashion
  • Nature
  • Autographs
  • Ephemera
  • Classic Cars
  • Toys Collectibles Market
  • Comics
  • Film Posters
  • Film Prop
  • Cameras
  • Photos
  • Ethnic
  • Art Deco
  • Victorian
  • Diving
  • Horse Riding
  • High-End Stereos
  • Sailing Spare Parts

Custom Research on Specific/Focused Collectible can be procured on request.

Submit your request here: https://www.marketdecipher.com/contact.php

Contact :
David Correa
Decipher Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.
Zen Business Center,
Wakad, Mumbai- Bangalore Highway,
Pune - 411057, Maharashtra
Website: www.marketdecipher.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1854377/Market_Decipher_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/top-5-collectibles-product-to-revolutionize-the-memorabilia-industry-in-2023-market-decipher-301642417.html

SOURCE Market Decipher

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‘Ready Or Not’ & ‘Scream 6’ Star Samara Weaving Attached To Lead Action-Horror Pic ‘Azrael’ From ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong 2’ & ‘You’re Next’ Scribe

Deadline
 5 days ago

EXCLUSIVE : Ready Or Not and Scream 6 actress Samara Weaving is attached to star in action-horror movie Azrael , which is being eyed by producers as a franchise.

Evan Katz ( Haunting Of Bly Manor ) is aboard to direct the original script by You’re Next scribe Simon Barrett who has the Godzilla Vs Kong sequel coming in 2024. Principal photography is slated to begin October 10 in Estonia.

Story details are being kept under wraps on this one, but we know that Joker financier Jason Cloth and his C2 Motion Picture Group partner Dave Caplan ( The End We Start From ) recently won the rights in a competitive situation and will finance and produce. UTA and CAA will co rep world sales.

Also producing are Dan Kagan ( Significant Other ) and Simon Barrett. Cloth and Katrin Kissa ( November ) are executive producers.

Weaving’s upcoming films include Damien Chazelle’s Babylon opposite Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie for Paramount; the next instalment in the Scream franchise, also with Paramount; Hulu’s The Valet opposite Eugenio Derbez; Searchlight Pictures’ Chevalier , and the thriller Borderline from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.

The Australian actress’s previous credits across film and TV include Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Ready Or Not , Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series Hollywood , and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Weaving is represented by CAA and 111 Media; Evan Katz is represented by CAA and Grandview; Simon Barrett is represented by Novo; Dan Kagan is represented by UTA; C2 Motion Picture Group is represented  by Loeb and Loeb and UTA.

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Which designers does Pop Mart collaborate with?

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Which designers does Pop Mart collaborate with?

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

Which designers does Pop Mart collaborate with?

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

The phenomenon is rooted in a complex interplay of design appeal, psychological motivations, social media virality, strategic marketing, and evolving consumer behavior.

The phenomenon is rooted in a complex interplay of design appeal, psychological motivations, social media virality, strategic marketing, and evolving consumer behavior.

The phenomenon is rooted in a complex interplay of design appeal, psychological motivations, social media virality, strategic marketing, and evolving consumer behavior.

**Design Appeal and Emotional Resonance** Labubu’s design is central to its allure.

**Design Appeal and Emotional Resonance** Labubu’s design is central to its allure.

The character’s whimsical, cute, and quirky aesthetic appeals to a broad demographic, blending nostalgia with playful artistry that resonates with both children and adults .

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

This design taps into consumers’ desire for comfort and joy, evoking nostalgia and emotional connection, especially during stressful times such as the COVID-19 pandemic .

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Content: Photo Credit: Flash90

It is well-accepted that things made smaller are typically cuter – with the exception of your bank account. Human beings can’t seem to get enough of all things mini. We delight in them. According to clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly, PhD., “The mind finds the tiny object appealing – cute and adorable– as it evokes a sense of normalcy and oddity at the same time.”

Show me a woman whose heart doesn’t melt when you hold up a tiny newborn outfit. Tell me you don’t smile when you see a little boy wearing a tiny tallis and carrying his own little sefer Torah. It is pretty straightforward. Tiny things, that aren’t supposed to be tiny are terribly cute. So why was it that this past Shabbos, that the presence of something tiny and not supposed to be so, confused me, as opposed to invoking the usual sense of cuteness?

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Shul was mostly empty. Many are in miluim and a large portion of our yishuv opted to daven in street minyanim, in closer proximity to a safe room. Of those who were at shul, I noticed that many were visitors – daughters and grandchildren staying with their extended families while (and this is conjecture) their husbands and fathers are off protecting our land and us. There was one little boy, he couldn’t have been older than four or five, who kept running in and out of the men’s section to check that his mom hadn’t suddenly disappeared. He was a particularly adorable child with blonde payos and a tan lined seersucker suit, but the thing that really stood out to me was the toy machine gun that he had slung over his shoulder. My initial reaction was to be horrified. Who buys these kinds of toys for their children, and even worse, allows them to bring such things to shul? My second reaction was much more reasoned. This little boy didn’t bring this toy gun to shul to elicit violence or fear, he wore it proudly to be like his Abba. I assume that there was more to it as well. Maybe carrying his toy gun makes him feel like his Abba isn’t so far away, or doing something so dangerous. Maybe he feels that by carrying his gun, he too has an important job. My brain began to process why this could in fact be translated into cute, but my heart refused to let it.

There is nothing cute about young fathers leaving their families to fight on the front lines. There is nothing cute about war being such a profound reality that it reaches every aspect of our lives. There is nothing cute about a five-year-old having a good excuse to wield a toy gun.

As I stand there contemplating this, a friend walks over and asks me if I plan to come to the shiur she is hosting after shul. She tells me how she doesn’t really expect anyone to come, and then she holds up her hand as she ticks off a finger for why each of the regulars aren’t going to make it. When she gets to Yossi, and mentions that he too is in miluim, I look at her in confusion and burst out, “But he is old. And a dentist. What do they need him for?” She looks at me in a way that someone with much more life experience looks at a newbie, a mixture of pity and discomfort at having to explain herself, and she says, “He was called up. They need him to help identify bodies by their dental records.”

I am not sure why this hit me more strongly than any of the other awful things I’ve had to process over the last week, but for some reason, this idea causes something inside me to stir and refuse to settle. Maybe it is the appreciation for how far this war spans. For how many people’s lives are affected. For the understanding that there is so much going on behind the scenes that we are not even aware of. For the sense that no one is too old to be called up to contribute in the way that they can.

We are all being called up. None of us are untouched by this war. It may be different for you or for me, but at the end of the day, as Jewish people, we are all connected. We are one, and what is happening is happening to all of us. If this were not true, we wouldn’t have people voluntarily arriving in Israel to help in any way that they can. We wouldn’t have people across the world raising money and sending supplies. We wouldn’t have people grilling, and baking, and cooking, and donating, and writing cards and drawing pictures like they are. We wouldn’t have people frantically tying tzitzis for chayalim. We wouldn’t be davening for each other as we are. There is nothing cute about this, but there is a comfort, a bittersweetness, in the recognition that even though this war isn’t supposed to be, we are banding together. Like I said, we are all being called up. And this gives me hope. Because one thing is clear. There is no overcoming the enemy if we are not united. In fact, there is nothing at all if we are not united. We needed to be kish achad blev achad to receive the Torah, and to have kept the second Bais HaMikdash, and we sure need it now.

You may think that your efforts are tiny, a drop in the bucket, but the truth is, like the five-year-old boy, they are anything but tiny. We are a part of something much bigger than ourselves and that makes everything we do that much more far reaching.

With us, our tininess doesn’t register, because our numbers are irrelevant. It is our connection to Hashem and each other that makes us indestructible. With Hashem’s help, this time, like those that have come before it, we will rise and overcome, and show the world that it isn’t size that matters, it is only responding when we are called up.

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Balancing life's daily responsibilities with the compulsive tug she feels towards creative pursuits, Naami spends most of her time in the kitchen surrounded by words, baking supplies, glue guns, markers, her loving family and the occasional power tool. She is easily identified in a crowd by the flour on her shirt and the paint on her hands.

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Content: Simplemost

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Squishmallows are more popular than ever, thanks to adults

Posted at 5:30 AM, Jul 28, 2023
and last updated 2023-07-27 16:52:57-04

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Do you have a collection of Squishmallows? I’m guilty — my set is small, but growing. I successfully denied myself the Funko Pop trend and I only buy a couple (OK, maybe four) Lego sets a year, but I just can’t resist these adorable plushes, especially when I’m traveling and see them at a gas station, or when I happen to be at Five Below and I have a sweet 17-year-old girl with me who really, really wants one.

I have also been known to fall under their spell at comic book conventions, and to grab the ones in blind bags or mystery boxes off grocery store shelves just because I can’t tell which character/food item/animal is in there. Don’t you want to know which one it is, too? Yes, I’ve fallen for the hype. But they’re so cute!

Check out the San Diego Comic-Con exclusives, which were being sold earlier this month and are seen here on Twitter:

It turns out, though, that I’m just one of thousands of fans — and I’m in the good company of many adults just like me.

MORE: ‘Barbie’ fans are driving up the price of an obscure Allan doll

The Squishmallows Craze, In a Nutshell

First designed by Sunny Cho from Kellytoy and released in 2017, the first Squishmallows were hard to get, but a larger company called Jazwares acquired the company in 2019 and was able to increase production. They blew up during the COVID-19 pandemic and became a viral TikTok sensation, with 73 million toys sold by March 2021 (the last number made public that year had Squashmallow sales at 100 million).

“Even though the craze was coming before the pandemic, it certainly hit a fever pitch in the past year, and this craving for comfort is a big part of it,” Kelly Deen, senior vice president of marketing at Jazwares, the parent company of Kellytoy, told The New York Times that year.

So what’s the appeal, exactly?

“There’s a real comfort in squishing them,” toy expert and consultant Chris Byrne said to The Washington Post, noting that parents told him that the toys calmed their children during an anxious, unprecedented time.

It doesn’t hurt that the toys are reasonably priced. They come in sizes that range from 2 inches to 24 inches, and you can get them for under $5 (the 3.5-inch) or $34.99 for the 24-inch ones (although some older Squishmallows are commanding premium prices on eBay and elsewhere).

Squishmallows has also teamed with franchises like “Star Wars,” Sonic the Hedgehog, Hello Kitty and Pokemon for limited edition toys, as seen below.

By Christmas 2022, Squishmallows had become the most popular toy in 41% of U.S. states, according to blogger and toy expert Hassan Alnassir at Premium Joy. It had also won The Toy Foundation’s Toy of the Year Award and its People’s Choice award, along with a number of other accolades.

“On top of the joy a toy can offer, Squishmallows is a powerful example of the emotional benefits children and adults can gain through play,” Pamela Mastrota, executive director of The Toy Foundation, explained about the win. “Whether you are 8 years old or 80 years old, everyone can benefit from a cuddly hug from a Squishmallow these days.”

But the biggest indicator that Squishmallows were becoming a force to be reckoned with was Jazwares’ acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s holding company. In 2022, it bought out Alleghany Corp, the insurance-based parent company of Jazwares.

Adults Are Driving the Squishmallows Market

Although you might think these friendly-looking plushes are perfect for the child in your life — and Forbes reports that Gen Z is driving a lot of the demand — adults also get addicted to Squishmallows.

It turns out I (and many other parents) are also part of a related trend — “kidulting.” A 2021 Toy Association survey of parents found that 58% of parents who’d bought toys had done so for themselves. Meanwhile, The NDP Group reports that people over the age of 12 buying toys helped toy sales grow 37% during the first two years of the pandemic.

“The idea of having something that was nurturing, cozy, cuddly, it was affordable and accessible. Instant gratification,” Jazwares president Laura Zebersky told CNBC. “We really touch on all walks and areas. So it’s been really interesting to see that it’s not just kids, it’s adults. Our demographic is very wide and broad and it’s very unusual in our business to have that.”

Even celebrities got in on the act, with Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga posting images of the plushes (Lady Gaga even called them her “real friends.”) Some notable people were blasted for sharing their Squishmallows on social media, though, since doing so might artificially drive up demand a la the Beanie Baby bubble back in the ’90s.

Nick, a 27-year-old man from Bel-Air, Maryland, who owns 400 Squishmallows and says he’s probably spent $2,000 on them, calls his love of the toys an addiction.

“It’s similar to the feeling of winning at a slot machine,” he told The Post. “I try to ride that high because if the high goes away too quick … I’m at the store again two hours later looking for another one.”

In this Twitter thread, 24-year-old Athena Scalzi claims she moved half her collection into her local church because she was running out of room at her home. She knows all their names, too.

Of course, there are Squishmallows communities out there (check for your local Facebook group) with thousands of members, so if you’re one of the “kidults” who are ready to stimulate the economy Squishmallow-style, you may wish to join up. It doesn’t look like the hype around them is ending anytime soon — especially with those McDonald’s Happy Meals featuring 24 Squishmallows to collect on the horizon.

Ready to Get One of Your Own?

Whether you’re an adult or a child, you might appreiate the inexpensive cuddliness of a Squishmallow. Here are a few you might like.

One of the reasons Squishmallows are so appealing is that they don’t just come in animal form — they’re also foods. This one, a 14-inch Janna the Strawberry Jam plush, is $19.99 at Target.

Here’s another 14-inch, Dottie the Pink and Blue Tie-Dye Sea Slug, and she’s available at Amazon for 19.99.

Squishmallows is dropping a Harry Potter line! You can preorder now to get plushes like this 10-inch Hufflepuff Badger when it’s released on Oct. 15.

Of course, the small ones are great too, and you can fit more of them in your workbag. I’ve never done that, I swear. Here’s a Mystery Box of 5-inch Squishmallows from Walmart for $39.95. You don’t know what you’ll get, but that’s all part of the fun.

This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.

Title:

Content: How brands can multiply their revenue through effective social media advertising

The research conducted by Duggan et al in the year 2015 has proven that over 74% of online consumers use social media platforms and over 50% of these obtain brand-related information by following brand pages

By Vatsal Rajgor

While social media has existed for more than two decades, it has only been a few years since brands have realised how to utilise the medium to its full potential. As brands around the world figure out the value of the connections and contacts that can be made via social media, the medium has become a priority for marketers. As of January 2022, there are 3.96 billion total social media users across all platforms and the amount of time adults use social media, 95 minutes per day, is higher than ever before.

Brand recognition and engagement

Social media is a very powerful tool for brands to build recognition, reputation and engage with customers in real-time. It is through social media that brands are able to establish themselves quite closely with customers and target the right kind of audience. Social media also entices new prospects and keeps the existing ones engaged with their customers.

The research conducted by Duggan et al in the year 2015 has proven that over 74% of online consumers use social media platforms and over 50% of these obtain brand-related information by following brand pages.

This means that brands with a more active presence on social media are able to build their recall value quite quickly and are able to associate themselves with the trust and the daily routines of their customers. No matter the size of the brand, social media also provides a level playing field where the name with the most creative approach can stand out.

It is common knowledge that in order for a brand to excel, customers need to be loyal to the brand and invest in it. Having close connections with the customers helps them perceive the brand as reliable and trustworthy. It has been proven that viewing ads on a laptop is significantly lower than on mobile.

In fact, the entire concept of email marketing was to help bring brands closer to their customers and have a personal connection with them. Social media is the perfect tool to carry out engagement with customers.

Freedom to explore and connect deeper with the target audience

Social media gives brands the freedom to talk about a number of different things while exploring different formats. For example, a brand could carry out a video message for Mother’s Day or do a giveaway contest for Father’s Day among other things. This helps the brand retain the customer’s attention due to the content not being repetitive and keeping them engaged in a unique manner.

Using social media, brands can reach out individually to their target audience quite accurately. This personal connection comes at a cost much cheaper than traditional methods of offline marketing where there is no guarantee if the target audience will ever come across the advertisement.

As per research conducted by Sproutsocial, a marketing website, the market for social media advertising recently exceeds 25% and has become a $137 billion industry. This is due to the fact that social media builds connections for brands that exceed their home country and locality. Brands are able to establish themselves worldwide and see a quicker growth rate globally through correct social media engagement.

All forms of social media allow brands to have a higher stand on Search and to funnel their audience as per their requirements. Each customer has a different history with the same brand, some may only invest in one aspect while others would invest in all services or products, hence personalisation becomes important with social media marketing.

A highly personal approach to target customers

Social media marketing can help establish highly personal collections and allows brands to filter the audience and categorise them depending on their fields of interest. This way, they can be sent the content that they might be interested in and help brands calculate the ROI. This helps customers gain knowledge of their interests while not getting spammed by promos from the brand.

Social media gives control to the brands and helps them drive and negotiate traffic on their websites or their handles online. They can give out quizzes on competitors’ handles to increase activity and traffic there. This format also allows for brands to have more control over their budgets as well with pay-per-click advertising.

With all being said, this form of marketing is a conundrum with some of the best features. It offers a personal experience with all customers, while also helping the brand make international connections. It created a contemporary, localised experience in the app while also keeping the content quite conversational globally. It is the best way to increase investment and revenue in the modern world.

The author is co-founder and CEO of Digimaze. Views expressed are personal.

Read Also: Advertisers seek redressal as IPL 2022 ratings slide

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What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

For many, Labubu is more than a toy; it becomes a companion and a vessel for personal memories, offering psychological comfort and a sense of happiness .

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

This emotional resonance is a key driver behind the desire to collect, as it allows individuals to reconnect with their childhood and find solace in familiar, comforting objects .

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

**Psychological Motivations and Collecting Culture** The act of collecting Labubu toys fulfills several psychological needs, including self-expression, achievement, and belonging .

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

The urge to “collect them all” taps into a drive for completion and mastery, providing satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment, particularly for teenagers .

The urge to “collect them all” taps into a drive for completion and mastery, providing satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment, particularly for teenagers .

The urge to “collect them all” taps into a drive for completion and mastery, providing satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment, particularly for teenagers .

Collecting also serves as a coping mechanism, offering escapism and fulfillment during uncertain times .

Title:

Content: Meaningful but unused items restrict sustainability: Research

From a sustainability standpoint, designers have long believed that attachment was a good thing: If people keep products they care about longer, they'll consume less and send less waste to landfills.
Representative imageANI

NEW YORK: Custom sneakers, vintage dishware, and a limited-edition automobile are all examples of products that owners may perceive as unique and precious, inspiring intense feelings of attachment.

From a sustainability standpoint, designers have long believed that attachment was a good thing: If people keep products they care about longer, they'll consume less and send less waste to landfills.

New Cornell University research provides a more nuanced understanding, showing that product attachment can also unintentionally encourage less sustainable behavior.

To prevent damage or loss, people may limit use of their most prized possessions -- preserving shoes in a box, dishes as decorations or a car in storage -- and buy additional, less meaningful goods for practical daily purposes.

"The goal has been to get people to hold on to products longer, which was seen as inherently more sustainable," said Michael Kowalski, a doctoral researcher in the field of human-centered design with a background as an industrial product designer.

"But that's not always the case if people aren't actually using these things." Kowalski is the lead author of "I Love It, I'll Never Use It: Exploring Factors of Product Attachment and Their Effects on Sustainable Product Usage Behaviors," published Dec. 31, 2022, in the International Journal of Design.

Co-author Jay Yoon, assistant professor in the Department of Human Centered Design in the College of Human Ecology, and director of the Meta Design and Technology Lab, is the adviser to the research. The research seeks to inform designers about the multiple factors driving product attachment and which could be tapped to encourage a product's active use for as long as possible -- consistent with sustainability goals -- and avoid continued redundant consumption.

That's important because Americans, on average, now throw out seven times more durable goods (meant to last at least three years) than they did in 1960, according to the research. Meanwhile, the average new U.S. home, the main location where these increasing numbers of products are used, stored or thrown away, has grown by 1,000 square feet over the past 40 years.

"Perceived irreplaceability as a factor of attachment has been designers' gold standard, but it turns out addressing it does not guarantee a product's impact is going to be sustainable, if people are so attached to it that they don't dare to use it, instead storing it away," Yoon said. "We need to give more attention to other factors in this relationship." Kowalski began to explore those factors after designing and building a wooden dining table for a family member. As referenced in the research article's title, her seemingly paradoxical response upon receiving the completed piece was, "I love it, I'll never use it."

Seeking to better understand that outcome, Kowalski interviewed individuals of varying demographics in their homes about the products they felt attached to and why, and which of those items they actually used or didn't use.

The more than 100 objects discussed included a dresser admired for its craftsmanship, bowls that had belonged to grandparents, and a stuffed animal invested with childhood memories. Two cars illustrated how attachment could inspire either active or passive product use. One owner adored a car -- nicknamed Stella -- that was reliable and capable in extreme weather, providing the joy of adventure-filled driving experiences.

Another similarly loved a special-edition convertible that they stored in a garage and drove rarely, using other cars for daily transportation. Kowalski and Yoon identified seven key factors influencing product attachment, including aesthetic qualities, durability, performance and the memories and emotions invoked.

Through an online survey of more than 220 participants, they further analyzed how those factors differently affect attachment and long-term usage. Perceptions of irreplaceability, they determined, did the most to foster product attachment, yet also led to less sustainable behaviors. Products that were durable, resistant to obsolescence and pleasing got more use, while those associated with meaningful memories and sentimental emotions got less.

The researchers said the findings highlight opportunities for designers to prioritize products that people both want to keep and engage with -- because they are well made, enjoyable and age gracefully. On the other hand, products valued as unique and irreplaceable may inadvertently promote less sustainable consumption.

That means designs emphasizing limited releases, personalization and beautiful-but-scarce materials should be considered with caution. "Creating a sense that something is one-of-a-kind increases attachment but decreases actual use of a product," Kowalski said.

"Designers need to be mindful of consumers' psychological and emotional experience in addition to their practical needs to promote sustainable consumption in the long run." The research was supported by National Science Foundation and the Department of Human Centered Design.

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What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

The aesthetic appreciation of Labubu’s unique design and craftsmanship further motivates collectors to curate sets that reflect their personal tastes .

Title:

Content: It’s No Longer Your Story: Why Marketing Needs A Dramatic Makeover

To win customers in this new world, brands have to learn to become part of the customer's story, rather than the other way around. Here are some steps to become a story inspirer.

When I notified them that they compete with drug dealers and not with other teams in the UK premier league, they almost choked.  The leaders of these famed football clubs were convinced that I lost my mind.

“Look at the bright side, you are tapping into a much larger customer budget,” I said.

The football club’s story was focused on its games, players, brand and fans. It was their story. The fans however experienced the story differently. They incorporated it into their story.  The customer segment of teenagers was using the club as an alternative for escapism or meaning, something they alternatively could obtain from using drugs, playing video games or watching movies. The club’s story was very self-centric and brand oriented. The fan’s story was personal and the club was serving as one component in their overall story.

For years marketing professionals focused their efforts on creatively crafting authentic brand stories and inviting their customers to join that story. They were the storytellers that allured customers to be attracted to the brand and ultimately purchase its products and services. Utilizing a myriad of methods, they targeted the right audiences to join their brand story journey. Marketing combined both the art of creativity and story creation with the science of reaching out to the right customers through various channels ranging from TV and print to digital and social media.

Over the years, in the name of convenience and cost efficiencies, companies have transferred more power to customers. As discussed in my article “Gen AI Adoption? Focus On the Customer,” the customer is reaching a tipping point with Generative AI in which they’re empowered to know and do everything and no longer need the help of other brands in the process. It is the emergence of the One and Only customer. The one that is infinitely unique and demands to be treated accordingly. Combine this with growing power in the form of ad blockers, GDPR regulation and privacy concerns, and customers are hiding better than ever from the eyes of marketing professionals. They are no longer willing to participate in the old marketing game. The art part of marketing is being challenged by advertising created by AI while marketing automation and personalization challenges the scientific aspect of marketing and automates it. Throw in influencer’s marketing, which is estimated to reach $139 billion by 2030, and the role of marketing is being called into a serious question.

Writing A New Story – Not Yours

In order to stay relevant, marketing professionals need to rewrite the marketing story.  Not tweak it or adapt it but rewrite it completely.  The confluence of shift in customer power, and the digitization of classic marketing functions calls for rethinking the story they tell, to their customers and to themselves.

The future story of every brand is no longer brand centric but rather customer centric. It is no longer an invitation to join the brand story but rather an invitation to incorporate the brand into the customer story. It is no longer treating the customer as a passive recipient of brilliant creative, products and experience manufactured by you. It is a recognition that the customer is the creator of their life stories and you, if selected, will have the privilege of providing the brushes and colors to paint their life picture. In short, your brand is no longer the destination, it is the tool on the journey. The destination is infinitely unique and individual.

Realizing that the new storytellers are the customers, what is therefore the role of marketing? They are the story enablers. They are the story accelerators. They are the providers of tools and ideas that inspire. The customer, however, is the ultimate teller. It is her story.

The implications for a brand are massive. The brand does not stand for one idea; it will be presented in ultimately infinite versions by millions of customers.

Coca-Cola’s brand organizing idea was Open Happiness. From the company that invented the secret formula in 1886, we were told that drinking their dark fizzy liquid would bring happiness to our lives, even if only for a few minutes. With the introduction of Coca Cola’s Freestyle, we are experiencing a radical shift in the brand’s promise. The endless possibilities of creating fizzy drinks by customers using the Freestyle machines, Coca Cola is relenting to become an enabler and an inspirer of possibilities. But the end product is unique to each customer.  Coca-Cola recognized the shift in power, assumed the role of story inspirer and let go of the role of a storyteller.

Transforming into a Story Inspirer

To become a true story inspirer there are several steps that every marketing professional ought to consider.

• The attitude – assuming the role of a marketing inspirer is accepting the newly acquired power of the customer. Although it has been a gradual process, the end result is here—and it is transformative. We need to approach the customer with respect and understand that they call the shots.

• The value – we no longer sell final products but rather components in a bigger story. The value proposition needs to recognize that and adapt itself to flexibility; each customer will have their own preferences.  Some would want the full packages while another would prefer just some pieces.

• The business model – the one-price-fits-all game is over. You may need to adapt the business model and pricing to fit customer stories. Some would want a subscription while others would prefer a single purchase. Some would ask for a premium version, others a lower-end solution. Be ready to accommodate.

• The language – marketers tend to speak to customers as they are recipients of the brand’s wisdom and greatness. The language shifts fast. They are the creators; theirs is the ultimate power and decisions.  Respect it and adapt accordingly.

• The terms – business terms will vary based on your customers preferences as well. While you need to protect yourself, the usage of your brand is going to be diverse and different and will require rethinking of your legal coverage and liability protection.

• The frequency – they are not targeting anymore. A customer’s choice of channels and frequency will have to reign in this relationship.

These are some of the direct and immediate implications of moving from being the storytellers to becoming the story inspirers.

Customers also are crafting their unique stories on social media and on personal platforms. Their relationships to brands are radically different. Being relevant to them means rewriting the role and impact of marketing from the customer perspective. Marketing is no longer a clever mouse trap wrapped in creativity. The profession has to evolve into an authentic dialogue provider to discover needs and aspirations and inspire them with an invitation for the customer to craft their story. Being part of that story will be the privilege of the brand.

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What about the Labubu constellation series is appealing to collectors?

Designs and colors representing the Zodiac signs

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

These psychological factors are amplified by the social aspect of collecting, as enthusiasts engage with communities, share stories, and trade items, fostering a sense of identity and belonging .

Title:

Content: PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Jan. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The NPD Group today announced U.S. retail sales of toys generated $28.6 billion in 2021 compared to $25.4 billion in 2020, an increase of 13% or $3.2 billion. Unit sales increased 8% and the average selling price of $12.37 was up 4% vs 2020. The three-year compound annual growth rate for the period between 2018 and 2021 was 8%, driven by ASP growth of 8%. Unit growth during that period was a more modest 1%.

For the second year in a row the COVID 19 pandemic had a strong impact on consumer behavior, which propped up the toy industry in 2021. Two consumer stimulus payments added more than $500 billion to wallets at a time when spending on travel and leisure was at an all-time low. Additionally, the six child tax credit payments in the back half of 2021 also elevated growth in the industry.

"There is no doubt that COVID-19 continued to impact consumer behavior in 2021. The disposable income diverted from other forms of entertainment was a contributor to the industry's growth as consumers continued to look for ways to entertain their children and themselves," said Juli Lennett, vice president and industry advisor, Toys, The NPD Group. "In addition to this, we also saw fewer promotions, less price sensitivity, and consumers trading up to higher priced products, all of which helped propel growth for the industry."

2021 Highlights

Looking at supercategory performance, ten of the eleven supercategories tracked by NPD had growth in 2021. Compared to 2019, all the supercategories posted a positive 2-year CAGR. Outdoor & Sports Toys continued to be the largest supercategory with $5.9 billion in sales in 2021 while Explorative & Document classification: NPD Internal Only 2 Other Toys had the largest dollar gain of $557 million. It also had the fastest dollar growth versus 2020 of 35%. The only absolute dollar decline vs 2020 came from Youth Electronics which declined - 0.4% or $2 million.

Looking at compound annual growth rates compared to 2019, Explorative & Other Toys had the fastest growth of 24% followed by Games/Puzzles at 23%. The top properties of 2021 included Pokémon, Barbie, Star Wars, L.O.L. Surprise!, Fisher-Price, Marvel Universe, Hot Wheels, Nerf, LEGO Star Wars, and Little Tikes.

Source: The NPD Group/ Retail Tracking Service, January-December 2021

Media Contact

Erick Bauer, The NPD Group, 416-587-4185, erick.bauer@npd.com

SOURCE The NPD Group

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How do teenagers gain identity and intimacy?

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

How do teenagers gain identity and intimacy?

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

**Community, Social Interaction, and Storytelling** Labubu’s rise is closely tied to the vibrant community culture that has developed around it.

**Community, Social Interaction, and Storytelling** Labubu’s rise is closely tied to the vibrant community culture that has developed around it.

Fans share their collections, trade figures, and engage in discussions on social media platforms, creating a strong sense of belonging and sustained engagement .

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Delivering performance-based marketing

Performance-based marketing is a critical part of any integrated marketing plan but it requires specialist skills and experience to achieve the exceptional results that are possible.

We offer these specialist skills through our digital division, Oryx+Crake. This dynamic, young, owner-led team is creating enormous success with their fresh thinking and extensive experience in Google Analytics. Their latest guide on delivering performance-based marketing is a great example of how they simplify complex tools to ensure our clients can easily understand and assess the delivery and efficacy of digital campaigns rather than obfuscate as so many agencies do…

Performance-based marketing is, essentially, digital planning and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising and by integrating these two elements strategically, you can maximise your digital presence, increase your brand’s visibility and drive conversions.

In this guide, we’ll explore the key steps and considerations in developing a winning digital planning and PPC strategy that delivers measurable results, but first let’s discuss why it crucial to start with.

Performance-based digital planning focuses on driving results and maximising return on investment (ROI). Instead of relying solely on traditional metrics like impressions or clicks, it emphasizes metrics that focus on achieving specific measurable goals, such as generating leads, driving website traffic, increasing sales, conversions, customer acquisition or engagement.

Whatever it is that you need your digital marketing to actually deliver on. And, because you are monitoring performance and measuring more accurately, you are able to adjust strategies and tactics as needed to improve your efficiency and reduce waste.

The result is optimised advertising budgets because resources are allocated to the tactics and channels that are most effective at achieving your goals.

So, let’s talk about those steps in creating your performance-based digital marketing plan.

Start by defining clear goals and objectives

Without a specific direction, it impossible to measure success or make informed, adjustment decisions. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals to create clarity and ensure effectiveness.

Next, really understand your target audience

Identify their demographics, interests, online behaviours, and pain points. By doing this, you can create tailored PPC campaigns that resonate with your audience and drive higher engagement. Utilize your data analytics tools, conduct surveys, and analyse customer feedback to gain valuable insights. Remember, an effective PPC strategy begins with a solid understanding of who you want to reach.

Do thorough keyword research

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful PPC campaign. Identify the relevant keywords and search terms that align with your business’ offerings and your target audience's search approach. Use keyword research tools, analyse competitor campaigns, and brainstorm with your digital partner to build a comprehensive list of high-impact keywords. Ensure that your chosen keywords have sufficient search volume and a reasonable level of competition. Implement a mix of broad, exact, and long-tail keywords to capture a wider range of audience segments.

Develop compelling ad copy and landing pages

Crafting compelling ad copy and optimizing landing pages are crucial elements of an effective PPC strategy. Your ad copy should be concise, persuasive, and aligned to your target audience's needs. Highlight unique selling propositions and incorporate relevant keywords. Ensure that you optimize your landing pages to deliver a seamless user experience with relevant information, clear call-to-action buttons, and that it’s mobile-friendly.

Monitor and optimise performance continuously

A successful digital planning and PPC strategy requires ongoing monitoring and optimisation. Set up conversion tracking to measure the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns. Track key metrics such as conversions, click-through rates (CTR), cost per acquisition (CPA), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Regularly analyse your campaign's performance metrics, such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and cost per conversion. Identify areas of improvement and refine accordingly.

Take advantage of ad extensions to enhance your PPC ads. Extensions like sitelinks, call extensions, and structured snippets provide additional information and make your ads more compelling.

Test different ad variations, landing page designs, and bidding strategies to optimize performance continually. Leverage A/B testing to compare different approaches and identify which works best for your target audience. Test elements such as headlines, ad copy, images, and CTAs to optimise performance.

Allocate your PPC budget strategically to focus on the campaigns and keywords that yield the best results. Regularly analyse the cost and performance data to make informed budget decisions.

Utilise remarketing and audience targeting

Remarketing and audience targeting are powerful tools to re-engage potential customers and maximise the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns. Implement remarketing campaigns to target users who have previously interacted with your website, encouraging them to revisit and convert. Additionally, leverage audience targeting options to reach specific segments of your target audience. Utilise demographic targeting, interest-based targeting, and custom audiences to refine your reach and boost conversion rates.

Regular reporting

Use your live dashboard to track the progress of your PPC campaigns. Share the reports with stakeholders and team members to showcase the impact of your efforts and make informed decisions for future strategies. If you aren’t currently using Google Analytics to provide you with real-time reporting, 24/7, talk to us, we’ll help you set it up. Having access to your campaign performance is a critical management tool that you should be accessing all the time.

Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices

Digital marketing is constantly evolving, so it's crucial to stay up to date with the latest industry trends and best practices. Subscribe to industry newsletters, follow digital marketing blogs, and attend conferences or webinars to keep abreast of new strategies and technologies. Work with digital partners who do. By staying informed, you can adapt your digital planning and PPC strategy to leverage emerging opportunities and gain a competitive edge.

Conclusion

Developing an effective digital planning and PPC strategy is a multi-step process that requires careful research, analysis, and continuous optimization. By setting clear goals, understanding your target audience, conducting thorough keyword research, and optimising your ad copy and landing pages, you can create compelling PPC campaigns that deliver incredible results. Regularly monitor and optimize your campaigns, utilise remarketing and audience targeting, and stay updated with industry trends to stay ahead of the competition.

With a well-executed strategy, you can maximise your online presence, drive conversions, and achieve your digital marketing goals.

Let’s talk about your digital marketing needs. Mail me, I can’t wait to help build your brand with you… az.oc.yroviynobe@luap.
Paul Middleton | Managing director

Integrated advertising agency
We’re an independent, African full-service, creative, digital and media agency with the rare privilege of a track record that spans more than half a century. We have all the services of a traditional agency married neatly together with the digital age.
We build, grow and entrench brands for now and into the future.
Just imagine what we can do for you.

Ebony + Ivory.
Big enough to do it all – small enough to want to.

E+I is an independent design and media agency with a 50-year track record for strategically-strong and tactically-smart campaigns. We are creators who connect insights, strategy, creative and media through connective campaigns. Unlimited. Uninhibited. Unparalleled. We're wired to go beyond brief and to deliver brand savvy campaigns on time and on budget.

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How do teenagers gain identity and intimacy?

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

How do teenagers gain identity and intimacy?

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

How do teenagers gain identity and intimacy?

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

Storytelling plays a crucial role in this dynamic, as consumers integrate Labubu into their personal narratives, transforming the toy into a companion in their life journey .

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Why And How Brands Can Leverage ‘Shoppertainment’

Cynthia Nelson is the Chief Strategy Officer of Revo Video, a robust shopping solution for Live, VOD and 1:1 shoppertainment.

From the early days of the Pocket Fisherman to the ShamWow infomercials of the early 2000s, marketers have understood the power of video. The trick has always been how to convert those eyeballs into customers.

Now, today’s digital, always-streaming, all-the-time online space makes it possible to seamlessly turn viewers into buyers. True: The number of options has created new challenges by fragmenting the marketplace. Consumers can watch what they want, when they want, wherever they are, and on whatever device they want. But as the chief strategy officer of a company that offers a video shopping solution, I believe this shattered marketplace has also created new curated shoppertainment opportunities.

Shoppertainment, which refers to shoppable video segments, uses video to drive viewership and contextual interaction with a brand or product. It often also leverages expert-created content to present highly immersive shopping experiences that combine entertainment and education. Done well, shoppertainment can even reinforce a sense of community among consumers who follow a particular brand or influencer.

In the wake of Covid-19, consumers became accustomed to getting such content whenever they want online. The upsurge in online shopping has even led to the shrinking of in-person retail traditions like Black Friday. In fact, last holiday season, Sensormatic Solutions’ data showed that retail store traffic on Black Friday weekend dropped 21.7% compared with 2019 levels.

But I believe the numbers—big numbers—are what are really driving shoppertainment now. According to a recent Boston Consulting Group report, shoppertainment could become a $1 trillion market by 2025 in the Asia-Pacific region alone. That’s more than double the value of the current market.

Retailers are already leveraging shoppertainment; for example, in Walmart’s collaboration with the cooking star Rachael Ray, viewers could watch a shoppable livestream on Facebook about her line of dog food and cookware. Network TV stalwarts are even beginning to use shoppertainment. This year, NBCUniversal and their hit show Love Island and ViacomCBS Consumer Products (with Emily in Paris) are seizing the “shopportunity.” Breaking with decades of broadcast TV tradition, in which product placements were typically as far down the merchandising path as showrunners were willing to venture, Love and Emily will both be shoppable.

Because people are watching online (including on big-screen smart TVs and even out of their homes in airports), consumers can now buy something on-screen with a single click or voice command. If companies execute it properly, shoppertainment can be a seamless experience where viewers become consumers and then return to viewing.

Screen time is also increasingly an Insta-TikTok world of short-form video engagement in which digital viewers don’t want a hard sell or fast-talking pitchmen. I am seeing more travel, technology how-to, DIY instruction, and self-improvement content online. Content for today’s consumers should be entertaining or educational or even provide a sense of personal improvement, which brands can achieve through strategies like sharing a new recipe or discussing a new charity.

Even in a fragmented, binge-whatever-you-want world, shoppertainment can be not merely effective but also cost-effective. Marketers can leverage it to quickly deliver new content as live events or by repurposing existing content to create new shoppable video FAQs or how-tos to continue to engage and convert consumers. For example, they could make a live cooking lesson into a recipe reference session with items to purchase; they could turn a fitness training demonstration into an instructional and shoppable video.

But to make it all work, marketers should determine how to own the customer, the transaction and the data across multiple platforms. When a social app changes its search algorithm, it can suddenly marginalize products. Moreover, those networks own much of the critical audience data. So, if marketers really want to understand their consumers, they should work to gather more detailed metrics of their own by comparing video analytics to shopping and conversions.

Brands can also use shoppertainment to leverage in-house specialists, as well as external creators or influencers. Brands should be sure to A/B test messaging, compare platforms, verify the consumer journey, and keep customers engaged—all the while delighting them with a more customized, personal touch.

Here are some tips to help engage and drive successful shoppertainment activations:

• Videos should be between three and 10 minutes long at a maximum. In fact, for a shoppable carousel of videos on a website, you should have three or four 30-second to one-minute videos.

• Videos are not just about promoting deals. In fact, I’ve found that a blend of shoppable short video and livestream entertainment with streamlined purchase capacity is most effective for driving digital consumer engagement and conversion.

• Make sure that you test content with different creators or influencers to find your “sweet spot” of activation that offers consumers entertainment and authenticity.

• Leverage content that you’ve already created for TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or even your website and test it in a shoppable format. Determine whether using shoppable video affects your spend.

• Use analytics to track and learn. Brands should work to learn about their customers and improve their offerings by looking at live viewer feedback, including chats, polls and promotions.

Ultimately, different forms of shoppable video will appeal to different kinds of customers. But one thing is certain to me: Unlike the old days of TV infomercials, the shoppable video experience can become a frictionless one. Indeed, shoppertainment offers new possibilities even for old products. You can still buy the Pocket Fisherman. But now you might be doing so via a live event or shoppable video hosted by your favorite influencer.

Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?

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What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

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This communal storytelling, often shared through social media, deepens emotional bonds and builds brand loyalty .

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Content: The world this week

Business

America’s annual inflation rate fell to 5% in March, the lowest it has been since May 2021. But the core inflation rate, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose to 5.6%. There was good news on energy prices. On a month-by-month basis the price of natural gas for consumers fell again, by 7.1%. Petrol dropped by over 4%. But with other data showing another solid monthly increase in the number of jobs created, markets are expecting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point again when it meets in early May.

Murky outlook

The IMF slightly reduced its estimate of growth in the world economy this year, to 2.8%. It expects America’s GDP to increase by 1.6% and the euro area’s by 0.8%, though Britain’s could shrink by 0.3%. The fund said that “the fog around the world economic outlook had thickened”, in part because of the recent stress in financial markets caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. It also warned of the dangers from investors pricing in lower interest-rate increases.

Ueda Kazuo started his term as the Bank of Japan’s governor. At his first news conference Mr Ueda reiterated his commitment to sticking, for now, with the central bank’s ultra-loose policy of negative interest rates and controls on government-bond yields. In December the bank raised its cap on ten-year government-bond yields, from 0.25% to 0.5%, amid market pressure.

China’s cyberspace regulator outlined new rules for dealing with generative artificial intelligence, such as requiring firms to submit security reviews to the authorities before releasing new technology to the public. Content generated by chatbots must follow China’s “core socialist values” and not “subvert state power”. The measures were published shortly after Alibaba unveiled its rival version of ChatGPT. Meanwhile, the American government asked for public feedback on a proposal that could subject new AI bots to a certification process.

Press reports suggested that SoftBank is preparing to sell most of its remaining stake in Alibaba, leaving it with a holding of around 4%. The Japanese conglomerate once owned 34% of Alibaba. SoftBank was also reportedly ready to finalise a decision on listing Arm, a chip designer, with an IPO on the Nasdaq exchange.

Press reports suggested that revenue and profit surged last year at ByteDance, the privately held Chinese firm behind TikTok and its Chinese version, Douyin. Underlying annual profit was said to have come in at $25bn, which is more than the net profits reported by Alibaba and Tencent. Revenue was $80bn, around the same as Tencent.

Warner Bros Discovery announced a new combined streaming service, called Max. It merges high-quality programming from HBO, such as “Succession” and “The Last of Us”, with unscripted filler from Discovery (“90 Day Fiancé”, “Pit Bulls and Parolees”). WBD hopes that the combination of quality and reality TV will help it catch up with Netflix and Disney+.

EY (formerly Ernst & Young) abandoned a plan to separate its auditing and consulting businesses, intended to tackle conflict-of-interest issues. The plan was opposed by senior executives in EY’s auditing division in America, who worried that their lucrative work on companies’ taxes would end up in the new consultancy. Ditching the split has reportedly caused anger among those partners who would have received a pay-out.

Global shipments of personal computers fell by around a third in the first quarter of 2023, year on year, according to separate reports from two consultancies. The PC business has recorded several quarters of shrinking deliveries, in part because huge demand during the pandemic has dissipated, and also because economic uncertainty is causing firms to put off investments in new machines.

The diminishing demand for PCs is affecting the semiconductor industry. Samsung Electronics is to cut production of memory chips by a “meaningful level”, after quarterly profit plunged by 96%, year on year. Many of its rivals are also reducing output as chip inventories accumulate.

China recorded a surprising surge in export growth for March, reversing five months of declines. Exports were up by 15%, year on year, mostly in electric cars, lithium and solar panels.

A tax by any other name

The BBC got into a row with Twitter after it was labelled “government funded”. The broadcaster gets its money from an annual £159 ($198) household tax (euphemistically called a “licence fee”). Twitter relented and changed the BBC’s handle to “publicly funded”. National Public Radio in America said it would quit Twitter after it was labelled “state affiliated”. Twitter then changed it to government funded.

Tupperware warned that it is on the verge of bankruptcy. The company marketed its food containers through Tupperware parties, the butt of many a suburban joke. Cheaper products have since flooded the market. Tupperware’s fate will be sealed if it cannot improve its short-term liquidity.

This article appeared in the The world this week section of the print edition under the headline "Business"

The world this week April 15th 2023

From the April 15th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

The introduction of new characters and storylines with each product release keeps the narrative fresh, encouraging repeat purchases and ongoing interest .

Consumers mainly buy blind boxes for what purpose?

**Social Media Virality and TikTok’s Role** The viral success of Labubu is inseparable from the influence of social media, particularly TikTok.

**Social Media Virality and TikTok’s Role** The viral success of Labubu is inseparable from the influence of social media, particularly TikTok.

**Social Media Virality and TikTok’s Role** The viral success of Labubu is inseparable from the influence of social media, particularly TikTok.

The platform’s short-form, visually engaging videos are ideal for showcasing Labubu’s whimsical design and collectible nature .

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Why Leading Brands Should Adopt A Social-Out Approach To Marketing

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Brand leaders are embracing a new paradigm for e-commerce, and a new term has entered the zeitgeist to capture it: social-out.

Social-out marketing is a strategy that centers around social media content and delivery formats and utilizes other channels to expand the storytelling.

“Social-out marketing puts social media at the epicenter of marketing strategies rather than as an appendage,” says Charles Ifegwu, Managing Director of The Fifth, a social creative agency that coined the term. “Today, this is where culture is formed, and where culture is amplified to raise the efficacy of other channel marketing executions.”

As consumers shift more of their attention to platforms like YouTube and TikTok, leading brands are reorienting around a social-out methodology to drive continued relevance. Here’s what marketing leaders should know.

Social-First Versus Social-Out

Brands and their agency partners have been having the conversation about “social-first” for some time now. Under this paradigm, brands invest in creating content intended to live on social and drive key messages on those platforms.

Social-out is distinct, in that it speaks to a realization that social can be leveraged to create breakthrough content that transcends the platform of origin, eventually impacting and living on other channels. It centers around building a community and fostering ownership and buy-in from audiences that will drive behavior throughout the customer journey.

“In my day-to-day, we no longer focus primarily on using social to drive brand health,” says Tatiana Holifield, VP of Content & Growth Marketing at SiriusXM & Pandora. “Social media is the distribution platform most easily accessible to massive audiences that can unlock our next wave of subscriber growth for our app product. We leverage social content marketing to build brand awareness in the upper funnel, drive consideration mid funnel, and move prospective subscribers downstream to convert them into paying customers that are loyal to our brand and content over time."

The methodology also accounts for the notion that conversations can live across digital and physical touch-points. It allows marketers to build, continue, and elevate momentum in a way that prioritizes continuity and platform nuance. Strategists can tune messaging based on consideration and execution to leverage the impact of social outside of its traditional borders.

The Power Of Attention Across Platforms

The numbers illustrate why social-out marketing has become imperative, and it boils down to intention and attention. US TikTok users now spend an average of 95 minutes per day on the platform. YouTube still accounts for the largest share of time spent watching video amongst Gen Z and millennials. Building marketing strategies centered around attention-rich social platforms, while utilizing the power of that attention to drive impact in other places, ties a holistic marketing strategy together across budgeted channels to drive ROI.

Direct-to-consumer brands that previously relied heavily on search are now focused on platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. These brands were built on a performance marketing model fueled by keywords. Social media has flipped marketing on its head. Now awareness fuels discovery and performance rather than the other way around.

Search is still imperative, but search and discovery behavior has shifted with younger cohorts discovering more products via social channels.

Third-Party Cookies And Algorithms

While the tremendous growth in time spent on social apps is powering social-out adoption, another factor is acting as an accelerant. The demise of the third-party cookie has deteriorated brands’ ability to target ads on the open web based on users’ browsing histories.

“The walled gardens of social media apps, on the other hand, offer brands enormous reach built on owned first-party data,” says Ifegwu. “This reaches its apex with TikTok.” TikTok’s algorithmically served For You feed – which is the first feed you'll see when you open TikTok – gives brands access to ultra-targeted audiences tuned to individual interests. Contrast this to diminishing opportunities to precision target consumers elsewhere.

Influence Moving Upstream

Brand building on social platforms is also upstreaming influence from sales-focused key opinion leaders to brand builders creating culture and community.

“Sales-focused influencers pitching discounts still play a role in tactical campaigns,” acknowledges Ifegwu. “But long-term brand building requires partnering with influencers that set trends and shape consumer values while aligning with the spirit and ethos of the brands they collaborate with. This allows for a seamless and authentic relationship being built between audience and brand.”

As an example, the type of creator traction that Charli D’Amelio garners, whose viral TikTok dances spawn thousands of renditions and memes, indicates tapping into the cultural pulse rather than just shilling products is key.

TikTok’s ad revenue is expected to hit $17.2 billion in 2024, representing a 30.7% increase over last year. But spending money on the platform isn’t enough to realize its full potential.

Brand building through traditional media is slowly fading as new media emerges and shakes up how brands need to plan and execute marketing campaigns.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website or some of my other work here

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Content: What is social commerce?

Social commerce is the purchasing of products and services online through social media platforms such as Facebook, WeChat, Zalo, and Line. While some super apps integrate payment and logistics into a single app, others serve as a platform for connecting users and their wares to buyers with third-party services handling the payment and logistics. Other "s-commerce" platforms have sprung up, focusing on combining social media networks with e-commerce functionality, where Key Opinion Leaders and Influencers can promote products. One example is China's Little Red Book ("RED").

According to a 2019 report (The State Of Social Commerce In Southeast Asia) conducted by Econsultancy, Magento and Hootsuite, respondents reported that social media is highly influential in their buying decisions. 44% of social shoppers said that they had made three or more online purchases in the past month due to seeing social media posts or ads.

Social media and the growth of e-commerce

A 2020 study by PWC found that there has been increasingly higher usage of social media platforms among consumers looking to make purchases. However, due to the pandemic and social isolation, the adoption of social media for communication and shopping has accelerated further. 58% of consumers saw increased social media consumption, with 86% of those likely to maintain increased use even after isolation measures have ended.

The opportunity for social media as a sales channel cannot be ignored. In Indonesia alone, Paypal reported that 80% of Indonesian online merchants sell through social e-commerce. McKinsey, in their report, mentioned that the social commerce market is to be at least $3 billion, with users buying from BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, Line, and WhatsApp.

Why Social commerce?

Global reach

According to Hootsuite, the world's top 3 most used social platforms Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp, have a collective of 7 billion active users. The potential reach for bad actors on social media alone is massive. Like traditional marketing, counterfeiters funnel sales by creating accounts across multiple platforms and attempting to direct consumers to external sites. It is common to see such accounts linking a social media reference landing page which links off to other ecommerce or third-party payment sites.

Consumer's trust

Socal commerce takes advantage of consumer distrust in traditional e-commerce advertising. According to Nielsen's Global Trust in Advertising report, 92 percent of consumers worldwide say they trust earned media, such as recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. This is not surprising since advertising on social media is not tarred by the brush of traditional advertising. Counterfeiters boost their credentials by soliciting paid positive reviews through bots and even boosting sales volume through fake purchases.

Data privacy, a double-edged sword

Monitoring illicit activities is a big challenge. Most social media platforms in Southeast Asia do not require identity verifications and counterfeiters hide behind a cloak of anonymity to create fake accounts. Facebook Inc, in a recent disclosure to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said it took down 1.3 billion fake accounts over a three month period.

Counterfeit sellers can also create a private network of sales and distribution through closed groups such as those on Facebook. Groups give criminal networks some form of control as they can set it up so that new members are required to answer a series of questions before being accepted. Administrators also can change the group's visibility to "hidden" which completely hides a group from searches by the general public, recruiting members through targeted messages. On a global level, developments in data protection regulation and privacy law have made it more difficult for law enforcement and investigators to collect data on online users.

On the other hand, China does require Real Name Identification - although individual identies behind accounts are not made public and the usage of other's identities is common to get around blocks and bans.

Which social commerce platform should you focus on?

In SE Asia, the top 3 social media platforms are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. This is according to Hootsuite's report. It is important to note that there is localized preference such as Line with a whopping 86% usage in Thailand and Zalo with a respectable 77% usage in Vietnam.

Figure 1- Percentage of internet user aged 16-64 that has used each platform in the past month

Although these platforms started as communications or media sharing platforms, most have evolved towards super apps where users can also buy, sell and transact within one app. Tik Tok recently launched its marketplace in Indonesia. Facebook, Instagram, Zalo, and Line have also integrated in-app shopping and transactions. YouTube plans to eventually incorporate e-commerce elements, as global platforms look to copy China's success in the video marketing and livestream selling space, with leaders including KuaiShou, Taobao Live, Douyin and others.

The Rising Trend of Social Commerce - and China is Leading It

There is no doubt that China is the world's largest e-commerce market, where consumer-oriented innovations are leading in the social commerce field. It is reported that social commerce sales in China totalled approximately $186.04 billion in 2019 - nearly ten times the number of sales in the US, which reached $19.42 billion.

Rapid infrastructure development and subsequent smartphone adoption

People, especially younger generations, are spending more and more time on social media apps, which has positioned social commerce as the market breakout trend for e-commerce in the future.

Take Pinduoduo as an example. This platform reached $251.76 billion in e-commerce revenues in 2020. Pinduoduo's meteoric growth was fueled by WeChat, the most popular social media platform in China. The users of Pinduoduo round up additional buyers via WeChat to reach discounts on products under the group-buying model.

A more accessible model for both sellers and buyers

The customer experience is made easier by social media shops compared to traditional e-commerce. People can review, click and order while spending time on social media apps.

For sellers, the mode of traditional e-commerce would have them open a store on Taobao but without investing much promotion of the business, resulting in a lack of consumer awareness of new estores. Taobao and Tmall have developed an "express service" by which online sellers could achieve more exposure to attract more traffic. This, however, would require the payment of high e-commerce traffic costs, leading many beginner merchants or counterfeiters to consider social commerce as a more cost-efficient option.

Multifunction of the social media giants - not just "Social Media"

A crucial factor for the staggering success of Chinese social media platforms in e-commerce is that they are more multifunctional and have a broader purpose for their users.

Take WeChat as an example. The most popular social media app in China has developed a lot of new functions in the past ten years, including but not limited to "WeChat Pay", "Mini-programs", "Moments Ads" and "Short video account". The mini-programs can function as standalone e-commerce stores which don't require an install to use. Moments and Short videos are used to promote products to WeChat "friends" and the public that follow these accounts. Payments can be made seamlessly through the WeChat Payment function - and Chinese consumers trust and use WeChat pay for payments on a daily basis, meaning that there are no barriers from payment trust issues like can occur with giving your bank card details to third parties.

Under this ever-evolving WeChat's ecosystem, the whole social commerce journey is much easier for customers to make orders and interact directly with brands.

Most popular platforms

WeChat: the super App

There is no doubt that WeChat is the super app in China, which reached 1.2 billion monthly active users in 2020, according to the 2020 Statista.com & WeChat Annual Report.

  • Messages: 38 billion messages are exchanged daily
  • Videos: 68M videos are uploaded every day on WeChat
  • Average time spent: 66 minutes on WeChat daily
  • Frequency of daily use: 60% of WeChat users open the app more than ten times a day
  • Number of WeChat official accounts: 20+ million accounts
  • Weight of mini-programs: 70+ million mini-programs (95% of e-commerce brands have one)

RED (Little Red Book, or Xiaohongshu): Instagram, Pinterest, and Amazon in one

XiaoHongShu is a social media platform launched in 2013, which started as a lifestyle platform. Arriving in 2014, Xiaohongshu was added with an e-commerce functionality, making it one of the first and most popular social commerce platforms in China. Since then, many popular overseas brands and influencers have joined the platform to sell their products in the Chinese market.

Xiaohongshu has 300 million registered users. In 2020, this popular Chinese social commerce platform had a total of approximately 100 million active users.

What should brand owners do?

China was and continues to be a leading manufacturer and supplier to overseas markets, including SEA. When it comes to the e-commerce market, Chinese platforms (B2C or B2B) are crucial elements in the SEA distribution chain, and social eCommerce only fortifies China's stance.

An enforcement strategy for SE Asia that does not include or consider China would result in handling the effects of a problem without addressing the cause.

1. Verified official account

Having an official verified account on the platform lets you fill any void left by successfully enforcing counterfeit sellers immediately. It could also open doors for more brand protection co-operation activities between brand owners and the platform.

2. Mapping and monitoring

Mapping and monitoring a platform allowing you to track and focus your resources on critical infringers while keeping a tab on the general health of the platform. The simplest way to do this is by periodically searching sets of popular keywords and capturing the data manually. Ideally, you would want to capture information relating to the stores such as reviews, sales volumes, discounts rate and related networks. To scale up the process, you could use scrapping tools that crawl the web automatically for data. It is important to note that data scraping can be a grey area, depending on its usage. However convenient, data scrapers have limitations. Many platforms now have anti-scraping mechanisms - social apps such as Facebook and Instagram prohibit data mining activities and have anti-bot systems in place. Alibaba is continuously updating its defenses as hundreds of thousands of bots are crawling it every day to obtain valuable data which can be used for marketing insights or infringement detection. It is also relatively complex to monitor media streaming platforms such as live auctions on Facebook or a video stream on Tik Tok. By the time rightsholders become aware of such livestream flash sales on such platforms, the damage can already have been done - and evidence that it occurred for the purposes of enforcement challenging to obtain.

3. Online enforcement

With a monitoring system in place, you can then consider enforcement. Most platforms have processes in place for the brand owner to report and enforce on IP infringements.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have publicly accessible channels where rights holders can report infringing content. WeChat, Line, and Zalo allow users to report infringements through the app. WeChat also has a dedicated Brand Protection Platform where brand owners can register and file complaints (and receive "clues" from users who report others), while Line users are able to report through an online form.

4. Beyond online enforcement

For platforms without a robust seller verification process in place, infringers would repeatedly create new accounts following any enforcement action. One of the biggest challenges of online enforcement is ensuring that infringers hiding behind the veil of anonymity are taken down permanently. One way to do this is to convert key online targets into offline targets for further investigations and take legal actions. Looking beyond just investigations and enforcement, brand owners should also try to engage social media platforms and build up proactive brand protection measures and take joint enforcement actions against counterfeiters. The Facebook and Gucci lawsuit has recently shown us that social media platforms and brand owners can take coordinated actions against counterfeiters.

Social media has evolved from being a simple media sharing and communications platform to becoming super apps rivaling and overtaking e-commerce sites in some instances. In China, a new draft regulation argues that such social media platforms with e-commerce functions should be held to the same regulations as e-commerce platforms since they provide merchants with order generations and transactional services. In reality, social media platforms functioning as e-commerce often face less scrutiny than traditional e-commerce platforms. Therefore, it is crucial for brand owners to take precautionary and preventive actions.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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Content: The Peninsula Partners with POP MART to Launch a Limited LABUBU Afternoon Tea

By That's Shanghai, December 1, 2022

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The Peninsula Shanghai is partnering with leading art toy company POP MART to launch The Peninsula Shanghai x POP MART LABUBU Festive Afternoon Tea. Celebrating the launch of the “LABUBU Let’s Christmas” range of art toys, the themed afternoon tea will enhance the festive mood of The Lobby this Christmas.

Following the success of The Lobby’s themed afternoon tea experiences, the upcoming Peninsula Shanghai x POP MART partnership is an exciting new concept to attract new patrons and younger generations to The Peninsula Shanghai.

The Lobby is set to be a seasonal playground for POP MART fans and LABUBU enthusiasts. Two 1.7-meters LABABU sculptures and a whimsical miniature Christmas village donned with LABUBU characters along with The Peninsula Shanghai’s traditions will occupy the entrance of The Lobby to greet guests of all ages.

The Afternoon Tea menu will feature a delectable range of exclusive delights such as Magic Hat Chocolate and Pistachio, Music Star Cinnamon Cookie, and Bûche de Noël. In addition, all afternoon tea sets will include LABUBU festive characters, available only for a limited time.

The Peninsula Shanghai has always endeavored to support and promote new and exciting collaborations with cultural or artistic curators at home and abroad. Partnering with POP MART, whose mission is ‘to light up passion and bring joy,’ is one such initiative of The Peninsula Shanghai to bring joy to all guests during the festive season.

The Peninsula Shanghai x POP MART Limited LABUBU Afternoon Tea will be available from November 25 to December 26 at The Lobby from 2 to 6pm daily. The menu will be priced at RMB688* for one guest or RMB1,288* for two guests.

*All prices are subject to a 16.6% surcharge

See a listing for The Peninsula Shanghai.

About The Peninsula Shanghai

Located on the historic riverside Bund, The Peninsula Shanghai pays homage to Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s. The Peninsula Shanghai features 235 comfortable guest rooms and suites commanding city and garden views, three restaurants – Yi Long Court for fine Cantonese dining, Sir Elly’s serving modern European cuisine, and The Lobby offering The Peninsula’s famed Afternoon Tea – plus the maritime-themed Compass Bar and nightly dancing at the timeless Salon de Ning. In addition to the hotel, the complex is comprised of The Peninsula Residences and a shopping arcade featuring luxury brands. The Peninsula Shanghai offers guests a suite of rejuvenating massage and wellness therapies at The Peninsula Spa. The Peninsula Shanghai also offers two deluxe city touring options: an exquisitely appointed Azimut 47 private yacht for breakfast or sunset cruises on the Huangpu River, and bespoke cars provide chauffeured guided tours and shopping trips in Shanghai.

About The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH)

Incorporated in 1866 and listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (00045), HSH is the holding company of a Group which is engaged in the ownership, development and management of prestigious hotel, commercial and residential properties in key locations in Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as the provision of tourism and leisure, club management and other services. The Peninsula Hotels portfolio comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Beijing, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula New York, The Peninsula Chicago, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, The Peninsula Paris, The Peninsula Bangkok, and The Peninsula Manila. Projects under development include The Peninsula London and The Peninsula Istanbul. The property portfolio of the Group includes The Repulse Bay Complex, The Peak Tower and St. John’s Building in Hong Kong; The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and 21 avenue Kléber in Paris, France. The clubs and services portfolio of the Group includes The Peak Tram in Hong Kong; Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California; Peninsula Clubs and Consultancy Services, Peninsula Merchandising, and Tai Pan Laundry in Hong Kong.

[All images courtesy of The Peninsula Shanghai]

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Unveiling the Emotional Tapestry: Designing for Emotions in Superplastic Toys

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Welcome to the enchanting world of Superplastic Toys, where designer artworks come to life, and emotions weave seamlessly with collectibles. In this exploration, we’ll dive into the captivating realm of designing for emotions, unraveling the profound connection between Superplastic Toys and collectors. Forget the corporate jargon; we’re here for a friendly and easy-to-read journey into the heart of artistry and emotion.

Beyond Mere Collectibles

At the heart of Superplastic’s ethos is the belief that toys aren’t just objects; they’re vessels for emotion and connection. The company was born from a desire to transcend traditional collectibles, transforming them into emotional touchpoints for individuals. Through a fusion of cutting-edge design and a commitment to storytelling, Superplastic toys emerge not just as figures on a shelf, but as companions in the journey of life.

The process of crafting these emotion-infused creations begins with a collaborative effort between designers and storytellers. Each toy is a narrative waiting to be embraced, a tale waiting to resonate with collectors who seek more than just aesthetically pleasing pieces.

The Art of Designing Emotions

Superplastic’s design philosophy goes beyond aesthetics; it delves deep into the emotional spectrum. Every curve, color, and expression is meticulously crafted to evoke a specific feeling. It’s a dance between the tangible and intangible, where the brushstrokes of emotions are as vital as the physical form.

Designing for emotions requires a keen understanding of the human psyche, and Superplastic’s team of artists excels in this nuanced art. The goal is not merely to create a visually striking toy but to forge a connection that transcends the material realm. Through active storytelling within the design process, each Superplastic creation becomes a conduit for emotions, inviting collectors into a world of imagination.

The Collector’s Tale: Embracing the Emotional Journey

Collecting Superplastic toys is more than a hobby; it’s a journey of self-discovery and emotional exploration. As collectors curate their unique ensembles of these designer artworks, they weave a personal narrative that reflects their tastes, experiences, and emotions. Each addition to the collection becomes a chapter in the collector’s story, a tangible representation of the emotional landscape they traverse.

The emotional resonance extends beyond the initial acquisition of a Superplastic toy. As collectors surround themselves with these artful companions, they find solace, inspiration, and a sense of kinship. It’s a testament to the power of design to evoke and amplify emotions, transforming a mere object into a cherished part of one’s life.

The Anatomy of Emotional Design

Let’s dissect the anatomy of emotional design in Superplastic toys. The use of vibrant colors, dynamic poses, and expressive features creates a visual language that speaks directly to the soul. Each element serves a purpose in conveying emotions, whether it’s the playful tilt of a character’s head or the choice of a particular hue that elicits joy or introspection.

The craftsmanship of Superplastic toys extends beyond the surface, with meticulous attention to detail that enhances the tactile and visual experience. Collectors not only see the emotions; they feel them through the texture, weight, and overall quality of each piece. It’s a holistic approach to design that transcends the boundaries of the visual, engaging multiple senses to evoke a more profound emotional response.

Embracing Diversity: A Kaleidoscope of Emotions

Superplastic understands that emotions are as diverse as the collectors themselves. In a world that celebrates individuality, the company’s range of characters reflects a kaleidoscope of emotions, ensuring that every collector finds a piece that resonates with their unique emotional landscape. From whimsical and carefree to mysterious and contemplative, Superplastic offers a spectrum of emotions encapsulated in each design.

This diversity not only broadens the appeal of Superplastic toys but also fosters inclusivity within the collector community. It’s a celebration of the myriad ways people experience and express emotions, creating a space where everyone can find a piece that speaks to their heart.

The Unspoken Language: How Superplastic Toys Communicate

In the silent language of emotions, Superplastic toys become eloquent storytellers. They communicate with collectors on a level beyond words, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers. A glance at a Superplastic character can convey joy, empathy, or nostalgia, creating a universal connection that resonates with collectors worldwide.

This unspoken language is a testament to the power of design to communicate emotions on a visceral level. Whether displayed on a shelf, desk, or bedside table, Superplastic toys become silent companions that speak to the heart, forging an emotional bond that defies the constraints of language.

The Future of Emotional Design: A Glimpse into Superplastic’s Innovation

As Superplastic continues to push the boundaries of emotional design, the future holds exciting possibilities. The company’s commitment to innovation ensures that collectors will be treated to new, groundbreaking experiences that transcend the traditional boundaries of toy design. From cutting-edge materials to interactive elements, Superplastic is at the forefront of redefining how emotions can be encapsulated in physical form.

The evolution of emotional design within Superplastic’s creations promises to keep collectors on the edge of their seats, eager to explore the next chapter in the ever-unfolding story of designer artworks that resonate with the heart and soul.

A Tapestry of Emotions Woven in Plastic

In the enchanting world of Superplastic Toys, emotions aren’t just seen; they’re felt, experienced, and cherished. The company’s commitment to designing for emotions has created a tapestry that weaves together the artistic vision of designers and the heartfelt connections of collectors. As we navigate this journey of emotional exploration, one thing is clear – Superplastic toys are more than collectibles; they are vessels of joy, companions in solitude, and mirrors reflecting the kaleidoscope of human emotions.

So, if you’re ready to embark on a journey of emotional discovery through designer artworks, take the plunge into the world of Superplastic Toys. Let the vibrant colors, expressive characters, and innovative designs be your guides. Shop now and become part of a community where emotions are not just embraced but celebrated in every stroke and contour.

Shop now and let the emotions unfold.

SEE ALSO: AssignmentMaster: Beyond Studies: 6 Activities to Enrich Your Inner Self

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Unboxing videos, collection showcases, and creative content featuring Labubu are widely shared, creating a bandwagon effect and amplifying demand .

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‘Ready Or Not’ & ‘Scream 6’ Star Samara Weaving Attached To Lead Action-Horror Pic ‘Azrael’ From ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong 2’ & ‘You’re Next’ Scribe

Deadline
 5 days ago

EXCLUSIVE : Ready Or Not and Scream 6 actress Samara Weaving is attached to star in action-horror movie Azrael , which is being eyed by producers as a franchise.

Evan Katz ( Haunting Of Bly Manor ) is aboard to direct the original script by You’re Next scribe Simon Barrett who has the Godzilla Vs Kong sequel coming in 2024. Principal photography is slated to begin October 10 in Estonia.

Story details are being kept under wraps on this one, but we know that Joker financier Jason Cloth and his C2 Motion Picture Group partner Dave Caplan ( The End We Start From ) recently won the rights in a competitive situation and will finance and produce. UTA and CAA will co rep world sales.

Also producing are Dan Kagan ( Significant Other ) and Simon Barrett. Cloth and Katrin Kissa ( November ) are executive producers.

Weaving’s upcoming films include Damien Chazelle’s Babylon opposite Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie for Paramount; the next instalment in the Scream franchise, also with Paramount; Hulu’s The Valet opposite Eugenio Derbez; Searchlight Pictures’ Chevalier , and the thriller Borderline from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.

The Australian actress’s previous credits across film and TV include Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Ready Or Not , Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series Hollywood , and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Weaving is represented by CAA and 111 Media; Evan Katz is represented by CAA and Grandview; Simon Barrett is represented by Novo; Dan Kagan is represented by UTA; C2 Motion Picture Group is represented  by Loeb and Loeb and UTA.

More from Deadline Best of Deadline

TikTok’s algorithm-driven “For You” page ensures that trending content reaches vast audiences, fueling viral trends and encouraging impulse buying .

The platform’s integration of e-commerce features, such as in-app storefronts and livestream shopping, further blurs the line between entertainment and shopping, making it easy for users to purchase Labubu toys directly after seeing them in videos .

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Content: (NEXSTAR) – You’ve likely heard the phrase “collect them all!” when it comes to toys, cards, bobbleheads, or almost anything else in a series, like Beanie Babies. You may still have some or all of whatever you collected as a kid today, but they may be better at collecting dust than dollars for you.

Many of those toys and other items were released in the late 1900s, a time in which mass production was underway. Mass production allowed customers to collect each piece of the line, and then some (how many times did you get a repeat toy in your Happy Meal, or a duplicate Pokemon card?).

This also means that while you were busy “collecting them all,” creating a set of items that were surely destined to be valuable in the future, so were many others.

“You know, people just seem to think that since something is collectible, it automatically is valuable, and that’s not always the truth,” Jordan Hembrough, toy expert and host of the show “Toy Hunter,” tells Nexstar.

Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Barbies, Pokemon cards, and comic books are prime examples of this, Hembrough explains. These lines of toys and collectibles are the most common people believe will be worth a lot of money but aren’t.

Comic books are one of the hotter items for collectors right now.

“Unfortunately, you know, a lot of people are collecting comic books from the 1980s and even the 1970s,” Hembrough says. “Those comic books really aren’t the ones that are super valuable though.”

Those from the decades prior – the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s – are usually more valuable.

The same goes for another popular item for collectors: baseball cards.

Cards released during the ’80s and ’90s were, like many other collectibles, manufactured during a time of mass production, Mike Provenzale, a production manager with Heritage Auctions tells Nexstar. While the tides are changing for some of these cards from the ‘Junk Wax Era,’ that’s not the case for other items.

Speaking of sports memorabilia, Provenzale says most modern autographs aren’t worth as much as you’d hope either. This is largely because there are so many out there, he explains. Every time an athlete signs anything, they’re essentially devaluing themselves.

Having more signatures on one item – like a team-autographed football – doesn’t typically increase its monetary value because collectors usually want just one signature, according to Provenzale.

And if you get ahold of free memorabilia for attending a game, like a bobblehead, Provenzale says it’ll have more value in the parking lot for someone who didn’t get one than in the collector’s market later on.

There are some exceptions within these over-collected categories, though.

According to Hembrough, “the collectibles industry is very, very cyclical.” If roles or franchises are revived, this can help older collectibles become desirable again. He points to “Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Jurassic Park.”

On the other hand are toys that were previously relatively popular but have lost their value recently. Among those are toys from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise, which were “really hot five or six years ago,” Hembrough explains.

When it comes to autographed sports memorabilia, while most modern signatures aren’t worth much, select athletes can be special. Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, and Tom Brady are great exceptions to this because they have exclusive deals to sign only for specific companies, leading to fewer of their signatures being available.

If your favorite athlete and their team win the championship game, know that the championship gear you run out to get likely won’t be worth much more than what you pay for it at the store. Instead, championship gear from the losing team, which is usually donated, is more likely to have a kitsch value, Provenzale explained.

Regardless of whether you find yourself with a collectible like a Happy Meal toy or a Beanie Baby or one of these toys Hembrough says is worth hanging onto, both Hembrough and Provenzale recommend researching your item. You can search your item on Google or eBay, for example, to see how others like yours are selling. You may also want to consider taking your items to local collector shops or auction houses for an expert to review its value.

Influencer marketing is another critical factor, with both micro-influencers and celebrities like Rihanna being spotted with Labubu toys, adding to their desirability and cultural cachet .

Influencers create authentic, relatable content that resonates with younger audiences, who are more likely to engage with peer recommendations than traditional advertisements .

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

What about the person on Tiktok persuades buyers to buy what they see in their feeds?

This influencer-driven content, combined with user-generated posts, fosters a vibrant community and drives viral engagement .

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Content: How Barbie is shaping up to be a source of emotional support for grown-ups

Of all the roles the doll has taken on over her 64 years of existence, Barbie is now being seen as a comforting and reassuring item, even for adults

Published: Oct 14, 2023 07:29:39 AM IST
Updated: Oct 13, 2023 05:31:24 PM IST

Barbie dolls are shaping up to be a source of emotional support for grown-ups in the US. Image: NeydtStock / Shutterstock©

The theatrical release of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie this summer has helped boost sales of Mattel's doll. And it's not just children who are getting them. On TikTok, some internet users—mainly women in the US—are posting videos of them buying a Barbie for themselves. So has the famous plastic doll become a new source of comfort for adults?

On TikTok, videos of adult women in the US buying themselves Barbie dolls are proliferating. The videos show them browsing toy aisles, looking for a doll that looks just like them, or unboxing their purchases. For example, the artist and wheelchair user, @gremlingrandparent, bought herself a wheelchair Barbie, just like her. "I got a Barbie that looks like me. ... She comes with her own ramp!" she says while opening the packaging, clearly moved by the experience. "Plus size Barbie is something I wish I had as a little girl, constantly comparing myself to her. I'm so happy to have her," explains another TikToker called Maddie. Meanwhile, Britknee took a different approach by gifting a Barbie to her mother, who never got the chance to have one when she was a child.

In the multitude of videos that can be seen on the Chinese social network, many women refer to their doll as an emotional support Barbie. In fact, the emotionalsupportbarbie hashtag has almost two million views. For these adults, Barbie is seen as a source of comfort, serving to reassure them and (re)build their self-confidence. "Oh my god, she's so pretty. I'm so pretty. Ok, I'm gonna go before I cry," continues @grelingrandparent in her video. And the success of Greta Gerwig's movie is no small part of this trend. It has allowed these women to talk freely about wanting a Barbie, without being seen as adults who refuse to grow up and who dream of returning to childhood. Of all the roles the doll has taken on over her 64 years of existence, Barbie is now being seen as a comforting and reassuring item, even for adults.

Also read: With 'Kencore,' Barbie isn't the only one smashing stereotypes

Nostalgia at the service of mental health

"We have quite a bit of research that shows the benefits of play for children. But increasingly, we have scientific evidence that play is beneficial for adults as well, especially in the mental health realm," explains Kristin Flora, a professor of psychology at Franklin College in Indiana, speaking to CNN. "Some of the research suggests that it can help stave off depression. It can help us build a sense of optimism, which is really important when things are uncertain. It can help us decide what disposition to take as we live through unprecedented times." According to her, Barbie, or other toys, could contribute to well-being, helping to "boost confidence and positivity in critical moments," reports CNN.

Internet users therefore find a certain comfort in toys like Barbie, which helps them get through the tumult of everyday life. According to psychologist Mark Travers, who wrote an article on the subject in Forbes magazine, "the Barbie phenomenon symbolizes many things in our society. Perhaps most of all, it reaffirms the power of the past." Faced with the uncertainties of recent years (including the health, economic and climate crises) and the stress these times can generate, people tend to turn to their past —their childhood—to connect with a happier, or at least simpler, period in their lives. "Today, as more people prioritize self-care and well-being, their longing for—and, hence, the appeal of—nostalgic moments continues to grow relentlessly," he explains. "A recent study found that nostalgia is often triggered in response to negative feelings, acting as an effective tool to strengthen social connections, enhance self-esteem, and generate positive emotions necessary to avoid stress or unpleasant emotions during difficult times."

Barbie dolls are just one example of how toys can play an important role in the everyday lives of adults. In fact, plush toys have for years been acknowledged as a source of emotional support for adults. This can be seen on social networks like TikTok, where a plethora of videos shows internet users cuddling or sleeping with their favorite stuffed toy. Indeed, some adults keep their childhood cuddly toys as companions for life. Research from the University of Amsterdam, published in 2013 in the journal Psychological Science, even demonstrated that a plush toy could be a great ally for maintaining mental health, even capable of alleviating anxiety attacks.

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Content: Diversifying With Collectibles

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The collectibles market is booming. During the pandemic, folks with old collections dug them out, new collectors came to market, and trading activity and prices across categories from sports memorabilia to fine wines soared.

“I can’t even count the number of people who contacted us during the pandemic who hadn’t touched their collections in more than 10 years,” says Scott English, executive director of the American Philatelic Society in Bellefonte, Pa., who welcomed attention on stamps when four 1918 Inverted Jenny stamps—so-called because they were printed with an upside down airplane—fetched a record $4.9 million at Sotheby’s last year.

Sales of global collectibles are expected to grow to $692 billion from $412 billion over the next 10 years, according to Market Decipher, a Canadian market research firm.

For investors, a long view is advisable, says David Savir, CEO of Element Pointe Advisors, a wealth management firm in Miami. “Many collectibles are at values that may not be sustainable for the next two to three years,” he says. “Anyone buying should be holding them for over a decade and not expect to profit in the short term.”

The highest level of trading activity is in sports collectibles, boosted by the entry of sports-related nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which exploded to $1 billion in sales last year—bigger than the entire 2020 NFT market—and are expected to reach $2 billion this year, according to the London-based consultancy Deloitte.

The overall NFT market surged to $24.9 billion last year, including digital creations from high-end fine art to collectibles. Sales of popular collectible series haven’t waned: In March, sales of Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks hit $257 million and $81 million, respectively, according to CryptoSlam, an aggregator of NFT data.

Tangible sports memorabilia aren’t taking a back seat to NFTs: Sales in the traditional $4 billion arena have been breaking records. Last year, a Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic rookie NBA trading card sold for $4.6 million—the most fetched for a basketball card—and a 1952 Mickey Mantle card hit a record for baseball cards, at $5.2 million.

For classic cars, the first quarter of each year is when three of the biggest car auctions take place, says Juan Calle, co-founder and CEO of Classic.com, a site that tracks car market data. This year’s quarter closed with a total sales volume of $1.3 billion, double the same period last year, Calle says.

While other categories have less practical value, they can be attractive diversifiers for investment portfolios.

Consider fine wine’s low correlation to the S&P 500: just 0.3, which is lower than gold, real estate, or any traditional portfolio-balancing asset class, says Anthony Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Vinovest, which runs a portfolio of 500,000 collectible wine bottles stored in custom-built warehouses around the world. “We’ve seen a big uptick in interest from people who you wouldn’t traditionally think of as wine enthusiasts,” he says.

The wine market tends to shrug off factors that send stocks reeling, but has other sensitivities, such as tariffs and even gift-giving policies in authoritarian nations. When China banned gifts to government employees in 2011, popular Bordeaux wine values plummeted, says Robbie Stevens, Americas Territory Manager for London-based Liv-ex, a global marketplace for fine wine.

The broad Liv-ex 1000 index was up 19% in 2021, driven primarily by the popularity of Champagne and Burgundy. In the 12 months through March, Liv-ex’s index for Champagne was up 47.8%, and for Burgundy, 36.8%.

But no category is immune to broad economic trends, says financial advisor Savir. “Collectibles are more vulnerable to price declines in a recession than other assets, given the nonessential nature of many of them.”

This article appeared in the June 2022 issue of Penta magazine.

**Marketing Strategy and Exclusivity** Pop Mart’s marketing strategy is multifaceted, leveraging limited edition releases, collaborations, and performance-based digital campaigns to maximize engagement and sales .

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2023 Digital Marketing Trends To Take Advantage Of Now

Krista Neher is the CEO of Boot Camp Digital, a 6X best-selling author, international speaker & recognized digital marketing thought-leader.

Many businesses are already mapping out their digital marketing plans for 2023 and beyond. Smart businesses are looking for the latest trends to incorporate to maximize their results and impact. Here are some of the biggest trends impacting digital marketing that can help grow your success.

1. The Metaverse

The metaverse is one of the most talked-about trends in digital marketing. The metaverse is a broad term that describes a variety of immersive virtual experiences taking place online, usually with others. Starbucks, Nike and countless big brands have announced metaverse experiences. While there is a lot of excitement for the metaverse, most businesses don’t have practical use cases (or return on investment) just yet.

What can you do now? Start experimenting with the metaverse and immerse yourself personally. Look for emerging opportunities for your business to participate in and keep a close eye on others in your industry. The metaverse is still experimental for most businesses, so don’t worry about going all in yet.

2. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) powers all marketing. One of the quiet trends in digital marketing over the last few years has been AI being integrated into almost every digital marketing channel. Algorithms determine the social media posts you engage with, the search results you see and even the ads displayed to you. AI is making marketing smarter, connecting consumers to the exact right products and messages.

What can you do now? Examine how AI is changing the core aspects of the digital marketing channels you use. Understand how the algorithms are impacting your results and optimize your content strategy to take advantage of this.

3. Customer Experience

Most algorithms and AI in digital marketing optimize for the same thing—creating a better user experience, as this is what matters most. For example, search engine optimization (SEO) updates this year focused on providing the most helpful content to users. Beat the algorithms and delight your customers by focusing more on their experiences.

What can you do now? Help future-proof your digital marketing by focusing on the customer and optimizing their experience. All algorithms are based on improving the user experience—so this helps protect you from future algorithm updates.

4. Short Videos

TikTok and Instagram Reels are taking over social media feeds—and consumer attention. There is no question that this format will only continue to grow. For businesses to stay relevant they need to appear in the channels and formats where their customers are. The good news is that short video formats are making their way into social media management tools and schedulers, so it will become easier for businesses to plan and post next year.

What can you do now? If you haven’t been active in these formats personally, now is the time. Start watching Reels and TikToks to gain an understanding of the format, content and appeal. Next, start posting and experimenting with short video content for your business. Test and learn your way to success in these powerful platforms that are earning so much time and attention.

5. Simple, Clear Messages

With short-form video taking over and attention spans constantly dropping, businesses have a bigger challenge than ever. Businesses must be able to communicate in short, quick soundbites to earn attention on mobile devices.

What can you do now? Spend more time crafting shorter, simpler messages. Take your marketing and brand priorities and sound-bite them into short sentences or quick ideas. Challenge yourself to copy popular short video formats and shorten your messages.

6. Influencers

Influencers are hot. As the advertising landscape becomes more and more cluttered, businesses need to find new ways to get in front of their target audiences. Increasingly, businesses can find opportunities to break through the noise with organic-seeming content via influencers. Influencer marketing has been on the rise for years, and this trend will only continue as influencers build up larger and larger audiences that are ripe for the picking for marketers.

What can you do now? Research opportunities to integrate influencers into your marketing plan for next year. Examine how your competitors or other industries are harnessing influencers to grow results.

7. Employee Advocacy

Employee advocacy is about getting your team or employees talking and sharing on behalf of the business. More and more businesses are realizing the power of their employees. Employee personal profiles and assets are often more effective at reaching more people more authentically than business accounts and assets. Harnessing this power is an untapped opportunity—especially in business-to-business (B2B) marketing.

What can you do now? Evaluate the opportunity for employees to contribute to your marketing efforts and build a plan to engage them. An engagement plan usually includes training, tools and resources to motivate and excite employees to speak on behalf of the business.

8. LinkedIn As A B2B Powerhouse

LinkedIn has been around for many years but recently has posted record growth and engagement. It is expected to account for 25% of B2B advertising in two years. There is a growing opportunity for businesses to use the platform for growth. Yet very few businesses take advantage of this. My guess is that LinkedIn will only continue to grow and the opportunity will only get bigger. Jump in early to disproportionately win.

What can you do now? Build LinkedIn into your plans strategically. Optimize your content. Grow your audience and look for new features and opportunities to accelerate your success.

9. A Focus On Foundations

While it is easy to get distracted by the metaverse, Web 3.0, NFTs and AI, the reality of digital marketing is that the foundations of digital marketing still make up the bulk of results for most businesses. Foundations like your website, SEO, email, social media, digital ads, community management and reputation management will disproportionately contribute to your results.

What can you do now? Get a competitive edge by growing your results in these key areas. Have a plan to optimize and get better results faster from your existing efforts.

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Title:

Content: ContributorsPublishersAdvertisers

‘Ready Or Not’ & ‘Scream 6’ Star Samara Weaving Attached To Lead Action-Horror Pic ‘Azrael’ From ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong 2’ & ‘You’re Next’ Scribe

Deadline
 5 days ago

EXCLUSIVE : Ready Or Not and Scream 6 actress Samara Weaving is attached to star in action-horror movie Azrael , which is being eyed by producers as a franchise.

Evan Katz ( Haunting Of Bly Manor ) is aboard to direct the original script by You’re Next scribe Simon Barrett who has the Godzilla Vs Kong sequel coming in 2024. Principal photography is slated to begin October 10 in Estonia.

Story details are being kept under wraps on this one, but we know that Joker financier Jason Cloth and his C2 Motion Picture Group partner Dave Caplan ( The End We Start From ) recently won the rights in a competitive situation and will finance and produce. UTA and CAA will co rep world sales.

Also producing are Dan Kagan ( Significant Other ) and Simon Barrett. Cloth and Katrin Kissa ( November ) are executive producers.

Weaving’s upcoming films include Damien Chazelle’s Babylon opposite Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie for Paramount; the next instalment in the Scream franchise, also with Paramount; Hulu’s The Valet opposite Eugenio Derbez; Searchlight Pictures’ Chevalier , and the thriller Borderline from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.

The Australian actress’s previous credits across film and TV include Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Ready Or Not , Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series Hollywood , and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Weaving is represented by CAA and 111 Media; Evan Katz is represented by CAA and Grandview; Simon Barrett is represented by Novo; Dan Kagan is represented by UTA; C2 Motion Picture Group is represented  by Loeb and Loeb and UTA.

More from Deadline Best of Deadline

Limited edition Labubu figures and themed collections, such as the “LABUBU Let’s Christmas” range, create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, enticing collectors to act quickly to avoid missing out .

Title:

Content: ContributorsPublishersAdvertisers

‘Ready Or Not’ & ‘Scream 6’ Star Samara Weaving Attached To Lead Action-Horror Pic ‘Azrael’ From ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong 2’ & ‘You’re Next’ Scribe

Deadline
 5 days ago

EXCLUSIVE : Ready Or Not and Scream 6 actress Samara Weaving is attached to star in action-horror movie Azrael , which is being eyed by producers as a franchise.

Evan Katz ( Haunting Of Bly Manor ) is aboard to direct the original script by You’re Next scribe Simon Barrett who has the Godzilla Vs Kong sequel coming in 2024. Principal photography is slated to begin October 10 in Estonia.

Story details are being kept under wraps on this one, but we know that Joker financier Jason Cloth and his C2 Motion Picture Group partner Dave Caplan ( The End We Start From ) recently won the rights in a competitive situation and will finance and produce. UTA and CAA will co rep world sales.

Also producing are Dan Kagan ( Significant Other ) and Simon Barrett. Cloth and Katrin Kissa ( November ) are executive producers.

Weaving’s upcoming films include Damien Chazelle’s Babylon opposite Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie for Paramount; the next instalment in the Scream franchise, also with Paramount; Hulu’s The Valet opposite Eugenio Derbez; Searchlight Pictures’ Chevalier , and the thriller Borderline from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.

The Australian actress’s previous credits across film and TV include Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Ready Or Not , Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series Hollywood , and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Weaving is represented by CAA and 111 Media; Evan Katz is represented by CAA and Grandview; Simon Barrett is represented by Novo; Dan Kagan is represented by UTA; C2 Motion Picture Group is represented  by Loeb and Loeb and UTA.

More from Deadline Best of Deadline

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

Collaborative marketing initiatives, such as partnerships with lifestyle brands and venues like The Peninsula Shanghai’s Labubu-themed afternoon tea, extend the brand’s presence beyond toys and create shareable, festive experiences .

Title:

Content: ContributorsPublishersAdvertisers

‘Ready Or Not’ & ‘Scream 6’ Star Samara Weaving Attached To Lead Action-Horror Pic ‘Azrael’ From ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong 2’ & ‘You’re Next’ Scribe

Deadline
 5 days ago

EXCLUSIVE : Ready Or Not and Scream 6 actress Samara Weaving is attached to star in action-horror movie Azrael , which is being eyed by producers as a franchise.

Evan Katz ( Haunting Of Bly Manor ) is aboard to direct the original script by You’re Next scribe Simon Barrett who has the Godzilla Vs Kong sequel coming in 2024. Principal photography is slated to begin October 10 in Estonia.

Story details are being kept under wraps on this one, but we know that Joker financier Jason Cloth and his C2 Motion Picture Group partner Dave Caplan ( The End We Start From ) recently won the rights in a competitive situation and will finance and produce. UTA and CAA will co rep world sales.

Also producing are Dan Kagan ( Significant Other ) and Simon Barrett. Cloth and Katrin Kissa ( November ) are executive producers.

Weaving’s upcoming films include Damien Chazelle’s Babylon opposite Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie for Paramount; the next instalment in the Scream franchise, also with Paramount; Hulu’s The Valet opposite Eugenio Derbez; Searchlight Pictures’ Chevalier , and the thriller Borderline from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.

The Australian actress’s previous credits across film and TV include Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Ready Or Not , Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series Hollywood , and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Weaving is represented by CAA and 111 Media; Evan Katz is represented by CAA and Grandview; Simon Barrett is represented by Novo; Dan Kagan is represented by UTA; C2 Motion Picture Group is represented  by Loeb and Loeb and UTA.

More from Deadline Best of Deadline

These strategies are supported by data-driven digital marketing, ensuring that campaigns are optimized for real-time engagement with the target demographic .

**Economic Impact and Market Growth** The Labubu phenomenon has had a profound economic impact on both Pop Mart and the broader toy industry.

**Economic Impact and Market Growth** The Labubu phenomenon has had a profound economic impact on both Pop Mart and the broader toy industry.

**Economic Impact and Market Growth** The Labubu phenomenon has had a profound economic impact on both Pop Mart and the broader toy industry.

The global collectible toy market is projected to grow from USD 12.5 billion in 2021 to USD 35.3 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.2% .

Pop Mart’s mystery box offerings, including Labubu, contributed to a more than tenfold increase in total sales volume in 2020, with the company accounting for over 35% of overseas sales of mystery boxes that year .

Title:

Content: Can You Really Sell Childhood Toys for Thousands?

·4 min read

Anyone who has ever owned a “Star Wars” action figure or a Lego set has surely heard tales of people selling their childhood toy collections for six or even seven figures. With stories like that, it’s hard not to wonder whether an uncashed lottery ticket is hiding in your own attic.

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There was the G.I. Joe that sold for $200,000 — and who could forget the Starship Enterprise model that fetched $576,000 at auction?

The thing is: The G.I. Joe was the original 1963 prototype and the Enterprise model was used in the pilot episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

It’s easy to see how obvious collector’s items like that could be worth a fortune, but what about the garden variety stuff that your mom bought at Toys “R” Us when you were a kid 10, 20 or 30 years ago? Can regular people who hung onto their toys ever expect to get any real money by putting their beloved collections on the block?

Depending on what they’re sitting on, yes, they just might.

Most of It Comes Down to Rarity, Desirability and Condition

As with all collectibles, a toy’s value depends largely on the answers to three questions:

  • How many of them are there?

  • How many people want one?

  • What kind of shape is it in?

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“When it comes to vintage toys, the most important aspect is rarity,” said collector Aviad Faruz, CEO of the jewelry ecommerce store Faruzo New York. “If you have a toy that is one of only 500 copies made, then you’ve hit the jackpot. Toys that are easy to come by do not bring in much money. Similarly, the older a toy gets, the rarer it gets, so if you have a very old toy that is in a respectable condition, it’ll probably sell for top dollar.”

“Respectable condition” might include being in the original packaging, so don’t assume that your toy is mint just because it doesn’t have any obvious blemishes — although blemishes can sometimes add value.

“Unique, even defective versions of old toys sell for a lot of money, so pay attention to details,” Faruz said.

But never try to fabricate a defect or anything else.

“Toy collectors like me can immediately tell the difference between a genuine and a fake article,” Faruz said.

Special or limited-edition toys are always promising, but only if they have all three attributes. Rare toys that no one wants won’t get you far; neither will a toy that’s in high demand but that your dog chewed to pieces.

“The fewer pieces of a toy (that) exist, the higher it will sell,” said Brandon Walsh, founder of Dads Agree. “But not always. Some toys might only number in the tens worldwide, but they never enjoyed the same hype as other rare toys, so their value won’t be as high.”

In Most Cases, Your Research Will Determine Your Windfall

So, how do you know if you have something in your basement that’s rare, desirable and in saleable condition all at once? Unless you’re an experienced collector or appraiser, don’t waste time trying to identify the features that might make your toys more valuable. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll probably miss it.

A better way to come up with an asking price is to take inventory of what you have and research some comps on a piece-by-piece or category-by-category basis.

“You can find the value of each toy by researching the items on eBay,” said parent and family coach Sheri Poyant. “Not only what they are priced at currently, but you can also search for what the toys have sold for in the past and how many have sold. Doing your homework will help to get you the best price.”

Sell Well To Get Top Dollar

Several of the experts who spoke with GOBankingRates cited the same vintage toys as potential gems: Pokemon cards, special-edition Legos, classic Barbies and limited-edition board games, to name a few.

So, what should you do to maximize your profits if you find something you think could bring in big bucks? When it comes time to sell your toys, follow the best practices for selling anything.

“To improve your chances of selling your products, be honest in your description,” Poyant said. “Make sure your prices are competitive. Take good pictures. Ship your products fast and package them nicely. All of this will be taken into consideration when your customers are reviewing your online store.”

If you think you have something really good, join a group dedicated to vintage toys and ask for the opinions of the group’s members — or pay for a valuation from a qualified professional.

“You should inquire about the value of your collection from online forums centered on collectibles,” Walsh said. “If you’ve got a few vintage toys stored from your childhood, now is the best time to get them out and have their value appraised.”

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Can You Really Sell Childhood Toys for Thousands?

What Pop Mart marketing ploy features highly desirable hidden models?

This surge in demand has made Pop Mart’s founder significantly wealthier and enabled the company to expand its product lines and enter new markets .

Title:

Content: How to Create a Social First Content Marketing Strategy

What is a social first content marketing strategy?

When creating a content marketing strategy, social media can sometimes be an afterthought. For example, we might use social media to promote our new content, or simply repost our content without much thought.

However, with the average consumer spending over 2 hours on social media a day, and younger age groups spending even longer, social media should be at the forefront of a content marketing strategy.

A social first strategy considers social media during the ideation and brainstorm phase of planning, and takes social media into account of all elements of campaign planning – not just after the content has been created.

Digital overload

Whilst most of us are aware of the huge opportunity that social media presents for business, it also creates a challenge. With so much content out there, it can be difficult for brands to be relevant and visible on the platforms.

We recently published an infographic showing that more than 500 million tweets are sent each day and organic reach across social media platforms are often lower than 2%. Beating the algorithm is a constant battle, and has led to many brands paying for social media visibility via advertising.

Yet this doesn’t guarantee success…

The average attention span of millennials is often reported as less than that of a goldfish. This means it is essential that brands can quickly capture the attention of very distracted social media users.

So in summary, we need to create engaging, social-first content. But how? We recently hosted two events on the very topic with Lucy Hall, founder of leading social media event Social Day and Mike & Roxanna from the award-winning social media agency, Social Chain. We’ll be using some of their expert advice in this blog!

Research & Objectives Setting

Before you do anything, consider what you want to achieve from your social media content marketing strategy. Ask yourself the following questions:

  1. What is your goal? Be specific. I.e. ‘create more sales’ or ‘find 3 brand advocates’ rather than ‘boost engagement’.
  2. Who are you trying to reach?
  3. What does your audience want to see from you? Hint: probably not a sales pitch.
  4. What does your audience think of you? Do you need to change perceptions?
  5. What is the typical buying process for your product/service?

How can you find out these things?

-Surveys
Persona mapping
-Social listening: trendspotting & sentiment analysis
-CRM data
-Focus groups

Once you know everything you need to know about your audience and what you want to achieve, you’re ready to start planning your social first content marketing strategy!

3 Steps to social media content success:

Step 1: Make people feel something

Take this gherkin, for example, chances are it provoked some kind of reaction in you – whether you love them or hate them.

Engagements and impressions mean nothing if it makes people feel nothing, as it won’t provoke your audience to act. Whether you use cute animals, humour or disgust, always keep feeling in the back of your head when you’re planning campaigns.

Whether you have a huge budget or a tiny one, there are always ways to include emotion in your content marketing strategy.

A few inspiring examples for you:

John Lewis’ Christmas adverts, are notorious for making people ‘feel’ something.

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Posted by Paint Like A Pro on Friday, January 19, 2018

Paint like a Pro created this hugely successful funny Facebook video on a low budget.

WWF’s climate change campaign provoked feelings of shock and disgust.

Step 2: Make it social

Make sure your content is optimised for social media. Whilst this might seem obvious, simply posting the same image or video that you’ve been publishing in magazines or on TV isn’t going to cut the mustard.

For a true social first content marketing strategy, keep the following things in mind:

Ensure videos have captions

On average 85% of videos on Facebook are watched without sound. Either create videos that can be enjoyed without audio, or make sure you’re captioning video content. Facebook has a feature to automatically generate captions within the platform (just make sure you review the captions before you publish the video)

Post Native content

When posting content, if possible post it to the social media platform itself. Social media platforms, often penalise content (by showing it lower on people’s feeds) that tries to redirect users off their site. Lucy Hall, social media consultant & founder of Social Day, discovered a huge increase in engagement when she removed a link within a video on her clients Facebook page.

Where possible utilise the features within a platform to promote content. For example, Instagram now offers an in-app shopping feature, so we can promote our products without sending them to our website.

Mobile first

With 70% of social media time spent on a mobile device, it is essential that our content is created to be viewed on a mobile device. This means avoiding overly text-heavy posts, keeping text on images to a minimum and considering using vertical video content.

Consider vertical video

With 70% of all social media time being spent on a mobile device, vertical content is becoming increasingly more popular. When creating your social first content marketing strategy, make sure you consider mobile viewing!

Step 3: Create a full-funnel campaign

When creating a social first campaign, it’s worth considering each stage of the purchase funnel. You can use Facebook Pixel to track each stage of your social media ad campaign and retarget based on the content they’ve viewed.

Read about the Facebook Pixel

So, how do we create a narrative through our social media efforts?

SocialChain told us about a campaign they worked on for Thomas Cook. They created content around the following 5 moments:

Awareness Stage – Inspiring Content

Based on CRM data they already had, Thomas Cook supplied social media content for each stage of the funnel. So, if they knew that their potential customer typically booked each January, they started pushing inspiring content 2 months before the purchase stage of the funnel.

Consideration-  Narrowing down the options

A month later, they targetted ads based on the destinations that their potential customer had viewed.

Purchase – Booking stage

As the booking stage approached, they also sent out offers & discounts.

Loyalty – Enhancing the customer experience

After the booking stage, to keep the holiday excitement going, Thomas Cook created content around the destination that their customer was going to be visiting. For example, suggesting the best day trips, attractions and restaurants for the user.

Advocacy – Sharing photos from the holiday

Now that the customer is away on holiday, they’ll want to share the amazing experience that they’re having. Here, Thomas Cook can engage with, and repost the UGC!

Think about how you could apply this strategy to your own industry!

Final advice for creating a social first content marketing strategy:

  • Consider awareness days, trends on Twitter and other stories you could newsjack
  • “Fail fast, do 70% of what you know works, 20% what might work and 10% wildcard,” says Mike Blake-Crawford, Strategy Director, SocialChain.
  • Involve influencers and your target audience in your campaign
  • Choose the social media channels that your audience engages on
  • Don’t forget about the potential marketing opportunity that dark social presents!

The collectible toy segment has demonstrated economic resilience, maintaining stable demand even during downturns, as consumers view these toys as sources of entertainment, nostalgia, and potential investment .

Title:

Content: Microwaveable Stuffed Animal Toys Market Size, Share and Growth Analysis for 2022-2031

Wilmington, United States, 2024-Mar-01 — /EPR Network/ — In an era marked by a growing consciousness towards sustainability and holistic well-being, the global market for microwaveable stuffed animal toys is witnessing a surge in demand. Valued at US$ 230.2 million in 2021, this market is projected to grow steadily, reaching a value of US$ 382.8 million by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2%.

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=84834

Key Players and Market Developments

Key players operating in the global microwaveable stuffed animal toys market are Aroma Home, Nelly Packs, Warm Buddy, Wild Baby, Thermal-Aid, Keeping Kalm, Intelex Group Holding Warmies, Sootheze Therapy Products, Cozy Time Ltd., and Sonoma Lavender Company.

Market Dynamics:

The paradigm shift towards eco-friendly and natural materials is a significant driver propelling the microwaveable stuffed animal toys market forward. In response to consumer preferences, companies are increasingly focusing on research and development to offer products that not only provide comfort but also align with sustainability goals. These toys, often filled with natural ingredients such as millet grains and dried lavender, emit soothing aromas, aiding in stress reduction and relaxation.

However, despite the growing demand, the market faces challenges such as the availability of substitutes like conventional heating pads and safety concerns associated with overheating. Instances of microwaveable toys catching fire underscore the importance of stringent safety measures and continuous innovation in product development.

Market Segmentation:

Microwaveable stuffed animal toys come in various shapes and sizes, with dogs and bears emerging as the most popular choices among consumers. These toys not only provide comfort but also serve as transitional objects, helping children manage emotions and cope with stress. Moreover, the inclusion of lavender essential oils in some products enhances their calming effects, making them particularly beneficial for anxiety relief.

In terms of filling material, the market is segmented into natural and synthetic options. While synthetic materials currently dominate the market, the demand for natural filling materials is on the rise, driven by increasing consumer awareness of sustainability issues.

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Regional Outlook:

Europe and North America emerge as key regions driving the growth of the microwaveable stuffed animal toys market. In Europe, countries like the U.K., Germany, and France exhibit high consumer spending on toys, bolstered by the presence of top manufacturers and robust awareness about the product. Similarly, North America, particularly the U.S., boasts a significant market size, with consumers showing a strong affinity towards microwaveable stuffed animal toys.

About Us Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. The firm scrutinizes factors shaping the dynamics of demand in various markets. The insights and perspectives on the markets evaluate opportunities in various segments. The opportunities in the segments based on source, application, demographics, sales channel, and end-use are analysed, which will determine growth in the markets over the next decade.

Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision-makers, made possible by experienced teams of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants. The proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques we use always reflect the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in all of its business reports.

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What does the collectible toys concept emphasize/

**Consumer Behavior Trends and Demographic Shifts** Labubu’s popularity reflects broader trends in consumer behavior.

**Consumer Behavior Trends and Demographic Shifts** Labubu’s popularity reflects broader trends in consumer behavior.

**Consumer Behavior Trends and Demographic Shifts** Labubu’s popularity reflects broader trends in consumer behavior.

The rise of “kidults”—adults who collect toys for nostalgia and self-expression—has contributed to a 37% increase in U.S.

The rise of “kidults”—adults who collect toys for nostalgia and self-expression—has contributed to a 37% increase in U.S.

The rise of “kidults”—adults who collect toys for nostalgia and self-expression—has contributed to a 37% increase in U.S.

toy sales over two years .

Title:

Content: DES MOINES, Iowa — Whether it’s stamps, baseball cards or something else, many people have something they love to collect. For some, that passion is diecast toys. Saturday and Sunday, they’re in luck because the Iowa Diecast Toy Show is taking place at the Elwell Family Family Food Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Diecast toys are model cars, trucks, farm equipment and other vehicles made completely out of metal.

Marv Dittman came to the show from Sycamore, Ill. to show off his toy collection as well as see others.

“I grew up on a dairy farm,” he said. “My dad was a dairy cattle dealer and we had a lot of the real tractors, the real toys when I was growing up.”

Dittman said his favorite replicates are ones that remind him of the “big toys” he had growing up on the farm like his New Idea corn husker.

“It’s a nostalgia thing,” he said. “It’s really going back in time. It’s all about nostalgia.”

Tracy Johnson organizes the annual show, which is in its 11th year. She also runs a diecast toy shop in Clermont.

She said nostalgia keeps bringing people into her shop and to the annual show.

“A lot of people will come in, they’ll look at some of the toys on the shelves and they’ll be like ‘Hey, I grew up with that tractor,’ or ‘I drove that exact semi,’ or ‘My cousin drives that construction piece at his job.’ There’s a lot of personal history with the models that we sell here at the show that people connect with and they tell us the stories with them,” Johnson said.

For Dittman, while seeing the tens of thousands of diecast toys on display is nice, it’s the people that make the show so much fun.

“You meet so many, many wonderful people, the farm and people that come from farm backgrounds,” he said. “Just wonderful people, honest people, and it’s just a joy talking about their experiences on the farm, what they like in toys.”

The show continues Sunday until 4 p.m. Admission costs $5 for adults and $3 for kids ages 13-17. Kids 12 and younger get in for free.

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified this trend, as consumers sought comfort and self-expression through collectibles, redirecting disposable income from travel and leisure to hobbies like toy collecting .

Title:

Content: Unlocking The Social Funnel: Meet The Social Selling Strategies Of The Future

The e-commerce landscape still proceeds to prosper in 2022. Two years on from Covid-19’s digital shift, e-commerce based sales have all but doubled online, as both companies and consumers adapt to new forms of digital selling.

From a mobile commerce boom to app based selling, there are now a number of ways to interact with the e-commerce landscape from the comfort of your own home. On the back of a high street decline, mobile commerce for example was up by 72% in 2021, remaining the most popular vessel for online shopping.

With a spike in mobile and app based purchasing, comes a spike in social media shopping. With over 4.62 billion mobile users also logged into at least one social platform, social selling has begun to take off in a post-pandemic playing field.

As consumers browse TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, looking for their next purchase inspiration, smart marketers need to be on top of their social selling game. From improving conversational content creation to introducing new social listening techniques into the sales process, the outbound selling funnel of the future is social.

Read on as we discuss the changing consumer attitudes of a post-pandemic demographic and divulge our best kept social selling secrets, that will leave you monopolising the social platforms of tomorrow.

Addressing Changing Consumer Attitudes In 2022

It’s no secret that consumer attitudes are changing in the wake of the digital shift. With a significant focus on mobile based e-commerce, digitally native consumers demand a more interactive, personalised shopping experience.

Today’s e-commerce demographic expects a brand to find them, hook them and pledge an alliance to their values. In fact, according to a recent report from Mckinsey, 80% of Gen Z and Millenial consumers demand a completely personalised experience from a company, or they will simply jump to a competitor.

In a fiercely competitive e-commerce playing field, social commerce has begun to prosper in response, as brands have access to a global platform audience, can blend in organically with niche demographic content and connect with their potential leads on a personal level.

Alongside this, consumers are also finding new ways to utilise social media for their e-commerce needs. For example, over half of all platform users, utilise social applications for shopping inspiration, to shop from influencer recommendations and interact with branded content.

With TikTok dominating as a front runner for social commerce success in 2022, consumer content demands have also transformed in the wake of the video-based app’s lockdown triumph.

E-commerce retailers need to be revamping their content game in 2022 in order to address an increasing consumer demand for more video based content. On the back of TikTok’s 30-second snippet format, 86% of e-commerce companies incorporated video content into their strategy in 2021. While phone and email selling may have prospered a decade ago, consumer capturing content now needs to be fresh, gripping and digitally immersive if sales reps and smart marketers want consumers to connect.

Is Social Selling The Key To Success?

If you dont want to take our word for it, let’s look at the stats. Social selling has been ranked as one of the best strategies for selling success since the onset of the pandemic after a Hootsuite study deemed business leaders who utilised social selling tactics, 45% more likely to see higher sales lead conversions.

Better still, the same study revealed that just under 80% of companies that use just one form of social selling, would completely outsell their competitors in a 2022 landscape.

Alongside this, we must address the post-covid social selling boom. In the last quarter of 2020 alone, over a quarter of US shoppers stated that they had made at least a single purchase off of a social platform, with consumers between the ages of 18-34 leading the trend forward.

Since then, the social selling strategy has continued to generate a number of benefits for e-commerce sales reps. Not only does it allow a sales team to make a real connection with their demographic, but gathering more insights on what consumers are interacting and engaging with across their social platforms, can aid strategy planning for the future, and help companies predict the next consumer trend.

Meet The Social Selling Strategies Of The Future

The art of social selling can be tricky within a competitive landscape. Sales reps who want to bask in the success, need to know their audience inside and out, and most importantly understand how social content creation works and what makes it go viral.

While social selling can appear similar to content marketing, the techniques differ. While content marketing reels a consumer onto a brand’s social page, social selling is all about creating a connection and keeping your potential leads interested.

Social sellers need to know how to keep a conversation flowing over social media and be actively searching for new content trends that they can incorporate into their brand strategy. Social sellers are the voice of the brand and can be the difference between a browse and a link follow.

Here are some of the best tactics to incorporate into your strategy for ultimate success.

Do Your Audience Research

No sales strategy is complete without audience research. The key to monopolising your social channels is to know your demographic inside and out. It’s time to start taking audits of your current buyers and the audience you are aiming to target with your social selling.

Using analytic tools such as Google Analytics and Finteza offers a quick window into what makes your audience tick and click, what content is providing the highest level of engagement and of course your demographic’s characteristics, such as age, location and preferred platform.

With consumer insights in mind, social sellers are much more likely to create meaningful, personalised connections with a social platform audience, and put out content that matches a lead target’s values.

Switch Up Those Cross Platform Tactics

The key to achieving a strong social selling strategy is diversifying your cross-platform tactics. While interactive video based content may work on TikTok, the same tactic may fall flat on more professional platforms such as Linkedin.

After gathering insights into your cross-platform targets, start playing with your tone of voice in order to keep conversations flowing across the board. The key here is to review your content writing skills and adapt your voice to appeal to the desired platform.

Switching up your tactics to address platform trends, will allow you to blend into consumers’ feed organically.

Prioritise Customer Retention

Last but not least, it’s important to keep your customers coming back to you on social media. It is six times more expensive to win over a new sales lead than retain an existing one.

You want existing customers to keep coming back to your social channels as they will be more likely to share your content on their own platforms, in return improving brand awareness.

It’s important to nurture a sales based relationship on social media. Ask your existing consumers questions that relate directly to their personal experience, offer discounts and incentives and gather insight into their own platform bio’s. Striving to keep existing customers engaged will make them more likely to interact with the brand on a regular basis and repurchase.

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

What are the traits of collectible toy consumers?

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Content: Omnicom’s Flywheel gets certified with TikTok Shop as it ties creators to sales results

Digiday covers the latest from marketing and media at the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. More from the series →

Omnicom kept up its raft of announcements and partnerships during Cannes Lions this week. The latest move has the holding company’s e-commerce specialist Flywheel getting certification from TikTok Shop, Digiday has learned.

The move is important because by doing so, Omnicom and Flywheel can connect creator content to sales, another example of the holding company striving to move beyond media metrics to reach sales metrics for its clients investments. In a way, when it comes to social commerce, it’s a way of finally answering the famous Wanamaker quote on which part of advertising works.

Through the certification, Flywheel aims to help Omnicom clients leverage TikTok for its e-commerce benefits in much the same way it would Amazon, Walmart, or other e-marketplaces — namely to drive incremental sales. The holding company is combining a cross-network team that can incorporate Flywheel’s ability to manage and scale digital commerce executions with Omnicom’s influencer investment practice along with an AI-powered Q cultural  insights solution (from Omnicom Media Group’s Sparks & Honey) in a bid to connect commerce, content, and culture to drive sales on TikTok Shop.

Omnicom’s move here is spurred in part by recent research it conducted that showed the purchase funnel is no longer a linear downward path (nearly half of all Gen Z and millennial respondents to its study reported they’ve gone through the entire purchase journey based on a single influencer post). It also builds on a partnership Omnicom and TikTok announced during CES 2024, which gave the holding company access to creators in TikTok’s Creative Exchange.

“Those that are specifically under the age of 30 are increasingly trustworthy of social selling experiences,” explained Kevin Blazaitis who oversees Omnicom Media Group’s integrated influencer practice. “So if you think about combining all of the ways that you can reach somebody, collapse the purchase funnel and do so at scale, we now have some really unique, differentiated capabilities to do that and protect brands, but also use that data to predict future performance in a way that nobody else does.”

“Flywheel is kind of the special sauce of all this,” said Megan Pagliuca, chief activation officer at Omnicom Media Group, which is working most closely with Flywheel and the influencer practice. “We now have this capability where we can do data-driven planning and measurement of influencers with Tiktok shop optimization.”

“We can now offer a brand the ability, just like we can on Amazon, to go with a one stop shop deployment through Tiktok on a global basis, which definitely differentiates us for all brands worldwide,” added Duncan Painter, Flywheel’s CEO, who noted how some of this knowledge was developed in Asian markets where the company has strong roots. “Because no one else can do at-scale, reach-of-audience, reach-of-market, reach-of-commerce, sale-of-product and data back in multi regions around the world.”

Nico LeBourgoise, head of TikTok Shop operations in the U.S., said the move to certify Flywheel  “deepens TikTok’s long-standing relationship withOmnicom … Flywheel will play a crucial role in the e-commerce ecosystem on TikTok Shop, giving sellers and creators the support and expertise they need to scale their business and bring joy to shopping.”

Clients are ready to give this a shot, even some that you wouldn’t ordinarily think of as Tik Tok Shop endemics. “We understand the need to connect culture and commerce into a variety of places to meet consumers where they are in the purchase journey,” said Nicole Kane, vp of media and marketing transformation at Bimbo Bakeries U.S. “We’re excited to hear about further integration between Omnicom and TikTok to tie purchase to TikTok content, allowing BBU brands to capitalize on cultural moments and further quantify what our spend could bring us in this space.”

What it all means, said Blazaitis, “when you think about scale and when you think about commerce, the ability to really leverage the technology that [Omnicom’s operating platform] Omni has gives Omnicom unique differentiators to scale influencer content. And I think that is what’s really powerful. What makes it even more powerful is combining the sales data that Flywheel and Tik Tok Shop now give us access to in a closed environment.”

https://digiday.com/?p=548309

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**Role of Social Media Algorithms and Shoppertainment** Social media algorithms play a pivotal role in amplifying Labubu’s reach.

**Role of Social Media Algorithms and Shoppertainment** Social media algorithms play a pivotal role in amplifying Labubu’s reach.

**Role of Social Media Algorithms and Shoppertainment** Social media algorithms play a pivotal role in amplifying Labubu’s reach.

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram prioritize content that generates high engagement, ensuring that posts featuring Labubu toys are seen by highly targeted audiences .

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Content: Shopping on Social: Insights from Dee Agarwal on e-Comm in Social Media

Dee Agarwal explores the booming trend of social commerce, its benefits for businesses, and key strategies like authenticity and community building, emphasizing it as a transformative force for growth and engagement.

The days of solely browsing aisles or mindlessly scrolling product pages are fading. Today's consumers crave an immersive, engaging shopping experience, and social media is spearheading this revolution. What were once platforms for connecting with friends are rapidly transforming into powerful e-commerce hubs, blurring the lines between entertainment and shopping sprees.

Dee Agarwal, an experienced C-suite executive, delves into the thriving world of social commerce, exploring its key trends, benefits, and practical tips for businesses looking to tap into this burgeoning market.

Why Social Shopping is Booming

Dee Agarwal notes that several factors are driving the surge in social commerce:

  • Discovery & Inspiration: Platforms like Instagram and TikTok act as treasure troves for discovering new products. Influencers, user-generated content (UGC), and targeted ads showcase products in an authentic, relatable way, igniting instant desire.
  • Seamless Experience: “Gone are the days of navigating clunky websites,” says Dee Agarwal. “Social shopping offers a frictionless buying journey, allowing users to purchase directly within the app without leaving their familiar social space.”
  • Community & Trust: Social media fosters a sense of community and trust. Recommendations from friends and influencers hold more weight than traditional advertising, influencing purchase decisions.
  • Mobile-First: Dee Agarwal notes that “with over 90% of social media accessed via mobile, social commerce aligns perfectly with modern, on-the-go lifestyles.”

Examples of Social Commerce in Action

The growth of commerce on social media isn’t relegated to one platform. A variety of social media channels, both new and legacy, are getting in the game with features that drive sales -- creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and marketers. Dee Agarwal explores how different platforms are making their mark:

  • Instagram: Shoppable posts, Instagram Stories with product links, and influencer marketing reign supreme. Fashion and beauty brands like Fenty Beauty leverage these features to showcase products and drive sales.
  • TikTok: The platform now offers TikTok Shop, a new feature allowing brands to set up dedicated storefronts within the app. This provides a seamless shopping experience for users, who can discover products directly within the video feed and purchase them with just a few clicks. “Short-form, engaging videos with in-app purchase options are exploding,” says Dee Agarwal. “Brands like Gymshark partner with micro-influencers to create dynamic product demonstrations, leading to viral trends and instant purchases.
  • Facebook & Pinterest: Both platforms offer robust shop features with product catalogs and targeted advertising, which is ideal for established brands with diverse product lines.
  • Live Streaming: Platforms like YouTube and Twitch are embracing live shopping events, where influencers showcase products in real time and viewers can purchase directly during the stream.

Benefits for Businesses

Social media allows businesses to bring their products directly to customers in a new way that meets them where they already are. Dee Agarwal shares why companies should embrace social commerce:

  • Reach New Audiences: Dee Agarwal notes that “with billions of active users across diverse demographics, social media opens doors to untapped markets.”
  • Boost Brand Awareness: Engaging content builds brand recognition and loyalty, increasing organic reach and sales.
  • Enhanced Customer Engagement: Direct interaction with customers fosters trust and allows for real-time feedback, improving brand perception.
  • Targeted Advertising: “Leverage platform algorithms to reach highly specific audiences with personalized ads, maximizing marketing ROI,” says Dee Agarwal.
  • Data-Driven Decisions: Social media analytics provide valuable insights into customer preferences and behavior, informing product development and sales and marketing strategies.

Tips for Success in Social Commerce

While social media offers immense sales opportunities for savvy businesses, Dee Agarwal recommends keeping the following tips in mind when developing social media e-commerce strategies: :

  • Authenticity is Key: Focus on creating genuine content that resonates with your target audience,” says Dee Agarwal. “User-generated content and influencer partnerships can be powerful tools.”
  • Embrace Visual Storytelling: High-quality images, videos, and captivating narratives grab attention and drive engagement.
  • Utilize Shoppable Features: Integrate shoppable features offered by various platforms to make the buying process smooth and seamless.
  • Prioritize Mobile Optimization: Ensure your content and shopping experience are optimized for mobile devices, where most social media activity occurs.
  • Community Building: Foster a sense of community through interactive content, contests, and live sessions to build lasting relationships with customers and showcase product offerings.
  • Experiment & Analyze: Dee Agarwal says, “Stay up-to-date with trends, experiment with different formats, and track your results to continuously refine your social commerce strategy.”

Social commerce is no longer a trend; it's a growing force reshaping the e-commerce landscape. By understanding its potential, adapting your strategy, and embracing the unique features of each platform, businesses can unlock massive opportunities to reach new audiences, build brand loyalty, and drive significant revenue growth.

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The dominance of short-form video content and the rise of “shoppertainment”—the fusion of shopping and entertainment—have transformed product marketing, increasing conversion rates as consumers are more likely to purchase products they find entertaining and engaging .

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Content: MAG’s Alice Bowman on how narrative can help UA, retention, monetisation and more

MAG Interactive product lead Alice Bowman took to the stage at Develop 2023 this week to outline how mobile studios should think about adding narrative into their games to help with UA, retention, monetisation and player satisfaction.

First off, it’s an extra edge a competitive product might not have, and could give your UA a boost, said Bowman. “If you can’t target specific users, you can at least make sure that your adverts are going to appeal to users you think will really enjoy your game, stick around and maybe spend a bit of money,” she said.

“Story as a player motivation is really easy to convey in adverts, since adverts are sort of just little stories. So you even see a lot of mobile game adverts even using story when the game doesn’t actually include one.”

Narrative can give games a longer retention tail, too. “Story can help build up loyalty in the player base and keep your players waiting for the next update. I’m willing to bet most of us have watched TV shows with more than five seasons, or waited years for the next book in a series to come out – on a smaller scale, that’s the kind of loyalty and anticipation you want between play sessions or between content updates.”

Developers making game stories should be aware, however, that narrative comes with risks and rewards.

Risks include the heavy content pipeline required to maintain a good yarn – art, script, implementation, testing, localisation – all for each update.

“You can minimise this work by, for instance, doing less frequent story updates, or simpler stories with fewer art assets. But the risk there is how much value are you losing? Could more regular content updates or a higher quality story make you way more money than it costs to make? And are your players going to move on to another game that updates more frequently?”

Outsourcing story or using AI to plug gaps risks lowering the quality of the narrative: “If you end up with a story so low quality that your players don’t engage with it, was it worth the cost of the outsourcing?”

Narrative can help with UA, though, giving your game a ready-made set of hooks for your ads. “A story pipeline usually generates loads of assets for creatives and loads of narrative ideas too,” said Bowman.

Mobile-specific narrative design should also take lower attention spans into account, with Bowman referencing ‘the Starbucks test’: can you play the game and order a coffee at the same time? “If the answer is no, it’s probably too complicated,” she said.

Keep wordcounts tight and the cast of main characters modest – around six is good. The story should also reflect the core game loop – “for instance – you wouldn’t want to have a sci-fi story with a core where you’re matching candies,” said Bowman.

Learn from soap operas to write a story that’s open-ended and continually updated, and remember that you can look at player response to improve your story.

“One fairly extreme example is Garden Affairs, which completely rewrote its story a few years after launch, and then relaunched with a big advertising campaign to show off the new story,” said Bowman.

Keep across the data to spot if there’s a certain point in the storyline where players begin skipping cutscenes – this tells you it’s not compelling enough and you could start to lose players later on.

Next, it was into case studies on three of the best examples of storytelling in mobile: Homescapes, Merge Mansion and Lily’s Garden.

Bowman noted that Homescapes originally had an opening cutscene, but it was later removed so we can assume it was not engaging players enough. As with many of these games, you’ve got the ‘fresh start’ or ‘clean slate’ setup, some mild drama, a love interest and a never ending to-do list to get on with.

The story is shown to the player through animations on the map, characters popping up to chat, Austin talking to himself and through each task.

UA ads for Homescapes are all focused on mini-games, Bowman noted, perhaps a sign that story is less important in this game overall; it’s more a vehicle for decorating.

Merge Mansion has got a bespoke opening cinematic, and Maddie is a typical ‘blank slate’ and ‘fresh start’ lead character. There’s more interpersonal drama in this one – family secrets, romance, breakups, and of course an endless to-do list.

The story is told in a similar way to Homescapes with map animations, character chatter, Maddie talking to herself and through tasks.

Bowman noted that the story is still being reworked three years after launch: “When the series of ads with the granny in the police car blew up, the story was adapted to incorporate that,” she said.

Lily’s Garden also has a lavish opening cutscene, with Lily as the classic blank slate, fresh start protagonist. But this has “buckets of interpersonal drama,” says Bowman. The story is told in the same way as Homescapes and Merge Mansion, with additional occasional illustrations during cutscenes.

“Historically the advertising for Lily’s Garden has been overwhelmingly story-focused, but recently they have moved towards some mini-game style ads as well,” said Bowman. “The story ads have super dramatic situations and lots of risqué humour…out of all the examples I’d say Lily’s Garden has the best set up with a fairly large set of characters, all with exaggerated traits and flaws making them perfect for long-term storytelling.”

Bowman concluded with some quickfire tips around retention and monetisation:

  • Use live data to look at where retention drops off and see if they line up with particular plot points
  • End each update with a soap opera-style cliff-hanger
  • Recap what’s happened and give players reminders to keep them on track
  • Think about special storylines for end-of-content players, something lighter with fewer assets
  • Gate side stories behind an IAP – give your most engaged players something extra
  • Line up your best cliffhangers with harder or more expensive tasks

And also some more thoughts on how to execute storytelling long term:

  • Look at how soap operas and telenovelas stagger their cliffhangers, use multiple storyline strands and deploy character tropes
  • Always have one major storyline left open: the player shouldn’t ever come away feeling like all their questions are answered
  • If you close off one big storyline, have the groundwork for the next one in place
  • Have chaos-creating characters in your line-up. Edwina from Love and Pies and Lily’s mum in Lily’s Garden are always creating problems

Wrapping up, Bowman had a handful of more technical tips and tricks:

  • Get an experienced narrative design person on your team early in development
  • Lean on data and UA testing with your story concepts
  • Try and work out how much each story update costs and how much value it brings through metrics
  • Recap the story: this continually provides value by keeping players engaged
  • Each line should be succinct and snappy – look at every single word and decide if it’s necessary or can be cut
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Content: Greta Gerwig's Barbie Breaks Every Single Hollywood Rule About 'Toy Movies'

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being discussed here wouldn't exist. This article also contains spoilers for "Barbie."

I was a casual Barbie girl growing up. I recall having a couple of dolls as a wee one and marveling at Barbie's a little-too-perfect beauty. Bratz were more my jam, as they were marketed as the diverse, grown-up, spunkier version of the all-American image of Barbie. It could be argued that all American girl dolls were created to either follow or respond to Barbie's template, and as time went on, girls (I'm generalizing with "girls" because of that pesky ol' gender binary) had their pick of which doll line they resonated most with. But even as doll variations have become more "mature," eclectic, and malleable to changing trends, something inevitably happens to the girls that play with them.

They grow up.

At a certain age, it's no longer cool or even socially acceptable for women to play with dolls or consume related media. "Girls mature faster than boys," and all that. I put my Bratz down for the final time at about 12, and I distinctly recall feeling as if even that age was holding on too long.

But why did I feel that way? Despite boys in my grade and older still proudly holding onto film and TV versions of their childhood heroes?

The boy toys

Little boys have their own dolls — or "action figures," the masculinized term that society has forced us to call them — to play with. G.I. Joe, Transformers, Power Rangers, Batman, Superman, Legos, and more. But unlike girls, when boys outgrow toys, they can move on to collecting "figurines" to build. They can collect comics. They can even watch big-budget film and TV adaptations of their favorite toys. From the '80s until now, nearly every significant boy-marketed franchise has had new life breathed into it in the form of live-action films. High-profile actors from Michael Keaton to Chris Pratt have become the fully realized adult versions of beloved boy heroes.

Marvel specifically has worked to perfect its mass appeal, incorporating comedy that children can engage with as well as nuanced themes for adults. They've managed to imbue an emotional gravitas to the stories of Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther, and more that now-adult male fans of these heroes can ponder. They changed the game of superhero adaptations for the mainstream, challenging all creators of "nerd" media to meet their standards. Most importantly, they figured out there was a market for speaking directly to men who were not ready to let the playthings of their youth go. Even before Marvel's rise, we had Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy, Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, and Michael Bay's "Transformers," a franchise that's still going strong 16 years on. All boy toys, all the time, at the box office.

Binary expectations

I should take time to stress that the reverie for childhood fixations is not inherently bad. Yet when it comes to this reverie for men, it does not exist in a vacuum. It fits within the larger, accepted narrative around men's arrested development. It compounds their generally assumed lack of emotional intelligence and unequal share of domestic responsibility in partnerships with women. Altogether, these tendencies create the reality that men don't have the same pressure to mentally mature as women do. If you know a college-aged man who lives in a messy apartment, littered with "Dark Knight" posters and pizza boxes, you chalk it up to his masculine nature. If you know a college-age woman who has a messy apartment with Sailor Moon posters and laundry strewn about, you look at her like she has three heads. She shouldn't be so lazy, we say.

Women are forced into the binary of infantilization or adultification, and our media reflects this. Any media about girlhood toys are marketed exclusively to little girls or teen girls. The only attempt I can recall of a girls' toy getting the live-action treatment was 2007's "Bratz: The Movie," but it was marketed to teen girls. It was nowhere near the scale of "Barbie," and even I had no interest in watching it. As we grow into women, we're socialized to enter adulthood by turning our backs on innocence. We're made to feel that we must slam the door on our loves before puberty in favor of dating, makeup, gossip, and household responsibility. Men are given the privilege of holding onto their boyhood, whether that's wearing superhero tees or simply never reaching emotional maturity. Women are not; we are adultified as girls to prepare us for our assumed future roles as caregivers to men and children.

Let's go (to the movies), girls

Considering that reality, to see "Barbie" hit theaters feels earth-shattering. Finally, a film for us.

"Us" being women and femmes and our inner children who were shamed for our girly interests. It's no wonder we left our dolls behind so abruptly; even when we were the "appropriate" age for playing with them, we were always reminded of how inferior these toys were. Though not widely encouraged, it was still somewhat acceptable for girls to play with "boy" toys — but boys were steered vigorously away from playing with any toy deemed "for girls" for fear of being labeled as one. As kids, we got the message loud and clear: boy things are good, potentially neutral interests; girl things are marked negative and childish. Even now, as "Barbie" debuts to raucous applause, men are rushing to minimize the film's validity in going head-to-head with the more masculine "Oppenheimer." Could it be ... fear that a film for the girls could come out decisively on top of a gritty, Christopher Nolan film?

Seeing artists whose work I respect like Margot Robbie, Dua Lipa, Issa Rae, and Mark Ronson be prominently involved with "Barbie" is validating. It tells the inner children of all genders that loved feminine dolls that, yes, Barbies can be cool. Even if the marketing campaign and various unrelated licensing deals have been criticized as excessive, there are plenty of fans salivating over every new promotional drop. After a long drought of opportunities to rep a childhood favorite, grown-up Barbie fans are reveling in this spotlight moment. Seeing everything from gaming consoles to high heels dripping in signature Barbie pink affirms the countless identities that fan "Barbies" grew up to inhabit — just like the vastness of identities the Barbie doll has had over the years.

Reclaiming what's ours

Barbie's impact on the construct of femininity, for better or worse, is immeasurable and worth exploring in adulthood. Like the men who sit religiously through every Marvel and DC film, women deserve to take a piece of their childhood with them as they age. Given the unrealistic expectations society sets forth for women — in part because of Barbie — it's the least Hollywood could allow women to do: reclaim our girlhood.

Because for the younger versions of ourselves, Barbie was everything — good, bad, and somewhere in the gray area. Our relationship with her may have grown distant or complicated as we aged, but the debut of this film invites us to remember her, to reawaken the dormant child within us that was left ignored by Hollywood for decades. No matter if you love or hate Barbie, when asking yourself if she warrants the amount of hype this film has provided her, I hope the answer is clear:

For all that she has given us, she absolutely is worth it.

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Content: ‘It’s a magical experience children never forget’: why toy shops flourish while others struggle

·8 min read

Once upon a time – well, only the other day, actually, a Monday morning during the summer holidays – in the beautiful city of Bath, there stood a building. Just across from the railway station. It was – still is – a grand, handsome building, built not so long ago but in a Georgian style befitting its historic surroundings. But it is not a happy building because its owners fell on hard times and left. Now the Debenhams building stands empty, haunted by the ghosts of sales assistants, a relic of a different, happier retail age.

Hold the violins, though, and walk round the corner to St Lawrence Street, where you will find a little pocket of life – joy even – occupying a unit within the same building. Here is a window filled with hot-air balloons, a red pedal car, mice, a huge fantasy wooden castle. It could be Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Toy Story 2, Big, Angela Carter even, if you want to go darker or classier: choose your own cultural comparison. This independent toy shop, called My Small World, is run by a woman called Dawn Burden and I’m spending the morning here.

First, before going inside to play, the why part. Because this little scene in Bath is a bigger retail picture in microcosm. Amid widespread high street misery, department stores closing, and familiar names moving online or vanishing entirely, for toy shops the story is less doom and gloom, more boom.

Sales in toy shops from January to June 2022 were up 44% on the same period last year. Duh, you say: lockdown at the start of 2021, that’s why. True, that does have a lot to do with it – but what about this? Even in the second quarter of 2022, sales were up 13% versus the same period in 2021, when shops were open.

Speaking from his home in Donaghadee, County Down, Alan Simpson, who has been in the business for more than 40 years and is chairman of the Toy Retailers Association, says there was a bit of extra money around for some people. “People on furlough didn’t have the expense of going to work; they weren’t able to get away on holiday. I think parents felt able to push the boat out a bit when it came to expenditure on toys and the kids reaped the benefit.”

There are about 600 toy shops in Britain, well down on 900 five years ago, but that trend is changing. After what it describes as a bumper year, the Toy Retailers Association expects the number of actual physical shops to increase by 10% over the next two years. As well as chairing the association, Simpson runs the Toytown chain, which has about 30 stores across the UK. Last year it opened two new shops; this year it will be three. “If your competitors are moving forward and you’re not, you’re basically reversing.”

My son wants to play Minecraft, he wants to play Roblox. But here he’s like: ‘Look, a balancing bird!’

My Small World in Bath is not part of a chain. Burden opened up 17 years ago, in a different part of town, next to Waitrose, and she admits that is her target market. The stuff she sells is tasteful, old-fashioned, wholesome. There are no batteries, not a lot of plastic, plenty of wood. It’s not displayed according to age or gender. “Boys love doll’s houses; girls like building things. I think we’re beyond that,” she says. “It’s important we’re edging boys towards being nurturing and girls towards engineering.”

It’s not cheap. You can get a string of coloured twist-and-lock blocks for £2 or a make-your-own nodding cat for £3, but the most expensive doll’s house is 300 full-sized adult quid, as is the red metal pedal car in the window. “Things like that will last,” says Jo Salmon. “They’ll pass them down to their kids. It’s important to be sustainable now.”

Jo is here with her children, Thea, eight, and Laurie, five. It’s Laurie’s favourite shop. Thea likes the books and the arty stuff. They are local; hadn’t planned to come in, were just passing. Mum got steered through the door.

Pester power, plus the lure of the toy shop window, is paying off – soon after opening time, it’s already busy. “I like it because there are things my seven-year-old only wants to do on the screen,” says Cheryl Burnside about her son Sam, who is there along with three-year-old David. “He wants to play Minecraft, he wants to play Roblox. But here he’s like: ‘Oh, look – a balancing bird!’ That’s not something he would have been exposed to. It’s important to let them go in and play around.” She ends up getting the bird for Sam and a book for David. They are not local – they are on holiday from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It’s good to have the tourists back, says Burden. While I’m in the shop, French, German and Cornish (“escaping the crowds”) families come into the shop. The Cogswell family – mum Millie, Arthur, 10, and Phillip, three – aren’t tourists. They are from Bath but currently living in Saudi Arabia for work; they have returned for a visit. “It’s nice to be back where anything goes, and kids are still kids and allowed to play with rainbow toys,” says Millie.

“They’re banning rainbow toys and clothes,” explains Arthur about the Saudi authorities seizing kids’ stuff they think promotes homosexuality. He leaves with a build-your-own crank-operated doorbell, natural wood coloured, but it could be painted like a rainbow. Phillip gets a tugboat for the bath.

Louise Evans and Emily Weston don’t have kids but do work with them. They are primary school teachers from Swindon, and understand the importance of the physical shop. “If you can see something, you can visualise your child, or someone else’s child, with it,” says Louise. “If I buy something online for the classroom I don’t really know what it’s going to be like.” Again they were just passing by. They are in town on a girls’ day out to visit an actual bricks-and-mortar bookshop. Hey, shopping on the internet is so pre-pandemic – the future is in-store.

Juno, 10, agrees about the importance of going into a shop. “You can interact with stuff and they let you try things out,” she says. Right now she is interacting with a mouse wearing a striped dress lying in a little bed inside a matchbox. “I love tiny stuff and making tiny little worlds.” A mouse in a matchbox is £23.50.

“We’ve been known to spend far too much money in here,” says Juno’s dad, Joe Short. But in tough times, maybe especially in tough times, people spend money on different things. “Even in the shit, people look after their kids. That’s not a bad spend. You don’t tell yourself off for that, whereas you don’t feel so great about drinking that extra bottle of wine. Buying a toy for your loved one is sort of righteous.”

Burden thinks the past couple of years might have seen some family bonds strengthened. “I wonder whether people are more tuned into their children because they spent a lot of time with them in lockdown. Maybe children are more visible in their lives than they were pre-pandemic.”

There’s a lot less disposable income. People are starting to batten down the hatches

Good news for children, good news for toy shops, good news for Dawn. Last year was My Small World’s busiest ever. By November, sales were back to where they were before Covid. Now, month on month, they are pre-pandemic plus 24%. Even taking into account higher-than-average inflation, that is doing well. I’m not a financial journalist but I believe the technical term is ker-ching.

Incidentally, here they have a little set of steps at the counter so smaller people can climb up and get involved. The woman currently paying, Felicity Lynch, doesn’t need it: she hasn’t brought any of her five children along “because they grab everything”. But she likes to come in rather than going online. “I prefer to be able to look and touch and feel.” Today she is getting a wooden puzzle toy for her soon-to-be two-year-old daughter for £16.

Simpson agrees about the need for physical shops – that’s why he keeps opening his own Toytown stores: “It would be incredibly detrimental for toy shops to go only online. You remember being brought into a toy shop when you were a child – it’s a magical experience children remember for the rest of their lives. There’s no magic in a cardboard box arriving.”

Related: Playing with dolls helps children talk about how others feel, says study

Tough times ahead though, right? “I’m cautious without getting depressed about it,” Simpson says. “We know what’s going on out there with petrol and electric and gas prices. There’s a lot less disposable income about. I think people are starting to batten down the hatches and look for value. We’re aware that going into the back end of the year isn’t going to be the same as last year.”

A lot will depend on what kind of support the new prime minister is going to deliver. But for his business, and for Burden and all the others, there is another, potentially even more important saviour who never fails to deliver, even if it is only once a year. “The difference between toys and most retailers is that Santa comes at Christmas time, and parents push the boat out to try to make sure there’s a good Christmas for the kids.”

And so they all lived happily ever after. For the time being at least.

Shoppable features within these platforms facilitate impulse purchases, making it easier for fans to acquire Labubu toys as soon as they see them .

**Cultural Significance and Investment Value** Labubu and similar collectibles have transcended their status as mere toys to become cultural icons and investment assets.

**Cultural Significance and Investment Value** Labubu and similar collectibles have transcended their status as mere toys to become cultural icons and investment assets.

**Cultural Significance and Investment Value** Labubu and similar collectibles have transcended their status as mere toys to become cultural icons and investment assets.

The rarity and desirability of limited edition figures drive significant resale value, attracting both collectors and investors .

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Adults are loading up on toys. No, not that kind you naughty so-and-so

‘Kidults’ are buying children’s toys for themselves and have helped US sales surge 37% in two years

19 June 2022 - 17:41 By Kelly Gilblom

Chloe Dykstra’s seven Razor scooters have entertained her throughout the pandemic. During lockdown she also occupied herself building a Lego typewriter. Now she’s eyeing apet hatching kit. Though the toys were designed for children, that doesn’t bother Dykstra, a 33-year-old writer and producer in Los Angeles. “Sometimes taking care of yourself looks like going back to childhood a little bit,” she said...

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

Which products are increasingly viewed as treasures by collectors?

The cultural resonance of Labubu is further enhanced by its integration into lifestyle experiences and its role as a symbol of happiness, creativity, and community, particularly appealing to younger generations .

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‘Ready Or Not’ & ‘Scream 6’ Star Samara Weaving Attached To Lead Action-Horror Pic ‘Azrael’ From ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong 2’ & ‘You’re Next’ Scribe

Deadline
 5 days ago

EXCLUSIVE : Ready Or Not and Scream 6 actress Samara Weaving is attached to star in action-horror movie Azrael , which is being eyed by producers as a franchise.

Evan Katz ( Haunting Of Bly Manor ) is aboard to direct the original script by You’re Next scribe Simon Barrett who has the Godzilla Vs Kong sequel coming in 2024. Principal photography is slated to begin October 10 in Estonia.

Story details are being kept under wraps on this one, but we know that Joker financier Jason Cloth and his C2 Motion Picture Group partner Dave Caplan ( The End We Start From ) recently won the rights in a competitive situation and will finance and produce. UTA and CAA will co rep world sales.

Also producing are Dan Kagan ( Significant Other ) and Simon Barrett. Cloth and Katrin Kissa ( November ) are executive producers.

Weaving’s upcoming films include Damien Chazelle’s Babylon opposite Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie for Paramount; the next instalment in the Scream franchise, also with Paramount; Hulu’s The Valet opposite Eugenio Derbez; Searchlight Pictures’ Chevalier , and the thriller Borderline from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.

The Australian actress’s previous credits across film and TV include Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Ready Or Not , Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series Hollywood , and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Weaving is represented by CAA and 111 Media; Evan Katz is represented by CAA and Grandview; Simon Barrett is represented by Novo; Dan Kagan is represented by UTA; C2 Motion Picture Group is represented  by Loeb and Loeb and UTA.

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In conclusion, the Labubu phenomenon is the result of a synergistic

In conclusion, the Labubu phenomenon is the result of a synergistic

In conclusion, the Labubu phenomenon is the result of a synergistic