Korean Cartoon Character Breaks into Asian Market by Brand Licensing

Raise brand awareness through licensing shows and promote brand licensing actively

19 December 2018

<h4><strong>Every year, a rich array of cartoon characters is launched in the market in an attempt to draw public attention and trigger consumption. However, people mostly favour brand new things and forget the old ones. It is by no means easy for a cartoon character to stand out among a vast number of counterparts, not to say maintain popularity. Having said that, Mr.Donothing, a Korean cartoon character, has achieved stunning breakthroughs. Not only has it risen to fame swiftly upon its launch, but also broken into the Asian market vigorously. What’s more, its licensed merchandise is much sought after and manages to keep popularity high nowadays. CHO Hee-jae, Brand Designer of Mr.Donothing, believes the key to success lies in the attitude towards life portrayed by the character and their active approach to brand licensing.</strong></h4><br /><h4><strong>Observe what people desire and create a character that arouses echoes</strong></h4><p align="justify">In today’s society, many people suffer from stress and anxiety. Even though they are dying to take a break, they will consider themselves worthless once they stop moving forward. Mr. CHO understands the psychological needs of the public and designed Mr.Donothing. Each picture appears to portray the “veg-out” lifestyle desired by most people, which arouses tremendous echoes in the city and becomes the talk of the town rapidly.<br /><br />“Our design team is concerned about the idle moments when people just want to do nothing, and incorporates such laid-back features into the character. I expect our users can share the same feeling with Mr.Donothing and relieve themselves in a way, and hope them not to feel guilty when they are doing nothing.”<br /><br />CHO wants to make use of Mr.Donothing to advocate a laid-back approach to life and remind people to stay relax amid the hustle and bustle of daily life. Doing nothing does not mean being lazy. “The core message Mr.Donothing delivers is pursuing work-life balance, but not being lazy.”</p><br /><h4><strong>Raise brand awareness through licensing shows and promote brand licensing actively</strong></h4><p align="justify">To raise the brand awareness of Mr.Donothing, Cho’s team has been exploring the markets in other cities by brand licensing. Cho said, “Since 2016, Mr.Donothing has been collaborating with some fashion brands of three Asian countries. Next year (2019), we will extend the scope of our partnership to other industries, such as toys, stationery, and food and beverages. We believe Asia is the largest and most important market, and Mr.Donothing is good enough to break into the Asian market, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.”<br /><br />CHO’s team has joined the Hong Kong International Licensing Show (Licensing Show) organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for a few consecutive years. CHO confirms that the team has learnt a lot from the Licensing Show, “Since 2016, we have been participating in this event, which serves as an excellent platform for international buyers to meet up. Amid them, some are Hong Kong buyers, others come from the United States, Taiwan and Mainland China.” CHO stresses that most of their business partners are buyers they met in the Licensing Show. He concludes that the brand awareness of Mr.Donothing has been raised in Hong Kong, resulting in more collaboration opportunities, “My team is actively extending the overseas market through diverse marketing channels, one of which is definitely the Licensing Show.”</p>

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