The kawaii phenomenon marketing

How can just ten hand-drawn lines bring so much happiness to millions of people and bring over USD 80 billion over lifetime? Say hello to Kitty, the originator of Japan’s kawaii culture that took the world by storm. Kawaii is Japanese cultural phenomenon that emphasizes cuteness and innocence. It all began in 1974 when a 24 year old Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu, who was working at Sanrio at that time, drew Hello Kitty. She was inspired by Alice’s cats in the novel Alice through the Looking Glass. Sanrio president Shintaro Tsuji recognized that the characters on gift items sell so he urged his staff to create animal characters. In 1975, Hello Kitty’s first product, a vinyl coin purse, was released. She then has successfully paved the way for cuteness exports to the West including Pokémon, Totoro and emojis. The world has never looked back since in fully integrating kawaii into everyday lives. What is it about kawaii culture that made it so irresistible that people couldn’t stop talking about it?

1. Compelling user benefit: Cuteness is associated with babies and it immediately captures attention, provides comfort, brings out compassion and empathy. As per evolutionary psychology, cuteness is a survival trait as humans are hardwired to protect it. This is why the cute characters all emulate key features of the babies such as big heads, large eyes, chubby cheeks, short arms and legs. Think Olaf, Stitch, Pikachu, and Squishmallows. They immediately bring warm and happy feeling, and that is the irreplaceable benefit of kawaii.
2. New and timeless brand stories: Cuteness, coupled with stories, not only grabs attention, but is unstoppable. Totoro, from Studio Ghibli’s 1988 animation My Neighbor Totoro, is a forest spirit that is shaped liked a big, round, fuzzy, cuddly monster. The story of the two young sisters in the old countryside where their mom is recovering from illness is told in a beautiful and endearing manner. Specifically, the interaction between the playful Totoro and sisters perfectly encapsulates the innocence and magic of childhood. People who see the film walk away feeling uplifted, nostalgic, and wondrous. This exceptional story of adorable looking Totoro is what makes it one of the most beloved and talked about cartoon characters in history.
3. Synergy across categories: Multiple industries have embraced kawaii, creating synergies and benefiting everyone involved. No one does this better across generations than Pokémon. At toddler age, Pikachu stuffies and toys are introduced. Pre-teens, kids start getting into collecting and trading Pokémon cards. They also start learning Pokémon stories through animations. Teenagers get into Pokémon cards and video games. Adults continue enjoying playing these various games including Pokémon Go. Gotta Catch ’Em All becomes a lifelong motto that continuously attracts both old and new fans.

No one could have predicted that what began as an experiment in early 1970s by Sanrio to sell more stationery products, could morph into this global phenomenon marketing. How did kawaii take off to create the enduring zeitgeist flywheel globally and across generations?

1. Latest marketing channels with new drivers for earned media: Licensing is the primary channel that Sanrio utilized during pre-Internet era to raise brand awareness and engage with the target audience. Licensing is a business arrangement in which a company gives permission to another company to make or sell products that feature its brand for a percentage of revenue. Sanrio, which has more than 450 kawaii characters, learned from Disney that people are willing to pay to essentially become the walking billboards for their brand. Sanrio’s characters are featured in all types of items including apparels, accessories, lifestyle goods, food, and even planes. These items are strictly quality controlled by Sanrio to ensure they meet the highest kawaii standard. Given the sheer number of unique, licensed products, licensing gives its core audience plenty of new, exciting reasons to talk about the brand.
2. Ecosystem effort with long run customer centric approach and key breakthrough moments: A partnership between public and private sectors is key for phenomenon marketing to take off. In 2017, Japanese government appointed Hello Kitty and Pikachu as ambassadors for Japan. Being appointed an ambassador is not new to Hello Kitty. UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) appointed her the children’s ambassador for the US in 1983 and children’s ambassador for Japan in 1994. These recognitions have expedited kawaii culture to gain global influence. Along with these came some breakthrough kawaii moments. During the Japanese economic crisis in 1990s, Japanese government adopted kawaii mascots to build consumer confidence. Then, companies followed, with kawaii entertainment franchisees such as Pokémon. Pokémon’s massive successes with Game Boy, cards and Pokémon Go helped push kawaii phenomenon into a new height.
3. An incubation center to create and refine the benefits and ecosystem: Japan is uniquely positioned to incubate kawaii for two reasons. First, Japan’s deeply ingrained manga and anime culture made it a natural breeding ground for artistic conception of kawaii characters. In particular, a type of manga called shojo manga that is aimed at girls, significantly shaped kawaii culture by popularizing wide-eyed characters that symbolize cuteness and invoke protectiveness. Secondly, Japan’s minimalism culture, partly driven by dense urban living with small space, has led its people to value small things. Japan also has a tradition of making small, detailed objects by hand, as seen by bonsai trees. Japanese people’s positive inclination towards small items created demand for kawaii items.

Phenomenon marketing doesn’t just sell individual products. It inspires and moves people. In Japan, there is one famous yellow train that lets passengers have the most immersive and fun Pokémon adventure with Pikachu. It is no other than the JR Pokémon train that was developed in 2012. This was strategically developed to bring smiles to the children in Tohoku region that had been devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in March of 2011. The train not only brought smiles as intended but also helped revitalize the region’s economy by attracting tourists. This is the power of kawaii phenomenon marketing. As Hello Kitty turns 50 this year, we can’t wait to see how much more kawaii phenomenon marketing will accomplish in bringing joy and hope to people.