Chapter 460 Comics weapon to enter the European and American markets: Peppa Pig
Today, when the mainland is not strong enough, no matter how big the Changxing Group is, it is inconvenient to do many things, leaving Qi Dezun, who is very powerful in business, It is most appropriate to come forward.
On December 16, Zheng Zhijie also reached an agreement with the Hong Kong government to buy 39,000 square feet of land at the former naval dormitory site for HK$9.78 million. The average price was only HK$250 per square foot, and this location was in a years ago, It costs at least 800 Hong Kong dollars per square foot. It can be so cheap because the land price has been cut in half. Even if it is a normal transaction, it is estimated to be only more than 300 Hong Kong dollars. In addition, the Hong Kong government is short of money at the moment, so no one has bought this land, so there is no choice. Then it was sold to Changxing Real Estate at a discount.
At the same time, the Hong Kong government only required that construction on the land be started within three years. Therefore, after acquiring the land, Yang Wendong directly ordered the land to be left idle and leave it alone.
The Changxing Group is here. After six months of successive external actions, calm has gradually returned.
On December 20, Yang Wendong had just arrived at the office when he saw Wu Hailin and Zhang Zhiyuan waiting for him, and asked: "Have the results of the overseas animation of "Tinker Bell" been announced?"
"Yes." Zhang Zhiyuan replied.
Yang Wendong said: "Okay, come in and talk."
After the three entered, they sat down on the sofa near the floor-to-ceiling window. After the assistant asked, he quickly gave the three people The tea leaves and tea each needs are served.
Zhang Zhiyuan first said: "Yang Sheng, "Tinker Bell" was launched in the Japanese market one month ago and received pretty good feedback. In the last issue, a total of 8,600 weekly newspapers were sold. This sales volume, It has surpassed Hong Kong.”
"8600?" After hearing this, Yang Wendong said: "This number is indeed good in Hong Kong, but is it not good enough in Japan?"
Hong Kong's current population is almost 3.5 million. Among various newspapers, The highest sales volume is probably between 30,000 and 40,000 copies, but the sales volume of comic newspapers is much lower;
One is because of the gap in customer base size and purchasing power. The customers of normal newspapers are adults, covering people aged 18-60. These people have their own economic power, while the customers of comics are children, who only have pocket money in their hands. Naturally, it is very restrictive, and children are much more likely to gather together than adults, so buying one serving is enough for as many people as possible.
Japan also has this factor, but its total population is much larger and its economy is stronger, so the probability of children having money will be higher, especially in Japan, which has more money than Hong Kong. The habit of buying comics.
Zhang Zhiyuan said: "Yes, this data is nothing in Japan, but our data will gradually increase. After all, it is just the beginning, and there will be word-of-mouth promotion among customer groups in the future;
There is also the issue of channels. The few bookstores we cooperate with cannot cover every corner of Japan. Currently, I am also negotiating with several famous bookstores in Japan to try to put our newspapers in their stores. ”
“Channels are indeed a problem. Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Isn't this overseas channel very expensive?" "
Zhang Zhiyuan replied: "Yes, it is very expensive. Fortunately, the profit margin of our comics is relatively high, so it is still bearable for the time being. Even though most of the profits are still swallowed up by these channels. ”
“Channel is king, there is nothing we can do now. Yang Wendong could only say: "Anyway, in the cultural industry, it doesn't matter whether it makes money or not. As long as it becomes famous, people around it will make money in the future." ”
Not to mention now, even in the future Internet era, the giants of online shopping will also control the channels. If they don’t burn money to buy traffic, there will be no customers at all. The difference is that traditional stores depend on location, while Internet stores It depends on whether the platform provides the amount.
Zhang Zhiyuan agreed: "Yes, some of Ding Dong Cat's plastic toys and stickers have begun to be sold in Hong Kong, Bay, and Southeast Asia, and the sales data are also very good. With these two items alone, the profit is not lower than that of newspapers;
Just wait until the newspaper sales in Japan If it comes up, then our peripheral products can also enter the Japanese market. With the cultural industry atmosphere in Japan, this will definitely bring high returns.”
“This can be regarded as our first success. Have you entered the Japanese market?" Yang Wendong said suddenly.
Zhang Zhiyuan said: "Yes, although several previous comics have entered the Japanese market, their results are not very good, even Journey to the West. Although the four major comics in Japan admire Chinese classics, but the education that children receive The education level is limited and the level of awareness is not high.”
Yang Wendong said: “It’s not that Journey to the West doesn’t work, but it doesn’t work as a comic. It might be much better if it was made into a cartoon, and maybe many adults would feel the same. Interested.”
Wu Hailin replied: "Yang Sheng, I have contacted the mainland for the animation production of "Journey to the West", and they are already drawing script comics according to my request, but the content of "Journey to the West" is too long and it will take a long time. It takes time to draw it,
And for some unknown reason, the progress in the mainland has been a lot slower recently. I asked them and they didn't tell me why. Many times, the phone couldn't be reached. Later, I still contacted China Resources. their, But it doesn’t solve the problem.”
“This is indeed a problem,” Yang Wendong thought for a while and said, “We can’t rely entirely on domestic people to make comics, and continue to poach people from all over Southeast Asia or Japan. "In the future, we will not say that we will make all our cartoons ourselves, but we must also have this ability."
It has been 65 years, and he naturally knows what will happen next, and now he is doing his best in Hong Kong. Things will be fine.
"Okay." After Wu Hailin agreed, he added: "Yang Sheng, I have an idea. Our Changxing Culture can also open a painting talent training class with the Wireless Artist Training Class to find suitable talents. Talents, and then cultivate them yourself;
Although Hong Kong has a small population, I think there must be many people who are talented in this area but don’t know it or don’t have the ability to make money with it and eventually give up. As long as we find these people and train them systematically, they will definitely be able to help us. It will help a lot in the future, but you need to invest some money in the early stage. "
"That's no problem, just make a plan and submit it to the headquarters for review. Yang Wendong agreed: "The training in comics is much lower than that of actors. The investment is still worth it." ”
Large enterprises often need to cultivate specific talents themselves, especially in Hong Kong. Although the illiteracy rate here is lower than in Southeast Asian countries, the total population is still too small.
"Thank you Yang Sheng. "Wu Hailin said with a smile.
Yang Wendong added: "Judging from the current data in Japan, if we only talk about comics, it is obvious that relatively simple children's themes can easily open overseas markets. ”
"Yes." Zhang Zhiyuan also agreed: "There are also many animations in Japan, and the content is very exciting. It is more difficult to compete with them, because there may gradually be cultural restrictions; but for younger themes, there is no need to consider this issue, the simpler and more interesting The better." "What about the European and American markets?" Yang Wendong asked again.
Zhang Zhiyuan replied: "Yang Sheng, several of our previous comics were based on stories of Chinese civilization. Although they have not entered Europe and the United States, I have also investigated those in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. The purchasing situation of children is that they basically know Chinese characters, but their interest is very low. This is because many of them grew up in Hong Kong.
Even Tinker Bell is like this. Therefore, although it is much better than Journey to the West and Nezha Naohai, it still does not meet the requirements of being worthy of special release. After all, we need to open up channels for distribution in Europe and the United States."
"Yeah" Yang Wendong nodded. Head: "Our previous comics are indeed not suitable for the European and American markets, but I think that as long as the content is simple enough, there may be a chance to enter the European and American markets."
"What kind of simple method?" Wu Hailin asked for advice.
Yang Wendong said: "Do you think that whether it is Chinese comics, Japanese or even European and American comics, there is a problem that the protagonists basically play with friends? Or the stories are all with some children Interaction?"
"What's wrong?" Wu Hailin was stunned.
Yang Wendong said: "I think we can try to create a comic story that focuses on the family. The core is the interaction with parents and family. Think about it, are there such comics on the market?"
Wu Hailin thought about it carefully and said: "There is indeed no well-known comic."
In Europe, the United States, Japan, and even China, although the protagonists of comics are children, the core plots are stories between children. Although there are parents, they are usually supporting characters. There are very few that focus on family stories. .
Yang Wendong added: "I only discovered this problem after I had a child and watched cartoons. In fact, children like their parents very much. Before the age of 3, their parents are all they have. Before the age of 6, they spend most of their time with their parents. They also want to be with their parents for a long time
If this is the case. This kind of comic teaches children how to get along with their parents, what kind of things they cannot do, or how to go to different places with their parents, with very righteous values. Do you think children will like this?"
" It's indeed a good idea," Wu Hailin and Zhang Zhiyuan said after looking at each other.
Yang Wendong added: "But don't write the protagonist as a human. Let's write it as a pig. It should be cuter so that children can like it. It is the same as Jingle Cat, anthropomorphic."
"Are they made into animals for future derivatives development?" Zhang Zhiyuan immediately understood what the boss meant.
Yang Wendong said with a smile: "Yes, if a human is the protagonist, many people will have difficulty remembering it after watching it. It is not suitable for toy development. It is easiest to make an animal, and it can also have a unique appearance."< br>
In addition to human beings as a whole Most of the other cartoons with a social background are "humanoid animals" as the protagonists, such as "Blue Cat Naughty Questions", "Pleasant Goat", "Bear Infestation", etc., which were relatively famous in the mainland in previous lives. The reason is to maximize the benefits of IP development.
Wu Hailin said: "Okay, I understand, I will carefully conceive the plot."
Yang Wendong said: "The plot should not be conceived with an adult's thinking, but It is necessary to have more contact with children, or you can do more research on families with children aged 2-4, and find out what interesting stories about parents and children have happened in them. These are what children like to read
Children's comics are written for young children. We will no longer publish comics in the future and will directly make cartoons. Therefore, in terms of manpower, we also need to keep up as soon as possible. "
"Okay. "Zhang Zhiyuan agreed.
Yang Wendong continued: "As for the characters, I will go to your place to negotiate with the painting staff in a few days. The names of the characters will be the same. "
Actually, it doesn't necessarily need to be exactly the same, as long as it is good in this aspect, the core is the plot.
Wu Hailin smiled and said: "No problem, our painting department welcomes Yang Sheng at any time. . ”
"Well, that's good." Yang Wendong nodded: "Your most important task in the first half of next year is to make this family cartoon for young children. For other previous comics, everything will be normal."
Although in Hong Kong I have been developing comics for several years, but the foundation is still far behind that of Japan. In addition to Chinese mythology and stories, I still have to focus on making simple animations, which are less difficult and easier to achieve results.
The original Peppa Pig in history became very popular in the 21st century, easily conquering the European and American markets, with an annual net profit of up to 1 billion US dollars.
Although there is an inflation factor, it is difficult for today's "Peppa Pig" to have this data, but even if it is only a few tenths, it is still very good, and we must also take into account the 21st century However, in an era where the entertainment threshold is very high, if such strong results are achieved in this environment, then today, when there was no electronic entertainment a few decades ago, the sales would theoretically be even higher.
However, the core is content, which Yang Wendong cannot control, because he didn't watch much in his previous life, and now he can only rely on his own content team.
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(End of this chapter)