Chapter 460: Comic Weapon for Entering the European and American Markets: Peppa Pig

Chapter 460: Comic Weapon for Entering the European and American Markets: Peppa Pig

Chapter 460: Comic Weapon for Entering 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 not convenient to take action on many things. It is most appropriate to let Qi Dezun, who is very capable in business, come forward.

On December 12, Zheng Zhijie reached an agreement with the Hong Kong government and purchased 16 square feet of land at the former site of the Naval Dormitory for HK$978 million. The average price was only HK$3.9 per square foot. A year ago, this location would have cost at least HK$250 per square foot. The reason why it was so cheap was that the land price had been cut in half. Even if it was a normal transaction, it would probably be around HK$800. In addition, the Hong Kong government was short of money at the moment, and no one had bought the land, so it could only be sold to Changxing Real Estate at a discount.

At the same time, the Hong Kong government only required that construction on the land begin within three years. Therefore, after acquiring the land, Yang Wendong directly ordered that the land be left uncultivated.
After a wave of external actions in the second half of the year, Changxing Group gradually returned to calm.

On December 12, Yang Wendong had just arrived at the office when he saw Wu Hailin and Zhang Zhiyuan waiting for him. He asked, "What are the overseas results of the Doraemon animation?"

"Yes." Zhang Zhiyuan replied.

Yang Wendong said: "Okay, come in and talk."

After the three of them entered, they sat down on the sofa near the floor-to-ceiling window. After the assistant asked them, he quickly served the three of them the tea they requested.

Zhang Zhiyuan first said: "Mr. Yang, Doraemon was launched in the Japanese market a month ago and received good feedback. In the last issue, a total of 1 weekly newspapers were sold, which has exceeded the sales in Hong Kong."

"8600?" Yang Wendong said after listening, "This number is indeed good in Hong Kong, but it is not good enough in Japan, right?"

Hong Kong's population is now about 350 million. Among all types of newspapers, the highest sales are about 3 to 4 copies, but the sales of comic newspapers are much lower;

One reason is the difference in the number of customer groups and their purchasing power. The customers of normal newspapers are adults, covering people aged 18-60, who have their own economic power, while the customers of comics are children, who naturally have limited pocket money. Children are much more likely to gather together than adults, so as many people as buy one copy is enough.

The same factor also exists in Japan, but their total population is much larger and their economy is stronger, so the probability of children having money is also higher. In particular, Japan has a stronger habit of buying comics than Hong Kong.

Zhang Zhiyuan said: "Yes, this data is nothing in Japan, but our data will gradually increase. After all, it is just the beginning, and the customer groups will continue to spread the word.

Another issue is the distribution channel. The bookstores we work with cannot cover every corner of Japan. I am currently negotiating with several famous bookstores in Japan to get our newspapers into their stores.”

"Channels are indeed a problem." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Isn't the overseas channel fee very expensive?"

Zhang Zhiyuan replied: "Yes, it is very expensive. Fortunately, the profit margin of our comics is relatively high, so we can still afford it for the time being. However, most of the profits are still swallowed up by these channels."

"Channels are king, and there's nothing we can do about it right now." Yang Wendong could only say, "Anyway, it doesn't matter whether the cultural industry itself makes money or not. As long as it becomes famous, there will be money to be made from the surrounding products later on."

Not to mention now, even in the future Internet era, the online shopping giants will also control the channels. If they don’t spend money to buy traffic, they will have no customers at all. The difference is that traditional stores look at location, while Internet stores look at whether the platform can provide volume.

Zhang Zhiyuan agreed, "Yes, some of Doraemon's plastic toys and stickers have already started to be sold in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, and the sales figures are very good. With these two products alone, the profits are no less than newspapers.

As long as the sales of newspapers in Japan increase, our peripheral products can also enter the Japanese market. Given the cultural industry atmosphere in Japan, this will definitely bring high returns."

"This is also our first successful entry into the Japanese market, right?" Yang Wendong suddenly said.

Zhang Zhiyuan said: "Yes, although the previous comics have entered the Japanese market, the results are not very good, even Journey to the West is the same. Although Japan admires the four great Chinese classics, the education received by children is limited and their level of cognition is not high."

Yang Wendong said: "It's not that Journey to the West is not good, but it's not good as a comic. If it were made into an animation, it might be much better. Maybe many adults would be interested in it."

Wu Hailin replied: "Mr. Yang, I have already contacted the mainland side for the animation production of Journey to the West. They have already drawn the script comics according to my requirements. However, the content of Journey to the West is too long and it will take a long time to draw it.
And for some unknown reason, the progress in the mainland has been much slower recently. I asked them but they didn’t tell me why, and I couldn’t get through on the phone most of the time. Later I contacted them through China Resources, but the problem couldn’t be solved either.”

"This is indeed a problem." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "We can't rely entirely on domestic people to produce comics. So, we can continue to recruit people from Southeast Asia or Japan. In the future, we don't have to make all the cartoons ourselves, but we must have the ability to do so."

It has been 65 years, and he naturally knows what will happen next. Now he just needs to do his own thing in Hong Kong.

"Okay." Wu Hailin agreed and said, "Mr. Yang, I have an idea. We at Changxing Culture can also work with the Wireless Artist Training Class to open a painting talent training class, find suitable talents, and then train them ourselves.
Although Hong Kong has a small population, I think there must be many people who have talent in this area but are unaware of it or have no ability to make money with it and eventually give up. As long as we find these people and train them systematically, it will definitely be of great help to our future, but we need to invest some money in the early stages.”

"That's no problem. Just make a plan and submit it to the headquarters for review." Yang Wendong agreed and said, "The training for comics is much lower than that for actors. This investment is still worth it."

Large enterprises often need to train their own specific talents, especially in Hong Kong. Although the illiteracy rate here is lower than that in Southeast Asian countries, the total population is still too small.

"Thank you, Mr. Yang." Wu Hailin said with a smile.

Yang Wendong added: "From the current data in Japan, if we only talk about comics, it is obvious that simpler children's themes are easier to open up overseas markets."

"Yes." Zhang Zhiyuan also agreed: "There are many animations in Japan with exciting content. It is difficult to compete with them because there may be gradual cultural restrictions. However, there is no need to consider this issue for low-age themes. The simpler and more interesting the better." "What about the European and American markets?" Yang Wendong asked again.

Zhang Zhiyuan replied: "Mr. Yang, our previous comics were all based on stories of Chinese civilization. Although they have not entered Europe and the United States, I have also investigated the purchase of British children in Hong Kong. They basically know Chinese characters, but their interest is very low. This is the case when many of them grew up in Hong Kong.

Even Doraemon is the same. Although it is much better than Journey to the West and Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, it still does not meet the requirements of being worthy of special investment. After all, we need to open up channels to distribute it in Europe and the United States. "

"Yeah," Yang Wendong nodded. "Our previous comics are indeed not very 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's the simple method?" Wu Hailin asked.

Yang Wendong said: "Don't you think that whether it's Chinese comics, Japanese comics, or even European and American comics, there is a problem that the protagonists basically play with friends? Or the stories are all about interacting with some children?"

"Is there something wrong?" Wu Hailin was stunned.

Yang Wendong said: "I think we can try to come up with a comic story that focuses on the family, with the core being the interaction between parents and family. Think about it, are there any comics like this on the market?"

Wu Hailin thought about it carefully and said, "It is definitely not found in any well-known comics."

In Europe, America, Japan, and even in China, although the protagonists of the comics are children, the core plots are stories between children. Although there are parents, they are generally supporting roles, and there are very few comics that focus on family stories.

Yang Wendong added: "I discovered this problem after I had a child and watched cartoons. In fact, children love their parents very much. Before the age of 3, parents are everything to them. 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 there is a comic like this, which uses very righteous values ​​to teach children how to get along with their parents, what not to do, or that they can go to different places with their parents, do you think children will like it?"

"This is indeed a good idea." Wu Hailin and Zhang Zhiyuan looked at each other and said.

Yang Wendong added: "But don't write the protagonist as a human. Write it as a pig. It's cuter and children will like it. It's like Doraemon, an anthropomorphic one."

"Is it made into animals for the development of derivative products in the future?" Zhang Zhiyuan immediately understood what his boss meant.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Yes, if humans are the protagonists, many people will find it difficult to remember them after watching them, and they are not suitable for toy development. It is easiest to make them into animals, and they can also have a unique appearance."

Except for cartoons with the human society as the background, the vast majority of others have "human-shaped animals" as the protagonists, such as the more famous "Blue Cat's Three Thousand Questions", "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf", "Boonie Bears" and so on in the mainland in the past life. The core reason is to maximize the benefits of IP development.

Wu Hailin said: "Okay, I understand. I will think about the plot carefully."

Yang Wendong said: "When it comes to plots, don't think from an adult's perspective, but get more exposure to children. Or you can do some research on families with children aged 2-4 and find out what interesting stories have happened between parents and children. These are what children like to watch.

Children's comics are written for children. We will no longer publish comics in the future, but will directly make animations, so we need to catch up with the manpower as soon as possible."

"Okay." Zhang Zhiyuan agreed.

Yang Wendong continued, "As for the characters' images, I will go to your place in a few days to discuss with the painters. The same goes for the names of the characters."

In fact, it doesn't necessarily need to be exactly the same. As long as it's not bad in this aspect, the core is still the plot.

Wu Hailin smiled and said, "No problem, our painting department welcomes Mr. Yang anytime."

"Well, that's good." Yang Wendong nodded: "Your most important task in the first half of next year is to do a good job on this family children's cartoon. As for the other previous cartoons, everything will be fine."

Although comics have been developed in Hong Kong for several years, the foundation is still far behind that of Japan. Apart from Chinese mythology stories, it still focuses on making simple animations, which is less difficult and easier to achieve results.

Peppa Pig originally became extremely popular in the 21st century, easily conquering the European and American markets and generating annual net profits of up to $10 billion.

Although there is the factor of inflation, it is difficult for "Peppa Pig" to achieve this data today, but even if it is only a few tens of times, it is still very good. We also have to consider that the 21st century is an era with a very high threshold of entertainment. To achieve such strong results in such an environment, then in theory, the sales would be even higher decades ago when there was no electronic entertainment.

However, the core is still the content, which is something Yang Wendong cannot control because he had never read much about it in his previous life. Now he can only rely on his own content team.

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(End of this chapter)