Tag: Anime

Hong Kong – Pizza Hut in Hong Kong has teamed up with the popular manga and anime franchise Spy x Family in a bid to bolster the brand’s offerings and loyalty in the Hong Kong market.

It is worth noting that the campaign launch also coincided with the ongoing airing of Spy x Family’s second season, which premiered on October 7.

According to Pizza Hut, the campaign collaboration was aimed at using Spy x Family’s popularity to raise awareness of the membership program of Pizza Hut (Hut Rewards) and engage the consumers via different channels, including offline (instore), online (social media) and digital (mobile app and web) to drive interest, membership enrolment and traffic.

Moreover, the collaboration aims to create a unique and exciting dining experience for the consumers with the time-limited store décor, specially designed premiums and pizza boxes.

Pizza Hut also notes that this collaboration aims to appeal to the mass and younger segment of consumers and a range of specially designed time-limited premiums to highlight the exclusiveness and value of being a Hut Rewards member. This, in turn, will help motivate target consumers, drive membership enrolment, and increase traffic and sales in the long run.

Exclusive merchandising will be also released, including stickers, canvas bag, plush pillow, and aroma diffuser. Moreover, select 11 stores in Hong Kong will be turned into Spy x Family-themed stores. In it, the locations are adorned with themed decorations, featuring various Instagrammable photo spots and character standees. Customers can enjoy Pizza Hut’s delicious food while posing for memorable photos with Anya, the franchise’s most popular character.

Renee Chan, director of customer experience and marketing at Pizza Hut Hong Kong, said, “We are delighted to partner with Spy x Family to launch this campaign as we continue to engage the consumers and our Hut Rewards members with exclusive offers. The campaign will bring more exciting and rewarding moments to our diners, with unique elements tailored for both takeaway and dine-in. The market response has been very encouraging, and we look forward to seeing great results from the collaboration and bringing more exciting surprises to our loyal customers in the future.”

Singapore – The undeniable influence of popular culture in enhancing brand equity and driving consumer engagement has become increasingly evident. For marketers who may have missed out on previous waves of pop culture, such as K-culture and gaming & esports, a new opportunity has emerged to tap into the fastest-growing content genre of the past two years globally: anime.

This revelation comes from “The Anime Impact,” a groundbreaking report unveiled by Culture Group, an agency specializing in pop culture and lifestyle marketing. The report sheds light on the immense potential that anime holds for marketers seeking to connect with diverse audiences and leverage the power of this cultural phenomenon.

With the rise of anime’s popularity, brands now have the chance to align themselves with this dynamic and rapidly expanding industry. By understanding the unique characteristics of anime and its passionate fan base, marketers can forge meaningful connections, fuel engagement, and capitalize on the widespread appeal of this captivating content genre.

Report Coverage

This report’s primary goal is to assist marketers in determining the potential for cultivating cultural relevance through anime. The report delves into three critical aspects of this cultural phenomenon, providing numerous insights. First, it examines the remarkable rise of anime as a mainstream cultural force, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia. Second, it provides an overview of the Anime, Games, Comics, and Novels (AGCN) landscape, highlighting key features and trends. Finally, the report delves into the various roles and opportunities for brands to engage with this ardent community.

Anime in Southeast Asia

The Southeast Asia region, which serves as a hub for anime fans, is one noteworthy aspect covered in the report. Southeast Asia has established itself as a stronghold for this captivating medium, with three of the top five countries in the world ranked by anime popularity. Anime is an important part of the region’s cultural tapestry and has been a part of many consumers’ upbringing. The global surge in anime popularity, on the other hand, has significantly expanded access to content, experiences, and opportunities within the region. As a result, fan communities are thriving, and artists and creators are fusing anime influences with local heritage to create a vibrant and innovative cultural fusion.

Commenting on the report, Michael Patent, Founder & President, of Culture Group, said: “Anime has quietly evolved into a $28 billion industry offering exciting opportunities to brand marketers. The objective of this report is to demystify the anime space and outline areas in which brands can get involved. Our experience of working in the space has shown that harnessing a passion point is a powerful way to build relevance and emotional connections with consumers.”

Drivers for growth

The report delves deeply into the forces driving the growth of anime, providing a thorough analysis. The increasing accessibility of anime titles via Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms is a key factor contributing to this growth. This increased accessibility has resulted in an increase in viewership among existing anime fans, resulting in a demand for more diverse content. As a result, new adaptations, localizations, fan remixes, and other creative offerings have become more widely available. Notably, brands have taken notice of this growing cultural appeal, resulting in official collaborations that bring beloved intellectual properties (IPs) to life in novel ways.

Furthermore, thanks to the increased accessibility of anime content, the genre is attracting a new wave of new fans. As anime continues to collaborate with mainstream brands and intersect with other popular passion points, there has been a shift in perception of the previously perceived niche or “nerd culture” associated with it. This shift has resulted in a lower barrier to entry, which has sparked interest among casual enthusiasts. Anime’s convergence with various brand collaborations and remixes has broadened its appeal, making it more accessible and appealing to a wider audience.

Brand roles and opportunity

To improve their brand equity in the realm of cultural trends such as anime, brands must understand and effectively leverage this space. The report presents a framework with four distinct roles for brands to play: enabler, facilitator, celebrant, and cultivator. Each role provides unique opportunities for brands to engage with anime and its devoted fans.

Brands can benefit from creating content, intellectual property (IP), and products that draw inspiration from anime while also showcasing local culture. This strategy capitalizes on valuable white space in Southeast Asia (SEA), where there is an increasing demand for diverse cultural sources. Consumers are increasingly looking for anime that combines cultural elements with local heritage, presenting brands with an exciting opportunity to bridge the gap between global and regional cultural influences.

The last report titled 2023 CultureCast: Your Pop Culture Marketing Cheat Sheet was launched in January this year.

California, USA – Following the acquisition of Sony’s Funimation of anime streaming service Crunchyroll in 2021, Crunchyroll announced that all of the anime-related content from Funimation will be migrated to Crunchyroll, making it one of the largest streaming services globally that serve anime-related content.

To date, there are over 40,000 subbed and dubbed episodes of anime titles available on Crunchyroll for fans to enjoy. In addition to consolidation of SVOD services, Sony-owned Funimation Global Group, LLC will now operate as Crunchyroll LLC and has initiated rebranding across its global footprint to solidify Crunchyroll as the single, global brand for anime.

According to Crunchyroll, said corporate move offers fans the “ultimate anime experience” with subs, dubs, films, and simulcast series in over 200 countries and territories and in 10 languages.

Colin Decker, CEO of Crunchyroll, said, “When we brought Funimation and Crunchyroll together last year, our top priority was to put fans first. Unifying all of our brands and services under the Crunchyroll brand globally enables us to offer more value than ever before as we combine subs, dubs, simulcasts, library, music, movies, manga—all into one subscription.” 

He added, “The new Crunchyroll is the realisation of a dream, and we are grateful to the creators of anime and the millions of fans who have joined us in making the community what it is today.”

Despite the merger, Crunchyroll’s pricing remains unchanged, with its basic subscription priced at around US$7.99 a month.

In addition to the content migration, French entertainment company Wakanim will also be integrated into their new parent company, Crunchyroll LLC. Wakanim is consolidated to Aniplex, a Japanese anime and music production company, which was later on consolidated under Funimation as part of Sony’s corporate move.

Texas, USA – After its initial announcement last December 2020, Sony Pictures’ anime distribution service Funimation has completed the acquisition of fellow anime streaming service Crunchyroll from global telco network AT&T for a disclosed amount of US$1.175b.

The acquisition by Funimation entails acquiring Crunchyroll’s 5 million SVOD users, 120 million registered users, as well as global market presence in 200 countries and territories, offering AVOD, mobile games, manga, events merchandise and distribution.

Said deal provides as well the opportunity for Crunchyroll and Funimation to broaden distribution for their content partners and expand fan-centric offerings for consumers.

Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman, resident and CEO at Sony Group Corporation expressed excitement with the recent acquisition, noting that anime, or Japanese animation series and movies, is a rapidly growing medium that enthralls and inspires emotion among audiences around the globe.

“The alignment of Crunchyroll and Funimation will enable us to get even closer to the creators and fans who are the heart of the anime community. We look forward to delivering even more outstanding entertainment that fills the world with emotion through anime,” Yoshida stated.

Meanwhile, Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO at Sony Pictures Entertainment, commented that Crunchyroll adds tremendous value to Sony’s existing anime businesses, including Funimation, as well as their partners at anime distribution company Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

He added that with the acquisition, the combined company forces will be committed to creating the ultimate anime experience for fans and presenting a unique opportunity for their key partners, publishers, and the immensely talented creators to continue to deliver masterful content to audiences around the world.

“With the addition of Crunchyroll, we have an unprecedented opportunity to serve anime fans like never before and deliver the anime experience across any platform they choose, from theatrical, events, home entertainment, games, streaming, linear TV — everywhere and every way fans want to experience their anime. Our goal is to create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible,” Vinciquerra stated.

Crunchyroll is part of AT&T’s segment from global media company WarnerMedia.

During the acquisition announcement last December 2020, Tony Goncalves, chief revenue officer at WarnerMedia, said, “By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people. I’m incredibly proud of the Crunchyroll team and what they have been able to accomplish in the digital media space in such a short period of time. They’ve created an end-to-end global ecosystem for this incredible art form,” 

Vinciquerra added, “Together with Crunchyroll, we will create the best possible experience for fans and greater opportunity for creators, producers and publishers in Japan and elsewhere. Funimation has been doing this for over 25 years and we look forward to continuing to leverage the power of creativity and technology to succeed in this rapidly growing segment of entertainment.”