The entrepreneur's IP has not yet been created, but the successor's IP has already become popular

I don’t know if you have seen Towel Boy’s short drama on TikTok recently. I still remember that a few months ago, Zhou Hongyi was urging founders and entrepreneurs to come out and create IPs. It hasn’t even started yet, but the second generation of founders and factory owners have already made a lot of use of this new model of short dramas.

From short dramas to live streaming sales, when entrepreneurs are flocking to the IP trend, a "third-generation entrepreneur" has already figured out how to use IP.

Recently, Shi Zhancheng, the grandson of the founder of Jieliya Group, successfully became popular with the short drama "Towel Empire" which he directed and acted in.

In his Douyin account of "Towel Young Master", he positioned himself as the conspicuous bag of the family, and also focused the camera on the real "domineering president" - his young, handsome and successful CEO uncle. The uncle and nephew staged a "love-hate" story of the successors of a wealthy family.

Image source: Douyin "Towel Master"

As the plot of "fighting for family property" progressed, Shi Zhancheng also successfully made Jieliya's corporate story known to the public. As of press time, the 7-episode Douyin playback volume of "Towel Empire" has exceeded 100 million.

"Master Towel", who smelled the password of traffic, quickly pulled his second uncle to join the live broadcast and sell goods.

During the recent 618 period, "Towel Master" launched two live broadcasts on Douyin to sell goods. New Douyin data shows that the cumulative estimated sales of his live broadcasts are between 5 million and 7.5 million yuan.

In addition to Jieliya, the "second generation of entrepreneurs" such as Holiland and Xtep also mingle with netizens through short videos, which not only directly boosts brand voice and sales, but also injects youthful vitality into traditional brands.

This year, "entrepreneurial IP" has almost become a compulsory course for bosses. Among them, there are both "first generation entrepreneurs" such as Lei Jun and Zhou Hongyi who made their fortunes early, and descendants of entrepreneurs who grew up in the Internet era. But judging from the current progress, the "second/third generation entrepreneurs" who are surfing the front line may be able to come up with more tricks for the IP business.

1. From short dramas to live streaming sales, why did “Towel Master” become so popular?

He is a self-made grandfather, the chairman’s father, the CEO’s uncle, and a conspicuous person.

Image source: Douyin "Towel Master"

"I am a third-generation entrepreneur born in 1999. Like most novels, my family has been in business for three generations."

In the first episode of "Towel Empire" released on February 28, Shi Zhancheng used a few words and some photos with a sense of age to let netizens understand the historical background of the old towel brand Jie Liya:

His grandfather (Shi Changjia) was originally an educated youth from a rural area. In 1986, he started his own business and founded a company from scratch. He was nicknamed "Towel King".

In 2003, Jieliya Group was established. His father (Shi Lei) inherited his father's business and became a well-known Zhejiang businessman - nicknamed "Little Prince of Towels";

His uncle (Shi Jing), who was "competing for the family property" with him, graduated from Peking University and studied for a master's degree in the UK. After returning to China, he helped the company develop rapidly and is now in the limelight. He is currently the CEO of Jieliya, nicknamed "Uncle Towel".

Against the backdrop of his successful elders, he, who was born in 1999, successfully established the character of a "towel master" who is a bit "cowardly" but down-to-earth.

Image source: Douyin "Towel Master"

This video, which received 330,000 likes, kicked off the "Towel Empire" series. Shi Zhancheng incorporated elements of popular short dramas into the 7-episode video: the wealthy family background of "short dramas reflecting reality", the handsome second uncle with the character of "sinister domineering boss", and the "fighting for family property" drama that netizens love to see.

Image source: Douyin "Towel Master"

Shi Zhancheng mentioned in an interview with Hedgehog Commune that the plot is purely imaginative and that in reality the family is harmonious, "the relationship between my second uncle and I is more like an old fox teasing a little fox."

Shi Jing also responded to the "villain" character in a public interview. He said that the background of the video is real, and the so-called "fighting for family property" scene is fictional. Because the audience likes to watch this kind of online cool articles and cool dramas, he is willing to make certain "sacrifices."

Although they seem to be a "useless" nephew and a "scheming" uncle, they actually grasp the "happy points" of netizens, create conflicts and contrasts in their personalities, and successfully attract a group of "aunt fans" and "nephew fans" for the account.

On the surface, the content is about an uncle exiling his nephew to the frontier, but in fact it shows the cotton factory base of Jieliya in Xinjiang while portraying the image of a corporate successor starting from the grassroots.

Although "Towel Master" does not seem to have occupied a place in the group yet, he is a real "professional match" in running his own media.

Image source: Douyin "Towel Master"

Public information shows that Shi Zhancheng graduated from the Communication University of China with a degree in film and television performance. Before the "Towel Empire" series became popular, he had worked in sneakers and catering, failed in many business ventures, and also played a supporting role in the crew and played the role of "housekeeper".

His father once joked in a video: "If I hadn't brought you back from Hengdian, you would still be playing the eunuch there."

Image source: Douyin "Towel Master"

In August 2022, "Towel Master" began to venture into Douyin and embarked on the road of self-media, recording the daily life of the "third generation of entrepreneurs" in the form of jokes.

Image source: Douyin "Towel Master"

From being reorganized by 00 as a boss to being tied back to the company by his father to inherit the family business, and then to acting like a spoiled child to his second uncle to seek benefits for fans, new Douyin data shows that "Towel Master" has accumulated nearly 500,000 fans in a year and a half.

In addition to his professional acting skills and shooting skills, his account has gradually figured out the traffic code of "appearance + humor": the high looks of the domineering uncle have accumulated a group of "appearance fans", the "useless" nephew dares to make fun of himself, and the brand culture of the Towel Empire is also integrated into the funny plot.

At the end of February this year, Shi Zhancheng incorporated all these elements into "Towel Empire", and made it to the hot search list many times with the 7-episode "short play" he wrote, directed and performed himself. Not only did it push his account to a peak in terms of fans, it also directly boosted the sales of Jieliya.

New Douyin data shows that the number of Douyin followers of its account has nearly doubled from March to now, and currently has 960,000 followers. The cumulative estimated sales of the two live broadcasts in June are between 5 million and 7.5 million yuan.

The live broadcast merchandise of "Towel Master" is mainly composed of products of its own brand. The product with the highest sales volume is the four-piece set of Jieliya sheets and quilt covers, with estimated sales exceeding one million yuan. Jieliya's strong category of disposable face towels also ranked in the top three in sales.

It is worth noting that many product links have incorporated account elements and also provide exclusive pricing mechanisms, such as 59.9 yuan for a pack of 5 disposable face towels and "Young Master Exclusive" cotton bath towels and underwear.

Compared with some of the “sun never sets” brands’ own live broadcast rooms, “Towel Master” used content leverage to leverage traffic and completed transaction conversions in the live broadcast room. In just over five hours, two live broadcasts achieved an estimated sales volume of over 5 million yuan, which can be said to be a small investment for a big win.

"Professionals say that in terms of value conversion, even if you invested tens of millions, you wouldn't be able to achieve this effect." Shi Lei once revealed this in interviews with multiple media outlets.

2. The descendants of entrepreneurs are flocking to IP. Is the era dividend for the “second/third generation of entrepreneurs” coming?

After "Towel Master" became popular, a group of "second-generation/third-generation entrepreneurs" also told their family stories in a similar way.

"I am a second-generation coal miner born in 1991."

“My father founded the toy business in 1998.”

“I am a third generation of a clothing company founded in 1997.”

Most of these videos use the content model of "family business - encountering setbacks outside - returning to the business", and have not explored new content styles and personal IP characteristics. They lack some memorable points like "uncle-nephew literature", so there are no successful imitation accounts yet.

On the way to becoming famous, the next "young master" may wish to refer to the experience of a group of "second-generation entrepreneurs".

From Holiland's second son Luo Cheng to Xtep's daughter Ding Jiamin, they were already doing well on the Internet two or three years ago.

Luo Cheng started shooting Douyin videos in 2021, and successfully gained fans with the "socially phobic" personality that was popular at the time. While being a "submissive" boss, he also showed off his Holiland cake craftsmanship in the plot. In less than a year, he had millions of fans for "Boss Luo Cheng".

Recently, Luo Cheng posted a video of attending a good friend's wedding. The protagonists of the wedding were the second daughter of the founder of Xtep and the second son of Septwolves, Zhou Liyuan. Ding Jiamin also gained millions of fans across the Internet through short videos.

Unlike those "young masters" who like to play with memes, Ding Jiamin's account combines the elements of female workplace IP, couple blogger and vlog daily life. From immersive onboarding, rotation in her own company, special forces business trips, to showing the daily preparations for marriage, she has narrowed the distance between netizens through content.

Similarly, the "Cha Tiantian Succession Diary" of a second-generation tea factory owner also used the form of daily records to show the daily life of being a small boss. He has accumulated nearly 400,000 Douyin fans and established his own tea brand "Cha Tiantian".

Compared with the entrepreneur IPs who sit in the boss chair and talk loudly to the camera, the second generation of entrepreneurs who can show their fatigue from work, dare to tease the boss and love to play and look beautiful are obviously more popular with netizens.

For traditional enterprises, today's short videos and live broadcast rooms are like the CCTV advertising spaces of the past, and have become an important battlefield for brand promotion.

Shi Jing once mentioned in a public interview that the reason why the "Towel Master" video broke the circle was the same as the "Old Man" advertising on CCTV to attract investment. The traffic brought by the account reached at least billions. The most important thing was that it achieved the goal of brand rejuvenation, allowing more young people to know the brand of Jieliya, attracting young dealers and driving sales of the brand's online channels.

Although many netizens expressed their hope that "Second Uncle" Shi Jing himself would appear more often, he did not chase the trend of entrepreneurial IP and create his own account and IP.

In response to this, he said in a public interview that he prefers to do substantive business management work in a down-to-earth manner because it brings a greater sense of purpose and accomplishment. "I really don't have the energy to keep up, so I may not invest too much in the Internet, including IP."

Therefore, Jieliya handed over the responsibility of IP to the "third generation of the company" who not only understands the Internet but also has more energy. Similarly, the IPs of brands such as Holiland and Xtep are mostly the "second sons" of the family, while the eldest son is more hidden behind the scenes.

On the one hand, the heads of enterprises are overwhelmed and have difficulty in balancing multiple identities. Whether it is the IP business of short videos or live broadcasts, it takes a lot of thought and energy to stand out in the algorithm.

On the other hand, companies need to find an IP image that is suitable for the public. With the experience of senior executives of large companies making irrelevant remarks and bosses crossing their legs on live broadcasts, every move of the company's IP can affect the fate of the brand. It needs to take into account the needs of audience appeal, the ability to play with memes, and the content style. Young family members who love to play with memes and dare to face the camera may be more suitable candidates for corporate IP.

If the first generation of entrepreneurs born in the 1970s and 1980s seized the dividends of the era of going into business and laid a business foundation that is difficult for later generations to surpass, then today's "second/third generation entrepreneurs" are seizing the Internet traffic and hot spots and ushering in their own IP era dividends.