With 1.8 billion views, who is quietly making money from this “drama king”?

"Joy of Life 2" has not only become a phenomenal drama with 1.8 billion views, but also set off a wave of IP derivatives in the commercial field. From official peripherals to personal replicas, and then to brand co-branded products, this drama shows how a super IP can realize commercial realization through multiple channels.

On the screen, Fan Xian said to the camera with great momentum: "I'm back."

Outside the screen, the drama "Joy of Life 2", which took five years to produce, has set off a phenomenal viewing craze: the number of views on the first day of its release was nearly 30 million, and by the end of the show, the cumulative number of views of the feature film had reached 1.8 billion, and the number of readings of related Weibo topics exceeded 2.63 billion.

The popularity of "Joy of Life 2" has been transmitted all the way to the field of IP derivatives - various "Joy of Life" clothing has emerged on Taobao, such as "the same ring as the second prince" and "the same earrings as the eldest princess", etc. Some new products attracted more than 100 buyers within 24 hours of being put on the shelves.

Tencent's IP peripheral e-commerce platform "Tencent Video Caochangdi" has put official peripherals such as waist badges, bracelets, and character standees on the shelves. In its Tmall flagship store, the best-selling product has sold nearly 1,000 pieces, becoming a popular new product during the 618 period. Partners such as wet wipes brand Deyou and toy brand TOPTOYS have also joined the market to take advantage of the big IP "Joy of Life".

For brands, a popular IP is equivalent to an eye-catching billboard. The traffic effect created by the hit dramas and celebrities has spawned a huge "IP same style" market. After the end of "Joy of Life 2", the recently released "Mo Yu Yun Jian" and "The Story of Roses" have frequently appeared on hot searches. "Pearl face makeup", "Liu Yifei's plaid skirt", "Liu Yifei's same cheongsam" and other same styles in the drama have become the hottest derivatives at the moment. They have not only earned enough topics, but also become a stable source of growth for a number of businesses and brands.

01 Business landscape outside the series

Products related to the "Joy of Life" series can be divided into three categories: official peripherals, personal replicas, and co-branded products.

The first category is official peripherals, which are also the main IP derivatives of "Joy of Life". In the "Tencent Video Caochangdi" Tmall flagship store, there are more than 20 products on sale, including the same-style waist badges as Fan Xian, character impression bracelets, canvas bags, refrigerator magnets, mugs, etc. Among them, the refrigerator magnet with the highest sales has been purchased by nearly a thousand people and has been marked as the "popular new product" of the season by the platform.

Depending on the type of derivative products, some products are also sold in other flagship stores: Yuewen Good Things Flagship Store and TOPTOYS Flagship Store, mainly selling blind box Q-version figures, with a whole box priced at 790 yuan; Hitcard, mainly selling collectible cards, the whole series has a total of 308 card faces, and the launch price is 198 yuan.

Caochangdi told Tianxia.com that the official derivative products of Joy of Life 2 have more than 100 SKUs, which has "brought a gratifying increase in sales" for the store. In terms of the crowd, this fictional historical drama has brought a large number of new male consumers to the store.

"Joy of Life 2" official series Q version figures

The second category is classic props from the series that have been reproduced by individual merchants. For example, "The Second Prince's Same Ring", "Sang Wen's Same Hanfu", and "The Princess's Same Earrings" have all become popular items among fans of the series. Although these products are not officially authorized, they also indirectly illustrate the popularity of "Joy of Life 2".

The third category is brand co-branded products. At present, wet wipes brand Deyou, massager brand PGG, and catering brands such as Heytea and Zhou Heiya have reached cooperation with "Joy of Life 2". Take Deyou as an example. At the beginning of this year, it officially announced that Zhang Ruoyun, the male lead of "Joy of Life", would be its brand spokesperson. This is equivalent to betting in advance on the big hit of "Joy of Life 2". It launched new IP co-branded products in advance and launched them simultaneously with the series, using the popularity of IP to ignite fans' consumption enthusiasm and boost sales.

In addition to IP derivatives, the most popular dramas themselves are also excellent advertising display windows.

According to statistics from netizens, a total of 286 advertisements were inserted into "Joy of Life 2", and the advertisers included Chunzhen, By-Health, Pechoin, TCL, etc., which shows the money-making ability of super IP.

02The power of “secondary creation”

The popularity of "Joy of Life 2" further verifies the full-domain linkage path of IP commercialization: starting from the video platform, increasing the popularity of the topic on the social platform, and completing monetization on the e-commerce platform.

This interlocking chain depends not only on the quality of the IP content itself, but also on the skills of the operator. In addition to the sales directly driven by e-commerce platforms, the "secondary creation" (secondary creation) on social platforms has also stimulated endless "small businesses".

On Xiaohongshu, netizens are scrambling to share tips on the co-branded peripherals of "Joy of Life 2" and major brands. There are a variety of badges, bookmarks, and cards, some of which are only sold in specific theme stores, and some require "codes" to obtain. Fans of the drama need to find the right time and place to collect as many peripheral products as possible.

On Weibo, fan fiction based on the IP of Joy of Life is in full swing. Writers and artists have produced content around popular characters such as Fan Xian and Chen Pingping, and the price of commissioned works ranges from a few yuan to several hundred yuan.

In Xianyu, in addition to reselling blind boxes, standees and other products, second-hand "Joy of Life" original novels were also pushed to the front page. Because "Joy of Life 2" has a joint name with a Chinese pastry brand, the long-dormant "eating on behalf of others" business has also surfaced: the seller gets a meal of pastries for free, and the buyer pockets the "grain" (peripheral products).

Some of the brands that collaborated with Joy of Life 2

According to Caochangdi, for a big project like Joy of Life 2, the store will start preparations 6 to 8 months in advance. Most peripheral products will be released simultaneously with the broadcast of the series, and will be recommended based on key points such as plot highlights, finale, and press conferences, so that users can "buy while watching". In addition, the store operator will also pay attention to the audience's discussion of the plot and characters and adjust the rhythm of the activities at any time.

The emergence of a "super IP" not only means a carnival for fans and a feast for merchants, but also ordinary people can get a share of it. These various high-frequency interactions eventually converge into a sea, adding fuel to the popularity of the IP of Joy of Life.

Of course, Yuewen Group’s ambition for “Joy of Life” is not limited to this: with the series as the starting point, the company simultaneously launched short dramas, small games, and IP derivatives, and worked with Tencent Video to operate this IP in the long term. The “secondary creation” and peripheral businesses on various platforms are just part of a larger business landscape.

Hou Xiaonan, CEO of China Literature Group, the producer of the series and holder of the IP copyright of the original novel Joy of Life, once revealed that Joy of Life 2 is an S-level "Daqing Project" within the China Literature Group, spanning multiple departments. He said: "We hope to explore a new IP marketing model that integrates books, movies, and games through Joy of Life, and focus on promoting IP to break through the circle."

03 The Value of Super IP

For film and television IPs, peripheral merchandise is one of the stable sources of income.

Statistics show that 70% of Hollywood movie profits come from sales revenue in the derivatives market. Like Joy of Life, Harry Potter, a classic IP that has been transformed from a book to a film and television series, launched a large number of co-branded peripherals on its 20th anniversary, attracting many fans to spend.

At present, the profits of Chinese TV series are still mainly from advertising and membership fees, but the number of viewers willing to pay for peripherals is also increasing. More and more businesses are beginning to take a fancy to the business of IP derivatives, creating some relatively successful "out-of-circle" cases, such as the trendy blind boxes of the TV series "Country Love" and the little demon ornaments of the cartoon "Chinese Tales".

Under the leadership of video platforms, film and television companies and other parties, IP commercialization is becoming a certain path.

From Nirvana in Fire in 2015, The Untamed in 2019, Journey to the West: Conquering the Phoenixes and Joy of Life 2 in 2024, to the current hits Ink Rain and Clouds and Story of Rose, the commercialization model of film and television IP has been repeatedly verified and improved. The business around popular IP is no longer just about "selling peripherals and leaving", but spans multiple platforms and relies on multiple carriers to achieve penetration and breakthroughs beyond the fan base.

"Rose Story" related peripheral products

In the "Tencent Video Caochangdi" flagship store, derivatives of IPs such as "Longing for Love", "Traveling with the Phoenix", and "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" are all at the top of the sales list. It covers different types of IPs such as popular dramas, popular animations, variety shows, documentaries, etc., in order to provide a one-stop immersive experience of "watching, chatting, buying and playing" for different groups of people.

A good IP has been proven to be a long-lasting business. The Legend of Zhen Huan has been popular for 13 years and is still providing income for Youku and LeTV. The value of its IP is still being developed.

According to the "2024 China Brand Licensing Industry Development White Paper", China's licensed merchandise retail sales will reach 140.1 billion yuan in 2023, and young people and middle-aged people aged 18-40 have gradually become the main force of IP audiences. Compared with the international market, the development of the domestic IP derivative industry is still relatively backward, but all parties are stepping up their exploration and layout.

For merchants, a "super IP" like "Joy of Life 2" is like a hot-selling product across multiple stores. As the process of building IP becomes more mature and clear, the benefits of betting on hot-selling products are also increasing.