ACG exhibition restarts with enthusiasm, and the bonus of ACG marketing is waiting to be tapped

This article focuses on the popularity of offline ACG exhibitions this year, analyzes the characteristics of different exhibitions, and explains that the consumption capacity of the ACG audience is being released. It also uses data and specific cases for demonstration, and provides a clear idea from exhibition differentiation analysis to brand marketing practice, which is easy to resonate with readers.

In 2023, when offline activities were restarted on a large scale, the popularity of ACG (animation, comics, and games) exhibitions reached an all-time high.

During the May Day holiday, Comicup (hereinafter referred to as CP) 29 returned, setting off a grand occasion of "200,000 ACG 'attack' Shanghai"; and a GIF of users running into Bilibili World (hereinafter referred to as BW) 2023 on the first day was forwarded a lot in a short time and became a hot search due to the shocking scene; only exhibitions of major game manufacturers are also emerging in an endless stream. This summer alone, there are "Honkai Impact 3" Carnival, "Genshin Impact☆FES", "Jian Wang 3" 14th Anniversary Carnival and other activities concentrated on...

Why can offline exhibitions stimulate the consumption enthusiasm of ACG fans and trigger a lot of discussion and interaction on the entire network? How can brands use offline exhibitions to unlock new ways of ACG marketing?

1. CP is “lively”, BW is “fun to visit”, only exhibition is “hardcore”, ACG offline exhibitions show differentiation

Digging deep into the changes in the volume and reputation of this year's ACG offline exhibitions, Clour discovered that differentiation and new cognition are taking shape in this track.

"If you want to watch people who share the same interests doing things, go to CP."

As the largest fan exhibition in China, CP has a high concentration of the second dimension, and the most common thing is the famous scenes. At this year's CP29, a "female bodhisattva" wearing a big light and holding a Gatling model became the focus as soon as she appeared, and quickly became popular. In addition, there are "Buddha pushing Hatsune Miku", "Nine-turn large intestine male protagonist recreating the famous ghost scene" and other imaginative cos, which makes people have to admire the ability of the second dimension group to create memes.

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

"If you want to watch comprehensive ACG content, go to BW."

BW has grown from an ordinary comic exhibition to a comprehensive ACG exhibition with the most diverse content and the highest cost-effectiveness. According to official data from Bilibili, BW2023 not only attracted 210,000 users, but also won 49 hot search lists on all platforms outside Bilibili.

This year's BW has set up eight zones, including the game world, animation, UP host town, and virtual park, which is equivalent to replicating a real-life B station offline. The total area has reached 140,000 square meters, the largest scale in history. The unexpected experience of heavy rain in Shanghai at the end of the first day also made this year's BW nicknamed "the real two-dimensional triathlon" by users.

In addition to the cosplayers, UP hosts, overseas artists, voice actors and other guests showing off their talents on site, a new highlight of BW2023 is the hardcore participation of game and hardware manufacturers. MiHoYo alone brought five popular games to the exhibition this year, including "Honkai Impact 3", "Genshin Impact", "Undetermined Case Book", "Honkai Impact 3: Sky Railway", and "Zero", all of which have independent exhibition areas. In addition, topics such as #Karina cos blade# and #Shanghai Comic Exhibition Yuan Hua# were hotly discussed by core players, and the popularity of the entire network remained high.

“If you want to experience a game in depth, go to the ONLY exhibition organized by the big companies themselves.”

Unlike comprehensive comic exhibitions such as CP and BW, large-scale only exhibitions have an absolute advantage in the refinement of content. For example, the Rhodes Island ship model "displayed" at the Arknights Carnival in April this year restored the texture of the game to the greatest extent. In the behind-the-scenes documentary of the Carnival, the production staff said, "Our job is to use steel structures, wood, brushes and colors to create a real dream", which directly touched the hearts of players.

Image source: Screenshot from Station B

In contrast, ChinaJoy (hereinafter referred to as CJ), a long-established exhibition player, encountered reputation controversy on social platforms this year: the quality of exhibitors was uneven, the marketing methods were cumbersome and outdated, and the interactive benefits were comparable to scams, all of which made the user experience unbearable.

Image source: Weibo celebrity @兔噬鸡大老爷

There are fewer big companies coming. All kinds of companies are accepted. Hippo, Meituan, and Mixue Ice City are all in CJ. I couldn’t understand this before. "I haven’t been there since 2020. There are many fewer booths in 2020 than in 2019. Now when I look at the exhibitors, I don’t know many of them, and few of them have played the games." "Don’t call it ChinaJoy, it’s better to call it Daibao Joy"...

Image source: Tik Tok screenshot

Why do some ACG exhibitions gain both popularity and public opinion, while others decline? Before unlocking the "ACG + X" marketing methodology, let's review the characteristics of this year's ACG hit content.

2. 2023, the year of the ACG traffic and word-of-mouth counterattack

In the first half of this year, the most representative "two-dimensional counterattack" was the participation of Japanese singer Miyori Ya in "Sisters Riding the Wind and Waves 4". During the broadcast of the program, related topics dominated the entire network's hot searches.

The Meiyiliya phenomenon not only triggered a carnival among the two-dimensional community, but also brought her popularity among the public beyond the circle, and artists and celebrities from different fields took turns to have a "dream linkage" with her.

For example, former male idol group Fahrenheit leader Jiro Wang and Gong Linna, who has collaborated with Mei Yiliya on many occasions in the show Sister Lang, were spotted supporting Mei Yiliya at this year's BML (BILIBILI MACRO LINK) concert. As the "big brother" of Mei Yiliya's live broadcast room, Jiro Wang was also photographed shouting "Xiao Mei, don't leave" in a funny scene, and netizens commented: "When celebrities chase stars, they are no different from us."

Image source: Tik Tok screenshot

In terms of two-dimensional word-of-mouth events, this year an incident in BW where a girl in a COS costume rescued someone in the rain attracted the attention of the entire network, and hundreds of media outlets including @People's Daily, @Xinhua News Agency, and @CCTV News followed up on the report.

Image source: Tik Tok screenshot

#The girl who rescued people in the rain outside the comic exhibition has been found#, #The 2D girl responded to kneeling in the rain to save people#, #The boy thanked the coser who knelt down to save people in person#... The continuous hot search topics continue to amplify the positive influence of the 2D group, and also increase the imagination space of the ACG offline exhibition as a brand content field.

It can be seen that the power of "ACG + X" has been reflected in many fields. Whether it is "ACG + variety show", "ACG + artist", or "ACG + social platform hot spots", the integration of ACG and multiple fields is further releasing the communication potential and consumption potential of this group of audiences.

According to iResearch data, the scale of China's ACG industry is expected to grow by 27.6% to 221.9 billion yuan in 2023, becoming a rare growth track at present, and maintaining double-digit high-speed growth for seven consecutive years. As the event with the highest concentration of ACG, the communication power and marketing value of its participants are waiting to be tapped by brands.

3. How can brands use ACG exhibition to play the two-dimensional marketing?

How to transform the potential energy of ACG exhibitions into the brand itself is the key to brand marketing. At present, many brands and businesses have successfully unlocked the two-dimensional marketing gameplay.

Fanta, the sponsor of BW this year, is a good example.

As early as June, Fanta's official account launched the "BW Paradise Waiting for You" activity on Bilibili, where users can participate in online games to receive Fanta's BW limited digital assets, VIP discount coupons and other benefits. In the warm-up stage, Fanta took advantage of the popularity of the ACG exhibition.

At the BW site, Fanta's orange-yellow exhibition area was particularly eye-catching, and it even invited @中国boy超级大猿 to wear an orange puppet costume and become a "brand ambassador". This cosplay image attracted many fans to watch and take photos. It successfully converted the high popularity of the top UP masters on Bilibili into brand popularity, and grasped the essence of the high-stickiness interaction between fans and UP masters at the BW exhibition.

On the day of the event, many users shared the peripherals and program photos they received on the Fanta stage on social platforms, which helped boost the popularity of the brand. Among them, the Fanta and BW co-branded backpack was well-loved by users for its practical features such as "large capacity" and "freeing hands". The audience carrying the co-branded backpack became the brand's "mobile billboards", which also helped the brand accumulate word-of-mouth assets and gain a large amount of tap water.

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

The program "Uni-President Ice Black Tea, Dancing True Youth" co-created by Uni-President Ice Black Tea and BML this year is also well versed in two-dimensional marketing.

This home dance show, performed by 22 UP hosts, integrates the brand with BDF (Bilibili Dancing Festival), which is loved by core users of B station. After the show, many users deeply recognized the effect of the show, "I thought it was a show by Party A to make up the numbers, but it turned out to be a medley!", "The most eye-catching show of BML", and some netizens even called "Party A's father is always a god, I will only drink Uni-President iced black tea from now on."

Image source: Screenshot from Station B

Offline activities are only one part of brand marketing. The "online-offline-online" closed loop that BW&BML has formed is the core of brand marketing. In the warm-up phase, activities are used to leverage the resources on Bilibili to attract traffic for the brand; during the BW&BML exhibition, offline traffic helps boost the brand's popularity; and the immersive experience on site stimulates users' desire to explore and express themselves. The content posted by users on different social platforms allows brands to harvest the value of long-tail traffic, thereby achieving more lasting marketing results.

IV. Conclusion

In summary, the hard-to-get tickets for the ACG offline exhibition in the year of its restart are enough to show the long-suppressed consumer enthusiasm of the ACG audience, which is a great opportunity for brand marketing. How to achieve differentiated marketing effects based on the characteristics of different exhibitions is the key for brands to unlock ACG marketing.

Author: Aries

Source: WeChat public account "TopKlout (ID: TopKlout)"