How to use IP positioning to give vitality to the brand?

What effects can a successful IP bring? Why should a brand build its own IP? What effects can it produce? The author of this article shares his experience in brand and IP, explains the value of the brand's IP effect and guides you to build IP. Recommended reading for those who are interested in IP marketing and brand planning.

01

Successful IP images all have a set of rules for success, just like those Marvel superheroes. Their success basically follows a set of logic. Campbell once summarized thousands of mythological archetypes around the world in his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". These archetypes basically have a fixed pattern: departure, enlightenment, test, and return.

At the same time, successful IPs will have a strong and unique positioning. But the difference between brand positioning and IP positioning is that brand positioning is "mind" positioning ; while IP positioning is "spiritual positioning" , which is mainly based on emotional stimulation and subconscious stimulation. Just as if a brand lacks a unique and powerful positioning, it is difficult to develop into a super brand in the long run; if an IP does not have a unique emotional positioning, it is also difficult to develop into a powerful super IP in the long run.

02

As long as it is a successful IP image, whether it comes from animation, film, television, games, or from brands, individuals, or culture, IP positioning has four core elements: emotional positioning, story prototype, role positioning, and symbol prototype. Only through these positioning and prototype interpretation of the super IP can it be viable.

03

Emotional positioning:

Many adults and children love to watch "Crayon Shin-chan". Why? Because Crayon Shin-chan is "cheeky" (I wonder if Yue Yunpeng of Deyun Club referred to Shin-chan's character and made himself look mean), Garfield is "lazy", Marvel is heroic, Kumamon is "honest", and Hello Kitty is "cute".

These emotional resonance points are like anchors, anchored somewhere in the human mind, so they are very powerful.

You may not have seen Garfield for many years, but it does not prevent you from thinking of laziness when you see him, or even thinking of Garfield when you mention laziness. Emotions are divided into levels: from shallow to deep, they are emotions, feelings, and complexes (subconscious). The deeper the emotional positioning of IP goes, the stronger and more lasting the energy is, and the less it is disturbed by the hustle and bustle of the times.

04

Emotions are the most superficial, and are what people feel most when they come into contact with content. They are easily blown away by the wind, and readers need to be stimulated by constantly increasing the threshold. When they exceed a certain level, they become numb or fade away (Mimeng is a master at mobilizing emotions, but she lacks loyalty). Emotions are essential for the rise of IPs. For an IP to succeed, it will always need several broad and shallow emotional resonances, but in the long run, it still depends on whether the IP positioning is emotionally deep enough.

A further level of emotion is feeling, which is a clear emotional state that can be recognized by oneself, such as love, independence, self-confidence, etc. Most of the successful IPs are positioned in this way.

Emotions go one level further and are subconscious, which are things that have accumulated over a long period of time and are related to the essence of human nature. There are many dark elements in them, such as Oedipus complex, patricide complex, shadow complex, violence complex, abuse complex, etc., which are often manifested as cuteness, meanness, sadness, desire, coquettishness, etc. Crayon Shin-chan, Darth Vader, The Little Prince, Barbie, Kumamon, etc. These are IPs that are positioned on complexes, so they are very powerful, but often difficult to express, but can be strongly felt.

05

The fourth level of the subconscious is the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious is sometimes indescribable and not even like emotions, but closer to nothingness. When you like a certain IP but can't tell why, it is actually the collective unconscious that makes the decision. That's why we often say that branding and marketing are the crown jewels of psychology, genetics, and biology.

06

Many classic fairy tales and myths are expressions of the subconscious and collective unconscious, so their original versions are very dark, bloody, violent, sexual, and desperate. For example, in the original version of Snow White, it was her own mother who wanted to kill her. In the original story of Little Red Riding Hood, the little red riding hood girl was eaten by the big bad wolf. These represent the cruelty and fear at the bottom of human nature.

As these stories spread through society, they are gradually elevated and whitewashed, becoming healthy, kind, and just stories about self-emotion. The one who wanted to kill Snow White turned out to be the stepmother, and Little Red Riding Hood finally defeated the Big Bad Wolf. This is natural, because people always desire a good ending and hope that good will triumph over evil. However, dark complexes have always been hidden in these classic fairy tales and myths, which is why these stories have such an enduring power and are more touching because they have been transformed into good.

07

IP can be divided into shallow IP and deep IP. The deeper the IP, the more lasting it is. It does not mean that the more attention and topics the IP has, the stronger it is. A truly deep and strong IP can exist naturally and be strong without the need for topicality or too much popularity.

08

Story prototype:

Archetypal stories can generate more powerful forces than social stories, and can transcend ethnic, national, and cultural barriers to become a powerful IP with super powers. In terms of story archetypes, "A Thousand Faces of Heroes" can be said to be the most in-depth research, and I recommend this book to everyone. Archetypal stories are stories that focus on basic human nature and express the most basic aspects of human nature, such as growth, security, help, sex, darkness, cuteness, etc.

09

Behind the story of Harry Potter is the process of a child growing from childhood to adolescence and puberty, which is the mother proposition of human development. Its cultural power is extremely strong and can also cross cultures. However, tomb-raiding works are stories about treasure hunting for adults to make a fortune, so their power is naturally far less.

Therefore, although the stories of tomb-raiding works such as "Ghost Blowing the Light" are also magical, imaginative, and good to watch, and are very popular in China, their IP value is definitely not as good as Harry Potter. The story of "Ghost Blowing the Light" also has a prototype, which is to grab treasures, but the main theme behind this kind of treasure grab lacks a more human bottom-level design, lacks human growth and self-realization, and is too utilitarian and socialized.

10

Role positioning:

Role positioning refers to whether the core role of the story can be positioned at the level of human emotions, thereby achieving key IP positioning, rather than ordinary story character design. How the role is positioned at the emotional level is very important, but it is particularly easy to be overlooked. If it is ignored, it is easy to cause the IP to lack emotional power and motivation. When I first started, I also made this problem. This is one of the easiest mistakes to make when planning and creating.

Role positioning is based on human archetypes, such as heroes, fairies, mentors, shadows, clowns, shapeshifters, messengers, children, etc. In addition, the femininity in male characters and the masculinity in female characters often play a key role in the success of role positioning.

11

Symbol prototype:

Powerful IPs ultimately present symbols in various fields, so if you do not pay attention to symbolism when incubating IPs, it will cause very troublesome subsequent development problems. Symbolic prototypes, in simple terms, have two points: unique recognition and simplicity and scalability. There are often some contents that are quite good and popular in themselves, but the images and styles of the characters are very similar to a large number of similar works. This is because the unique recognition of IP symbols is too weak, and it is difficult to achieve great development across the dimensional wall or content wall.

A powerful symbol is not one that only core readers can recognize, but one that can be recognized by passersby. A great IP must also be a super symbol, so it must have its own unique symbol recognition. If it does not have its own unique culture, it is just a follower, not a great IP. Peppa Pig is not an ordinary cute pig, but a pig with a very strong unique symbol. Its symbol recognition is: pink, unique nose, and childlike lines.

12

To create a super IP, you must consider four elements: emotional positioning, story prototype, character positioning, and symbol prototype. Only in this way can you create an IP with super sales.

Author: Liu Yichun

Source: WeChat public account "Liu Yichun's Brand Business Innovation (ID: shangyeyiguohui)"