


Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
The fascinating story of hello kitty, the japanese character created by sanrio in 1974, and her transformation into a multibillion-dollar empire. The article delves into the reasons behind mcdonald's failed attempt to sell hello kitty dolls in singapore, the broad-based appeal of hello kitty, and the phenomenon of kiasu. It also discusses the extensive range of hello kitty merchandise and her impact on various asian cultures, particularly in hong kong and japan. The document sheds light on the appeal of hello kitty to consumers in both asia and the western world, and the role of cultural influences and group dynamics in shaping her popularity.
What you will learn
Typology: Exams
1 / 4
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
‘We recognize and accept that we have failed to meet everyone’s expectations. We sincerely apologize and ask for your forgiveness for any inconvenience and disappointment this may have caused. We wish to extend our sincere apologies and thanks to the Singapore Police Force, Ministry of the Environment, Singapore Civil Defence Force, and everyone who has been inconvenienced during this promotion.’ Stephens (2000) reporting on a full page statement by McDonald’s Singapore appearing in Singapore newspapers, January 2000.
‘During this promotion’? They can’t possibly mean a marketing promotion, can they? The police, government and civil defence forces needed for a marketing promotion? The answer is yes—a marketing promotion, needing the forces of law and order. McDonald’s in Singapore underestimated the appeal of a white kitten with bow and no mouth and her mouthless boyfriend and the chaos caused when consumers felt they might miss out. The kitten in question is, of course, ‘Hello Kitty’ and her boyfriend, ‘Dear Daniel’. And the promotion—buy a burger meal and get a 22 cm high Hello Kitty or Dear Daniel for $2.60 Singapore dollars, a major savings compared with the regular retail price.
When McDonald’s began the promotion on New Year’s Day 2000, it had 2.4 million dolls on hand (in 12 different sets), which according to their estimates was sufficient quantity for a six-week promotion. What McDonald’s failed to add into their calculations was first, the broad-based appeal of Hello Kitty, and secondly, the Singaporean phenomenon known as kiasu, roughly translated as ‘the fear of missing out’. Kiasu led thousands of Singaporeans to wait in line all night to be the first through the doors to get the increasingly scarce dolls. Queue jumping led to the arrest of six people and the injury of a policeman. One man was charged with disorderly behaviour over protests after McDonald’s opened a different door to the one he had been waiting at for 12 hours. At its height, this McKitty McFrenzy generated almost 300,000 daily visits to McDonald’s. And they were not all prepubescent girls. Grandparents lined for hours to get the toys for their grandchildren (or so they claimed!). Fathers fought for the toy for their children (again, so they claimed!). And over 20s wanted Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel for traditional Valentine’s Day love gifts. McDonald’s acknowledged that it was caught unawares and had seriously underestimated demand. To quell the negative publicity (which reached world media) they resorted to selling vouchers for Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel dolls dressed in Chinese wedding outfits, redeemable when stocks arrived in July 2000. Embarrassed by garbage bins overflowing with discarded burger meals in the early weeks of the promotion, McDonald’s introduced a system where the cost of the meal could be donated to charity. By mid-February 2000, $37 000 Singaporean dollars had been donated to charity compared to estimated takings of $11.7 million for McDonald’s. All for a little white kitten! When Sanrio of Japan created Hello Kitty in 1974— yes she’s in her late 20s!—little did its founder, Shintaro Tsunji, know that he was creating a multibillion dollar empire that would not just take hold in Japan but would take Nippon culture not only to Asia but the rest of the
Source: © Sanrio Co., Ltd.
world. Hello Kitty and her boyfriend Dear Daniel have been joined by Tuxedo Sam, the penguin, and My Melody, the rabbit, among others and adorn a range of products and services that is exceptional even in today’s merchandising culture. The characters adorn standard merchandise, such as clothing, stationery, housewares, video games and automatic bank teller, credit and phone cards. Hello Kitty cafes serving kitty-shaped waffles and Kitty Colada drinks continue to be extremely popular in Hong Kong and throughout Asia, as is the Hello Kitty Megastore in Causeway Bay, selling mega volumes of Hello Kitty merchandise. Hong Kong television even has a Hello Kitty sponsored Weather Report—read by newsreader Wincy Miaow! In the late 1990s, Sanrio opened Puroland theme park in Tokyo for Hello Kitty afficcionados, creating a powerful rival for Disneyland Tokyo, especially among visitors from Taiwan and China. The turn of the century saw Sanrio launching a Hello Kitty hotel to cater for the ‘Kittyra’, as Hello Kitty fans are known in Japan. If you are initially thinking that Hello Kitty appeals only to young girls and perhaps some young boys consider the following items of Hello Kitty merchandise for sale throughout Asia: Hello Kitty watches adorned with Austrian Swarovski crystals; Hello Kitty notebook computers complete with Hello Kitty mouse and reasonably powerful computing capabilities; companion Hello Kitty fax machines; powder blue Hello Kitty Yamaha motorcycles; Hello Kitty jeeps by Daihatsu (sorry, no whiskers on the bonnet); Hello Kitty body-fat monitors; Hello Kitty toilet paper; and believe it or not, Hello Kitty condoms! While the characters appeal primarily to prepubescent girls in North America (although pop sensation Christina Aguilera and model Tyra Banks are fans and American stores carry T-shirts and tank tops in women’s sizes), Hello Kitty’s appeal throughout Asia is much broader as witnessed by the merchandise for sale. That being said, Sanrio’s corporate-owned Kitty Boutiques generated sales of $1.2 billion in the United States in 2000, indicating either an extremely lucrative prepubescent market or a broader appeal than believed. Sanrio, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has a Hello Kitty line that covers an estimated 15, products, with 100 new items released every month. Sanrio also licenses approximately 500 companies to make Sanrio-approved items. As can be imagined, Hello Kitty is also a hot kitten in the black market, with a booming trade in knock-off merchandise. A visit to any Asian street market will reveal stall after stall of Hello Kitty products, a large number likely not Sanrio-approved.
Sanrio makes sure that store shelves always have new merchandise, stopping production after a few months and keeping products on the shelves for only a limited time. This strategy has increased the collectible value of the merchandise. Remember the $2.60 McDonald’s Hello Kitty doll? In early 2001, a six pair set was offered for sale on the Internet for $470. Hello Kitty has kept up with technology. For example, www.dreamkitty.com, a Canadian online boutique, provides an ever-changing array of Hello Kitty merchandise. A quick search of the Internet using the search terms ‘Hello Kitty’ will reveal an amazing array of retail sites and chat rooms devoted to Kitty and Daniel. To understand the Hello Kitty phenomenon in Japan, you have to understand kawaii (‘hou Q’ in Hong Kong). Literally, ‘kawaii’ means cute but figuratively means things that are desired to fulfil one’s life. Kawaii culture originated with 15 to 18 year old girls in Japan who became the holy grail for advertisers and marketers in the fashion, publishing and cute-little-gadgets industry. As one industry observer stated ‘it’s not how much they spend... it’s that they all buy the same things’. If an item is hot, such as pocket pagers (called pocket bells in Japan) or mobile phones, market penetration can reach 100% in a matter of weeks. The core values of kawaii, however, have spread far beyond its original members, and extended beyond Japan throughout Asia. Hello Kitty has given birth to a mega publishing, media and merchandising industry, including Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Digimon, Dragonball Z and the Power Puff Girls aimed at kids—essentially those below the age of 18. Hello Kitty has also led the charge of Nippon culture throughout Asia. Consumers in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian cultures view ‘Made in Japan’ as ‘way cool’, embracing all things Japanese. Asian consumers, especially young adults—a prime target for marketers— find they can relate more to the ideals, concepts and imagery expressed in Japanese music, movies, media, clothing and merchandise than they can to American or European popular culture. While American pop culture still dominates with Hollywood films generating the biggest box-office draws, Asians are increasingly turning away from the ‘Baywatch’-inspired beach/body images and family values expressed in music such as US rap lyrics. And increasingly, they are turning to all things Japanese. Four out of five comic books sold in South Korea are Japanese; Japanese pop music acts sell out in Taiwan and Singapore and while most Taiwanese consumers
Z
1 9 6 T h e I n te r n a t i o n a l M a rket i n g E nv i r o n m e n t A
Z
1 9 8 T h e I n te r n a t i o n a l M a rket i n g E nv i r o n m e n t A
rest of the world. Consider, for example, that the demand for Pokemon was well established through Internet chat rooms long before Nintendo America began their promotional campaigns. And this is likely to continue as long as innovation remains the ‘Viagra of Japan’. And its likely Hello Kitty will still be around to welcome her grandchildren as new ambassadors of Nippon culture, to Asia and the world!
Questions 1 Explain the appeal of characters like Hello Kitty to younger consumers in both Asia and the western economies, taking note of cultural and group influences. 2 Explain why characters like Hello Kitty appeal to a broader audience in Asia. Do you think that Hello Kitty will be able to generate the same level of broad appeal in western countries? 3 What factors have lead to the spread of Nippon culture throughout Asia? Do you see the spread continuing? If so, why; if not, why not? 4 One scholar remarked that ‘Young people can mistakenly regard Japanese culture as
their own’. [Source: ‘Cute Power’, Newsweek International, 1999.] Discuss this from the perspective of market segmentation and the impact on individual Asian cultures. 5 Many believe that much of the spread of Nippon culture has been fuelled by massive marketing campaigns. What responsibility do marketers have towards consumers in terms of both the acknowledgement and preser- vation of individual cultures?
References AsiaWeek, ‘Your Money: Trends: Hello Kitty’, 9 March
Entertainment Weekly, ‘Hello, again’, 4 May 2001. Marketing, ‘Turning Japanese’, 21 September 2000. New York Times, ‘Japan Beckons, and East Asia’s Youth Fall in Love’, 5 December 1999. Newsweek International, ‘Cute Power!: Asia is in love with Japan’s pop culture’, 8 November 1999. Stephens, J. (2000) ‘In a McKitty Frenzy’, AsiaWeek, 10 February 2000. Time International, ‘She’s a Material Girl’, 3 May 1999.