Married with Dream Factory Film Company Smith Barney focuses on brand marketing

On March 8, Metersbonwe announced a three-year strategic agreement with DreamWorks Animation Film Company of the United States. This is the first brand marketing cooperation between a China company and Hollywood.

After finally achieving the goal of investing 1 yuan and earning 1 yuan for the"Transformers 2" project, this time, Smith Barney no longer only satisfied with one film, but obtained exclusive cooperation with all DreamWorks films, and will cooperate with the film company. Create more interactions and resource cooperation.

Signing a strategic cooperation with DreamWorks is only the first step for Metersbonwe. According to reports, the company also signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement with Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio, and obtained a three-year authorization from Japan's Sanrio company HELLOKITTY.

We hope to inject more cultural connotations and highlights into the brand and differentiate marketing.& rdquo; Company sources revealed that in 2010, Metersbonwe's entire brand promotion expenses will be between 200 million and 400 million.

Marriage behind the scenes

One day in mid-November last year, Shanghai was chilly. JOE, President of the Asia Pacific Region of DreamWorks Animation Film Company in the United States, came to China for the first time. This is also the first time in history that DreamWorks Films has sent people to China.

The purpose of JOE's visit is to discuss strategic cooperation with Metersbonwe.

Before the release of DreamWorks 'film "Kung Fu Panda", the China company that JOE had never heard of, proposed to negotiate copyright cooperation. However, it was only three months before the release, and it was impossible to complete follow-up development and promotion, so it had to give up. Later, Smith Barney obtained brand implantation from Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, the copyright holders of "Transformers 2," and the development and operation of China copyright.

DreamWorks reviewed in detail the entire cooperation process and effects between Smith Barney and Paramount. The execution power and brand influence of this China company provided the foundation for subsequent cooperation between the two parties.

After the "Transformers" case, our negotiations with DreamWorks became much easier. Based on the China elements of "Kung Fu Panda", the cooperation process seemed to be very smooth, Zhou Long, senior manager of Smith Barney Brand Marketing Center, told reporters.

Therefore, cooperation negotiations with DreamWorks do not have to take half a year to promote itself like last time, and cross-authorization is no longer involved. Even when signing the preliminary cooperation intention, the two parties have never met. It is just an email exchange, about a month.

Metersbonwe is just the first stop at DreamWorks. DreamWorks is trying to develop its China business by working with Smith Barney to expand the dissemination of its films in China. At the same time, DreamWorks is also engaging with China's banking and dairy industries.

After JOE inspected the scale of Smith Barney, the 9000-square-meter flagship store on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, and the Chinese Costume Museum built by Smith Barney, he greatly changed his previous perception of China brands. More than half a month later, Sheila Clarke, director of global operations at DreamWorks, met with Metersbonwe in Hong Kong to further discuss cooperation details.

Different from obtaining the authorization for "Transformers 2", this time, Smith Barney is no longer satisfied with the cooperation of only one film. It hopes to obtain a strategic cooperation with DreamWorks. DreamWorks has many well-known films such as "Shrek","Madagascar", and "Kung Fu Panda".

In the past, the authorization was signed once a year, but we took the initiative to sign for three years and four years. Zhou Long introduced that in other words, within three years, DreamWorks is expected to produce 8-10 animated films, all of which we can use., the use period is four years. The advantage of this is that after the company launches the first series, its commercial value will still exist in subsequent years. Moreover, the cooperation between the two parties is exclusive.

However, negotiations still face difficulties. DreamWorks has strict requirements on character images and is not allowed to change them at will. Previously, companies such as Nike, BMW, and Pepsi cooperated with Hollywood to directly print their images on their products.

We are a clothing company. If we simply print character images and have limited creativity, the marketability of clothing will be reduced.& rdquo; Zhou Long said that the significance of strategic cooperation is that we can change their images and add and subtract the images in the film according to the needs of clothing design to reflect fun and interesting ideas. Of course, except for those involving racial discrimination, reaction, violence and bloodshed.

In addition, Smith Barney will do its best to assist in the promotion of DreamWorks films in China, and DreamWorks can also send designers to do fashion design for Smith Barney. There are no advertising placements in American cartoons, but Smith Barney will still surprise everyone in the films. ldquo; The content cannot be disclosed yet. This is DreamWorks 'first attempt since its establishment. rdquo;

On March 8, Metersbonwe and DreamWorks jointly announced strategic cooperation. Jeffrey Katzenberg, founder and CEO of DreamWorks, said that we were impressed by Metersbonwe's motto of not going the wrong way, because it also applies to our company. rdquo; He said, what's interesting is that starting this year, both of our companies have been operating for 15th anniversary, and we are both extremely proud of the results achieved in this short 15th anniversary." rdquo;

In an interview, Sheila Clarke, director of operations at DreamWorks, said: The image created by DreamWorks encourages people to not follow the trend, flaunt their individuality, and follow their own path. These characteristics are in line with Metersbonwe's corporate slogan and make our cooperation seem seamless. Moreover, Metersbonwe's interesting and imaginative live show injects life into cartoon characters through the carrier of costumes. We are very excited. rdquo;

expected

If Smith Barney's cooperation with "Transformers 2" is just a test of the water, then the strategic agreement with DreamWorks opens a door for Smith Barney's brand marketing path.

Wang Quangeng, general manager of Metersbonwe, told reporters that the "Transformers" series is a small test. Among Metersbonwe's nearly 3000 stores across the country, only 178 stores sell this series, but a total of more than 2 million pieces of clothing have been sold, and the sales of the entire series exceed 100 million yuan. At the same time, it has attracted more than 30 million people's attention through the Internet and other forms.

This data is very amazing. We completed the volume of production in two years in one quarter. Zhou Long was very excited about this result. We calculated that during this period, the sales of this series in a store in Guangzhou accounted for more than 35% of the total sales. The store on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai sold a Transformers T-shirt every 2-3 minutes on the day the film was released.

According to the company's original vision, the most ideal return for doing this project is that every 1 yuan invested can bring in 1 yuan of profit. According to Smith Barney sources, the investment in the entire project, namely licensing fees and advertising fees, adds up to 8 digits. If the profit margin per piece of clothing is 40%-50%, sales of the Smith Barney Transformers series are in full line with expectations.

"Transformers 2" has brought many praises to the company. Metersbonwe has also been selected as the best licensee of the year award in Asia. The entire process has been included in the course case by China Europe Business School.

At the end of last year, at the Licensor Conference hosted by the Asian Licensing Association and the Hong Kong Foreign Trade Bureau, Zhou Long, as the only China company to win the award, took the stage to accept the award.

While everyone was speaking English, a voice from China suddenly appeared, which made the China media and companies in the audience very excited. rdquo; Zhou Long said that the reason why he won the award was because most of the other authorized China companies are production-oriented companies that only pay attention to market channels and simply turn the authorized image into products without re-development or change. As an asset-light company, Smith Barney focuses on online and offline brand marketing. From initial product development to terminal sales, it focuses on the entire brand operation process. # p# Subtitle # e# Regarding DreamWorks 'strategic cooperation expectations, Zhou Long told reporters that like last time, he hopes to make back all the money invested in this project." ldquo; DreamWorks licensing fees will be cheaper than Transformers." rdquo; He introduced that the amount invested in the project mainly includes licensing fees, advertising promotion and event promotion fees.

Regarding risk control, Zhou Long believes that the only risk considered is that product development is too biased and consumers cannot accept it. In addition, the popularity of the film and the decline in box office basically do not pose risks. As for the early stage of the project operation, relevant research will be done, but it will not rely entirely on numbers to make decisions. After all, the brand contains many sensory things. ldquo; Hollywood's film industry chain is very mature to ensure that what is produced is of a certain standard. Historically, most films produced by DreamWorks have done well at the box office." rdquo;

The company expects that the cooperation with DreamWorks will drive product sales of 200 million yuan, and will promote it accordingly in its more than 2000 stores. As a licensor, DreamWorks hopes to contact Smith Barney's domestic platform so that well-known characters such as "Kung Fu Panda 2", which will be released next summer, can reach thousands of households from the big screen.

planning

While negotiating strategic cooperation with DreamWorks, Smith Barney has also launched contacts with Shanghai Art Film Studio, hoping to inject China elements into costumes, such as "Nezha's Mind","Black Cat Sheriff","Big Sky" and other well-known China art animation films.

According to reports, recently, Smith Barney and Shanghai Film Studio signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement, which is also the first time for Shanghai Film Studio. Shanghai Film Studio is also very much looking forward to this cooperation, hoping that after integration, the brand image will be younger.& ldquo; We fully feel that as long as the situation opens, China's strength can be exerted. rdquo;

For example, Smith Barney invited Yan Dingxian from Shanghai Film Studio to endorse its MTEE products. Yan Dingxian is in his 70s and is the original painter of "The Troubles in Heaven". He can draw Sun Wukong in one stroke. At the same time, he is also the director of many well-known animated films such as "Nezha Troubles in the Sea".

In addition, the company has obtained a three-year authorization from Sanrio Corporation of Japan to operate the brand cooperation of HELLOKIT-TY and increase the development of the women's market in apparel. ldquo; In terms of product prices, the clothes sold from Smith Barney are definitely cheaper than those from HELLOKITTY stores." rdquo; Zhou Long introduced. At the same time, Smith Barney is still negotiating a cooperation with Transformers next year. A year ago, Paramount Pictures just decided to prepare "Transformers 3", which will also be made into a 3D version. Currently, Smith Barney is discussing details of cooperation with it.

In the future, we will inject environmental protection concepts into the MTEE series.& rdquo; Zhou Long introduced that in the future, the company will have three main directions in brand marketing: first, the image of the United States. After all, Hollywood culture is still a popular force in the world and cannot be ignored; second, the image of China. Japanese anime is the best in the world and has the strongest impact on young people; third, the image of China. Smith Barney hopes to deeply explore the connotation of national brands.

Wang Quangeng, general manager of Smith Barney, introduced that in order to better display the products of its strategic partners, Metersbonwe has launched the MTEE series, which will launch nearly 10,000 products, defining it as one of its most creative series. This will serve as a platform to display themes such as animation, trend events, environmental protection, and illustrations.

We hope to differentiate ourselves from other similar brands and use Metersbonwe to introduce international trend elements and culture. In addition, we also hope to showcase China clothing brands abroad to lay a foundation for going global in the future. rdquo; Wang Quangeng said. MTEE's products will be launched in stages, such as animation season, trend season, and environmental protection season. The company's vision is to build it into the number one brand of domestic printed clothing, and gather more people with dreams and new awareness on the MTEE platform.

According to reports, the company is sending invitations to Jack Ma, Han Han, Tan Yuanyuan and others to be the dream figures of the brand.

Smith Barney emphasized that MTEE is not an independent brand, but just a series under Smith Barney. Other product series will be developed in the future. There are many large stores in Metersbonwe with more than 3000 square meters, and the capacity can be 5-8 times that of ordinary stores.

In 2009, Metersbonwe raced around the country, buying and renting stores. According to Smith Barney sources, last year's capital expenditure was mainly used for store rent and decoration expenses, which reached approximately 900 million yuan.

In addition to constantly injecting new cultural connotations into the Metersbonwe brand, another brand under its brand, ME CITY, is also operating towards ZARA and H M, in line with them in terms of fashion design concepts and shelf time.

The clothing industry needs to sell culture rather than products. Selling products has no future, because it is easy to copy. Once culture, concepts, and brands are injected, the higher the price, the more proud customers will feel. At a China-Europe Business School Clothing Industry Alumni Seminar hosted by a researcher at China Merchants Securities Clothing Industry, a Smith Barney executive said this. In addition, popular brands such as Smith Barney, Zara, Uniqlo, Esprit, and H M tend to compete for scale and cost. Therefore, a country usually only has one brand, and in this field, China will only have three or four brands left in the future.

The above-mentioned company executives told reporters that in 2009, the company expects to achieve operating income of 5.234 billion yuan and net profit of 603 million yuan. The company's asset-liability ratio is about 45%.& ldquo; We have just issued 500 million yuan in short-term financing bonds, and will launch the next 500 million yuan in short-term financing bonds in March and April. The interest rate and cost are lower than that of banks. In addition, there are still several billion yuan in bank credit lines that have not been used much. The person said that the company has prepared sufficient cash flow for this year's capital expenditures. Before December last year, the company's cash flow reached more than one billion yuan.

For brand promotion in 2010, company sources revealed that the budget is about 2%-3% of total sales. Normally, Metersbonwe's entire brand promotion expenses this year will be between 200 million and 400 million. rdquo;