Station B splits the company's tourism business for independent financing Fu Jingnan serves as CEO of the new company

On May 20, bilibili, the largest trend cultural and entertainment community for young people in China, announced that bilibiliyoo, the travel sub-brand of the former Beijing branch, would be split into an independent company. The new company would be renamed "Galaxy Wandering Guide" and would conduct independent financing.

Original title: Station B splits off the company's tourism business and conducts independent financing. Is this method of monetization reliable?

Station B, which has always handled commercial-related news in a low-key manner, actually publicly promoted the financing plan.

On May 20, bilibili, the largest trend cultural and entertainment community for young people in China, announced that bilibili yoo, the tourism sub-brand of the former Beijing branch, would be split into an independent company. The new company would be renamed "Galaxy Wandering Guide" and would conduct independent financing. Bilibili will continue to support the development of the new company as a shareholder. Fu Jingnan, former head of the tourism business department of bilibili, will serve as CEO of the new company.

Fu Jingnan said that after the spin-off, the business will expand to in-depth customized tours in multiple countries and more themes, open in-depth cooperation to more communities and platforms, and devote itself to planning, services and monetization of vertical cultural circles. At the same time, the services and benefits originally enjoyed by old biliyoo users will continue to be retained under the new brand.

This is a press release from Station B. In the past, whether IDG or Tencent took a stake, Station B kept a secret from the outside world, fearing that it would attract a backlash from secondary fans who rejected commercialization. But this time, I'm afraid that if I don't clarify it at this time, it will attract doubts from the market and management.

While the news of a major change in the middle and senior management of Station A was spreading, some employees claiming to be Station B also reported online that all the Beijing branch of Station B had been laid off and the entire department had been cut off. Station B deleted public relations posts overnight and even announced financing news for the first time to clarify rumors.

However, at the end of the press release, Station B still emphasized that "everything is still the same taste and the same service" to show loyalty to users: even if we use "secondary yuan" to do business, we are still your friends!

Station B is going to do tourism business.Is this reliable?

Station B is not just starting to do tourism business, and Station B is not the first company to do second-dimensional themed travel.

As early as November 2014, Station B launched a customized tour product to Japan, organizing users to go to Akihabara, the second yuan holy land, to buy surrounding areas, and to visit the holy land. Earlier in 2004, an ACG information magazine "Anime Vendor" cooperated with China Business International Travel Service to launch a second-element themed Japan tour, which is still being carried out every year.

Many people may think that second-dimensional enthusiasts are dead otaku and unwilling to go out. However, it is not that these otaku are unwilling to go out, they just want to see where they are going. Otherwise, how to explain the late night queue at Comicup (China's largest fan show)?

The Kamakura coastline in Japan has become one of the most well-known holy places for second-dimensional pilgrimage due to its slam dunk masters. At Kamakura Station, where the OP's picture of Sakuraki and Haruko greeting was taken, tourists get off the bus every day to take photos. The third new Tokyo city in EVA is Hakone, Japan's hot spring resort. When you step off the Odayu Railway, there are signs of Ayamara and others at Hakone Station. Even in China, in August last year, the "Ten-Year Promise" plot in the tomb robbery notes attracted a large number of fans to Changbai Mountain to "welcome my brother," resulting in full hotels, and the Changbai Mountain Scenic Area even issued a special warning for crowded people.

In fact, this is another manifestation of IP monetization. The so-called tour is like Wang Bo making Tengwang Pavilion a tourist attraction in Nanchang, or going to a restaurant opened by idol. A "Five centimeters per second" movie can also allow second-yuan fans to go to the streets of Shinjuku to watch cherry blossoms. The satisfaction is no less than receiving a special Blu-ray disc.

The purchasing power of the domestic second-generation people is increasing, and it is time for fans who grew up watching classic Japanese comics to become financially independent. Whether it is adults who want to fulfill a dream of "childhood memories" but don't have time to make their own strategies, or the student party wants to go on a tour instead of following other tour groups to buy and buy in luxury stores, but suffers from lack of the ability to travel freely, the market demand is here. Even airlines have begun to open secondary routes. For example, Junshi Airlines will open flights from Shanghai to Tottori this summer. Tottori has the famous town of Conan. Junshi Airlines also emphasized this point in its promotion.

For second-dimensional enthusiasts, traveling away from home is not a break of the second-dimensional wall. On the contrary, someone tailor-made tour routes for them, specially setting aside time for pleasant shopping in Akihabara and Ikebukuro, and everyone in the same group is on the same side, like a face-to-face basis, which can make this group of people who desire to be recognized and do not want to be disturbed feel valued.

For Station B, there are many routes that can be opened up. Except for Japan, other countries appearing in many classic works are optional destinations. Station B itself also said that after the spin-off, its business will expand to in-depth customized tours in multiple countries and more themes, and open in-depth cooperation to more communities and platforms. What fans are most concerned about is actually whether Station B organizes itself or is outsourced to an external travel agency. It will make them feel more at ease if Station B, their own person, handles the entire process.

Behind the secondary wall and capital conflicts,losing users will be a new opportunity for entrepreneurs

. The secondary fan group has both the sense of superiority of a niche cultural audience, the worry of not wanting to be disturbed and changed, and also hopes to be respected by the outside world. The same is true for companies that started with secondary genes. However, capital is very arrogant. The thicker the secondary barriers are, the more likely conflicts will break out.

While Station B was commercializing slowly and low-key, Station A, which also learned from Japan's Station N earlier than Station B, had stumbled several times on the road to commercialization.

In the eyes of many people, Station A and Station B may both be bullet screen websites that mainly serve secondary sources. In fact, the two are different in terms of founder styles, operating strategies and audience groups. For example, Station A is deeper and has more unpopular resources that academic nerds like. In the early days, it has stronger cultural input capabilities than Station B. For example, slogans such as "If you are serious, you will lose" all flowed from Station A. Station B is more friendly to newcomers and has more resources for women. Although it has also created bullet screens such as "high-energy ahead", there are still more "primary school students" on the screen, and now there are more and more "primary school students".

Before the founder and management of Station A got into trouble, the secondary barriers of Station A were thicker than that of Station B. The path they chose was also to cultivate the senior secondary people. However, the parachuted capital and the founders who created the core values of Station A have always been at odds with each other. The conflict between the employer and the founder ends with the founder leaving every time. However, the management did not understand the core values of Station A, and after crowding out the original managers, they had no ability to operate, which eventually led to the loss of users of Station A and the collapse of Station A's culture.

In contrast, Station B has adopted a smooth transition and the strategy of boiling frogs in warm water, and is more cautious than Station A in introducing external capital. Station B now positions itself as the largest trend cultural and entertainment community for young people in China. Trend culture, not secondary. Station B itself said that two-thirds of the traffic on Station B is no longer about secondary content.

In fact, more and more veteran fans of the second dimension, that is, old drivers, are complaining about Station B. However, it is not that we complain about the decrease of secondary content.

It is not to say that if the number of three-dimensional dramas on Station B exceeds that of animated dramas, it will cause dissatisfaction among original users. Japan's Station N also broadcast live broadcasts of the China Two Sessions. People who go to Station B like small circles of friends, and the circles are interconnected. After following up on the new fans of the season, I went to the music area to see if there were any new submissions from Station B, then watched "The Pretender" in the TV drama area, clicked Lou Cheng CP together, searched fan videos, and finally went to the Ghost Animal Area to tease the up master. The culture and entertainment spirit behind this are consistent.

What the old drivers are dissatisfied with is that there are more and more "primary school students" or newcomers on Station B. This is reflected in the decline in creativity and quality of the barrage at Station B. The so-called high-quality bullet screens include popular science, wild subtitles, convincing empty ears, well-played jokes, etc. But now, some experienced users don't like those unnutritious bullet screens that flash their screens and simply turn off the bullet screens. For them, the advantage of Station B is that there is no advertising.

This is one of the results of commercialization. Station B gradually moved from a niche to a public, the public began to take the rhythm, the core culture gradually diluted, the core fans of the secondary yuan were slowly lost, and the audience of Station B quietly changed blood, but Station B It also completed smooth commercialization and became an investment target that is more popular with capital.

There is nothing wrong with this. If the secondary economy is to flourish, it must expand its audience. If Station B wants to grow, it must also expand its user base. The crowd who laid the original foundation for Station B will also have to find the next foothold. Some of these people are from Station A, but it is impossible for them to return to Station A. They are the space left for new entrepreneurs to display.

Editor: vian