Assessing the Landscape

LINE is an independent company that was released in 2015 by Corporation and is one of the world's largest growing character brands. LINE FRIENDS has operated more than 160 stores (variety of products and merchandise) in a total of 14 markets including stores in New York, , , , and . The US and Canada have a 58% of worldwide consumption of licensed goods and services (up 4.5% from 2018) and Asia/Pacific markets experienced year over year increase of more than 5% per year. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, consumers are adapting to new personal circumstances with 33% consumers with less disposable income and 26% with an increase in disposable income and free time. COMPETITOR: targeting consumers interested in the growing and trending K-pop industry by offering a variety of product lines, good inventory, and offering better and affordable prices Kakao Friends Hasbro Walt Disney Company Sanrio E-commerce for US Consumers who are unable to purchase products and merchandise found overseas and not on LINE FRIENDS.

S: LINE FRIENDS and BT21(BTS) merchandise and partnerships with K-pop idols and group W: Limited variety of and out of stock products and merchandise both in-store and online O: Expand a variety of product and merchandise and collaborate or partner with other K-pop idols and groups and open a LINE FRIENDS store in Europe T: Kakao Friends entering the market and targeting the same consumers as LINE FRIENDS Strategic Objectives

LINE FRIENDS Rewards Increase Brand Awareness Collaborate/Partner with Program/Membership through new remaining merchandise/product release Members WHO (Target Market)

OVERALL STRATEGIC TARGET: People between the ages of 12 to 30s, such as young teens to college students who enjoy fun and adorable animated characters and have an existing love and interest in the K-pop industry. POINT OF MARKET ENTRY: Teens, young adults, and adults who enjoy animated characters and show an interest in K-pop music and/or Korean culture. Current K-pop stans*.

ASPIRATIONAL PROFILE: Who is Katharine?

Katharine graduated from CSULA and values her time with family and friends Katharine likes to explore new things and enjoys traveling to new places She enjoys learning about new cultures and new trends and is currently learning Japanese She enjoys listening to music and most recently K- pop. She likes using coupons and rewards membership/prgram Katharine's favorite K-pop group is BTS and her bias is RM (BT21: Koya) KATHARINE, 29 years Needs OCCUPATION: Office Administrator INCOME: $85,000 Variety in products and merchandise, convenience, STATUS: In Relationship reasonable and affordable prices INTERESTS: Disneyland, Movies, Food, Values Festivals Family, friends, quality, other cultures, PERSONALITY: Outgoing convenience, meaningful connections

Why Character Merchandise?

Katharine says she purchases character merchandise to decorate her office, makes her smile on tough days, and makes perfect gifts for others whether a child or an adult. She also said that it is a way of her supporting her favortie character/artist/idol/group.

*stan(s): is the mergence of the words stalker and fan and the meaning of a person who will go above and beyond to interact with their idols ASPIRATIONAL PROFILE: Who is Jenny?

Jenny graduated from UCSD and values her time with her friends and boyfriend Jenny enjoys creating unboxing videos for Youtube During her free time, she likes to watch K-dramas/C- dramas and enjoys exploring new places She enjoys listening to music and says that she has been listening to K-pop music since 2010. She likes when stores have rewards memberships/programs Jenny's favorite K-pop male group is BTS and her bias is (BT21: Cooky) Jenny, 27 years Needs OCCUPATION: Receptionist Variety in products and merchandise, convenience, INCOME: $40,000 reasonable and affordable prices STATUS: In Relationship Values INTERESTS: K-Drama, Movies, Food, Youtube, Music, Video Creating Family, friends, quality, other cultures, PERSONALITY: Open-Minded convenience, meaningful connections

Why Character Merchandise?

Jenny says that she purchases character merchandise because she likes to support her favorite character/artist/idol/group, decorate her room and car, and gives her a feeling of happiness because it feeds the child inside of her even though she is and adult.

INTERVIEW LEARNINGS: Interviewees like the convenience and good quality products at a reasonable and affordable price Interviewees heard about LINE FRIENDS characters through the release of BTS show characters BT21 Interviewees listen or have listened to K-pop music Interviewees like to learn and hear of new products through social media platforms and influencers Interviewees would like to see more collaborations with their favorite K-pop idol/group WHAT(Brand Equity)

OVERALL EQUITY STATEMENT: "The right to support your favorite idol/group and connect to the inner child inside of you regardless of age. " ARCHETYPE: POINTS OF DIFFERENCE: POINTS OF PARITY: INNOCENT

Collaborations with K-pop Maintain products and groups and idols merchandise in-stock both Unique characters online and in-store Variety of product lines Partner and collaborate Stores in major cities with more K-pop idols/groups

BRAND CHARACTER: BRAND SQUARE: Fun Don't sell common and Energetic boring, sell me creative, Innocent fun, unique merchandise

DESIGN THEME: CONSUMER INSIGHT: Colorful, friendly, cute, adorable, and fun People who want to feed the inner child inside of characters them at an affordable price and rewards for every purchase. BIG IDEAS: 1.LINE FRIENDS X BLACKPINK (Jennie, Rose, Lisa) 2.LINE FRIENDS MEMBERSHIP HOW 3.LINE FRIENDS X Merchandise

PRODUCT: PRICE: LINE FRIENDS X BTS (BT21) Prices start at $4.95 and can go up to a little over $100 for both LINE FRIENDS X JISOO in-store and online sites. LINE FRIENDS X ITZY Prices can be considered high-tier LINE FRIENDS X TREASURE Compared to their competitor, LINE FRIENDS is a bit more PLACE: pricey Continue selling their products through their website and in-store Expand their retail stores to placing a store in Europe's major cities

PROMOTION/MARKETING: Influencers: @justrandomeveryday (K-pop Music Video Reactor) @merrelltwins (Beauty influencers who love K-pop and K-beauty) Advertising Instagram Ads, Facebook Ads, Youtube Ads Digital Marketing Create posts for social media platforms Measures

BRAND AWARENESS: Number of followers increase on social media Number of times #linefirends was used and account was tagged BRAND LOYALTY: How many consumers are returning How often are they returning for browsing and purchasing again CONSUMER SPENDING: Number of items in cart Amount of money spent on average

LEAD GENERATION: Number of leads based on the campaign launch Average cost per lead from the campaign OVERALL REVENUE: Based on the increase/decrease of sales Which products/merchandise is popular SEO: How often are keywords searched including "Line Friends, BT21, etc.)

SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT: Number of times the hashtag were used Number of comments per campaign Number of times people shared campaign posts Next Steps

Collaborate with male K-pop Open a LINE FRIENDS store Address efficiency in keeping group or to in major cities in Europe products in-stock online and in- create their characters store