Roti and Lori Have Made a Friend

Support for Emerging Artists and SMEs at KOCCA Character Licensing Fair
Popup Store Installation with Lotte World, IP Licensing Build-up...

Joh Hyun-rae, President of the Korea Creative Content Agency (left), and Choi Hong-hoon, CEO of Lotte World.

A spoonful of rice 'Bapdeongi' hiding in the kitchen, a dull and colorless job seeker 'Museki', a 'Wandering Beaver' feeling deprived due to soaring housing prices...

The Character Licensing Fair, which ended on the 17th, was filled with unique characters. It broke the trend of being focused on children and captivated various age groups. Each one is a gem born from the hands of emerging artists. They have just reached out to the world through the Korea Creative Content Agency's (KOCCA) creative talent development support program, the 'Rookie Project.'

Even if you have many beads, you need to string them to make a treasure. Characters with sufficient competitiveness can be shelved if commercialization fails. Except for a few, contact points with consumers are limited. Without independent distribution channels, opportunities for merchandising are scarce. The situation is similar for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They face difficulties entering large retail stores or promotions. Even if they secure sales channels, their business networks with other industries are weak, limiting expansion.

'Roti·Rori X Babiibon' Kakao Emoticons

To improve this unfavorable environment, KOCCA signed a business agreement with Lotte World on the 16th. They will reestablish the Cream Store, which was operated at Lotte World's basement level 1 Lollipop. The Cream Store is a pop-up store that exhibits and sells character products from emerging artists and SMEs. In 2020, 23 companies participated, showcasing 126 products.

This year is expected to be of a similar scale. Han Kyung-won, head of Lotte World Design Media Team, explained, "The Character Licensing Fair lasts only four days, so it seemed necessary to provide sufficient exposure opportunities," adding, "We focus more on introducing and supporting various intellectual properties (IPs) rather than profit."

Lotte World is more than adequate for promoting characters. Most visitors are families and young generations. They also have years of accumulated know-how. Han said, "We developed the 'Roti' and 'Rori' IPs and have utilized them for over 30 years, so we understand how difficult commercialization is," adding, "We are separately promoting an IP licensing build-up by jointly planning and discovering theme park demand-tailored content with KOCCA."

'Ujjujju My Pet' Characters 'Bu', 'Ddari', 'Kung', and 'Dda' Figurines

This project selects IP companies, provides educational courses, and then produces collaboration videos and goods. The companies selected last year were Usso and Goldframe. The characters 'Bu,' 'Ddari,' 'Kung,' and 'Dda' from Usso's 'Ujjjujju My Pet' appeared alongside Roti and Rori in Lotte World's ESG promotional video. Kang Jung-gu, head of KOCCA's Character Licensing Team, explained, "While maintaining the basic concept, we introduced major Lotte World business sites," adding, "The video was played 33 times daily at the Lotte World Adventure Magic Circle and 66 times at eight parking kiosks."

The characters 'Bapibon-i' and 'Survival School Chokmanggo' created by Goldframe were merchandised as wall and desk calendars and Kakao emoticons alongside Roti and Rori. Kang said, "By showcasing meaningful results across various channels, both sides expanded character awareness."

In fact, 'Survival School Chokmanggo' recently surpassed 100,000 YouTube subscribers, securing a loyal fan base. Seo Young-jin, Goldframe's marketing manager, said, "We have established a new revenue base using IP," adding, "We plan to fully launch the licensing business, our main income source." Kim Jong-se, CEO of Usso, said, "Exposure within Lotte World alone was encouraging," adding, "We have gained considerable trust in overseas pitching due to our collaboration history with large corporations."

Hwang Jeong-hyun 'Jibung Arae Bapbap'

KOCCA and Lotte World will select one company again this year to continue collaboration. The commercialization process will become more sophisticated. The scope of industries will expand from theme parks to F&B and distribution, and promotional effects such as advertising will be quantified. Kang said, "Large companies like Daehan Flour Mills and Lotte Home Shopping have newly joined," adding, "We will provide platforms for small and medium content companies and support promotion and marketing through collaborative IP content." He also pledged, "KOCCA will back IP content production and business capability enhancement consulting to accelerate the creation of a cooperative ecosystem in the content industry."