LGU+ to Participate in 2024 Licensing Expo
Over 20 Companies in Export Consultations as of 22nd
LG Uplus's representative character ‘Muneo’ is making a full-scale entry into the global market by participating in the world's largest character exhibition.
On the 23rd, LG Uplus showcased its representative character ‘Muneo Crew’ at the ‘2024 Licensing Expo’ held on the 21st at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA.
The ‘Licensing Expo’ is the world's largest B2B licensing exhibition attended by stakeholders related to characters and brand intellectual property (IP). Every year, 200 IP companies from 70 countries participate, and 30,000 buyers visit the exhibition. This year's event runs for three days from the 21st to the 23rd (local time).
LG Uplus set up a ‘Muneo Crew’ exhibition booth on-site and completed licensing export consultations with about 20 companies as of the 22nd. Muneo Crew is a character crew composed of three types: ▲ Muneo, a K-office worker in the turbulent early stages of society ▲ Holman, a former superstar ▲ Aji, a fashionista from Dongmyo. Previously, it was selected as Korea's representative IP in the ‘Korea Joint Pavilion’ recruitment contest by the Korea Creative Content Agency.
The fandom of ‘Muneo’ reaches 250,000 people. Recently, various offline touchpoints have been created, such as the collaboration event ‘Muneo Uniform Day’ with LG Twins and the outdoor library ‘Reading Han River Park’ hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. In November last year, it won the ‘Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award’ in the character category at the ‘Korea Content Awards’.
An LG Uplus official explained, “We participated in this event to find new business opportunities and secure growth engines in the continuously growing licensing market.” Market research firm ‘Global Market Estimates’ predicted that the global licensing market will grow at an average annual rate of 4.1%, from about $274.9 billion in 2022 to $385.4 billion by 2027.
Earlier, in November last year, LG Uplus operated pop-up stores twice at ‘Abeno Q's Mall’ and ‘Mio Mall,’ which are gaining attention as hot spots for Japanese women in their 20s and 30s in Osaka, Japan, attracting about 60,000 visitors over approximately two months. Based on this, they signed their first licensing export contract with the local Japanese agent ‘Into Corporation’ earlier this year.
LG Uplus plans to accelerate licensing exports through this exhibition. They also plan to more than double the range of character goods items.
Kim Darim, head of IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) at LG Uplus, said, “We will create a unique Muneo story that foreigners can relate to and focus on innovating the global customer experience.”
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