SAMG Entertainment and SM Entertainment Introduce New Teenieping Characters Featuring aespa and Hearts2Hearts

On June 12, global IP content company SAMG Entertainment (hereafter SAMG) announced that it will begin a full-scale IP collaboration with leading global K-pop company SM Entertainment (hereafter SM) artists aespa and Hearts2Hearts. Centered around SAMG's flagship IP, "Catch! Teenieping," SM artists will be reimagined as Teenieping characters, with various content and merchandise to be released sequentially throughout June.

This collaboration is a project that reinterprets each member of aespa and Hearts2Hearts as characters within the Teenieping universe. The first to be unveiled, "Teenieping X aespa," features each member transformed into two new types of characters that reflect their individual personalities within the Teenieping world. The "Teenieping X aespa" characters will be officially revealed via both companies' official social media channels around aespa's comeback on June 27. Following this, the "Teenieping X Hearts2Hearts" collaboration characters will also be released during June, and the collaboration is expected to extend to various areas including content and merchandise (MD).

The collaboration between the two companies goes beyond simple content and merchandise production, expanding into a comprehensive business encompassing content, IP, music, and merchandise as part of a One Source Multi Use (OSMU) strategy. Through this collaboration, SAMG plans to significantly broaden the age range for its IP, which has primarily targeted children aged 4 to 7, to include the MZ generation, and to actively pursue expansion into Northeast and Southeast Asian markets, focusing on domestic fandom as a starting point.

A SAMG representative stated, "This collaboration with aespa and Hearts2Hearts will serve as another bridge for our flagship IP, 'Catch! Teenieping,' to expand into a global character for all generations," adding, "Even after the release of the music video and content, we will continue to present ongoing content through both companies' social media channels, further strengthening our connection with the fandom."