Nanjing IP collaboration: Key takeaways
- The Jingfeng Center turned a collaboration between Chinese sticker IP Siam Lip and Japan’s My Friend Rabbit into an immersive wedding rather than a conventional pop-up
- The campaign shows how an absurd but coherent story can turn fandom into real-world spending
- Nanjing’s growing network of IP stores, exhibitions and culture-led retail spaces is making it a compelling city for brand collaborations
Working the China marketing beat is an interesting job, overall. China seems to have perfected consumerism and that provides plenty to write about. The flipside to that is a market where collaboration runs wild, and all too often they are drearily uninspired: brands placidly stitching an X between their logos and counting up shared traffic. It’s not always like that though. Here’s a collaboration that cuts through the noise by doing something genuinely strange.
A genuine, and magical, marriage of IPs
Earlier in July, Chinese sticker IP Siam Lip (LiPU) and Japanese character My Friend Rabbit opened a national debut exhibition and first pop-up store at Nanjing’s Jingfeng Center. It was the centrepiece of the mall’s tenth-anniversary celebrations, and so wonderfully bizarre.
This was a full-on outdoor ceremony with floral arches, guests in attendance, and a red carpet
Siam Lip’s Rabbit Xiuzhen became the groom and My Friend Rabbit the bride in a staged marriage between the two IPs. And as with a real wedding, no details were overlooked. This was a full-on outdoor ceremony with floral arches, guests in attendance, and a red carpet.
Alongside the ceremony the brands opened a pop-up store, and this is where you see the collaboration pay off. Around 200 limited-edition products were stocked. Several sold out immediately.
Fans hit the internet to frame their purchases as wedding gifts for the animated couple. Others went looking for the sold-out merch on resale platforms. For two characters better known from chat windows, this is a refreshingly unusual way to convert online familiarity to offline retail.
The Dao view: Let’s talk about Nanjing as a proving ground for IP collaboration
Nanjing is starting to look like a city built for activation. Pop Mart has opened a new concept store in Xinjiekou. MINISO LAND has woven Nanjing brocade and Qinhuai Lantern Festival references into its Confucius Temple location. Mixue Bingcheng’s vast flagship has turned the Snow King into a destination in his own right.
But why? Nanjing offers brands more than footfall. Its large student population – a demographic with strong interest in brand activation. Appetite for design-led consumption and confidence in local culture also give IPs room to become experiences rather than decorations. And Nanjing seems to get it. The city’s retailers understand that the strongest activations give audiences a compelling reason to show up, take part, and spend.
