”If it's cute, everything's good” - Global financial company targets MZ generation with ”character marketing” - Korean media

A financial company developed its own character with a cute appearance and elaborate worldview to target customers of Generation MZ (Millennials and Generation Z, born between the 1980s and 2000s).
In particular, major Japanese financial groups are making full use of their own developed characters in online and offline marketing. Korean financial companies are also focusing on the branding of MZ generation.
It was suggested that in order to increase land loyalty, it is necessary to actively utilize character goods and content.
Kang Yoon, a researcher at the KB Financial Holdings Management Research Institute, wrote in the book "The Sensibility of the MZ Generation," published on the 27th.
In a KB Knowledge Vitamin report titled "Inspiring Global Financial Characters," it was stated that "global financial companies are using characters to attract the attention of young customers and communicate in a friendly manner."
"Financial companies need to actively utilize their own developed characters to strengthen their character marketing," he said.
"We can consider providing loyalty-linked goods and educational content," he suggested. Character marketing is about breaking down the psychological barriers of consumers with cute appearances and creating empathy.
It is an advanced emotional marketing method that draws out the fans' feelings. By using characters for the same product, it is possible to induce fan consumption, so in the retail industry, it is
According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, the global character licensing market was worth $340 billion last year and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 4.1% from 2022 to 2027.
Global financial companies are also actively using their own in-house developed characters to capture the hearts of young people.
Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) developed the otter-themed character "Midosuke" in 2014.
In the 2015 Nippon Professional Baseball Japan Series, a new award, "Midosuke Home Run Award," was established, offering cash prizes and stuffed toys of Midosuke, and when a home run was hit, Midosuke's picture was displayed on a large screen.
The characters were also used in the promotion and design of the banking app. In 2019, a week-long event was held in Omotesando, Tokyo, to promote the app.
The "Midosuke Cafe" was opened for a limited time. The first floor had an app-related exhibition, and the second floor operated a cafe, offering free lattes and cookies with Midosuke designs.
The app introduced a Midosuke character theme, which was well received by customers.
Moomoo Securities, a global securities trading platform operated by Moomoo Holdings
Futu Securities and Futu Securities' apps, Moomoo and Futubull, currently have 25 million customers in seven countries.
Holdings directly hired designers to develop the "Futu Family," including a character based on a bull, which symbolizes a bull market.
Moomoo Securities has created a variety of Moomoo characters to suit the tastes of customers in each country, and has created various characters for social media accounts and homepages.
The app is currently being promoted on various platforms, including Malaysia and Japan, where it ranks first or second in terms of cumulative downloads and daily active users (DAU).
Moomoo Securities and Futu Securities have introduced a "profit rate certification" function that utilizes the Mumu character in their in-app communities, which has been well-received.
Through various effects, such as the appearance of a Mumu character and a Mumu character being hit by rain if the loss rate was high, the number of related posts reached 86 million and the number of views reached 26 million.
They also offer a rewards club service where you can purchase limited edition Mumu characters based on your transaction history.
The limited edition "Platinum Mumu Chess Series," which represents customers' investment styles as chess pieces based on a demand survey conducted in advance among the community, has proven popular.
The Japanese Mizuho Financial Group has adopted Aomaru, a character based on the wombat, a protected animal found only in Australia, as the group's official mascot.
In 2018, they developed economic and financial educational content with Aomaru as the main character. In the video, Aomaru explains the "role of money" and "types of money," and
Korean financial companies have also been developing their own characters since the mid-2010s, and are now finally starting to fully implement character marketing.
The researcher said, "Financial authorities are currently considering ways to commercially utilize character intellectual property (IP) at the holding company level, and if commercialization of characters is permitted in the Korean financial industry in the future, the utilization of IP will become more widespread."
"The scope will expand," he said, pointing out the need to strengthen character marketing. Kang said, "To increase the immersion of the MZ generation, who place importance on experiences, sponsorship events will be necessary.
"We need to organically link online and offline, such as by utilizing characters in our games and providing unique experiences," he said. "We will create character goods that stimulate customers' desire to collect them,
By allowing users to redeem points based on their in-app activity and transaction performance, they can increase customer loyalty."