Kakao Friends Wins '2022 Licensing International Asian Awards'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kakao announced on the 28th that its character brand Kakao Friends won the 'Asian Property of the Year' award at the '2022 Licensing International Asian Awards,' held online on April 27.

The 'Licensing International Asian Awards' is an event hosted by Licensing International (formerly LIMA), the world's largest licensing association. It is the largest awards ceremony in Asia that honors intellectual properties (IP) with the greatest achievements in the region over the year. This year, over 300 global IPs participated across 12 categories.

Kakao Friends, which previously won the 'Digital Property of the Year' award in 2019, was selected this year as the most outstanding character IP in Asia, surpassing global IP finalists such as the 'Teddy Bear Collection' and 'B.Duck.'

Licensing International (LI) stated that the award was given in recognition of Kakao Friends' growing recognition and influence across Asia, including the Chinese-speaking regions, beyond Korea.

In December 2020, Kakao officially began its expansion into China by partnering with Alipay, a subsidiary of Alibaba. Alipay signed an IP licensing business contract with Kakao, granting it authority over product planning, development, distribution, and marketing related to Kakao Friends' intellectual property in China, thereby expanding Kakao Friends' influence in the global market.

To date, Kakao Friends has signed licensing agreements in China with global brands such as Nestl?, Lock&Lock, L'Occitane, and Reebok, as well as well-known Chinese brands including Mengniu, the largest dairy company in the Chinese-speaking region, offering approximately 350 different products. Additionally, through various online and offline activities, such as collaborating with the Shanghai International Film Festival to exhibit movie posters, Kakao Friends is broadening its engagement with young consumers across Asia.

Yoon Young-jin, Head of Kakao Friends Business Division, said, “We are very pleased that Kakao Friends, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, has won an award at the 'Licensing International Asian Awards,' one of the most prestigious events in the character industry. We will continue to work with our partners to present diverse content so that Kakao Friends can be loved by more people globally.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.