IP Industry Leadership Shifts... Experiential Platforms Emerge as New Hubs

Convenience Stores and Photo Booths Emerge as IP Expansion Hubs
Real-Time Verification of Popularity Through Shelf Sales Response
The Order Reversed: From "Content Production → Merchandise" to "Consumer Response First"

Kwan Moongeun, Manager of Brand Marketing Team at GS Retail

The leadership of the content intellectual property (IP) industry is shifting. The "Content IP Market," held by the Korea Creative Content Agency at COEX from the 25th to the 27th, clearly showcased this transformation. Analysts pointed out that experiential platforms such as convenience stores, retail outlets, and photo booths are becoming the primary gateways and hubs for IP consumption and expansion.

Kwan Moongeun, Manager of the Brand Marketing Team at GS Retail, explained during the session "IP Experience: Capture, Eat, and Enjoy - The Expansion of K-Pop Demon Hunters" that convenience stores are at the forefront of IP consumption. This is because consumer responses can be immediately observed from the moment collaborative products are displayed on the shelves.

He stated, "Convenience stores are lifestyle platforms visited by millions of people every day," adding, "We can instantly identify which IPs are selling quickly and which age groups are participating in purchases."

This initial response is more than just a sales metric. It functions as a "real-time market report," revealing where a particular IP resonates more strongly among Millennials & Gen Z, the 20s and 30s demographic, or family consumers, and indicating the potential for expansion into merchandise, collaborations, or events.

This is the reverse of the traditional IP expansion flow, which followed the sequence of "content production → distribution → merchandise → consumption." Now, the order has flipped: "consumer response comes first, followed by content expansion."

Byungjun Kim, Head of Northwest (Photoism) Division

This phenomenon can also be observed in photo booths. Generation Z consumes the act of taking photos itself as content and naturally triggers secondary diffusion by sharing these photos on social media.

At this point, photo skins created in collaboration with specific works, brands, or artists are more than mere decorations. The moment a user selects a skin and takes a photo, they are already experiencing entry into that IP world. The resulting photos spread via social media, online communities, and messengers, generating new waves of consumption.

Byungjun Kim, Head of Northwest Division (Photoism), stated, "The speed of IP diffusion is increasing dramatically, in line with the participation style of Generation Z." He added, "It is a structure where IPs proliferate organically through user participation. In the past, people would buy merchandise after experiencing the work, but now, expansion begins the moment users themselves become part of the IP."

Many creators and production companies are also shifting toward considering "offline connectivity," "content consumption methods," and "character suitability for experiential platforms" from the planning stages of their works.

Previously, IPs created by production companies would expand into films, dramas, publications, and games, with merchandise appearing at the end of the process. Now, the order has completely changed. Experiences in offline spaces first drive the growth of IPs, and those responses in turn determine content production and business strategies. The center of gravity in the IP industry is shifting from "production" to "experience."

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