[Home & Living] How We Secured 500 Million in Funding Through a Famous Character IP

Have you ever felt the power of a character? Just seeing your favorite character on the coffee mug that wakes you up in the morning, the notebook you’re constantly writing in, or the charger you plug in every night is enough to bring a smile to your face. Here’s the story of wadiz Fan Maker Inteko, which infuses the power of characters into everyday essentials to make life more enjoyable.

Inteco, the IP lifestyle tech company that created wadiz’s hit product, the “Jinro Dispenser,”
IP lifestyle tech company Inteko

Hello. We’re Lee Han-na, in charge of marketing at Inteko, and Eom Tae-yoon, in charge of design . First off, Inteko is, in a nutshell, an “IP lifestyle tech company.”We’re a company that creates everyday products by utilizing intellectual property (IP), such as corporatecharacters and logos .We produce products based on client requests and also develop our own private-label (PB) products.

We’re living in an era where IP-driven marketing is more important than ever.So far,we’ve created products using the IP of global companies such as Samsung Electronics, Shinsegae, and Kakao.Wego through every stage of the process—from deciding what product to create based on a specific IP, to conceptualizing the design, and finally bringing it to life as an actual product.

Last April, we launched a funding campaign on wadiz for a soju dispenser and cooler featuring the “Jinro Toad” character. Thanks to a total of about 6,500 supporters, we achieved a funding rate of 102,797% and raised approximately 510 million won.Even before the projectlaunched, the number of people signing up for notifications grew every day, and as soon as it went live, the funding amount skyrocketed in an instant. (Laughs) I remember the reaction within the company was incredible.

▶ Check out the 510 million won funding campaign by Jinro’s Toad

We can explore better directions for the product
and present the results to you

As we previously introduced Inteko as an IP-based lifestyle tech company, our slogan is “A company that understands life’s needs.” Researching what products our customers want and need is one of our most important tasks. wadiz is a platform that allows us to quickly gauge supporters’ reactions during the funding process. We decidedto take on this funding challenge because of thatadvantage , andit actually helped us a great deal.

Supporters leave comments in the News section or Community forum about how they’d like to see the product improved. For example, with the Jinro Cooler, while the response was incredibly enthusiastic, we also received some constructive criticism. (Laughs) They suggested it would be great if the product could be charged with a power bank when used outdoors. So, we’re currently preparing an encore funding campaign with a product that incorporates that feedback. I think the biggest appeal of funding is that you can gather genuine feedback from supporters, identify ways to improve, and showcase those improvements in your next funding campaign. 

wadiz FanZMaker,
It’s a great opportunity to utilize characters that everyone knows

*’FANZ MAKER‘is a project where wadiz partners with IP companies to directly match makers online and develop products

Jinro’s recent participation marks its second time joining FANZ MAKER, following its previous involvement with MapleStory. First of all, the “Jinro Toad” character is widely recognized as a major success story in the market. It has become a character that’s incredibly familiar not only to the MZ generation but also to anyone who enjoys alcohol. That’s why we saw the very opportunity to utilize this character through FANZ MAKER as a huge opportunity. We also believed that by effectively combining Inteko’s unique technology and design, we could generate a strong response from our supporters. 

While there are many people who enjoy alcohol , the target audience for this project was“solo drinkers .”Even though COVID-19restrictions have been significantly eased ,the culture of drinking alone at home remains strong, and the trend of brewing and drinking alcohol with unique combinations was gaining attention. So, with solo drinkers in mind, I kept asking myself, “What kind of product could they use while drinking?” As a result, I narrowed my focus to a dispenser that automatically pours drinks so you don’t feel lonely even when drinking alone, and a cooler that keeps soju chilled.

A deep understanding of the character—
is an essential step in creating differentiated products

With the character market growing so rapidly these days, many products featuring characters are being released . The most important thing when designing a product is to avoid making it feel like the character is simply slapped onto the product.You have to thoroughly grasp the character’sunique charm and characteristics so that its distinctive qualities can be seamlessly integrated into the product. One tip is to try incorporating props from the character’s Story into the product as much as possible. Those small details can really elevate the product’s overall quality.

To create such distinctive products, it’s essential to understand as much as possible about the character—from its personality to its universe. I believe the fastest and most accurate way to do this is to carefully review the guides and assets provided by the IP company. After all, it goes without saying that the IP company that created the character knows it best. It’s alsohelpful to review those guidelinesfrom the perspective of, “This character would pair well with this product line.” If you feel this approach isn’t enough, you can proactively request additional materials or search for them yourself. No matter the method, the most important thing is to make an effort to understand the character.

If you have a story you want to bring to life through an IP,
give FansMaker a try

We never miss a chance to participate whenever FansMaker is held. The reason is that it allows us to fully integrate the IP into a Story. We can use the IP—which we value highly—and the Story to complete a project that’s uniquely Inteko’s. It also helps us quickly identify consumer needs. Personally, I’ve engaged in various collaborations while working on projects, and that has given me a great sense of accomplishment. I think it was a valuable experience both for the brand and for me personally.

There are so many characters on the market right now—it’s often described as a “flood of characters”—and various companies are trying their hand at character marketing. To avoid getting swept away by this flood, Inteko plans to continue researching what products our supporters feel they need in their daily lives and strive to collaborate with characters to ensure our products offer both functionality and uniqueness. We’ll be back on wadiz as a new “Fansmaker,” so please look forward to it.

Written by Han Ji-hye
▶ This content was first featured on the wadiz blog. If you’re curious about more stories on the blog, click!