What Is IP Marketing? A PR Strategy to Generate Buzz for Your Brand by Leveraging Characters and Content

2026.08.18

カテゴリ：: PR

As it becomes harder for information to reach consumers through traditional advertising alone, “IP marketing,” which leverages intellectual property (IP) such as characters, works, and talent, is attracting attention. IP is not merely a way to “borrow” popular content; it is a strategic approach to designing new touchpoints between a brand and its fans.

This article explains IP marketing from a practical perspective—from the basic concept and why it is gaining attention, to how it can be applied to business challenges and how to proceed to maximize results.

What Is IP Marketing? A Method for Expanding Brand Touchpoints Through the Power of Characters and Content

IP category	Examples	Key characteristics of use
Character IP	Anime and game characters, corporate mascots	Builds long-term attachment and makes it easy to express a world view
Talent IP	Real-life actors, artists, influencers	Strong personal reach and can generate buzz quickly
Work/brand IP	Films, dramas, magazines, game titles	Can add a story element or a specific theme from the work

IP refers to intellectual property such as characters, works, and talent

IP is an abbreviation for “Intellectual Property,” meaning intellectual property in Japanese. In marketing and PR, IP commonly refers to anime and game characters, works themselves such as manga and films, and real-life talent and artists. The approach of leveraging the social recognition and positive feelings that each IP has already earned among fans for your own brand activities is called “IP marketing.” It is important not to treat IP as mere eye-catching decoration, but to deeply understand its appeal and align it with your brand message.

Use IP to create touchpoints with existing fans

When considering IP marketing, viewing it simply as temporarily “borrowing” a popular character may prevent you from achieving sufficient results. The true objective is to identify shared values between the brand and the IP and design new touchpoints that are meaningful for both. The IP in question already has many existing fans who enthusiastically support the work or person. It is essential to build careful communication that naturally connects fans’ attachment and enthusiasm to positive feelings toward your brand—without undermining them.

From a PR perspective, the “context fans will accept” is essential

When executing initiatives, what matters is designing a context that IP fans will be happy to accept. Unnatural collaborations—such as suddenly having a character hold a product or speak lines that ignore the world view—can instead provoke backlash. It is important to consider a plan that satisfies all three parties: the IP holder (rights owner), your brand, and the consumers who receive the content. Finding ways to place the brand message within the IP’s story and deliver it to society without discomfort will lead to success.

Why IP Marketing Is Gaining Attention

Perspective	Traditional environment	Today’s environment
How information reaches people	One-way advertising via mass media	Multi-faceted touchpoints centered on digital and social media
Consumer behavior	Passively receive messages sent by companies	Actively search for information of interest and share it within communities
Purchase motivation	Functional value and pricing of products	Supporting and empathizing with what one loves (fan support activities)

It is becoming harder to capture consumer interest through advertising alone

In recent years, the spread of smartphones and digital devices has rapidly increased the amount of information consumers receive each day. Pure advertising messages from companies tend to be processed as noise, making it difficult to gain attention. No matter how strongly you appeal to functional advantages, it will not lead to purchase if people do not look your way. By leveraging the power of IP that already attracts consumers’ interest and goodwill, there is a growing need for approaches that lower the barrier to initial engagement.

Reference: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Recent Trends in the Advertising Market”

Fan support activities and fan communities are influencing purchasing behavior

Another major factor is the widespread establishment of the culture of “fan support activities,” in which people enthusiastically support their favorite characters or individuals. Today’s consumers tend not only to buy what they need, but also to actively spend on products and services related to what they love. Communities of fans who support the same subject have also formed, and information exchange within these communities effectively encourages purchases. Through IP, companies can approach highly engaged fan communities.

Reference: Ministry of Finance, “Finance, November 2025 Issue: Fan Support Activities—A Rapidly Growing Consumption Pattern Centered on Younger Generations—”

Collaboration information is more likely to spread on social media

On social media platforms centered on short posts and real-time information gathering/sharing, as well as visually driven platforms focused on photos and short videos, collaboration information with popular IP tends to spread easily. When fans find new visuals or limited-time projects, they often share them proactively and share the excitement. Even without investing heavily in advertising, companies can expect organic dissemination of information. If a project has strong news value, it is also more likely to be picked up by external media such as web outlets and TV programs, leading to greater brand awareness.

Business Challenges That IP Marketing Can Solve

Challenge	Approach through IP marketing	Expected outcomes
New customer acquisition has plateaued	Use IP with strong support among younger or specific segments	Build new touchpoints with segments you could not reach before
The product lacks fresh buzz	Plan an unexpected collaboration with a character	Increase media exposure and organic spread on social media
The brand image feels outdated and fixed	Blend with the world view of forward-looking or fashionable IP	Refresh the corporate image and redefine brand value

We want to create touchpoints with new customers and younger audiences

As a business operates over many years, it may face the challenge of an aging existing customer base and difficulty reaching new generations. Using anime works and influencers that have strong support among younger audiences can be an effective option. With IP serving as a bridge, you can provide a trigger for segments that previously had little interest in your products to become interested simply because “an IP I like is involved.”

We want to add buzz to our products and services

In markets where commoditization is advancing, it is becoming difficult to differentiate from competitors based on functionality and price alone. When you want to increase buzz at the launch of a new product or at the time of a renewal, leveraging IP tends to be effective. By developing surprising, unexpected combinations and limited-edition packaging that appeals to fans, you can create news value. As buzz grows, it can also lead to improved shelf placement rates in stores and an increase in name-specified purchases.

We want to expand our brand world view

A company’s guiding principles and brand messages can sometimes be difficult for consumers to grasp when conveyed in words alone. By leveraging the rich world view and storytelling of IP, it becomes easier to communicate the brand’s appeal in a more intuitive way. For example, when a company promoting environmental protection collaborates with a work themed around nature, it can evoke deeper empathy than verbal explanations alone. By overlaying the IP’s image, it becomes easier to effectively highlight new facets of the brand.

Benefits and Considerations of IP Marketing

Item	Benefits	Considerations
Awareness and sharing	Rapidly deliver information to an existing, highly engaged fan base	The IP may become the sole focus, creating a risk that the brand is not recognized
Scope of planning	Enable innovative creative and plans that differ from the usual	Plans that ignore fan sentiment may invite criticism or backlash
Execution and management	Incorporate new world views and expressions not available in-house	Strict review processes by the rights owner require ample schedule buffer

You can expect greater awareness among existing fans

One major benefit is that you can quickly make your company known to the many fans the IP already has. Building a fan base for your products from scratch requires significant time and cost, but leveraging IP can shorten the nurturing process and create positive initial contact. Because fans often actively seek information related to the IP, brand messages are more likely to be received favorably, and conversion rates to purchases or service use also tend to increase.

It is more likely to lead to buzz, social media sharing, and media exposure

Projects featuring trending IP tend to have high news value. In addition to expected sharing by fans on social media, they are also more likely to gain PR-style exposure in trend-focused web media and information programs. Because publicity effects can generate significant value when converted into advertising spend, this can improve ROI as a marketing investment. Gaining public attention may also bring secondary benefits, such as boosting internal motivation.

Be mindful of world-view mismatches and rights reviews

While there are benefits, there are also important considerations. Plans that impose only the brand’s convenience, or expressions that contradict the IP’s original settings, can invite harsh criticism from fans. In creative production, you are required to undergo strict rights review by the IP holder. Because detailed rules must be followed—such as character proportions, color tones, and logo handling—the review process tends to involve more checks than typical production workflows. It is important to build sufficient schedule buffer.

Risks differ between talent IP and character IP

It is also necessary to note that the nature of the risks varies depending on the type of IP used. With real-life talent IP, there is a risk that private scandals or remarks could suddenly force you to halt a promotion. In contrast, character IP such as anime tends to carry a relatively lower risk of personal scandals. You should compare both characteristics and risks in line with your objectives.

How to Proceed with IP Marketing to Maximize Results

Step	Action overview	Keys to success
1. Analyze affinity	Evaluate the fit between the target audience/brand value and the IP	Assess not only name recognition, but also alignment in values and fan attributes
2. Design the context	Create a story with a compelling rationale for the collaboration	Develop a plan that satisfies the rights owner, the brand, and consumers
3. Build the review workflow	Obtain rights-owner confirmation for designs and plan details	Create a schedule with buffer, assuming multiple rounds of revisions
4. Execute in an integrated manner	Run PR, social media, in-store campaigns, etc., simultaneously	Leverage each channel’s strengths to maximize buzz across a broad surface, not in isolated points

Analyze the affinity between the brand and the IP

The first step in planning is to calmly analyze the affinity between your brand and the IP candidates. Rather than choosing solely because it is currently in the spotlight, confirm whether the target customer segment’s age and gender align, and whether there are commonalities between the brand’s guiding principles and the IP’s themes. The higher the affinity at this stage, the smoother subsequent communication design will be, and the more likely consumers will perceive it as a natural collaboration they can accept.

Design a collaboration context that fans can accept

After confirming affinity, design a story that makes people feel there is a compelling reason why this brand and IP are partnering. Fans tend to react coolly to plans where only commercial intent shows through. It is important to respect the IP’s world view and prepare a context that makes fans feel, “This brand understands (the IP’s background and positioning).” Finding the point where what the brand wants to convey, what the rights owner wants to protect, and what consumers want to see naturally intersect will be the core of the plan.

Establish a confirmation and review workflow with the rights owner

Once the proposal and actual creative production begin moving forward, build a thorough confirmation structure with the rights owner, who is the IP holder. When leveraging IP, deliverables generally must pass the rights owner’s review. To prevent misalignment, it is important to align direction in detail from the early rough stage. By setting milestones with sufficient buffer in advance—assuming multiple rounds of revisions—you can more easily prevent last-minute execution issues.

Link PR, social media, in-store, and campaigns

In the phase of delivering the completed plan to consumers, you need to ensure the initiative does not end as a standalone effort. Ideally, you should integrate and link efforts such as gaining media exposure through press release distribution, participatory campaigns on social media, in-store POP displays, and distribution of limited-edition goods. By designing a flow that generates social buzz through PR, expands circles of empathy on social media, and ultimately guides consumers smoothly to purchasing behavior in stores or on websites, you can expect improved ROI for IP marketing.

When You Should Consult a PR Agency for IP Marketing

Common obstacles in-house	Support provided by a PR agency	Expected solutions and benefits
You cannot think of suitable IP candidates for your company	Multi-angle casting proposals aligned with objectives and budget	Select the optimal IP with strong affinity that directly leads to buzz
You do not know how to approach rights owners or proceed with negotiations	Handle negotiations as the point of contact and organize/coordinate complex rights relationships	Use specialized expertise to avoid issues and proceed smoothly
You created a plan, but cannot predict how information will spread	Develop an integrated PR strategy that anticipates everything from media exposure to social media rollout	Achieve large-scale buzz across a broad surface, not isolated point initiatives

You cannot determine which IP to use

Even if your company’s challenges are clear, it is not uncommon to be unsure which specific characters or talent would be most effective. By consulting a specialized PR agency or a company with casting know-how (such as SUNNY SIDE UP), you can receive appropriate IP proposals based on the latest trends and target-audience insights. Rather than simply following name-recognition rankings, we recommend incorporating a professional perspective to identify candidates that match the brand’s direction and are feasible within a realistic budget.

You are concerned about coordination and reviews with rights owners

In IP marketing, one area that is often perceived as particularly challenging is negotiations with rights holders or talent agencies. For first-time initiatives, it can be difficult to judge what process is required to obtain permission and how much creative freedom will be allowed. By bringing in a partner with extensive experience in rights coordination, it becomes easier to have them handle complex confirmation tasks on your behalf. Because they often understand in advance what rights owners prioritize, this can lead to safe and reliable project execution with fewer rework cycles.

You want to generate buzz without ending the collaboration as a one-off initiative

There are also failure cases where initiatives ended as one-off efforts—such as plans that merely printed an IP image on packaging—and did not deliver sufficient results. To achieve strong outcomes, an integrated PR rollout is required, designed end-to-end—from product planning to media-facing launch events, social media amplification, and in-store execution. By involving a PR agency that specializes in generating buzz, you can develop a strategy that circulates information broadly rather than in isolated points, and create a successful case that remains in consumers’ memories for a long time.

If you face challenges such as maximizing exposure through IP or a lack of internal resources, consulting an experienced specialist is effective. At SUNNY SIDE UP, we provide end-to-end support—from selecting the optimal content and handling complex coordination with rights owners, to PR design that engages the media. We have compiled details on our support and approach methods on our service page. Please review the details.

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Conclusion: Enhance Brand Value by Leveraging IP

Here is a summary of the key points of IP marketing, which leverages the power of characters and content to solve business challenges. IP is not simply a means of “borrowing” popular characters or content. It is a strategic option for designing new touchpoints between a brand and its fans. To maximize effectiveness, the key to success is how carefully you can create a context that the three parties—rights owner, brand, and consumers—can genuinely accept. In addition, by integrating and linking initiatives across PR, social media, and in-store campaigns, you can amplify the impact of generating buzz. If you feel uncertain about casting, rights coordination, or PR rollout, consulting a specialist company is also a valid option. By appropriately incorporating the enthusiasm and story that IP carries into your brand, aim for long-term value enhancement that goes beyond short-lived buzz.

At SUNNY SIDE UP, we design PR plans that are naturally accepted by consumers and fans while respecting the world views of both the brand and the IP. If your company is considering buzz-generating initiatives that leverage characters, content, or talent, please contact us.

CONTACT « SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc.