Case study analysis! How to build a strong brand like Doraemon, the beloved icon of people around the world forever.

Last month was World Cat Day, and this month is also a day for cats—but not just any cat, but the blue robotic cat that has captured people's hearts for over 53 years! That's right! September 3rd is Doraemon's birthday!

Doraemon is a robotic cat nanny from the future who traveled back in time to help Nobita, a lazy elementary school boy and the great-grandfather of Sewashi, Doraemon's owner, with magical gadgets from his four-dimensional pocket.

With his lovable, reliable, and always supportive character, Fujiko Fujio's extraordinary yet ordinary story has become a favorite among children in many countries and has remained a cherished memory for a long time. This is guaranteed by Time Asia magazine selecting Doraemon as one of Asia's heroes, and Doraemon has also been chosen as a goodwill ambassador to promote Japanese culture.

No matter how many eras have passed since Doraemon's launch in 1969, and how many new characters have emerged, Doraemon remains a globally popular brand and a global revenue generator exceeding 100 billion baht annually.

The secret to Doraemon's success lies in its coming-of-age stories, which depict various problems encountered in childhood and show how imperfect characters solve them. Besides providing viewers with valuable life lessons embedded in each episode, the series also effectively reflects childhood memories and dreams, making it easily relatable to audiences through the emotions and feelings they share with the characters.

Furthermore, the cartoon has helped to foster imagination and inspiration in many areas, especially some of the magical gadgets in the story that have become real-life applications today. For example, the 3D printer, which is widely popular among designers, inventors, and model enthusiasts; the "box" that Doraemon used as a TV or record player, which is now known as a tablet; or the illusion glasses that transport one to another world, which are now known as VR glasses or Augmented Reality (AR) technology.

Besides brands being inspired by Doraemon to create various inventions, many brands have collaborated with Doraemon to increase brand awareness among new target groups and boost sales and profits. Examples include global fashion brands like Gucci, the Parisian luxury brand Paul & Joe, and brands that appeal to all ages like Uniqlo.

Another factor contributing to the success of the Doraemon brand is its use of storytelling marketing strategies to expand on existing narratives, attracting and impressing its target audience.

Storytelling marketing is an inbound marketing strategy that uses creative content to tell the story of a brand, product, or service, creating a narrative and emotional connection with the target audience. This approach fosters strong brand loyalty and memorability.

Therefore, Doraemon's stories are intertwined with the number 129.3, which is Doraemon's unique identification number. His weight, height, strength, jumping power, and measurements are all related to the number 129.3.

Furthermore, the addition of themes of friendship and whimsical fantasy makes it easy to capture everyone's hearts, which aligns with the principles of Storytelling Marketing, a strategy that differs from conventional marketing.

Therefore, it's clear that the better a brand understands its target audience, the easier it is to create a memorable brand image through storytelling marketing strategies, resulting in more impactful content.

“"People often make purchasing decisions based on emotion," many marketers have said, and this has proven to be true time and again, especially in today's world of easily accessible information and a vast array of choices for buyers. Traditional advertising that only provides product or service information may no longer be sufficient to attract the target audience and lead to a purchase. Therefore, we need strategies that evoke emotions in the target audience, making them more likely to buy.

Storytelling marketing is therefore used to provide detailed information about a brand's products or services, creating content that evokes emotions and makes the brand stand out from competitors in the market, becoming the sole choice in the minds of the target audience.

Furthermore, storytelling marketing generates word-of-mouth among the target audience and subtly builds brand loyalty. However, to maximize the effectiveness of this strategy, brands should create stories that evoke an adventurous feeling in the target audience, choose platforms appropriate to their behavior, and avoid aggressively pushing products or presenting irrelevant content. This is crucial for achieving the best marketing results in the modern era.

Doraemon's enduring immortality across all eras aligns with the Japanese business philosophy of "Rinen," which helps build sustainable businesses.

Because the principle of the business management philosophy "Rinen" is based on adhering to one's stance, knowing the brand's purpose, and how to benefit society, businesses that adhere to this philosophy prioritize happiness over profit. This happiness is categorized into five types: happiness for employees, partners, customers, society, and owners and shareholders.

It is clear that the Rinen philosophy is in stark contrast to conventional business management principles that often prioritize owners and shareholders. It believes that if employees are treated like family, they will treat customers wholeheartedly; if there are good relationships with partners, the brand will gain trusted advisors; and if the brand gives back to society, it will become the number one brand that people think of first.

The success of this philosophy is evidenced by the fact that more than 56% of Japanese companies that have adopted it are over a century old. This proves that the Rinen philosophy can effectively help create business sustainability.

Therefore, if your brand wants to do business with heart, the Rinen philosophy is the key to bringing your brand into everyone's hearts.

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