Hello Kitty Celebrates 50 Years With Help From the Alibaba Pictures-owned Alifish

For Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary, Alifish, a copyright trading and innovation platform under Alibaba Pictures, went all-out with help from Sanrio and Tmall.

More than 30 licenses served up 800-plus products in the inaugural Sanrio Tmall Super Brand Day event, which was billed as “Besties should stay together like Hello Kitty & Friends.” Needless to say, the event drummed up a good amount of play on social media platforms like Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Hashtags like “#Hello Kitty 50^th Anniversary” sparked millions of discussions, according to organizers.

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With distribution in more than 130 countries, Sanrio’s Hello Kitty generated $3.8 billion in annual retail sales globally in 2022.

Licensees like Toptoy, Razer, Chow Sang Sang, and Bosideng were among the participants that offered an array of products including trendy toys, beauty items, apparel and footwear and digital offerings. During the 10-day pre-sale period, which ended Aug. 27, Alifish teamed with Sanrio fans and community influencers to create content that would engage fans. That involved aligning with Tmall and Taobao, so that licensees would have more targeted approaches to reach fans and encourage purchase recommendations. 

At midnight on Aug. 28, there were so many Hello Kitty fans that flocked to the Sanrio Tmall official flagship that the Hello Kitty 50th anniversary commemorative series of dolls promptly sold out shortly after being listed. Other popular items included co-branded products launched by Razer and Sanrio such as the Hello Kitty keyboard and mouse set and the Kuromi keyboard and mouse set.

In honor of the half-century milestone, Hello Kitty was featured in a hot air balloon on the cover of the Chinese edition of L’Officiel magazine. The character also was featured with Zheng Hehuizi and Tmall’s mascot Mao Tiantian in a feature strolling through the city streets.

To appeal to young consumers in China — many of whom are seeking instant gratification and immersive experiences — Alifish’s Hello Kitty and Her Besties’ Party was hosted at Chengdu Cosmo. There, guests caught Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, My Melody, and Kuromi characters in song and dance performances. There was also a finale with DJ Hello Kitty and the Chinese singer Yamy.

To really bring the extra-cute brand home, Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll and Kuromi stopped by the new headquarters of Alibaba’s entertainment division to greet fans.

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