Communication Strategies of POP MART

POP MART is a Chinese brand founded in 2010. It became famous for its collectible figures in the format of «blind boxes». The main feature is that the buyer does not know which figure is inside until they open the package. This creates a sense of surprise and excitement. The brand collaborates with artists from around the world, such as Kasing Lung, who created the iconic Labubu that went viral on the internet. Today, POP MART is a global phenomenon in the world of collectors.

POP MART sells not so much toys as emotions and experiences. The main idea is to turn shopping into an exciting ritual: you buy a box, open it, and feel either the joy of a lucky draw or the desire to try again. The brand targets an adult audience, offering beautiful designer items that can be collected, displayed on a shelf, or traded with other fans. These are not children’s toys for playing — they are objects of aesthetics, collecting, and even stress relief.

The main audience of POP MART is young people aged 18 to 29 with an average or above-average income. They live in large cities, follow trends, and actively use social media. For many, collecting figures becomes a hobby associated with dopamine-driven pleasure: it feels good to unexpectedly get a rare figure or finally complete an entire series. They eagerly share unboxing videos on TikTok and Instagram*, participate in trading figures, and keep an eye out for the release of limited editions.

POP MART is actively present on several key social media platforms. Its main channel is TikTok, where the global account popmartglobal has about 2.7 million followers. An important feature is that the brand has not just one, but more than 15 TikTok channels tailored to different countries (Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and others). On TikTok, POP MART regularly hosts live streams and announces new series.

The second most important channel is Instagram* with 1.7 million followers. The brand also uses YouTube (about 387,000 subscribers), where it publishes promotional videos for new series using 3D and 2D graphics. In China, the platform WeChat is additionally used.

One of POP MART’s main PR strategies is working with the unboxing genre. Bloggers and major media outlets regularly film the process of opening blind boxes, which fuels audience interest in rare figures and creates a viral effect.

In addition, the brand actively uses offline presence as part of its communication. There are about 700 offline POP MART locations worldwide, most of which are located in China. In addition to classic flagship stores, the brand has vending machines in crowded places, making products accessible 24/7. Offline locations do not contradict the brand’s philosophy — on the contrary, they support it and reinforce the «blind box» metaphor.

POP MART is building a multichannel ecosystem where online (TikTok, Instagram*, YouTube) handles visual aesthetics, viral unboxings, and direct communication with the audience, while offline (stores and vending machines) makes the product physically accessible and enhances the emotional ritual of purchase.

This research uses two communication theories. The first is the Theory of Planned Behavior by Icek Ajzen, according to which human behavior is determined by intention, which consists of three factors. The first factor is attitude: POP MART forms a positive evaluation of the purchase by positioning it as the joy of owning an aesthetic object. The second factor is subjective norms: unboxing videos by bloggers and trading figures within the community create social pressure, making the purchase a socially approved action. The third factor is perceived behavioral control: the blind box mechanic creates an illusion that the buyer’s skills can influence the outcome, which encourages repeat purchases.

The second theory is Cultivation Theory by George Gerbner, which states that long-term media exposure shapes the perception of reality. POP MART cultivates an ideal and comfortable reality. By spending hours immersed in the brand’s aesthetics on social media, the user begins to perceive the world of figures as ideal and more desirable compared to the ordinary world.

In the POP MART community, videos are common where buyers come to stores with scales to weigh the boxes. Buyers believe that the weight of the box helps determine which figure is inside and increases the chances of getting a rare character. From the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behavior, this is a classic example of an illusion of control: objectively, the chance remains random, but the ritual of weighing itself strengthens the buyer’s belief that their actions influence the outcome. This reduces anxiety before the purchase and increases the intention to buy again.

POP MART publishes promotional videos where figures from their series come to life. For example, in the promo videos for the Nyota plush doll series, the characters engage in cute everyday activities — drawing, choosing outfits. According to Cultivation Theory, such recurring images shape the viewer’s perception of reality, where the figures are not just plastic but living beings with their own personalities. The more often a user watches such videos, the more they shift toward perceiving the series as an «ideal mini-world», which increases emotional attachment.

The brand actively uses collaboration videos and series where figures from different universes interact with each other. This works through the subjective norms of the Theory of Planned Behavior. When a potential buyer sees that characters from different series «befriend» each other in official videos, they develop an expectation that real fans should also collect all the series. Furthermore, in the comments under POP MART posts, the brand likes and pins comments from those who have already bought the figures. This is a visual signal: the purchase receives social approval from the brand itself, which increases pressure on those who are hesitating.

A popular genre in the POP MART community is unboxing videos, where bloggers build a full-fledged ritual: they show the box from all sides, slowly open the package, pause before revealing the figure. The process itself is presented as a meditative act. From the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behavior, this helps reduce cognitive dissonance after the purchase. When unboxing becomes a ritual, spending money is no longer perceived as a thoughtless impulsive purchase, but rather as part of a pleasant, calming process, which reinforces the habit of buying again.

POP MART’s communication strategy is very effective. The brand successfully uses all three factors of the Theory of Planned Behavior: it forms a positive attitude through aesthetics, creates social pressure through unboxings and comment likes, and maintains an illusion of control through practices like weighing boxes. From the perspective of Cultivation Theory, POP MART broadcasts an ideal «hyper-cute» world where figures live their own lives. This makes the audience perceive collecting not as wasting money, but as joining a desirable reality. However, the strategy has a weak point: the illusion of control can collapse if a buyer repeatedly gets unwanted characters.

As a recommendation for improving the brand’s strategy, first, POP MART should develop a mobile app where collectors mark which figures they have received and select one desired figure from each new series. If a buyer gets the wrong figure more than six times from one series, the brand sends the guaranteed desired figure to their home. This reduces frustration from unsuccessful purchases and strengthens long-term loyalty.

Second, launch a series of short animated series with recurring characters, such as «Life of Molly.» This will turn figures from collectible objects into «friends» with their own backstory and deepen emotional attachment.

Third, create an «Ambassador Collectors» program for regular fans, whose posts the brand will officially repost. Fans can participate if they have creatively displayed a figure on their shelf or originally decorated a box. To support this, the brand could sell decorative elements separately (stickers, stands, backgrounds). This encourages users to create high-quality visual content and reinforces subjective norms — purchasing becomes a socially approved creative act.