The Marketing Bestie Podcast with zoeunlimited - SheIn costs $13,000 now

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Starting point is 00:00:22 free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. This episode is brought to you by Tell Us Online Secrets. Oh, tax season is the worst. You mean hack season? Sorry, what? Yeah, cybercriminals love tax forms. But I've got TELUS online security.

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Starting point is 00:01:18 This is a full-face plastic surgery in South Korea at $13,000. And now this is a cute piece of plastic called Laboooooo at $13,000. That is 13,000 McChikins, or about one a day for 35 years. A used car or one semester at a private college. Cheers to an era where it is normal for adults to break into cars, run their first 100 feet since 12, and camp all night to use half of the rent for a plastic doll. La Poupou Who is it? Oh my god, I'm scared. Who is it?

Starting point is 00:02:15 If there was someone born to be a diva, it must be La Buba, because she was dealt with everything anyone could ever ask for to be famous. The beloved child of Lisa Rihanna, DioLipa Mona Lisa. I spent all my money. The soul sister of Irma's Chanel, your kidney, Invoke Forbes Altimu, and you and your next-door neighbor's third dance for you, Paige, with a cult-like following that people will fly for,

Starting point is 00:02:43 I hopped on a plane to get this low boo-boo fight for, Camp out the night for, I did get there around 11 p.m. As if they're middle school girls who just saw Justin Bieber. What the hell? And of course, built with the world's finest plastic, that earns it a market price of $13,000.

Starting point is 00:03:03 As Confucius said, know you're worth. But somehow, there might still be a way to mess everything up. I hate you so much! So how exactly is Ms. Bluboo about to square more than $1.6 billion worth of Lucky Girl Syndrome? I don't get it. The most overrated. I genuinely don't believe that you people like that. If they're done with your ex...

Starting point is 00:03:28 That's exactly the mystery. will uncover today but not only that. As your marketing bestie, who graduated top 1% UCLA business economics, we're going to explore how lucky girl syndrome can still fail you if you have a disposable brand. You're plastic, cold, shiny hard plastic. And how you, yes you, no matter if you have as pretty of a face as Labibu can build a successful brand to help you down your career. Laboooo, but make her Chanel.

Starting point is 00:03:59 Because by brand, I don't just be selling a $3.90 piece of plastic for $13,000. Branding is about how your future client, future boss, future boyfriend sees you. And yes, you have one. I'm creating this series to analyze pop culture brands from a marketing perspective because I want all of us to unlock the potential to build successful personal brands and businesses. Because it's iconic. And I love to do iconic shit. Join the free email list below for free additional marketing knowledge.

Starting point is 00:04:32 And let's break down the three marketing hacks that made a $3 piece of plastic more than your college tuition. And why Labibu is about to face a not-so-cut downfall. If it does not tackle the three invisible branding crises. First, we need to understand how Labubu capitalize $1.6 billion worth of Lucky Girl Syndrome. Laboubu, 1.0 Snackle-tooth, wide-eye, chaotic, two, superstar. Tyson Lung, a Belgian Chinese illustrator, gave birth to Labibu in 2015,

Starting point is 00:05:09 as part of his story series The Monsters, featuring round, furry bodies, wide eyes, pointed ears, and nine sharp teeth that form a mischievous smile. Because I, little, I saw a little bit of children, so, actually,

Starting point is 00:05:24 just then made me neither my of my own work for the toy did not gain a wider recognition until 2019 following a collaboration with popmark which is the chinese toy giant known for its collectible toys and blind box culture that laid the foundation for the perfect storm through the following three marketing wins first association i'm such a nerd northwest and look at her bed my dream finally came true i am in milan i went to popmark i waited in line and I got have a seat. What is a brand you guys?

Starting point is 00:05:58 There are tons of plastic microfibre everywhere in stores on the street in the trash. Why is no one fighting or camping out for that? How does $3.90 of plastic turn into brand? Well, a brand is everything something is associated with. And what gave Labibu this halo of value? It started with no one other than Pop Princess La Lisa. Lisa isn't just an idol. She is a luxury darling,

Starting point is 00:06:25 think Celine Louis Vuitton Bagari, a Gen Z Muse and the most follow K-pop star on Instagram. When she holds something, even a weird little goblin doll, La Poupou It becomes instantly aspirational, especially paired with our mess. While Labibu was already big in China and among toy collectors, Lisa made it cool internationally. She made it niche.

Starting point is 00:06:51 Normally I just, you know, get the whole set. And soon, everyone in her friends, fandom begins following this style and who's in Lisa's fan base, all the Gen Z and millennial girlies who are the exact targeted consumer of Labibu. Because let's be real, toys made for adults aren't just toys. They are status symbols. It's exactly the reason that Chanel can take a few hundred dollars to make and sell for over $10,000. Why you buy a $30-dollar air-on smoothie knowing damn well that the ingredients cost less than three. Why there is no functionality.

Starting point is 00:07:26 to Lubbubu, but people would spend hundreds. I spent $100 on this doll. Thousands or even break into cars for them. It's all marketing, babe. And the associations with the it girls quickly made Laboubu herself an it girl. It has reached celebrity status. Mianna Dula Lipa, Simone Biles, Rosei.

Starting point is 00:07:46 What do all these girls have in common? That their audiences probably cover the global female market. And they are rich and successful women whom the rest of the women look up to. So what ends up happening? The demand increases. Pop Mart's year-over-year growth jumped by 726.6%. Revenue got a shot of steroid of $1.8 billion US dollars.

Starting point is 00:08:09 But will something so trendy last, or will it end up in the landfill, not the Louvre? Stay tuned. And people are actually going Lubbubu hunting globally. Imagine dropping $5,466 to fly to Tokyo. spend $800 a night on a hotel and line up all night just to realize a limited edition sold out. Well, at least you could have saved some money on not paying $143,000 for using data while posting about your Labibu wolves. Yes, $143.000.000. That's how scary roaming can get when you travel.

Starting point is 00:08:48 And yes, I just came back from Tokyo and did not spend a cent on Labibu's or $1,000. scary phone bills thanks to Saly. A simple ESIM app that helps you stay connected in over 200 places around the world. You just download the app once and get access to data at super affordable prices. You can get data in Japan, Korea, Thailand, or as little as $399. On top of which, why not apply another exclusive 15% discount using code Zoya Limited? Make your travels more affordable. All Saly ESMs are compatible for IASMs.

Starting point is 00:09:23 iOS or Android devices and you can get a full refund if your device is not compatible. Download the Sayley app or go to saley.com slash ZOWIA Limited. Unlike Labibu's, saving money with ESIMS is here to stay. So how did plastic become luxury? Well, marketing strategy number two. Status. How dare we speak Merry Christmas. How dare we?

Starting point is 00:09:46 Merry Christmas. Do you know you have 30 minutes? Are you doing you? 30, 30, 30, yes. As more and more celebrities and people of quote-unquote high status show this comically ugly cute piece of rather cheap plastic with their luxury bag collection, A, the association with high fashion begins to strengthen. We are done labubifying my back-in. B, Labibu became more and more associated with this ambiguous notion of high-status personalization.

Starting point is 00:10:14 A Labibu keychain dangling from a $13,000 bag? That's not irony. That's layered signaling. I have taste, I know niche culture, I have the disposable income to drop $200 on a goblin with snagled teeth. Baby, if you don't jingle when you walk. See the mere exposure effect. Discovered by social psychologist Robert Zerjong in the 1960s, the more we see something, the more we like it, even though at first we might not even care for it.

Starting point is 00:10:44 Or even if we thought it was ugly at first. I'm just gonna say it, these are really freaking ugly. That's fucking scary looking! How many of us hated Uggs, Crocs, Stanley Cups, and then became corporate slaves for these status symbols? How many times did you hear us on on TikTok that you hated at first, but now is a banger on your Spotify? Well, the 1.4 million hashtag lubivu's sure won't make you like them less. In fact, at this point in the video, you probably already liked them more. Feel free to Vemelma, Pardmark.

Starting point is 00:11:15 And when your favorite celebrity, then influencer, then best friend than every other person on TikTok and on the street, began wearing it, it's like a virus you cannot escape. You've been subconsciously primed 200 times already before you realize that. Half your rent is supporting a small $37 billion company making plastic chic. Now, why is this getting a little out of control, meaning breaking into someone's car or camping outside or flying internationally and spending $13,000? When all that money and energy could have spent on rent, a semester of college tuition, or even 13,000 McChikins, which is one a day for 35 years. And that is the power of the conspicuous consumption epidemic.

Starting point is 00:11:59 Collecting Lubivus isn't a solo act. You're not buying for you, you're buying for other people to see you bought. In modern media, conspicuous consumption isn't just about owning, it's about showing strategically. It ties into the psychological identity of someone, which is why people are willing to camp out at night and break into cars, to maintain or create this facade of identity, or knowing there is a second-hand market for someone chasing after this identity.

Starting point is 00:12:29 What about? I swear to go about this time, I'm crashing out! It's never about utility. It's the performance of having access. I'm $400 seat. Please, please, VP! Just like why you don't need 60 libibu's on your ermaz, 200 in your bedroom, or a life-sized libibou doll, or another, or,

Starting point is 00:12:54 or another. A wall of Stanley cups in every single color when you have just one single mouth to drink with. Or microbags that you can put half a lip liner in or the 20th serum your poor can no longer absorb. Guilty. Or at the time to grow wheat to make pizza from scratch. It's about signaling wealth. The less functional the more status. Labibu also gives buyers a quirky but intentional way to communicate identity. It says, I'm not basic. I'm in on this subculture. cultural wave. Except, is it really personality, babe, when millions of others are doing the same thing? While the foofos, Onshin, and Timu are making everyone look the same again. Okay,

Starting point is 00:13:35 when I sell my business, I want the best tax and investment advice. I want to help my kids, and I want to give back to the community. Ooh, then it's the vacation of a lifetime. I wonder if my out of office has a forever setting. An IG private wealth advisor creates the clarity you need with plans that harmonize your business, your family, and your dreams. Get financial advice that puts you at the center. Find your advisor at IDPrivatewealth.com. Amazon presents Jeff versus Taco Truck Salsa, whether it's Verde, Roja, or the orange one.

Starting point is 00:14:14 For Jeff, trying any salsa is like playing Russian roulette with a flamethrower. Luckily, Jeff saved with Amazon. and stocked up on antacids, ginger tea, and milk. Habaniero? More like habanier, yes. Save the everyday with Amazon. But before we talk about the branding crisis, Laboubu is a master class in generating artificial market value.

Starting point is 00:14:46 Through psychological manipulation. How? The fundamentals of economics and supply and demand we trust. The third marketing strategy, Artificial Scarcity Scarcity Marketing is the art of making people want something more simply because there is less of it It's a great Laboubu, you told me it's a pink Laboubu.

Starting point is 00:15:09 No, I don't want a gray lafoufoo It placed directly into FOMO, Fear of Missing Out, and when used right It transforms a product from Nice to Have into I will sell my soul, kidney, and your child if I have to And this was done by Miss Lubibu in three ways. A. Limited Edition. Think Supreme Drops Nike sneakers, Mbubu Rare Variants. A product that could be mass produced but isn't.

Starting point is 00:15:42 And that's the flux. Second, making gambling cute. You're just throwing this company money and half the time you're not even gonna like what you get and you can't return it. This is gambling. This is gambling. At its court, a blind box is a randomized purchase. You pay for a chance to get something rare.

Starting point is 00:16:02 Without knowing what you'll get, some figures are one in 144 odds. The rarest libibou variants resell for at least $1,000. Oh my god, I literally got the secret. Sounds familiar? It's basically. Kinder surprises Kellogg's Toys as early as 1931, McDonald's Happy Meals. That six-year-old Zoe actually begged her parents for, which they rightfully rejected. My young consumerism dream of only every single color of the plastic, Hello Kitty collection. Thank you mom and dad. The timeliness of limited drops plus the

Starting point is 00:16:39 phoma of others posting about getting a really rare one just makes the dopamine craving even stronger. And here's why it gets addicting. C. The four psychological triggers. First, variable rewards schedule. The same dopamine loop as casinos or tic-tock swirling. You don't know when you hit the jackpot, but the next one might be the one. Second, endowment effect. Once it's in your hand, even if it's not the one you wanted. I want to punch you in the face. I'm not going to, but I want to. You're more likely to keep it or justify it because it's yours.

Starting point is 00:17:15 Third, sunk cost fallacy. I've already bought four. What's one more to get the rare one? Spoiler, that one turns into 12. Fourth, scarcity plus exclusivity. As we touched on, it's not just a toy. It's a status symbol, a badge of luck, taste, and insider accent. and how convenient that they come in packs of six just at $180. Yay!

Starting point is 00:17:40 It's just another form of escapism, instigratification, and dopamine addiction. Enabling a generation of self-infantilizing adults who complain about the price of eggs, but will happily drop another $400 on plastic, claiming that it is a responsible investment piece. But darling, I have bad news for you. Look at Labibu's close cousin, Stolulu. Stolulu, it's dead. Labibu 2.0. Alright, let's speed round why the marketing machine of Labibu is going to break into a branding crisis.

Starting point is 00:18:14 And if you own a bunch, sell them right now while the price is still hot before all the value is gone. You're welcome, you can Vemone Me Too. So why is Labibu's infinite Lucky Girl Syndrome about to max out? Branding crisis number one, death of personalization. As I always say, product first, market second. And right now, 99% of the people are buying the marketing, not the product. They're buying for clout. What started as niche and personalized is now giving mass production,

Starting point is 00:18:43 and Timur Gremlin with Walmart Bergen. The trendsetters won't look like trendsetters anymore, and they'll just move on to something else. And the trend chasers will soon throw away the boo-boos faster than they ran to get it. Because, ew, who wants to wear something so last season? For the people who bought it wanting to be perceived a certain way, they want to avoid anything last season like a black, aka the death of another micro-trend. And millions of Labibus and the Fufus killing the full cast of Fannie Nemo.

Starting point is 00:19:12 Branding crisis number two. Escapism fatigue. For the people who truly love Labibos and adore them for sentimental value, regardless of how hot or not hot it is, you have nothing to worry about. But for those who are using it as a crutch for dopamine, they will wake up from the dopamine high, left with a shelf full of plastic smiles, a bank account that is $1,200 lighter, and the slow realization that maybe, just maybe, they were sold a comfort that could not last, and a bunch of plastic that could not make them like themselves more. That's bullshit.

Starting point is 00:19:50 The emotional self-soothing via consumerism will just go to the next thing. Maybe it's a plastic toy and NFT, who knows. Branding Crisis Number 3. investment piece, delulu. The current market thrives on FOMO and Flippers, meaning the prices are actually much higher than the intrinsic value. But when prices stabilize or drop as they inevitably will, because overproduction and copying dilutes rarity,

Starting point is 00:20:16 because people buy boxes not for joy, but to flip, that creates a top heavy market, more sellers than buyers, and because Pop Mart's global expansion means more stores, more access, less exclusivity. The magic breaks. Without emotional utility and monetary upside, the blind box model crumbles. Unlike Hello Kitty or Pokemon, Labibu has no built-in world, game, or extended content strategy. It can't evolve beyond toys without losing what made it appealing because it did not follow. Product first, market second. It's like building a skyscraper

Starting point is 00:20:51 on sand or a graveyard or gremlins. What initially was a beautiful and accessible way to be in touch with your inner child became a resale nightmare filled with opportunists not enthusiasts and raises a generation of adults who refuse to grow up and chases an endless pursuit of quote-unquote personalization when it's just a micro-trend of microplastic for entrepreneurs and people who want to build a lasting personal brand take out your notes app and for homework ask yourself first what are you selling escape or empowerment is your brand helping people solve a problem or just microtrending. Second, can you withstand over exposure? If everyone does what you do, is your brand still aspirational or just background noise? Third, are you building identity or selling impulse?

Starting point is 00:21:42 Marketing gimmicks get virality, but real brands are timeless. Are you a brand or just a trend? Let me know in the comments if you think Labibas are here to stay or just a plastic moment. If you learn something here, share the episode with someone you love. Give it a five-star root You free email us, free resources, all links are below. This is your marketing bestie, Zoe Unlimited. Episodes are available on all podcast networks, Apple, Spotify, YouTube. And if you like this episode, check out these other two I made just for you. Rosen lasagna, medium power, 15 minutes.

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The Marketing Bestie Podcast with zoeunlimited - SheIn costs $13,000 now

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