Labubu的爆火：潮玩IP的符号营销策略与消费驱动机制

The Viral Popularity of Labubu: Symbolic Marketing Strategy and Consumption-Driving Mechanism of Trendy Toy IP

摘要: 潮玩产业已成为文化消费领域的重要增长极，Labubu作为现象级IP，凭借“丑萌”形象与独特运营实现全球爆火，其商业表现与文化影响力引发广泛关注。为揭示潮玩IP营销破圈的深层机制，以Labubu为案例，基于消费者文化理论(CCT)，从符号营销策略与消费驱动机制双重视角展开分析。研究发现，在营销设计端，Labubu通过“未完成态”符号设计赋予用户意义共创空间，打破传统IP封闭叙事；在消费驱动端，Labubu作为社交货币依托稀缺性与圈层话语构建社交联结，情感消费以即时体验满足悦己需求，身份符号营销助力用户自我表达，三重营销机制共同推动其商业价值爆发。研究为国内潮玩IP在差异化符号打造、用户情感绑定及全球化营销传播方面提供了实践启示，亦丰富了消费者文化理论在潮玩领域的应用。

Abstract: The trendy toy industry has emerged as a key growth driver in the field of cultural consumption. As a phenomenal IP, Labubu has achieved global popularity through its “ugly-cute” image and unique operations, with its commercial performance and cultural influence attracting widespread attention. To uncover the in-depth mechanism behind the marketing breakthrough of trendy toy IPs, this study takes Labubu as a case study and conducts an analysis from the dual perspectives of symbolic marketing strategy and consumption-driving mechanism, based on the consumer culture theory (CCT). The research reveals that on the marketing design front, Labubu breaks the closed narrative of traditional IPs by granting users space for meaning co-creation through its “unfinished-state” symbolic design; on the consumption-driving front, Labubu, functioning as social currency, builds social connections by leveraging scarcity and circle-specific discourse, emotional consumption meets self-pleasure needs through instant experiences, and identity symbolic marketing facilitates users’ self-expression. These three marketing mechanisms collectively drive the explosion of its commercial value. This study provides practical insights for domestic trendy toy IPs in developing differentiated symbols, strengthening user emotional bonds, and advancing global marketing communication, while also enriching the application of the consumer culture theory in the trendy toy field.