Chinese animations go global

Many people in the United States bid a heart-breaking farewell to US-born panda cub Bao Bao when it returned to China in February, but they now have another to cheer about.

McPanda, an animated series about a panda of the same name, will soon be available in the US. The show, which was created by Chinese animation studio Dato Family, will be promoted in the US market via Google Adwords, the IT behemoth's advertising arm.

The deal between the Hangzhou-based studio and the US IT giant was announced at the opening ceremony of the new Google Adwords experience center in China during the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on April 27.

"Dato Family is our first client who will market its product to US and European audiences through Google platforms," said Li Zi, the manager of Findland Technology, the local partner of Google Adwords in Hangzhou.

Li added that the advertisements for McPanda are currently being designed and will appear in the advertisement section above Google search results when people in the US search for key words such as "panda", "Chinese animation" or "cartoon".

According to Li, the 2,300-square-meter experience center of Google Adwords in Hangzhou will be fully operational on June 8.

"Google provides a channel for animation companies in China to explore the worldwide market. These companies can use the service to find the best place online to promote their cartoon products and receive big data analysis on search volume, promotion cost and competition in their target countries," said Li.

Dato Family is just one of the many Chinese animation and cartoon companies seeking a global audience, and Google is not the only platform they use.

Jon Rennie, managing director of UK company Cloth Cat Animation, has been collaborating with Hangzhou's MagicMall Animation Production Co on the animated series Luo Bao Bei since last year.

The show tells the story of a Chinese girl navigating through childhood with her family, friends and pets as she learns valuable life lessons.

"I think Luo Bao Bei can help to bring China to an international audience. She not only has the opportunity to talk to children of her own age, but also show families what China is about," said Rennie.

Dmw365, an English website dedicated to marketing Chinese cartoon and animation to overseas markets, provides international buyers with a selection of around 150 animation series.

Liu Dan, the overseas marketing manager of the website, said that they have helped more than 40 Chinese cartoon series secure spots on video channels on Facebook and YouTube since the website was launched in 2015.

"Many of them are sold to buyers in the North America and Southeast Asia," Liu said. "The European and Japanese markets are difficult to enter."

The festival's annual report shows that animated movies made 7 billion yuan ($1.01 billion) at China's box offices last year, accounting for 15 percent of the country's 45.7 billion yuan earnings from all movie genres.

xingyi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 05/19/2017 page7)