‘We’ll Be There’ is no longer just an opening song from Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears but also a regional campaign to expand the franchise in Southeast Asia. Ice Bear, Grizz, and Panpan are being spotted in different cities giving out hugs to their fans in the region.
The campaign takes after the “We Bare Bears on Tour” in Australia, which brought the bears to the Opera House, Pitt Street Mall and China Town on Valentine’s Day to hand out a thousand plush bears.
In recent months, merchandise have been selling from Miniso globally, to SPAO stores in Korea and Malaysia, to Penshoppe in the Philippines – even a pop-up café in Korea. Even We Bare Bear themed emoticons, stickers made it to digital channels.
‘We’ll Be There’ is the show’s biggest promotion drive yet including mall activations, social media influencer tie-ups, and competitions.
“At Cartoon Network, we believe in surrounding our fans with content and real-life experiences. In this case, they can be wrapped in a great big bear hug!” said Phil Nelson, Managing Director of Turner in North and Southeast Asia Pacific.
“The engaging show has really excited our partners, and we’re working on some great projects, on and off-screen, to build this franchise into something even bigger.”
Learn more about the bears below:
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly is the oldest of the brothers. Although he is the charismatic, jovial, and a highly motivated leader, Grizzly is not the brightest bear in the bunch. What he lacks in common sense he makes up for with pure energy and excitement – which leads the Bears into endless comedic complications.
Girzzly Bear loves:
- Video games
- The great outdoors
- Chatting and eating
Panda Bear
Panda loves pop culture and his smartphone. As a middle child, he is sensitive and a hopeless romantic. He’d really love a girlfriend, but most of his attempts have been utter failures. Luckily, his brothers are always there to lift him up.
Panda loves:
- Painting
- All things Anime
- Being glued to his phone
Ice Bear
The youngest in the family, Ice Bear is a bear of few words. He’s a bit odd and outwardly eccentric – after all, he refers to himself in the third person and sleeps in a refrigerator. But don’t underestimate him: skilled in a plethora of unknown talents, Ice Bear is a hidden savant and jack-of-all-trades.
Ice Bear loves:
- Being quiet
- Speaking different languages
- Cooking
Together, the bears are spreading love across Asia and the Pacific. To see how far they went, watch the video below.
We Bare Bears Valentine’s Day in Sydney from TurnerPRAsiaPac on Vimeo.
Here are some of the highlights:
Singapore stacks up
The bears have been spotted everywhere in the Lion City. Partnerships with Fraser’s malls over Christmas and at the Sentosa MegaFun event took the franchise to the next level. They also took pride of place at last year’s Cartoon Network Animate Your Life event in Garden’s by the Bay. The show’s creator, Daniel Chong, has Singaporean roots and a Merlion – the country’s national icon – even featured in a recent episode. Local influencers and students have also created videos to support the “We’ll Be There” campaign.
Home Run with Doosan Bears in Korea
Cartoon Network has renewed its partnership with Doosan Bears, the famous Korean professional baseball team, together with licensee WeFan. Marketing activities comprised photo opportunities, character appearances and giveaways. Through these events, sales of We Bare Bears-licensed consumer products skyrocketed.
Swiped Right? Congrats, it’s a Match3!
The success of the Korea-developed We Bare Bears: Match3 Repairs game has seen almost 7 million global downloads, with notable spikes in Japan, Taiwan and Korea, where it featured as the #1 Top Free Puzzle game and Editor’s Choice game on the Google Play.
In 2018, Cartoon Network estimated that We Bare Bears engaged its fans through more than 200 million touchpoints in Asia Pacific. The tour will continue throughout the year with the bears popping up at different locations.
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About Cartoon Network Asia Pacific
Turner’s Cartoon Network, the number one kids’ channel in Asia Pacific, offers the best in original animated content including the multi-award-winning global hits Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, Adventure Time and We Bare Bears.
Cartoon Network is available in 29 countries throughout Asia Pacific and is currently seen in more than 135 million pay-TV homes. Internationally, it is seen in 192 countries and over 400 million homes, and is an industry leader with a global offering of the best in award-winning animated entertainment for kids and families.
The brand is known for putting its fans at the centre of everything by applying creative thinking and innovation across multiple platforms. Cartoon Network also reaches millions more through its websites, games and apps, including Cartoon Network Watch and Play. Cartoon Network, sister brand to Boomerang and POGO, is created and distributed by Turner, a WarnerMedia company.
About Turner Asia Pacific
Turner is a global entertainment, sports and news company that creates premium content, and delivers exceptional experiences to fans whenever and wherever they consume content. In Asia Pacific, Turner owns and operates award-winning brands throughout the region, running 54 channels in 14 languages in 42 countries. These include CNN International, CNNj, CNN, HLN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, POGO, Warner TV, Oh!K, MondoTV, TABI Channel, Tabi Tele, Mondo Mah-Jong TV; and HBO, HBO HD and WB in South Asia. Turner manages the business of Pay- and Free-TV-channels, as well as Internet-based services. It owns and exploits properties such as Tuzki, and oversees commercial partnerships with various third-party media ventures. Turner teams with Warner Bros. and HBO to leverage WarnerMedia’s global reach. Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc. (“Turner Asia Pacific”) is a WarnerMedia company.
