Content platform corporations Ridi said on the 22nd that through its "Comics are Ridi" campaign held on May, monthly sales in the comics category hit an all-time high.
During the campaign, Ridi ran offline ads in major commercial districts such as Hongdae and rolled out influencer-collaboration content, expanding touchpoints with comic fans across various channels. As a result, comics sales rose about 185% from a year earlier, and the number of paying customers increased about 25%.
The performance is seen as the result of a strategy that targeted fandom consumption centered on "collection," "binge reading," and "media mix." In particular, demand stood out among users who repeatedly view works and want to hold them long term. Even for works that offer a lending service, the share of collection purchases was 5 to 6 times higher than lending, confirming a fandom-driven consumption pattern.
Demand for "binge reading," in which readers buy an entire series at once for immersive viewing, also drove revenue growth. During the campaign, all of the top 10 titles by sales were full-volume set products. Notably, "Hunter X Hunter New Edition" saw sales jump about 2,700% from the previous month; "Death Note" rose about 1,600%; "Fullmetal Alchemist Complete Edition" about 1,200%; and "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" about 1,100%.
The media-mix effect of consuming both animation and the original comics was also evident. A virtuous cycle emerged in which users drawn in by an anime broadcast purchased the original comics. "Tsugai of the Underworld" and "Witch Hat Atelier," which gained buzz through their anime, saw original comic sales increase about 2,800% and about 1,700%, respectively, from the previous month, showing strong growth.