Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

An Exploration of the Transition of Chinese Cultural and Creative Brands from “Story-Driven” to “Symbol-Driven”— Taking the Practices of the Duffy Family and Pop Mart as Examples

Yuqi HuHunan Normal University*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

In the context of the accelerated restructuring of the global cultural and creative industry pattern, more and more cultural brands are gradually shifting from the traditional "story-driven" model to the "symbol-driven" model. This marketing strategy, with visual symbols and emotional markers as the core not only significantly reduces the cost of content production and cultural communication, but also achieves efficient cultural output. Thus, it promotes the spread and recognition of local culture on a global scale. This study takes Bubble Mart and Disney's Duffy family as the main cases to systematically analyze their brand construction and communication paths, deconstructing around three dimensions: the symbolic layer, the emotional layer, and the cultural layer. At the symbolic level, focus on character design, visual systems, and the identification of IP symbols. At the emotional level, analyze the emotional connections, community identity, and consumer resonance generated by users through symbols. At the cultural level, explore the cultural values behind symbols and analyze how local aesthetic elements can be expressed internationally, exploring how Chinese cultural and creative brands achieve cultural dissemination through a “background-free” symbolization strategy, and how to shape a leading Chinese cultural brand and provide theoretical references and practical paths for the international development of Chinese cultural and creative brands.

Keywords: symbol-driven; cultural communication; symbol recognition; emotional recognition; cultural recognition
Published: October 23, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.ND28100
Volume: CHR Vol.90
pp. 40-46
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