MF Bear is turning three soon, and to mark this special occasion, he’s introducing a new friend Hello Kitty! The two of them have not only redefined what it means to live, but add uniqueness and fun to ‘gift’. Their partnership can be traced back to last spring, when their ‘parents’ LOG-ON and Sanrio first met to discuss a partnership that eventually took one year to actualise — LOG-ON x Hello Kitty Lifestyle Concept. Celebrating the precious friendship of a diligent bear, who’s always in his apron making presents, and the white little kitty who has taken the world by storm, what kind of chemistry will be created between them?
A new horizon for Hello Kitty
For more than four decades, Hello Kitty continues to win over fans with her enchanting charisma.
A lot of you may have noticed Hello Kitty’s gradual change in recent years to reach even more people. By stepping out of her comfort zone, the famous Kitty is boldly forging new friendships with other characters to expand her horizons and to create new products. In terms of character representation, the red bow and apple are used frequently to symbolise Hello Kitty in a simplistic style.
LOG-ON x Hello Kitty Lifestyle Concept marks the first-ever Sanrio promotion outside of Japan to launch a series of lifestyle products. What’s even more special is its crossover with the MF Bear to produce a plethora of personalised, heartwarming gifts, and together with Hello Kitty, share the happiness with others.
Patrick Ng, LOG-ON Senior Buyer, is the mastermind behind this momentous collaboration. He believes that Sanrio picked LOG-ON, among many other Asian brands, for its vision and brand character. Sanrio also accepted the invitation from MANUAL FACTORY to collaborate with MF Bear, which further iterated their belief in “(LOG-ON’s) Have Fun & Be Inspired concept and ‘Gifting in Style’ through MF Bear”.
LOG-ON Senior Buyer Patrick Ng is the mastermind behind the collaboration with Sanrio and created a unique friendship between Hello Kitty and his very own MF Bear.
Everything started with the blueprint
From initial discussions to subsequent planning, the project took an entire year before it was officially launched. The brands spent six months managing expectations and tackling issues like “finding the best way to combine the brands’ visions” and “ways to introduce Hello Kitty and MF Bear without a hitch” — these needed to be addressed fundamentally.
Patrick added, LOG-ON is good at transforming ideas into reality. “We started with a few drawings from Sanrio and further piece them together to form a story, in a very ‘LOG-ON manner’. For instance, Hello Kitty is all about celebrating the good in our everyday life. This is very similar to LOG-ON’s concept of recording the daily life with pen, paper and photography. So after discussions, we launched a series of notebooks, stationery and photography accessories.” In the end, LOG-ON has introduced more than 100 exclusive lifestyle products, including the first-ever introduced furniture, cosmetics, stationery, and more.
Patrick further emphasised the importance of localisation. It is essential to alter the products to meet the needs of Hong Kong market. For example, we had to inject colours into the predominantly black and white drawings to satisfy people’s love for colours. We finally agreed on the combination of red, white and blue to draw the attention of our discerning customers.
Original sketches of Hello Kitty Lifestyle Concept and MF Bear are featured in short films, and printed on T-shirts and other products.
MF Bear: “Cherry up, Kitty!”
Welcome to MANUAL FACTORY, you will be greeted by a little brown bear wearing an apron and looks like he’s always in deep thought. He is MF Bear, the face of LOG-ON’s personalisation corner. His apron is symbolic of LOG-ON’s professionalism and our commitment to exemplary customer service. From gift ideas to touches of personalisation, we help our customers plan the most delightful surprises in life.
MF Bear and Hello Kitty are best friends who always go the extra mile for each other. MF Bear will remind Hello Kitty to prepare gifts for special occasions; while Hello Kitty takes up the role of Chef Kitty and cooks up a storm for MF Bear, which he gladly finishes. When Hello Kitty is down, MF Bear will always send her a ‘Cherry up!’ message.
Best friends Hello Kitty and MF Bear will be featured on many products, showing their happy moments together.
Many people are intrigued by MF Bear’s expression, so what exactly is he trying to convey? Patrick Ng, creator of the MF Bear, said it is an expression of concentration and diligence. MF Bear, simple and calm, was born three years ago and has since met a lot of new friends. He keeps a journal on social media documenting his travels and random moments, such as taking a bath, striking funny poses and photobombing people’s profile pictures. Many people have even come up with affectionate nicknames for him — some like to call him ‘teddy’ and ‘Pierre’ if you are French. So what will you name your MF Bear?
Sanrio partnered with LOG-ON because…
Over the past decade, LOG-ON has won warm praise from Hong Kongers and has become well known for its unique style and value. The brand is synonymous with good customer service and quality lifestyle, which has won over many local and international brands, including TRAVELLER’S NOTEBOOK (Stationery), Ishizawa (Beauty), Sony PlayStationR (Toys) and Doraemon (Toys), and now wins the favour of Sanrio.
“Gifting in Style” is at the heart of everything LOG-ON does. MANUAL FACTORY adds a touch of personalisation to your gifts, such as name engraving on pens, lyrics inscription on music boxes and finding the perfect gift wrap pairings, which convey love and thoughtfulness. We want to create an experience as delightful and memorable for the receiver as for the giver. “We want to establish a deeper connection beyond just gifting”, said Patrick. MANUAL FACTORY is the epitome of gift personalisation and “LOG-ON comes to mind when people need to buy a gift”.
LOG-ON values its relationship with customers. LOG-ON ToGather hosts regular exhibitions, gatherings and workshops to foster communities among like-minded people; interactive zones will pop up across stores to create an all-encompassing journey for customers and extend the experience to popular locations and shopping arcades around the city.
LOG-ON blazes trails with its product selection and puts extra emphasis on its relationship with customers. It strives to build a community by hosting meet-ups and workshops.
LOG-ON x Hello Kitty Lifestyle Concept is hosting a series of activities starting from 19 April and will extend to 4 July due to the enthusiastic response. During this period, different interactive zones will pop up across LOG-ON stores, alongside a Hello Kitty lifestyle exhibition, a Mother’s Day exclusive pop-up store and a stellar lineup of workshops to promote the Hello Kitty lifestyle concept. This initiative has not only enriched the world of MF Bear, but has refreshed LOG-ON as a brand and its products on the international stage.