The Business Model Canvas: How does CPP(CPP无差别同人站) maintain business?
CPP, a popular Chinese platform for sharing and consuming fan-created content, operates a unique business model that leverages the passion and creativity of its user base. Its core value proposition focuses on providing a free, community-driven space where fans can create, share, and engage with content inspired by their favorite characters, stories, and fandoms. This is achieved through a platform that emphasizes user-generated content, fosters community interaction, and leverages a strong sense of shared fandom. The core customer segments of CPP consist of passionate fans of various fandoms, including those who enjoy creating and sharing content, and those who simply want to consume and engage with fan-made works. The platform caters to a diverse user base, encompassing fans of anime, manga, video games, and other popular media.
As for channels, CPP utilized social media platforms (e.g., Weibo, WeChat, QQ) to promote the platform, share updates, engage with users, and drive traffic back to its website as most online platforms. More importantly, The platform thrives on the passion and enthusiasm of its users. Word-of-mouth marketing, fueled by user recommendations and shared experiences within online communities, is a significant driver of growth.
CPP cultivates strong customer relationships through a strong sense of community and inclusivity. The platform fosters a sense of belonging among users, allowing them to connect with like-minded individuals, share their passion for specific fandoms, and support each other’s creative endeavors. The focus on user-generated content empowers users to be active participants in the platform’s development and fosters a sense of ownership. Active moderation and community management ensure a safe and positive environment, promoting respectful interaction and encouraging a strong sense of community among users.
CPP gain profits mainly through providing fanworks show (同人展) information, ticketing services and online booth applications. It can provide services to exhibitors and fans receive commission from them. Additionally, sponsorship and advertisements (e.g. banners, video ads) relevant to the various fandoms is a relatively small part of revenue. It’s because the non-commercial nature of the platform, where users create content, suggests revenue will likely be secondary and less substantial compared to other business models.
The most valuable key resources are its large and engaged user base. These users are passionate about their fandoms and contribute actively through content creation, participation in discussions, and overall platform engagement. Platform Infrastructure, including the website itself, its content management systems and user interface, is also crucial for delivering a seamless user experience, and handling user-generated content.
(key activities) To make its business work, CPP actively fosters a sense of community through features that encourage interaction, collaboration, and discussion among users. The platform emphasizes inclusivity, welcoming content from a wide range of fandoms, and encourages interaction through comment sections, chat groups and forums. The emphasis on user-generated content and community engagement distinguishes the platform from commercially driven content platforms, attracting a loyal user base seeking a space for creative expression and shared fandom.
In addition to some traditional partnerships such as hosting providers, community leaders and moderators play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy, engaged, and respectful community on CPP. While not formal partnerships, these individuals are instrumental in upholding community guidelines, fostering discussions, and creating a welcoming environment for users.
The cost structure mainly involves maintaining its platform infrastructure, including servers, software, and technical support. Moderation and community management are essential to ensure a positive and safe environment for users, requiring a dedicated team of moderators. Marketing efforts, while minimal, are focused on maintaining a strong online presence and promoting the platform through existing communities.
To sum up, although the Business Model Canvas is a valuable and comprehensive tool for analyzing businesses, it primarily focuses on commercial aspects of a business——revenue streams, cost structures, and key partnerships. However, it may not fully capture the non-commercial aspects of CPP, which is driven by community, passion, and user-generated content. The canvas doesn’t adequately emphasize the critical role of community in CPP’s success. It’s the user base, their contributions, and their engagement that drive the platform’s growth and value proposition.
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ReplyDeleteHello, Qianyu! I am also a lover of fan-created content, so it is very familiar and glad to see CPP here. From my point of view, your essay does a good job in both structure and information delivery, clearly describing the business model of CPP and its relationship with its user community. The article demonstrates the importance of community and user-generated content in the success of CPP in a clear and detailed way, highlighting the differences from traditional commercial platforms.
ReplyDeleteThere is one point I would like to add, which is wishlist functionality. Some fan creators post information about how they sell their artwork (postcards, novels, picture books, etc.) on CPP, which other users can see. If other users like the product, they add it to their wishlist. In some super large-scale comic-con, visitors often do not have time to go through all the stalls selling products. At this time, they can find the corresponding booth according to their CPP wishlist and improve the efficiency of buying the desired products.
This is perhaps one of the most useful features of CPP, at least for me. For lovers of ACG, wishlist transformes the often overwhelming comic-con experience into a more streamlined and enjoyable one. For creators, this feedback motivates them to keep creating and better understand the needs and preferences of their fans. At the same time, wishlist can help them predict the demand for different goods in advance, reduce inventory pressure, and avoid the trouble caused by too many or too few goods. For CPP, by analyzing users' wishlists, the platform can identify the most popular types of goods or creative styles. This kind of data not only helps the platform improve its features and recommendation mechanisms, but also helps CPP plan more engaging events and attract more users and creators.