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Expanding Sanrio Time Through Sports:
Our Approach to Sports Projects
Executive Officer
Global Business Division
Global Partnership Development Department
Taro Yamamoto
Why are we getting involved in sports now?
Our reason for getting involved in sports now is not simply to increase the exposure of our characters and brand. Sports create experiences like supporting, rejoicing, feeling disappointment, and talking with friends. In today’s world, where entertainment is becoming more online-centric, sports are a unique form of entertainment that enhance the value of real-world experiences, creating moments that connect people’s emotions across nationality, generation, gender, and language.
We believe that by creating moments that evoke strong emotions and expanding the total amount of smiles, we can give people more reasons to seek out our characters and deepen their engagement with them. In doing so, we can turn the value of these experiences themselves—not just product sales—into a valuable brand asset.
Moreover, sports are an extremely powerful universal language that can aid us in our goal of becoming a global entertainment company. By combining the extraordinary exhilarating feeling experienced through sports with Sanrio’s “kawaii,” “kind,” and “approachable” value, we believe that we can create a platform that generates experiences beyond existing fan touchpoints. Even people who previously had little interest in characters may develop a deeper attachment to the team and interest in the sport through our characters, potentially leading them to naturally engage with Sanrio IP. Conversely, this creates a new way for existing fans to enjoy sports by enabling them to support both their favorite character and favorite team/player at the same time. This also fosters mutual customer traffic between sports fans and Sanrio fans, creating connections across different fandoms.
However, our goal is not to become the main focus of the sport. Rather, we aim to be a catalyst that connects with the passion generated by the athletes, teams, local communities, and spectators, transforming these moments into something enjoyable and memorable for as many people as possible. We see our involvement in sports not merely as market expansion, but as an inevitable approach to increasing the number of places that create smiles around the world in an era where the value of real-world experiences is being reevaluated.
A new business model powered by data and IP
Our strategy in the sports domain is not simply about expanding licenses, but about building a new business model that creates a virtuous cycle of IP, experiences, and data. While IP businesses have typically focused on product sales and licensing revenue, sports generate a continuous stream of data such as spectator demographics, attendance frequency, purchasing behavior, and social media engagement. By working with partner organizations and teams, we aim to visualize which sports, regions, and generations are resonating most strongly with audiences and use these insights to drive a continuous PDCA cycle for future initiatives.
Furthermore, in addition to merchandise sales, we will diversify revenue opportunities through special collaboration tickets, limited experiences, and digital measures, leveraging the wide range of sports, number of matches, and tournament cycles to foster long-term engagement. At the same time, we believe it is essential not to become overly focused on commercial objectives, but to stay close to fans who genuinely love sports and characters and co-create meaningful value with them.
Collaboration that excites the world and communities
Our operations in the sports domain are broadly unfolding along two axes: “global” and “community.” In our global operations, we are creating new touchpoints with Sanrio IP at venues where sports fans from around the world gather, through partnerships with the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour and collaborations with major U.S. sports teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, and F1 Academy. For example, in our collaboration with the Dodgers, characters such as Hello Kitty are integrated with the team and players, providing a special experience where baseball fans and Sanrio fans can interact through venue performances, limited-edition merchandise, food and beverages, and digital measures.
Our partnership with the LPGA expands new touchpoints with families, women, and children, making golf more accessible and connecting fans of golf and Sanrio. Meanwhile, co-creation with local communities is also a key theme. Through collaborations with the Japan Professional Football League (J.League) and events with various regional teams, we have taken measures to create experiences that teams, local communities, and fans can enjoy together, while also carrying out activities to raise awareness of fair play.
We utilize characters as a means of expanding the value of sports, and are working to create new touchpoints that connect sports with local communities. We also engage in activities to promote baseball and golf among young people (both in-person and online), and in supporting the young athletes that will shape the future of sports. We aim to contribute to the development of the entire sports ecosystem by participating not only in co-creation with top-level sports but also in activities that broaden participation at the grassroots level.
Increasing the total amount of smiles to enhance future corporate value
Our involvement in sports is not solely aimed at increasing short-term sales or licensing revenue. Rather, we aim to increase the passion, empathy, and connections between people that arise through sports with an eye to increasing Sanrio Time. Our strengths lie not only in our diverse portfolio of IP loved around the world, but also in our ability to closely connect with people’s emotions and to create empathy across cultures and generations through “kawaii,” which we have cultivated over many years. We believe that our ability to naturally integrate the values of passion, spirit of taking on challenges, and friendship inherent in sports offers us a unique competitive advantage.
The value gained through co-creation with sports cannot be measured solely by sales or attendance figures. Long-lasting relationships with fans, building trust with local communities, touchpoints with the next generation and new customers, and networks with our partners worldwide are important intangible assets that will support our future growth. We believe that the accumulation of such non-financial value serves as the foundation for sustainable corporate value enhancement. We will continue to create meaningful connections with people in “moments that move the world,” through co-creation with sports and a wide range of other forms of entertainment.
Furthermore, our goal as a global entertainment company is to continue increasing Sanrio Time around the world by providing more places where people can connect through smiles and share new experiences.