Exploring the Long-Term Impact of Marketing Strategy and

Consumer Emotional Resonance: Jellycat as an Example

Tong Zhang

International business school, Hunan University of technology and business, Changsha, 410000, China

Keywords: Jellycat, Marketing Strategy, Consumer Emotional Resonance, Brand Loyalty.

Abstract: In today's market, Jellycat brand produces novel plush dolls, and stands out with its unique marketing

strategies, which has become the focus of research. Taking British high-end gift brand Jellycat as an example,

this study explores how to combine its marketing strategy with consumer emotional value to achieve long-

term brand influence and market success. The study found that Jellycat successfully built an emotional

connection with consumers through anthropomorphic design and emotional marketing strategies, especially

among adults, to form a “healing economy”. The study emphasizes the role of brand stories and social media

in establishing consumers’ emotional connection and provides practical guidance for brand management in

emotional marketing, aiming at enhancing brand loyalty and market competitiveness.

1 INTRODUCTION

Jellycat is a high-end gift brand from the UK, it was

founded in 1999, it is quickly known worldwide for

its cute, unique and high-quality plush dolls, and the

brand became popular with many consumers through

its warm overall atmosphere, anthropomorphic

depiction and its connection with human emotions.

Today, Jellycat has shown strong competitiveness in

the plush toy market, its unique product positioning

and excellent quality assurance have made it stand out

in the fierce market competition and become a leader

in the market. As global consumers increasingly

pursue a high-quality lifestyle, Jellycat has

successfully attracted a large number of loyal fans

through its emotional marketing strategy, with

monthly sales of multiple products reaching tens of

thousands.

In the field of advertising, emotional marketing

strategies are widely recognized as effective tools for

building deep connections between brands and

consumers (Mathur & Smith, 1997). As a prominent

case in the plush toy market, it is particularly

important to study the long-term impact of Jellycat’s

marketing strategy and emotional connection. Studies

have shown that brands can significantly enhance

consumers’ sense of identity and loyalty through

emotional resonance (Chitturi, 2009). Bao (2022)

points out in his research that with the development

of social economy and the increase of life pressure,

adults’ love for plush toys has surpassed that of

children, forming a kind of “healing economy”. This

suggests that the emotions provided by dolls are long-

lasting. However, most of the existing literature

focuses on the short-term effects of marketing

strategies, and there is insufficient discussion on the

long-term effects and their effects on the evolution of

consumer emotional resonance (Zawisza-Riley,

2019).

The purpose of this study is to fill in the gaps of

the existing research, and to analyze the marketing

strategy of Jellycat in detail, how it maintains the

emotional connection with consumers in the long

term, and how this connection translates into brand

loyalty and market advantage. The research will focus

on two core issues: first, how Jellycat continues to

resonate with consumers through its marketing

strategy. Secondly, how the long-term marketing

strategy shapes Jellycat’s brand loyalty and market

influence. Through this analysis, this study not only

enriches the understanding of the long-term impact of

emotional marketing on brands, but also provides

practical guidance for brands to achieve sustainable

growth through emotional marketing strategies.

Zhang, T.

Exploring the Long-Term Impact of Marketing Strategy and Consumer Emotional Resonance: Jellycat as an Example.

DOI: 10.5220/0013986200004916

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication (PRMC 2025), pages 74-78

ISBN: 978-989-758-778-8

2 THE FOUNDING OF JELLYCAT

AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

2.1 Brand History

Jellycat was founded in 1999 in London, England,

and quickly gained market recognition for its

luxurious fabrics combined with cool designs. In

2001, the brand crossed the Atlantic and entered the

US market, marking the beginning of its global

expansion.

By 2006, Jellycat was focusing on the children’s

market and introducing its signature product, the Shy

Bunny. At the same time, the brand has further

enhanced its brand image by connecting with

celebrity children such as Tom Cruise’ s daughter

Suri and Beckham’ s daughter Little Seven through

the Star Two customer group marketing strategy.

With the expansion of its brand influence, Jellycat

opened its Tmall overseas flagship store in China in

2015, further expanding its influence in the Asian

market. In 2019, Jellycat opened a branch in

Shanghai, China, to expand its market to young

people, not just children.

By December 2024, Jellycat’s sales revenue has

reached 200 million pounds, and its gross profit

margin has remained above 60% for many years,

demonstrating its strong profitability and market

competitiveness (Feng & Sun, 2024). The brand has

a global market in 77 countries.

2.2 Unique Design and Quality

Assurance

Jellycat dolls adopt a series of high-end materials

such as wool, rabbit hair and coral velvet to ensure

the safety and comfort of the product. Its product line

covers a variety of animal, plant, fruit and other lines,

and launches new products every year to keep the

brand fresh and competitive in the market. Through

unique design concepts and high-quality product

quality, the brand occupies a place in the plush toy

market, satisfying consumers’ pursuit of quality of

life, and gradually showing a trend of branding and

high-end.

2.3 Market Positioning

Jellycat is positioned as a high-end plush toy brand

that not only appeals to children, but also specifically

targets teenagers and adults. Because of its

applicability and ubiquity, Jellycat has been

purchased by a subset of adults who give it as a gift

or buy it for themselves to satisfy their need for

emotional sustenance and psychological comfort

(Xiao, 2022). The brand becomes an emotional

companion for consumers of all ages by providing

products that provide warmth, companionship and

healing.

3 ANALYSIS OF MARKETING

STRATEGIES

3.1 Brand Personality

Jellycat’s dolls convey a warm and friendly brand

image. From the perspective of product design,

Jellycat pays attention to every detail, whether it is the

scientific selection of colors, the careful selection of

materials, or the creative shaping of forms, striving to

achieve a perfect fusion of aesthetics and practicality,

ensuring that toys not only exhibit a high degree of

recognition, but also have unique and distinctive

characteristics. This design is not only easy to

identify, but also able to touch consumers’ emotions,

providing a sense of visual comfort and

companionship. Through this design, the brand has

successfully transformed the product into an

emotional carrier to meet the needs of consumers for

emotional sustenance.

3.2 Anthropomorphic Strategy and

Emotional Link

Through its innovative anthropomorphic strategy,

Jellycat gives plush toys human expressions and

features, such as beanie eyes and a smiling mouth, to

make them appear vivid and emotionally engaging.

For example, “Shy Bunny” has soft and expressive

eyes and gentle gestures, creating a sense of

innocence and calmness, making it an ideal emotional

sustenance for consumers. This design not only

makes the doll look more intimate and attractive, but

also effectively promotes the emotional connection

between the consumer and the doll (Yize, 2024).

Consumers often see these dolls as everyday

companions and may even become emotionally

dependent on them, viewing them as family members

or close friends. This connection cultivates long-term

emotional needs.

The brand further deepens this emotional

connection by setting activation rituals for the doll,

such as shaking, touching and sharing happiness.

These rituals increase the interactive and fun of the

dolls, allowing consumers to experience a special

emotional exchange during the participation process.

Exploring the Long-Term Impact of Marketing Strategy and Consumer Emotional Resonance: Jellycat as an Example

As a result, consumers strengthen their loyalty to the

brand.

The tag message “Please look after me” further

connects the brand’s story to the consumer’s personal

stories. This story-based marketing strategy allows

consumers to feel valued and emotionally satisfied in

the process of buying and owning dolls. In this way,

Jellycat not only meets consumers’ demand for high

quality, emotional value, and personalized products,

but also establishes a deep connection with

consumers on an emotional level, enhancing the

emotional appeal and market competitiveness of the

brand.

3.3 Sales Channels

Jellycat’s sales strategy skillfully integrates online

and offline channels and realizes the seamless

coordination between physical stores and e-

commerce platforms, which greatly facilitates the

purchasing experience of consumers. Through

cooperation and co-branding with well-known brands

and designers, such as Thebast and Roseonly. These

partnerships not only expand sales channels, but also

enhance the visibility and appeal of the brand (Yang

& Qiao, 2023).

3.4 Social Media Marketing

Jellycat also uses social media platforms such as

Instagram and Tiktok to promote its brand and

establish emotional connections with consumers,

while cooperating with KOL to attract potential

customers through authentic word-of-mouth

recommendations.

In addition, Jellycat has enhanced brand’s

popularity among consumers of all ages by hosting

offline experiences and family-oriented activities,

such as limited-time co-flower shops and themed

afternoon teas. The brand encourages consumers to

share their dolls and personal stories on social media,

bringing people with the same interests together

through the network, and this sense of community

further strengthens consumers’ emotional connection

with the brand (Varadarajan, 2015). Consumers’

interaction and sharing in the community not only

enhance the visibility of the brand, but also make

consumers feel involved in the brand narrative. This

sense of participation and belonging becomes an

important source of brand loyalty and market

competitiveness.

By combining these strategies, Jellycat not only

meets the needs of consumers on the material level,

but also establishes a deep emotional connection with

consumers. The durability of this connection is key to

the brand’s long-term success. Jellycat has managed

to carve a place in the hearts of consumers by

providing experiences that transcend material value,

fostering an emotional engagement that underpins the

brand’ s enduring market success and consumer

loyalty.

3.5 Establishing a Sense of Ritual

Jellycat has implemented a series of themed pop-up

stores around the world, skillfully transforming

everyday spaces into fantastical and immersive

experience venues, such as cafes, cake shops,

breakfast shops, and fish and chip shops. These pop-

up stores not only surpass the scope of traditional

plush toy sales platforms, but also become a sacred

place for consumers to explore unique shopping

experiences and rituals. From the selection of

decorative styles to the creation of atmosphere

lighting, the choice of background music, and even

the aroma in the air, every detail has been carefully

designed to create a dreamy and welcoming

consumption scene for customers.

In these pop-up stores, Jellycat launched a highly

creative marketing strategy, “simulated cooking”

performances. The staff dressed in professional chef

costumes and treated the Jellycat dolls as real food,

performing a wonderful show from ingredient

selection, cooking and stir-frying to exquisite

presentation. This entertaining performance not only

greatly enriched the shopping experience of

customers, but also demonstrated Jellycat’s high

emphasis on creative marketing and customer

interaction. In this process, Jellycat skillfully

combines the shopping experience with emotional

resonance, allowing customers to enjoy the fun of

shopping while also feeling the warmth conveyed by

the brand.

In addition, Jellycat has also shown great

creativity in the packaging of plush toys. For

example, the cake doll is vividly simulated as a real

cake, not only with an exquisite and attractive

appearance, but also with a beautiful packaging box,

elegant ribbons, and a beautiful greeting card with

wishes written on it. This packaging method, imbued

with a sense of ritual, not only elevates the product’ s

added value but also allows customers to experience

the profound emotions and humanistic care conveyed

by the brand the moment they receive the gift.

In this process, Jellycat fully leveraged the

power

of emotional resonance, enhancing the brand’s

attractiveness and influence through a shopping

experience that connects with consumers’

PRMC 2025 - International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication

emotions through a sense of ritual. This not only

helps to enhance the brand’s visibility and

reputation, but also brings sustained and stable

commercial returns to the brand.

4 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

4.1 Brand Management Inspiration

In brand management, the integration of emotional

marketing and anthropomorphic strategies is essential

to establish a deep connection between consumers

and brands. By doing so, Jellycat has managed to find

a place in the minds of consumers. Similarly, Disney’

s cartoon characters, such as Mickey Mouse and

Donald Duck, create an emotional bond with

consumers through rich emotional expression and

personality (Yao, 2017). Hello Kitty of Sanrio creates

an emotional connection with consumers through

cute design and lifestyle products and enhances this

connection through social media and community

activities.

These brands increase the attractiveness of

products through anthropomorphic strategies and

enhance the market competitiveness of brands

through emotional marketing. By providing an

emotional experience that transcends material value,

brands have succeeded in gaining a place in the hearts

of consumers.

With the improvement of brand management

strategies, it is particularly important to further

explore the long-term impact of emotional marketing,

which provides deeper insights for the sustainable

development of brands.

4.2 Long-Term Impact of Emotional

Marketing

The long-term impact of emotional marketing is an

area worth exploring in depth. It reveals how

emotional marketing shapes consumer attitudes and

behaviors and how such emotional connections

develop or shift over time. In addition, this research

can provide brands with insights on how to maintain

and enhance their emotional connection with

consumers, especially in a rapidly changing market

environment. Through long-term impact analysis, the

study can not only better understand how emotional

marketing affects consumers’ loyalty, word-of-mouth

communication and brand recommendation behavior,

but also understand how brands remain relevant and

attractive in a highly competitive market and enrich

the academic understanding of brand management

and achieve sustainable brand growth and market

leadership.

5 CONCLUSION

This study explores in depth how the Jellycat brand

establishes an emotional connection with consumers

through its marketing strategy and maintains this

connection in the long run. It reveals that emotional

marketing plays a core role in Jellycat’s brand

management. The findings highlight the long-term

effects of emotional marketing, pointing out that

brands need to focus not only on short-term market

responses, but also on building long-term emotional

bonds with consumers.

Brands can further strengthen emotional

connections through interactive design and consumer

co-creation of content, forming a virtuous cycle of

consumption, so as to win the market. The brand

should also assume social responsibility, enhance the

brand image through sustainable development and

win the trust of consumers.

However, this study also has certain objective

limitations. Although the case of Jellycat has been

analyzed in depth, the scope of the study is limited to

specific brands and specific markets, which may not

fully reflect the universal laws and effects of

emotional marketing in all industries and markets. In

addition, this study focuses more on the positive

impact of emotional marketing, and does not delve

into potential risks and challenges, such as brand

aging or consumer aesthetic fatigue that may result

from an over-reliance on emotional marketing.

Future research can further broaden the scope of

research and explore the applicability and differences

of emotional marketing in different industries,

cultural backgrounds, and consumer groups. At the

same time, researchers can also conduct in-depth

research on the long-term effects of emotional

marketing, including its long-term impact on brand

loyalty, market share, and brand value. In addition,

the risk management and strategy adjustment of

emotional marketing also need to be further explored

and improved in future research.

REFERENCES

Bao, M. 2022. Behind the anthropomorphism of plush toys

is “Healing economy”. Consumption Daily 2022-04-

22, A03.

Exploring the Long-Term Impact of Marketing Strategy and Consumer Emotional Resonance: Jellycat as an Example

Chitturi, R. 2009. Emotions by design: A consumer

perspective. International Journal of Design.

Feng, J. & Sun F. 2024. JELLYCAT: To strike the

emotional pain point and tease the heartchord of users.

Sales & Marketing 19: 104-107.

Mathur, A, & Smith, R. 1997. Store environment and

consumer purchase behavior: mediating role of

consumer emotions. Psychology & Marketing 14(4):

361-378.

Varadarajan, R. 2015. Strategic marketing, marketing

strategy and market strategy. AMS Review 5: 78-90.

Xiao, M. 2022. How brands Cure emo Youth. Operator

(Automotive Business Review) 11: 142-145.

Yang, M. & Qiao, W. 2023. Study on the influence of brand

co-branded product attributes on consumers’ purchase

intention: from the perspective of consumers ’

perceived value. Technical Economics 42(5): 201-212.

Yao, J. 2017. Research on marketing strategy: case study of

Disneyland. Second International Conference on

Economic and Business Management (FEBM 2017).

Yize, H. 2024. Research on the role and application of IP

image design in brand communication.

GreenPackaging 11: 186-189.

Zawisza-Riley, M. 2019. Advertising, gender and society:

A psychological perspective. Routledge.

PRMC 2025 - International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication