How Killabears is Using a Community-Driven Approach to Build a Global Entertainment Brand

Feb. 07, 2023

Killaverse Productions, creators of the Killabears brand of digital collectibles, has just completed an unprecedented Open Edition campaign mint, featuring talented Mexico-based artist, Memo Angeles. The public mint sold over $1.6mm worth of digital art in just 24 hours, solidifying the team's position as one of the top players in the rapidly growing Web3 industry. Proceeds from the sale will allow this bootstrapped team to accelerate the growth of their community-driven, entertainment brand into a globally recognized IP franchise.

A collection of 3,333 Digital Collectibles on the Ethereum blockchain, the Killabears movement started as a free mint in April 2022. It went on to become one of the industry's best performing collections of the year, with continued growth despite unfavorable conditions across global financial markets. The success of their recent Open Edition shows they aren't slowing down in 2023. 

In the past, IP was always owned by the company who created it yet owning a Killabear comes with full commercial IP rights. The new model, enabled by the Ethereum blockchain's ability to verify digital ownership, allows anyone to purchase, and monetize intellectual property faster, and easier than ever before. This enables rights holders to monetize the characters through licensing, partnerships, product branding, sponsorships, and other promotional avenues.

The art for Killabears was created by artist Memo Angeles, under the direction of Co-Founder and Creative Director Mikael Tyrsen. The duo created these horrifyingly lovable characters based on Memo's most popular design concepts from his 10 years of selling his illustrations. This past week, Memo created a new original piece of art titled "The Hunt", which was launched via a recently popular method called an Open Edition. In the 24 hours it was available, 49,268 pieces were minted. 

CEO & Co-Founder Ben Cohen said:

"The next Marvel Universe will not be born from a legacy media company. The Web3 model is changing the way entertainment is delivered, consumed, and created - and Killabears is proud to be among the teams leading the way through this monumental shift" 

 

Using a powerful combination of interactive storytelling, loyalty rewards & incentives, game theory, and community-owned IP rights; Killaverse Productions is redefining what it means to build and engage a loyal audience. In only 10 months, the team's community-first approach has spurred a bonafide grassroots movement - which (despite taking on no venture funding) has built a die-hard community of supporters and fans most traditional brands could only dream of. 

Creative Director Mikael Tyrsen said:

"With the support of our incredible community, we're building the foundation for the next generation of entertainment, while building a globally recognized brand that stretches across many different categories. Our goal is for the bears to bring excitement, and  joy to audiences of all ages, worldwide."

 

After their successful recent campaign, the team is now focused on continuing to push the boundaries of this new interactive form of digital entertainment. Plans for expansion include movies, gaming, streaming, clothing and CPG.  They are already in the process of launching several brands under the Killabears umbrella including KillaKush, and KillaToys with a KillaWear apparel line launching later this year.