Crossover Collaboration and Brand Cultural Identity Upgrading: A Case Study of UNIQLO x KAWS

Abstract

Under the background of consumption upgrading and Gen Z becoming the main consumer group, crossover collaboration has become an important strategic tool for brands to reconstruct their cultural identity. Taking the crossover co-branding between UNIQLO and KAWS as a case, based on brand semiotics theory and the AISAS consumer behavior model, this study analyzes the inner mechanism by which crossover collaboration drives the upgrading of brand cultural identity and its influence on marketing performance. Based on a qualitative case study and secondary materials, this study argues that crossover collaboration realizes the upgrading of brand cultural identity through a three-step mechanism of “symbol borrowing - meaning transfer - identity reconstruction”; brand experience plays a mediating role between crossover interaction and brand value realization; foreign cultural symbols need localized adjustment before they can spread effectively. On this basis, layered management strategies for brand crossover collaboration are proposed, providing theoretical and practical guidance for the strategic upgrading of brand culture.