One day in December 2023, the temperature in Beijing dropped sharply after the first snowfall, but the B1 floor of Xidan·THE NEW Renewal Center was crowded. People's enthusiasm for traveling seemed not to be affected at all.
A "Most Chinese Cultural Museum Market" is being held here, which brings together 41 museums/cultural museums and 16 national style brands/intangible cultural heritage stall owners.
Here, people can not only buy cultural creations, but also view authentic cultural relics and collect stamps.
Lin Shaobo, director of operations for National Geographic China and Chinese Heritage and curator of the market, said that about 4,000 tickets were sold in the market’s online pre-sale, and more than 900 tickets were sold on the first day.
The stamping area was particularly popular. Not only was there a long queue, but several of the seals were damaged due to constant pressing, so we had to take out spare stamps for emergencies.
Lin Shaobo recalled that there was an old lady who arrived before the event started and covered the event from 10:30 in the morning until dark; there was also an old man who took a thick stack of A4 blank paper to stamp the event and came for several days.
"When I was preparing for the morning activity, as soon as I laid out the seals, a group of people came up to me and asked: 'Hello, can these seals be stamped?'"
In recent years, stamping activities have gradually become a standard feature of various cultural activities.
Yu Hua's "Shouting in the Drizzle" theme exhibition, Harry Potter theme exhibition... In the second half of 2023, along with the in-store theme exhibition, each PAGEONE Bookstore store launched a series of stamp collection activities.
Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the bookstore, PAGEONE also launched a 40th anniversary limited edition chapter.
Panjiayuan Gift Store has been deeply involved in stamp collection and check-in activities since 2022. The cultural and creative team has independently developed different series of seals such as "Panjiayuan Impression Seal Collection Handbook" and "Twenty-Four Solar Terms Collection Seal Book", and launched collections of stamps. Chapter activities.
A reporter recently visited Qianmen Street in Beijing and collected 26 free stamps in one and a half hours.
Many staff in the store have long been accustomed to collecting stamps. Even when the reporter just walked into a certain time-honored store, before he opened his mouth, someone pointed to a table and said: "The stamp is over there!" "As soon as I saw you holding the book, I was like I know what you’re here for.”
While stamp collection is booming, many people stamp for the sake of getting stamps. Issues such as the uneven design and quality of stamps have also caused public controversy.
Why are stamps so attractive?
Collecting stamps just for the sake of collecting stamps. Has collecting stamps and checking in changed the taste?
In order to better utilize the cultural value of stamps, what should we do?
Behind the popularity of collecting stamps is the hard work of young people in managing their lives.
Netizen "Ms. Xiong" will bring a notebook with her to prepare for stamping every time she goes to scenic spots or exhibitions.
Now she has covered a notebook and two booklets.
She likes the seals of Beijing Wanshou Temple very much and thinks they have "delicate patterns and rich sense of design". "I got them stamped at an exhibition. After being impressed by the seals, I went there all afternoon."
Also fond of stamping is Jiu Yao, a college student majoring in journalism and communication.
In the summer vacation of 2022, she and a few friends went to the Chengdu Museum. They learned in advance that there were many seals in the museum and the quality was very good, so Jiu Yao prepared a notebook.
She said: “The total number of seals in the museum can be found online, and it feels very fulfilling to collect them all.”
After returning from the trip, Jiu Yao made a handbook next to each seal, recording the time, place, and companions of the seal in writing.
For cultural relic stamps or museum stamps, she will also search for cultural relic information on the Internet and write introductory text in the blank space.
In her opinion, stamping is a way of recording, and looking through the stamped book can help her recall the details of the trip at that time.
Now, Jiu Yao's hobby has been going on for about a year and a half, and she has five notebooks covered.
In the process of continuous collection, she also summed up her own experience.
For example, at first she covered the front and back sides at the same time, but the pattern showed through. Later, she only covered one side and learned the layout. “When I was covering, I would think about what I wanted to write or paste on this page, and leave some space for it. space".
In addition, she prefers to use notebooks without interior page designs and illustrations, “so that when stamping, you don’t have to pay attention to staggering the pattern on the notebook, and you don’t need to think about whether it matches the seal.”
Jiajia, who is a graduate student in Shanghai, is also a stamp collector. She has observed that many people collect stamps and also stick travel tickets and tickets together.
She feels that this is a reflection of everyone's efforts to manage their lives.
According to Liu Di, marketing manager of PAGEONE Bookstore, stamping has gradually become a core element of activities.
"It not only enriches the interactive settings in the event, but also facilitates the spread of the event." She believes that stamping has become a social symbol of a certain time to a certain extent and is the lowest-cost publicity for an event.
"From the perspective of consumer psychology, collecting stamps, collecting stamps, book stamps, blind boxes, etc. are similar." Yang Yueming, a professor at Beijing Normal University and deputy director of the Institute of Cultural Innovation and Communication, believes that as long as something is in a series, And it has a certain degree of scarcity, that is, there are limitations of time and space, and people are prone to have a desire to collect.
Yang Yueming analyzed that some people collect stamps out of a herd mentality, some to express themselves through "showing off" stamps, and still others just to check in.
"Posting photos of stamp collections on social platforms turns the 'stamp collection' into your own persona and highlights your self-image. This is one of the reasons why many people like stamp collections."
Stamping has become the first and last point of contact.
While the stamping business is very popular, it has also triggered public controversy: "There are too many people" and "You can't squeeze in if you want to see cultural relics or buy cultural creations"...
"No more stamping!" In October 2023, "Ms. Xiong" posted a message announcing that she would no longer continue this hobby.
"I used to think that the meaning of sealing was to record." But now she sees that this behavior has gradually lost its meaning, "At a certain expo, any booth with a seal was crowded with people. Many people just came to get the seal. As for stamping, I don’t care about what is actually on display at the venue.” On that day, “Ms. Xiong” queued for nearly half an hour to get the stamp.
The "Most China Cultural Expo Market" also faced these problems. In order to provide the audience with a better viewing experience, Lin Shaobo and his colleagues made adjustments on the second day of the event: they separated the cultural creations and stamps that were originally put together. Change from free stamping to adding some consumption stamps; online ticket sales will be stopped, on-site sales will be limited, and entry will be limited; institutions participating in the event will be guided to stamp in an orderly manner.
Lin Shaobo believes that there is nothing wrong with the act of collecting stamps, but queuing for several hours to get stamps is indeed a waste of time.
He hopes that everyone will not stamp for the sake of stamping, but while collecting stamps, they should understand the patterns of the seals and the meaning behind the museum. "It is worthwhile to learn even one more knowledge point."
"The original intention of setting up the stamp collection link is to use it as the starting point of consumer behavior and attract more people to various points of the event. However, the reality is that stamping is often both the first and last point of contact for consumers. ." According to Yang Yueming's observation, many people left after stamping, without expanding their time or purchasing behavior.
In addition, because stamping will occupy some service resources, it may reduce staff efficiency; too many people collecting stamps at some events can easily cause congestion and affect the normal consumption behavior of other customers.
In Liu Di’s view, the design of stamp movement lines is very important in events, especially exhibitions.
She took the Harry Potter-themed exhibition in the store as an example. “The exhibition runs through the first and second floors, and we deliberately placed the stamping area near the exhibition area on the second floor. Readers who come to the store can first visit the store in a practical and pure way. Watch the exhibition on the first floor, and then follow the instructions to the more open exhibition area on the second floor to complete the stamping."
This not only ensures customers' viewing experience, but also prevents congestion in the exhibition area.
Yang Yueming believes that the combination of offline and online stamp collection methods is worth exploring.
In early July 2023, during the birthday of the giant panda "Menglan", the Beijing Zoo released a limited online birthday stamp for "Menglan", which the public can download and access through the cloud disk within the specified time.
"This method is low-carbon and environmentally friendly, retains the cultural value of the seal, and can achieve a communication effect while avoiding crowds," she said.
The consumption of collected stamps is increasing step by step, and the cultural value should be "visible"
The reporter observed that many activities set up free stamps and consumption stamps at the same time, or added the rule that only following accounts can be stamped.
For example, the Forbidden City Corner Tower Coffee has more than 30 stamps in total. Any purchase of a cup of coffee can get 3 stamps, and a purchase of 88 yuan or more can get all stamps. In the future, the post office has a total of 4 stamps, and you need to follow the public account first to get a stamp.
Liu Di believes that free stamps and consumption stamps each have their own conversion effects. The latter can directly drive sales, while the former helps create a long tail of new media communication. “This long tail is a big help in increasing brand exposure and attracting customer flow.” beneficial".
"Ms. Xiong" can accept the consumption stamp, but feels it is meaningless, "it's just a pattern."
Jiu Yao occasionally consumes, but if she doesn’t particularly like cultural and creative products, she won’t spend money just for stamps.
She once encountered an event where only part of the stamps could be obtained if both consumption and following social account conditions were met. If she wanted to get a more exquisite colored stamp, she had to spend money separately.
She hopes that stamping activities can be more standardized and reduce the level of extravagant behavior.
"There is nothing wrong with distinguishing consumer groups through free stamps and consumption stamps, but the difference between the two is limited." Yang Yueming said that consumption stamps may have some room for value-added, but they will also cause resentment among consumers.
What deserves more attention is the cultural value and potential cultural communication power of the chapter itself.
Liu Di hopes that the seal collection will be more deeply integrated with the event content in the future. “Whether it is the design of the seal pattern or the act of stamping, it is closely related to the content itself, and can even help event participants deepen their understanding of event content and exhibition design. understanding".
“Some people only focus on the act of stamping, while some stamps themselves have a limited sense of design.” Yang Yueming hopes that future seals will have more sense of design and innovation, “Treat them as a unique derivative brand. Highlighting the collection value of the seal itself."
"On the whole, I am optimistic about the stamp collection activity." Yang Yueming said that it allows people to get out of the virtual world of the Internet and connect with reality.
She believes that collecting stamps is too popular and puts the cart before the horse. It is an inevitable stage in the process of cultural dissemination. “As a person’s exposure to cultural resources increases, his behavior may no longer be limited to collecting stamps, but may become There is a lot of room for derivatives in purchasing cultural and creative derivatives, participating in research activities, etc.”
(At the request of the interviewee, Jiu Yao and Jiajia are pseudonyms)
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter trainee Li Danping intern Zhang Yuling reporter Jiang Xiaobin Source: China Youth Daily