Children's Day "gifts" are out of stock in advance and are given with an unflattering meal

Children's Day has not yet arrived, but the "gifts" are out of stock. Recently, the peripheral toys launched by KFC and McDonald's have become the target of consumers' crazy grabs. However, while the brand is harvesting the traffic of consumer groups, this business has also been targeted by scalpers, and now the price of such peripheral toys has been speculated to 100-500 yuan. The analysis pointed out that peripheral products can help brands gain traffic and attention, but when marketing activities have a negative impact on brands, measures such as purchase restrictions are required to reduce the risk of brand reputation damage.

A large number of stores are sold out

Children's Day is approaching, and how to get limited toys from major catering brands has become a headache for consumers. Recently, catering brands such as KFC and McDonald's have launched marketing campaigns on Children's Day. Taking KFC as an example, from May 2023, 5, the purchase of Children's Day package includes 20 Sanrio "oversized" toy, a total of 1 toys, randomly distributed, limited to a total of 4.283 million, while stocks last. Also on the same day was the Children's Day Super Vat, which included a total of 13,40 egg yolk suitcases nationwide. McDonald's took advantage of the 5th anniversary of the birth of McNugget Chicken to launch a series of limited-time products and activities from May 24, including from May 5 to June 24, you can get Tetris game console by spending 6 yuan at any time.

However, getting the above toys is not an easy task. The Beijing Business Daily reporter saw on social platforms that many consumers said that they did not buy KFC toys, and even some consumers said that the toys were gone on the first day of the event. Subsequently, the reporter visited and browsed a number of stores on the KFC App, but did not see the above-mentioned Children's Day toys on sale. The same situation occurred at McDonald's, where some consumers told reporters that they arrived at a McDonald's store on May 5, but Tetris game consoles were sold out.

However, with Children's Day just around the corner, will stores be restocked on the same day? According to KFC customer service staff, the event lasts until June 6 and may be replenished from time to time. However, the actual inventory of the store cannot be seen in the background, and the actual situation of the store shall prevail. A store staff also said that it may be restocked at 4:<> a.m. on Children's Day, mainly in stores and App inventory.

A full set of toys costs up to 550 yuan

The price of the toys that are given away with meals or tens of dollars is not high, but someone has the idea to stir it up to hundreds of dollars. A scalper told a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that the current price of McDonald's game console is 100 yuan, and KFC's four toys are priced differently, of which Hello Kitty toys are the most expensive, 125 yuan, and a full set of four toys sold for 550 yuan, but they have been sold out. At the same time, the reporter saw through the second-hand platform that many merchants are selling the above toys, KFC's single toys are priced at tens of yuan to hundreds of yuan, and McDonald's game consoles are priced between 50-80 yuan.

In fact, it is nothing new for F&B brands to use various marketing such as co-branding to attract consumers. In May last year, KFC launched duck toys, according to relevant media reports, the price of second-hand duck soared to 5,3000 yuan, and the high-popularity toys naturally brought a lot of attention to the brand, and KFC even responded to this. Before that, McDonald's also launched a cat litter, and related topics have been read more than 1 million on social platforms. In addition to fast food brands, the tea brand Heytea, which was co-branded with FENDI not long ago, was on the hot search, and related products were sold out in many stores, and baking brands such as Holly are particularly familiar with the joint name.

Wu Daiqi, CEO of Shenzhen Siqisheng Company, said that the joint action of catering companies at the festival node can effectively drive consumption, increase product sales and bring heat to the brand, which is also a more common marketing method. For well-known companies such as KFC and McDonald's, joint actions are more likely to trigger higher traffic. Generally speaking, because the products attached to the co-branding are limited editions, they may lead to repeat purchases, and some consumers will even spend or buy second-hand multiple times to get a specific style, thus creating a scalper business.

Reduce negative impacts

Marketing has always been one of the important businesses of many brands, especially at a time when the children's market is becoming more and more important, and it is natural that this node will not be missed. Although brands can bring heat to themselves through co-branding and other means, in some cases they may also trigger negative speech.

In Wu Daiqi's view, the use of joint traffic by brands is more effective, but if irrational consumption or food waste is caused by large marketing efforts, it may bring negative effects to enterprises. However, for enterprises, it is more difficult to intervene in consumers' rational purchase of products, so even if the marketing campaign has brought a certain negative impact to itself, this phenomenon will continue for a while.

A reporter from Beijing Business Daily browsed social platforms and saw that some consumers also expressed different views on the phenomenon of "one body is difficult to grab". Some consumers said that "it is obviously the 'June Day' event, and it will be gone on May 5", some consumers pointed out that they did not understand why there was no purchase limit, and some consumers expressed disappointment, thinking that it was necessary to ensure that children who came to the store could get relevant products. In addition, some consumers even called this move "hunger marketing".

Some insiders pointed out that some toys being speculated to hundreds of yuan in the secondary market can bring more exposure and attention to the brand, but if the relevant phenomenon has a negative impact on consumers or affects the brand's values, the brand should take some measures to curb the relevant phenomenon. Specifically, companies can avoid scalping by increasing the supply of toys or limiting purchases, thereby reducing negative sentiment on the consumer side.

Beijing Business Daily reporter Zhang Tianyuan