Written by | Kagura Editor | Qin Yan
Source: Understand the notes
Preface
Blind box marketing blindfolded run or will it end?
The recent blind box circle doesn't seem to be calm.
First, on January 12, the China Consumer Association published an article on its official website criticizing KFC and Bubble Mart for using "blind box" marketing to induce excessive consumption of food. As soon as the news came out, it aroused widespread concern and heated discussion in society.
Later, on January 14, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision issued the "Shanghai Blind Box Business Activity Compliance Guidelines", suggesting that the price of a single blind box should not exceed 200 yuan, and the operator should not sell blind boxes to minors under the age of 8.
Some public opinion believes that the new regulations on the supervision of blind box consumption in Shanghai will provide reference norms and development guidelines for the business activities of the blind box market, and clearly draw a red line for blind box operations - and may even trigger other cities to learn from and emulate.
So, as regulators pay more attention to the blind box consumption field, what will be the impact of the blind box market itself? Can this kind of "bumping into big luck" marketing play be more "regular"?
Blind box
The blind box fried house panicked first
"I just want to get out of the blind box doll in my hand as soon as possible, the time is too tight."
"Jingjing", who is often active in major second-hand e-commerce platforms and social platforms, is a full-time speculator of blind box dolls.
Jing Jing revealed that she has been active in the blind box doll trading circle for nearly two years. Recently, the regulatory authorities have issued two consecutive management measures about the blind box marketing market, but she feels anxious. She and some of the speculators she knew around her began to sort out the inventory at hand and quickly "clear" the so-called collectibles online.
"There has been a lot of negative news in the blind box circle before, but the situation is different from this supervision." As a senior blind box speculator, Jing Jing said that there has been negative news in the industry in the past, which has no impact on the price of some hidden blind boxes and limited edition dolls.
However, from the beginning of the marketing incident of the KFC joint bubble Mart blind box criticized by the Chinese Consumer Association, the price of some blind box dolls on the second-hand e-commerce platform began to decline, and the hidden model fell again and again, "Everyone (referring to speculators) are afraid that the blind box will be like electronic cigarettes, so that the regulatory authorities will focus." ”
She also said that compared with the sporadic negative news in the industry, the dynamics of the regulator are more worrying to her. Once the relevant departments intervene to regulate the blind box consumer market, or mean that the bubble of the blind box industry itself will be punctured, the so-called "investment myth" will also be shattered.
Recently, blind box goods seem to have become a hot potato that "sold early and lost less", and many speculators have reduced the price of shipments, "taking stock, fortunately, there are only one hundred and ten ordinary dolls and more than a dozen hidden dolls left at home, and now they are all hanging on the Internet. ”
In Jingjing's second-hand shop, I understand the notes and see the price of bubble Mart Dimo Night Elf, and the small hidden model is 260 yuan. According to her, as early as before the China Consumer Association named the blind box, the price of the blind box was generally 400 yuan.
A small number of extremely "confident" sellers even asked for as much as 888 yuan and declared that they would not negotiate the price. It can be seen that the hidden blind box is not worried about selling, the industry's bubble is very huge, but also quite bizarre, "but now, everyone is reducing prices and trying to get a quick shot." ”
Searching for the same blind box on the mainstream second-hand e-commerce platform, understanding the notes and finding a Chongqing merchant with a price of two yuan lower than Jingjing. In addition to the hidden dolls, the price of its ordinary blind box is a new low price record.
"Generally (speculators) with the original price of the blind box, the ordinary model will generally be sold below the original price." Jing Jing explained that it is a little loss to sell at a low price when it draws ordinary money, but once the so-called hidden money is drawn, it will immediately recover losses and make a small profit.
Generally speaking, the price of ordinary blind boxes sold on second-hand e-commerce platforms is mostly between 25 and 39 yuan, and a few popular blind box series can be sold to 45 yuan or even higher, "but now the cheapest few dollars can be bought, and mainstream styles can also be traded for more than ten yuan." ”
It can be seen that the regulatory action of the relevant departments against the chaos of blind box consumption has indeed made some blind box speculators and speculators panic, and they are seizing the time to reduce prices and dump inventory.
Regulatory "reminds" merchants to converge
"I don't dare to expand, for fear that the regulatory wind direction will change at any time."
Hu Ying (pseudonym), a self-described "serial entrepreneur", has been optimistic about the outlet of the blind box since two years ago and began to raise bets. Because he has not been able to wait for the mainstream blind box brand to open to join, afraid of business opportunities slipping away from his side, he had to try to join a small brand and get involved in the field of blind box chain sales.
He told him to understand the notes, the blind box entrepreneurial threshold is not high, he only invested less than 200,000 yuan, he got ten vending terminals from the official of the franchise brand, and is currently deployed in some large business circles in Shenzhen. He admitted that in fact, the cost of rent is higher than the cost of joining.
"Especially near restaurants and cinemas, the rent is expensive, the crowd is large, and the demand is high." Hu Ying said frankly that although the flow of people in restaurant theaters has decreased in the past two years due to the impact of the epidemic, thanks to the favor of blind boxes, consumer demand is still not to be underestimated.
It took only one year after he joined the franchise to recover the costs invested in the early joining and equipment procurement. At the beginning of last year, the trot began to enter the profit period, so it is not difficult to see the huge profit margin of the blind box doll, "the small brand blind box sells cheaper, the gross profit can be about four or five times, you think about how high the profit of the mainstream brand is? ”
Just in the face of such a "bloody" industry, why did Hu Yingxin's expansion plan shrink back?
Hu Ying explained that the reason for the recent suspension of expansion is due to regulatory and policy changes. Although the blind box investment is low and the profit is high, it often takes a year and a half to recover the input cost. If the relevant departments are tightening the supervision of blind box consumption, it will affect their blind box business and extend the cycle of franchisees to return to their capital.
In his view, if the policy completely characterizes blind box consumption as "violation", franchisees may lose the bottom. Therefore, in view of the potential risks, he decided to postpone the expansion.
Also "cautious" in the operation of blind boxes is Aunt Zhu, who opened a stationery shop near a primary school in the center of Shantou.
In the exchange, Aunt Zhu revealed that at present, many commissaries and stationery stores near the school are selling blind boxes. "Compared with mainstream brands, most of the blind boxes sold near the school are copycats and are also very cheap."
She told her to understand the notes that the cottage blind boxes sold in the stationery store only cost a few dollars, and students can afford to buy them, and the packaging is usually toys and stationery and other items.
Because of the curiosity of students, the sales of blind boxes in stationery stores in the past year have also been very impressive, "when the school starts, one blind box can be sold out in one day, and there are sixty small boxes on one plate, and the profit is higher than that of stationery." Some students even save money every day, just to buy blind boxes often. ”
However, since the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau issued the compliance guidelines for blind box business activities, Aunt Zhu has also begun to care about relevant policies and supervision. Although only Shanghai has included blind boxes in the regulatory category, she believes that it is difficult to ensure that the relevant policies will not be followed everywhere.
"Now the amount of goods (blind boxes) has also been reduced, mainly for fear of tightening supervision and smashing in the hands." In addition to strictly controlling the number of purchases, Aunt Zhu also always pays attention to the changes in relevant policies and public opinion, "Once there is regulatory news in Guangdong, I will have time to converge, after all, the blind box is still very profitable." ”
Perhaps, the continuous "roll call" of the regulatory authorities for blind box consumption has also reminded some blind box merchants that they should be restrained in the expansion of the territory and the choice of business objects.
In the field of commercial marketing, blind boxes, which are marketing creative means, are also being "questioned".
"Blind Box for All Things" is not fragrant?
"In recent days, several partner companies have asked for a replacement marketing plan."
Zhang Qi (pseudonym) is an account manager for a large marketing agency in Guangzhou. He told understand the notes that due to the popularity of the blind box concept, the use of blind box forms for commercial marketing in the past year or so has been generally welcomed by enterprises and merchants.
In the past year, his marketing agency has planned nearly thirty blind box marketing activities for different companies, all of which have been very effective, and the agency has been praised by the cooperative enterprises.
It can be said that since the concept of blind boxes has become popular, the marketing circle once appeared the bizarre phenomenon of "everything can be blind boxes", and the promotion role of major brand marketing agencies in it can be described as "indispensable".
For some time, blind box marketing has even become the wealth code for enterprises and marketing agencies.
It can be said that small to ordinary daily necessities, large cars, real estate, can be put into the blind box, change the method of marketing. This boom has led to a change in blind box marketing, consumer evaluations are also mixed, and industry chaos occurs frequently.
"As long as the other party's products are suitable, we will recommend that companies do blind box marketing, simple and effective." However, since January 12 this year, the China Consumer Association has criticized KFC's "blind box marketing" by name, and several cooperative customers have requested to modify the original blind box marketing plan, or try not to plan blind box-related marketing activities at this juncture.
Zhang Qi said that in the past week, the executive team has been busy coordinating and planning new marketing plans for customers, "As for new customers, even if there are two companies that want to do blind box marketing, the planners have also dissuaded them." ”
Coincidentally, Arnold, the head of a food factory in Chaozhou, recently stopped the blind box marketing activities that the factory is promoting. According to Arnold, due to the big clearance at the end of the year, a lot of inventory has to be sold, as a young, keeping pace with the times "factory second generation", he decided in early December to use the blind box form to clean up inventory.
"At that time, the idea was to randomly pack different candies, snacks, and small cookies into blind boxes for Spring Festival snacks, and then do live broadcasting online and start promotions in online stores." In the self-operated e-commerce online store, the snack blind box is priced at 59 yuan, weighing 1.25 kilograms, it looks quite cost-effective, and in just one month, the sales volume has been smaller than two thousand copies.
But recently because KFC was named, coupled with the same belongs to the food industry, he decided to put the "blind box idea" in order to avoid risks, and this week he removed the Spring Festival snack blind box, "In addition to regulatory measures, I found that some consumers also began to resent blind box marketing." ”
Some analysts pointed out that the era of "blind boxes for all things" may end the blindfolded and wild situation because of the recent intervention of relevant departments and involved in the supervision of blind box consumption. It has to be said that the blind box is a marketing method that directly hits the psychology of consumers, but it is not a healthy marketing method.
Once enterprises begin to stare at the "potential consumer psychology of the blind box", the marketing hidden dangers of their "consumer addiction" are bound to cause market chaos. The blind box and marketing model that has been hot all along should not become a disguise for the "psychology of consumer gamblers". Industry regulation may be fierce.
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