The food industry is in full swing with emotional marketing. A ceramic cup that captures the creases and crumples of a paper cup used for mix coffee is drawing buzz on social networking services (SNS), and snack brands fronted by characters are targeting consumer tastes. Analysts say experience-based consumption that combines emotion, nostalgia, and collectability has established itself as an important marketing driver.
According to related industries on the 11th, there is a growing trend among consumers to value the experience surrounding a product more than the product itself. An example of this trend is the "MCTI ceramic cup," introduced by Dongsuh Foods with lifestyle platform 29CM, leveraging "Maxim," the No. 1 mix coffee brand in Korea.
Just as the MBTI categorizes people's personalities, the MCTI ceramic cup is a product that visually expresses "traces or habits left on paper cups when drinking coffee." Looking at shapes like crumpled paper cups according to personal taste, or rims that look as if they were chewed, from coffee sipped during breaks in office lounges or while studying in libraries, evokes the nostalgia and sentiment of those times.
The MCTI ceramic cup is given one by one as a random freebie when you buy a boxed Maxim mix coffee product. There are four types: ▲ the "perfect type," for those who have never crumpled a paper cup even once ▲ the "open type," for those who slightly pull the rim when drinking ▲ the "anxious type," for those who chew the rim ▲ the "destructive type," for those who crush the cup as soon as they finish the coffee. On SNS, posts with photos and captions are piling up, such as "I usually fold the rim into a point when using paper cups, so I hoped for the open type," "The crumpled cup only holds 155 ml, but my taste is the destructive type," and "Maxim gamdasa" (meaning "all the feels came back").
A food industry official said, "Amid the monotony and familiarity of a 'well-known taste,' freebies that reflect one's personal preferences likely became an attractive purchase factor," adding, "It's a strategy to broaden the brand experience."
This is not limited to Maxim. ORION recently sold a "Cham Bungeo-ppang hand warmer" through the crowdfunding platform Wadiz. All 8,000 units sold out four days after sales began. The product is a piece of merchandise modeled after ORION's "Cham Bungeo-ppang." The Cham Bungeo-ppang product, created so the winter snack bungeo-ppang can be enjoyed year-round, was reinterpreted as a hand warmer for everyday use in the cold winter.
Nongshim made a lid holder "stopper" featuring the ramyeon brand "Neoguri" character and is selling it at toy stores nationwide, large discount stores, convenience stores, and online malls. It also operates "Neoguri's ramen shop" in Seoul's Myeong-dong, Dongdaemun, Hangang bus, Yeouido, and Jamsil piers, offering instant-cooking experiences and photo and merchandise zones. This strengthens the character-based brand experience.
Samyang Foods is also leveraging the "Hochi" character from its flagship "Buldak spicy ramyeon." Through Hochi pop-up stores (temporary shops), it not only exhibits and sells merchandise, but also established an affiliate, "Samyang Ani," in charge of content commerce, to develop global content and commerce businesses. The YouTube channel centered on the red chick character "Peppo" recorded 150 million cumulative views one year after launch. A notable point is that 99% of subscribers are overseas fans.
The food industry believes that for products with familiar flavors, only by targeting consumers' emotion, taste, and desire to collect with embedded stories and universes can brands endure. Lee Eun-hee, a professor in the Department of Consumer Science at Inha University, said, "Since taste is the default, food companies are trying to secure competitiveness by layering emotion, story, and universe on top of taste." An industry official said, "Product and character marketing that reflects consumer sensibilities and preferences strengthens brand loyalty," adding, "The more intense the competition, the more brand emotion will become a new revenue driver."