A new marketing strategy - "receipt literature"

This article will start from the McDonald's receipt craze that has been set off by young people on the Internet, and explore the brand receipt marketing strategy behind the whole thing. Recommended to friends who are on the front line of surfing and marketing, let us experience the infinite possibilities behind those small receipts.

Recently, on social platforms, many young people have posted photos of themselves with McDonald's receipts stuck on their chests, and attached text with their suggestions for McDonald's.

To passers-by who are not aware of the situation, this behavior is very puzzling. In fact, it is a spontaneous "performance art" by Maimen believers, who call it "being invited to attend the meeting of Golden Arches (China) Co., Ltd." Where does this seemingly nonsensical trend come from? Why can small ticket marketing attract young people?

1. “Mai Men followers” ​​set off a social carnival

The McDonald's receipt craze originated from a note by Xiaohongshu user @proco, who posted a photo of himself taping a McDonald's receipt to his chest, captioning it "Attending an event organized by Golden Arches (China) Co., Ltd."

This novel way of taking photos has attracted the attention of netizens, and many netizens have made jokes in the comment area, such as "This dress is so expensive, it costs 35160-1=35159 yuan", "I said that AI cannot surpass human thinking in a short time", "Your mental state is ten years ahead of me"...

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

As the note became more and more popular, McDonald's official account interacted with netizens in the comment section of the note, saying "Please hand over the 1,000-word post-conference summary of this participant to the McDonald's Organization Department", which further boosted the social popularity and attracted countless netizens to imitate. Currently, the note has received 20,000 likes and over 3,500 comments.

In the McDonald's receipt carnival, the most popular note is @blahblahblah's "Attend McDonald's Representative Conference", with the text "On October 23, 2023, attend the McDonald's Representative Conference, I veto them worldwide."

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

Netizens interacted with memes in the comment area and expressed their true thoughts, "I submitted a proposal to reduce the price of the poor meal back to 12 yuan," "The Sichuan representative came in and proposed to provide McMansion 24 hours a day and permanently remove all kinds of pies from the shelves," "Submitted a proposal to permanently remove pickles from Shuangji Burger"...

Currently, the note has received 80,000 likes, 18,000 collections, and 7,530 comments, further boosting the social popularity of McDonald’s receipts. At the same time, this trend has also spread from Xiaohongshu to other social platforms.

Image source: Weibo screenshot

McDonald's used its official Weibo account to leverage marketing opportunities, launching a "McMen Outfit" competition mode, and said, "Post your #MOOTD in the comments, and I'll invite three of you to eat at McDonald's." Many netizens interacted in the comment section.

2. Invoice marketing emerges in endlessly

In fact, marketing around receipts is nothing new. It is very common among catering brands. Through a variety of creative ideas, brands further enhance their connection with users.

Previously, Cha Yan Yue Se had been on the hot search due to its "chatty receipt". In addition to the order information, a Cha Yan Yue Se receipt also contains brand introduction, new products, brand activities, etc. Some netizens joked that "this receipt is longer than my life", and some even joked that "it feels like going to court".

However, this extra-long receipt has also caused some controversy, with some netizens saying, "It would be better to make the milk tea better than making such a long receipt instead of just making useless ones."

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

Another netizen commented, "This is not a receipt, it's a portable billboard. When you take out this piece of paper and show it to people around you, passers-by will observe it curiously, and you can post it online for everyone to see. Ordinary billboards don't have this kind of communication effect. I can only say that before you throw this piece of paper into the trash can, it is a very good billboard. One more look at it will give you a better impression of the brand, which is the meaning of getting familiar with it."

In addition to Cha Yan Yue Se, Cha Baidao, which is also a tea brand, has also participated in receipt marketing. Unlike Cha Yan Yue Se's normal marketing approach, Cha Baidao engages in festival marketing.

During this year's Valentine's Day, Cha Baidao will not only give away "Strawberry Flower" bookmarks when ordering food, but also print a "List of Small Things You Can Do on Valentine's Day" on the Valentine's Day special receipt, including "giving your lover/yourself a bouquet of flowers" and "watching a movie where you can hold hands"...

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

In the last column, consumers can also express themselves freely. It can be said that Cha Baidao has maximized the festive atmosphere with the help of receipts. Many consumers have promoted it spontaneously and set off a festive carnival on social platforms.

The baking brand Yuanmai Mountain also printed 23 short love stories and poems on every receipt during Valentine's Day. A consumer posted on his own consumption platform that he directly placed 23 orders for products in order to collect all 23 receipts.

Ba Wang Cha Ji attracts consumers through the design of its receipts. From the photos shared by netizens, we can see that the back of Ba Wang Cha Ji's receipts is made up of brand prints. The exquisite patterns have attracted many netizens to make secondary creations. Some people cut them into pieces and use them as mobile phone cases, book covers, etc. Some netizens even folded the receipts into roses. This series of transformation results have naturally become the brand's mobile billboards.

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

It is worth mentioning that the packaging bags of Bawang Cha Ji are also printed with brand prints, combining both beauty and practicality. Many consumers use them as commuter bags, further enhancing the brand’s market visibility.

In addition to catering brands, supermarkets such as RT-Mart and Tmall Supermarket have also produced creative content around receipts. For example, RT-Mart did something interesting on supermarket receipts last year during the Chinese Valentine's Day, hiding "confession code" in the product names and hanging them above the supermarket shelves in the form of posters, teaching everyone how to use supermarket receipts to "confess love".

Image source: Xiaohongshu

Tmall Supermarket uses receipts to convey brand warmth and build emotional connections with users. When words such as "12 luxurious meals a year" and "This is the 127th pleasure of having the final say" appear on the receipt, the meaning of the receipt is sublimated. It is no longer just a list of goods, but also a sense of ritual in life.

Image source network

Ele.me has mastered the marketing of receipts, and further attracted young users through the combination of online and offline methods. Online, Ele.me has launched electronic receipts in cooperation with new tea brands such as Cha Baidao and Mixue Bingcheng, and creatively interpreted them through 6 scenes in daily life to bring surprises to life.

Offline, Ele.me set up 9 interesting receipt stands in Hangzhou to tell the interesting and heartwarming stories behind the receipt notes. This idea was quickly discovered by KOLs and ordinary users, who turned it into a popular check-in spot, driving more users to actively check in and post photos.

Image source network

In addition, Ele.me also held an "Ele.me Receipt Exhibition" on Changsha Huangxing Road Pedestrian Street. In the exhibition, various brands jointly used receipts to tell stories. The receipts were also magnified, hung, and even made into mirror installations. The fancy gameplay directly touched the hearts of young people.

It can be seen that receipt marketing has expanded from catering brands to supermarkets and Internet platforms, with various ways of playing emerging one after another, and receipt creativity has become a normal marketing method.

Conclusion

Although the "small receipt" is a small idea, it can capture people's hearts and set off a social craze. The reason why McDonald's small receipt craze can spread beyond the circle is that it hits the interests of young people. Being keen on socializing, entertainment, and sharing are the most obvious labels of contemporary young people. McDonald's small receipt craze has both social and entertainment attributes, so it can arouse the interest of netizens.

Although the ticket craze was not initiated by McDonald's, it brought attention and traffic to the brand. The official participation in it not only established a brand image of being approachable, fun and daring, but also attracted more netizens to join in, leveraging large traffic with small costs, and also provided new marketing ideas for other brands.

Every content marketing campaign is actually a move by brands to seize traffic and consolidate their market position, which has a long-term impact and significance on brand building. The popularity of "small ticket literature" has brought greater imagination space to brand marketing, and only by grasping user emotions, linking users to extend topics and co-create content can better communication effects be achieved.

Author: Aries, WeChat public account: Marketing Kanke (id: yingxiaokanke)