Debra Li debra_lidan@163.com POKEMON, fictional species of collectible monsters from Nintendo’s games, is loved and celebrated all over the world, especially by those who grew up in the 1990s. Psyduck, a Pokemon resembling a bipedal platypus, is beset by headache and gets stressed out. Then its headache gets progressively worse, and it uses intense psychic energy to overwhelm those around it. The yellow monster is obvious exerting its psychic energy now, as a dancing Psyduck toy is taking over Chinese social media and fans just can’t get enough of it. On Xiaohongshu and Douyin, Psyducks can be seen dancing around, bobbing up and down and waving its little arms about. Some fans are attaching notes to Psyduck’s arms so that it looks like he’s waving signs around. The hit toy is among the free gifts from fast-food chain KFC for customers who buy a Children’s Day special package. Buying the package priced from 69-109 yuan (US$10.5-16.6), consumers can get one of three random Pokemon co-branded toys, and the dancing Psyduck is one of them. After Psyduck went viral, the toys in many KFC chain stores ran out of stock. The Psyducks are already available on the reseller market, but as one might expect, they’re not cheap. Previously, there were also services offered online for those who only wanted Psyduck but not the food. To prevent the fried chicken from being wasted, people offered to eat the food and send the toy to the buyer by mail at a price a bit higher than the cost of the food package. In the face of an economic downturn brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and disrupted global supply chain, many businesses are trying hard to come up with new gimmicks to spur the consumers’ appetite for their products and services. Yum China, the operator of KFC, reported a 44% drop in operating profits year on year to US$191 million in the first quarter of 2022 from US$342 million, according to the company’s May 4 report. In January, KFC teamed up with toymaker Pop Mart to offer collectable versions of Dimoo toys with certain KFC meals. That campaign was also a hit among the young. As those born after 1990, a generation growing up in the pampered abundance of material possessions, have become the main force in the Chinese consumer market, brands are fighting to catch their attention and find out their potential needs. These kids are willing to pay for quality and unique products on which they can attach their emotions and with which they can display their superb tastes; some are also willing to pay for scarcity that can win them likes and admiration on social media. That gives rise in recent years to a great deal of examples of co-branding. Co-branding, a marketing strategy of combining two well-known brands to introduce a new product or service into the market, had been employed by the hospitality industry in the 1930s but didn’t really take off until after the turn of the century. Well-known cases abroad include the Apple Watch Nike+ launched in 2016, Doritos Locos Tacos, a snack made with Doritos shells and Taco Bell’s ingredients that sold a billion pieces in 2012, Levi’s and Pinterest collaboration which let consumers style their own jeans in 2018, and countless others. There were also many successful examples in China besides KFC. Not long ago, the Yeyun Latte, a co-branded beverage from Luckin Coffee and Yeshu Coconut Milk was a hit among Gen Zers. UNIQLO’s collab UT series with artist Kaws sold out quickly in the summer of 2019, as some buyers ravaged the stores and scrambled for a piece. There were also less known collabs such as an ice-cream from dark chocolate maker Chocday and ice-cream brand Dongbei Daban, and a tea drink from Xiaoguan Tea and Nongfu Spring. These products may not have made headlines like KFC’s toys, but they nevertheless brought an enlarged customer base and more profits to the co-branding partners. When I go shopping in the supermarket, I always go to the familiar shelves to choose my trusted brands, because shopping is a time-consuming chore that I don’t really enjoy. Still, I would stop to look at something new once in a while, for as a human, curiosity often gets the better of me. Though I may not pay extra for some novelty product, I totally get the enthusiasm of Gen Zers, for they believe that “You only live once,” and your younger days will soon leave you behind with just a whiff of memories. (The author is an editor of the Features Department of Shenzhen Daily.) | 