McDonald's and Hello Kitty bring joy to HKers as part of regional CNY campaign

McDonald’s Hong Kong is collaborating with Hello Kitty for its Prosperity burger series as part of its Chinese New Year campaign. This reflects the brand's scale as an international brand that is close to pop culture.

This is a regional partnership led by the Hong Kong market. Hong Kong took the lead in overall creative ideation, development, and coordination. Meanwhile, the campaign has already launched in a few Asia markets including Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Brunei, with more markets to follow.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, McDonald's spokesperson said it has partnered exclusively with Hello Kitty for its 50th anniversary celebration in the quick-service restaurant industry in Hong Kong, and the collaboration aims to drive excitement every year for the brand's heritage products such as the Prosperity Burger and Twister Fries.

"Prosperity Burger is one of our heritage products and campaigns that we run every year. Aside from product excitement that extends from the Prosperity Burger to heritage side items such as Twister Fries and Crayfish Soup, we also drive excitement every year by collaborating with an IP," said the spokesperson.

This is a large-scale partnership between two very iconic brands in the world, said the spokesperson. "The promotion’s all-rounded application across communications, packaging, and premiums also maximised its impact. With this partnership, we are bringing joy and excitement to all those that celebrate festive Chinese New Year across different countries in Asia, as well as memorable dining experiences," the spokesperson said.

In terms of executions, the spokesperson said with such an attractive partnership opportunity, the brand gave Hello Kitty a big role in its campaign, extending its special designs to communications, packaging design, and an auspicious set of McDonald’s branded red packets that will be distributed with the meal set upon the first week on the campaign.

"We also have a special surprise for this year’s campaign. As playing Mahjong is a beloved must-do activity during Chinese New Year, we have launched an exclusive and very limited 'McDonald's x Hello Kitty Crystal Mahjong Set'. The mahjong set features Hello Kitty crossing over with McDonald’s iconic food items and branding across all 144 Mahjong tiles," the spokesperson added.

As part of the campaign, a limited-edition Hello Kitty-themed crystal mahjong set has also been introduced. The red and white set is adorned with illustrations of  Hello Kitty and various McDonald's products including the Big Mac, French fries and ice cream sundaes. There are 144 crystal mahjong tiles in each set, along with a set of dice, a wind indicator, and a gold authentication card.

Back in December 2023, McDonald’s Hong Kong and DDB Group Hong Kong joined hands to celebrate sneaky joy in a new three-week social campaign under the banner of #SNEAKJOY. 

This came as social listening by the brand revealed the joy customers experience from sneaking their menu favourites into unexpected places, such as airplanes. Leaning into this fan truth, a social campaign is created to celebrate the sneakiness of customers.

To celebrate this concept, social content featuring #SNEAKJOY opportunities circulated promoting the campaign and inspiring customers with creative ideas. Furthermore, user-generated content was rewarded with giveaways of their favourite menu items.

(Photo courtesy: McDonald's)

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