You are surrounded by Minions! Apart from ofo, cross-border marketing is like carpet bombing

Bello! Banana! The cute and naughty Minions are back and taking over the world. A song called "She Taught Me How to Yodel" was covered by the netizen "The Minions Who Eat Xuanmai". The lyrics roughly mean - Ali oh, tired, tired, tired, tired, tears, Ali oh, tired, tired, tired, tears, Ali oh, tired, tired, tired, tears, Ali oh, tired, tired, tears, Ali oh, tired, tired, tears...

Well, after listening to the music, has the naughty and cute image of the Minions appeared in front of you? Yes, today is the first day that Despicable Me 3 is officially released in China. The promotion of the movie is quite a big deal and various marketing activities related to the Minions were launched several months ago.

The latest data shows that " Despicable Me 3" raked in $75.41 million in North America in its first three days of release, winning the North American weekend box office championship. However, the Minions' business is far more than just theater revenue. These capsule-shaped, banana-colored cute creatures have become a successful example of brand marketing.

Minions + shared bikes

What has been most discussed in the circle of friends recently is naturally the joint marketing of the Minions and the ofo yellow bikes , which are simply "yellow" together. It is understood that a total of more than 50,000 "big-eyed little yellow bikes" have been deployed in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. The Minions bikes shuttling through the cities have become mobile advertisements for the movie "Despicable Me 3".

The official Weibo homepage of ofo also wore the Minions skin, looking like a customized Minions advertisement.

Minions can be found everywhere in subway stations, shopping malls, and cinemas. There are huge "super long and super yellow" Minions advertisements at Beijing Subway Guomao Station and Haidian Huangzhuang Station, attracting passers-by to stop and take photos.

Not only that, there are also joint customized newspapers

Customized Video

Perhaps compared to Lu Han , the yellow guy is the best spokesperson for ofo. Not only has he triggered viral spread on social networks , but he has also greatly enhanced the brand image of ofo. Just yesterday, ofo announced that it had completed a round E financing of over US$700 million.

The cooperation between Minions and ofo can be said to be a win-win situation. With the help of the publicity campaigns of ofo, Mobike and other shared bicycles, the Minions have successfully infiltrated people's daily lives. Of course, the Minions’ cross-border marketing goes far beyond cooperation with shared bicycles, and also includes catering, snacks, fashion, fast-moving consumer goods, etc.

Minions + Dining

Minions and McDonald's are old friends. After all, the first impression of both is capital "Yellow". Through more than 2,400 McDonald's restaurants across the country, the Minions have successfully entered the streets and alleys. The walls, counters and tables of the theme restaurants are filled with the cute and mischievous images of the Minions.

Based on the scenes from Despicable Me 3 and the images of the Minions, McDonald's launched a new series of Minions products. Not only do the packaging and names fit the Minions theme, such as the "Banana" banana pie and the "Mommy" McFlurry Chicken Box, but even the hamburger buns are printed with Minions.

Many limited edition toys such as Banana Minions, Rocket Minions, Cheering Minions, Weightlifting Minions, and Nonsense Minions also appeared in McDonald's

McDonald's not only changed its official Weibo profile picture to Minions, but also used new AR interactive game gameplay to implant its brand. By scanning the Minions pattern, consumers can take interactive selfies with the Minions on their phones and see the Minions’ animated Easter eggs.

Since the Minions movie series is full of childish fun, a large number of the audience for the animated film are children and young people. This group is highly consistent with McDonald’s consumer group, making the Minions’ cross-border marketing more targeted and the user’s commercial conversion rate higher.

Apart from being both very "yellow", the Minions have always presented a joyful image, and McDonald's has always infected customers with a joyful atmosphere. The cooperation between the two can further enhance the joy.

Minions + Snacks

"Beyond the mountains and the sea, there is a group of extremely smart Minions. They are elegant, fresh, cool, and sincere... They finally broke the curse and found true love!" The snack brand "Stride" released a series of Minions on its official Weibo account.

The impression given by chewing gum is generally fresh breath and cool taste. The popular Minions, in addition to being naughty, are also a bit cool and "fresh", which is similar to the feeling given by chewing gum.

In addition, eating candy makes people happy. The most important element of the Minions movie series is that it is fun. Cooperating with candy brands in the snack industry can further deepen people's perception of the "happy" image of the Minions.

What's more, chewing gum is cheap and has a wide audience. It is usually placed in conspicuous locations near cash registers in supermarkets and convenience stores, easily attracting people's attention, allowing the image of the Minions to be widely disseminated socially.

Minions + Fashion

With the release of the movie "Despicable Me 3" around the world, the collaboration between the Minions and various fashion brands has also been launched. For example, in the Casetify x Minions collaboration series, famous artist Craig Redman collaborated with Karl Maier of Craig & Karl to design a series of peripheral products for the Minions, such as mobile phone cases, computer cases, watch straps, etc.

On June 29, the day before Despicable Me 3 was released in North America, the Puma x Minions series launched a new Minions-themed footwear and clothing series in PUMA stores around the world, including sneakers, jackets, hoodies, T-shirts, pants, shoulder bags and gloves.

The Minions also personally hand-painted the PUMA sports shoes.

PUMA's Minions items were launched on the PUMA official store on July 3, with the main models being boys' and girls' clothing. Children dressed in Minions costumes might drag their parents to the theater to watch Despicable Me 3.

PUMA also launched the #CaptureBigEyedCute# campaign on its official Weibo account and gave away movie tickets to warm up for the release of Despicable Me 3.

If you think PUMA's Minions items are too expensive, you can also choose to buy affordable Minions items from UNIQLO , but unfortunately they only have children's wear.

With the help of various fashion brands, the Minions may become a widely influential pop culture and last forever, just like other cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Hello Kitty, Winnie the Pooh, Garfield, and Doraemon .

Minions + FMCG

The Minions, who love to act cute, have even sold “cuteness” on fast-moving consumer goods. Unilever's brand "POND'S" is a relatively affordable fast-moving consumer product. Its product, Rice Essence Moisturizing Cleanser, is an amino acid facial cleanser that is very cheap and has been recommended by many beauty bloggers as a " net celebrity " facial cleanser. Minions and “Internet celebrities” have become “Internet porn” together with “Internet celebrities”.

McDonald's, Triumph, Puma, Uniqlo, Pond's facial cleanser, ofo small yellow bike... The Minions' cooperative brands cover food, clothing, daily necessities, and travel, and have entered into various fields such as catering, fashion, daily necessities, art, toys, advertising, and e-commerce .

With the help of various popular brands, the image of the Minions has spread all over the world, and various derivative products of the movies have also increased the brand communication of the Minions, and the Minions can be seen everywhere.

Despicable Me 3 China Press Conference

When doing cross-border marketing, you can either focus on hot topics and leverage marketing , such as Minions + ofo; or find a common target audience, such as Minions + McDonald's; or complement each other's strengths in terms of channel popularity, such as Minions + Puma, Minions + Uniqlo, etc.

In the Despicable Me film series, the Minions are capsule-shaped creatures created by Gru and Dr. Navario using banana puree, mutant DNA, and fatty acids. In terms of appearance, the Minions have banana-colored yellow skin, very little hair, large round goggles, and denim overalls that can be worn without shoulders.

Whether they are being cute or funny, the most important quality of the Minions is actually "happiness". When choosing cooperative brands for cross-border marketing, the Minions always stick to the element of "happiness" and choose brands that match their temperament.

After watching "Despicable Me", you may forget the protagonist Gru of the movie, but you will definitely remember the Minions. After all, the Minions have fully penetrated into all kinds of life scenes.