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according to the red star capital bureau on september 20, the first episode of starbucks' first self-made short play "i opened a starbucks in ancient times" was officially launched on september 19. half a month ago, kfc's first self-made short play "rebirth of the foodie queen" was officially completed. the red star capital bureau found that catering brands such as mixue ice city, tai er pickled fish, mcdonald's, and cha baidao have all launched short plays, and most brands have chosen themes such as time travel, rebirth, and domineering ceos.

an expert told red star capital that short dramas usually have compact plots and ups and downs, which can help catering brands attract users' attention, while shaping a richer brand image and creating hot topics. however, experts remind catering brands to consider issues such as quality, conversion value, awkward placement, and story duplication when making short dramas.

catering brands flock to make short plays

time travel, rebirth, and domineering ceos become keywords

on the afternoon of september 19, the first episode of starbucks' self-made short play "i opened a starbucks in ancient times" was released. the play has a total of six episodes, telling the story of a starbucks barista who accidentally traveled through time and opened a "starbucks inn" with a princess to sell coffee. in the play, the baristas' hometowns were combined, and starbucks' new products launched in september were especially revealed, such as the fire crystal persimmon frappuccino from qin and jin, and the chestnut red bean latte representing yanzhao. the red star capital bureau noticed that today, starbucks' douyin live broadcast room also launched the same drinks as the short play, 39.9 yuan for two cups and other "starbucks inn opening benefits".

(screenshot from tiktok)

the red star capital bureau called starbucks and they responded that short plays provide more creative space for brand narratives. starbucks hopes to tell the story behind the drinks from the perspective of partners through this popular form of short plays. as for why they chose themes such as time travel and rebirth, starbucks said that this actually stems from everyone's curiosity. "we often see some discussions on social media, such as what starbucks looked like in ancient times, and some aigc pictures created by netizens. costume dramas have a lot of creative space, and more content can be disseminated in a form that netizens like."

coincidentally, on september 6, kfc's first self-produced short drama "reborn: the foodie queen you can't provoke" was officially completed. the drama has a total of 13 episodes and tells the story of an ancient queen who loved to eat chicken legs. after being scared by a chicken while eating chicken legs in the imperial kitchen in the middle of the night, she was reborn as a modern actress and met a domineering president. in the drama, kfc incorporated various meal packages and special products, and also implanted the "kfc weekend crazy fight" event. so far, the drama has received 140 million views on douyin.

before kfc, mcdonald's also launched its first short drama "reborn: i practicing magic at mcdonald's" on july 10. the drama has a total of 8 episodes, which were shot in mcdonald's kitchens and stores. it revolves around talk show actor tong moran who was reborn as a mcdonald's employee, and tells the story of "ba group" president "ba zong" falling in love with mcdonald's employee xiaomai. mcdonald's products and concepts are implanted in every episode of the drama.

(photo source: mcdonald’s official weibo)

in the catering industry, in addition to mcdonald's and kfc, tai er pickled fish also launched a customized short play "internship boss loves fish girl" on the occasion of its ninth anniversary in july this year, also working with talk show actor he guangzhi to tell the story of contrast counterattack, group infighting, and sweet love of the boss. in addition, in may this year, the first original short play themed around shaxian snacks, "taiwanese girl's shaxian counterattack diary", officially started filming.

in the new tea beverage industry, on august 9 this year, mixue ice city launched a live-action short play "the snow king's time travel diary", in which the snow king traveled through different scenarios as the "snow dance king", "snow butler", "snow special assistant" and "snow group pet", and the story setting is also about a domineering president and rebirth. on august 12 last year, cha baidao launched a customized short play "love has hundreds of fresh ways", which is also about a domineering president falling in love with a cha baidao employee. the play has a total of 5 episodes and has been played on douyin over 360 million times.

experts: short plays can enhance brand memory and create buzz

however, issues such as quality, conversion, and implant embarrassment need to be considered.

on august 29 this year, the china internet network information center released the "statistical report on the development of china's internet", which showed that as of june, micro-drama users accounted for 52.4% of all netizens. in this huge market, short dramas are becoming a new marketing method for catering brands.

wang peng, an associate researcher at the beijing academy of social sciences, told red star capital that short plays, as a flexible and compact form of entertainment, can adapt well to the fast-paced lifestyle of modern people. catering brands can adapt to consumers' fragmented entertainment needs and convey brand concepts through short plays. "in the fierce market competition, catering brands need to constantly innovate and optimize marketing strategies, and short plays can bring freshness to consumers and help brands create new hot topics, triggering widespread attention and discussion." wang peng said.

wang peng also mentioned that compared with leaflets, billboards, and commercials, short dramas can leave a deep impression on consumers through interesting storylines and vivid character images. "this impression is not limited to the product itself, but also extends to the brand image level, thereby enhancing the brand's memory and favorability." wang peng said that short dramas, as a form of deep implantation, can not only show product features and usage scenarios in the drama, but also achieve richer marketing through multiple resources such as topic page promotion and short video covers outside the drama.

angel investor guo tao also said that short dramas can make it easier for consumers to remember brands and products through vivid plots, and real-life shooting can also show the restaurant's environment, service and food, giving consumers a more intuitive experience. however, guo tao said that if the production is rough or the placement is awkward, it may affect consumers' viewing experience and even have a negative impact on the brand image. guo tao also said that although short dramas can attract attention, how to convert audiences into actual consumers is a difficult problem. guo tao also emphasized that when a large number of catering brands launch short dramas with similar themes, consumers may lose their sense of freshness.

lin xianping, secretary general of the institute of culture and creativity at zhejiang university city college, told red star capital that catering brands need to create high-quality content to attract users' attention and love. if the implantation in the skit is too stiff or unnatural, it will affect the user experience and brand image. "if the content is too monotonous or lacks innovation, the skit will lose users' interest and attention." lin xianping said that only by constantly exploring and innovating and improving the quality and creativity of skits can catering brands better cope with challenges.

red star news reporter yu yao, intern reporter zeng han

(source: red star news)

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