Open Chan, the first cartoon spokesperson in the convenience retailing industry of Taiwan, was born on July 11th, 2005. Open Chan is a dog who comes from the Open planet and who loves to eat onigiri. In launching Open Chan, 7-ELEVEN takes itself to a new level of connecting emotionally with our consumers. With its distinct and loveable image, Open Chan showcases the friendly spirit of 7-ELEVEN while introducing new products and services to consumers and releasing peripheral products loved by children and adults. With the popularity of Open Chan and its growing fan base, Open Chan's first music album was released. Based upon Open Chan'success, 7-ELEVEN ventures into the hotel and restaurant business with Open Chan as the theme. Furthermore, a shopping mall as well as a theme park featuring Open Chan were opened. These are the perfect illustrations of an innovative marketing model which has again pleasantly surprised the 7-ELEVEN supporters.



Innovative and Flexible Marketing Strategies – a nationwide movement which generates happiness



7-ELEVEN initiated the most successful store-wide marketing campaign in the history of Taiwan convenience retailing in 2005 by launching the largest Hello Kitty 3D Magnet Integrated Marketing Campaign, in which Hello Kitty magnets serve as incentives to encourage consumers to shop at 7-ELEVEN. The campaign swept the island by a storm and became a huge hit. Subsequently, well-known cartoon figures from Taiwan, Japan, Europe, and the US were also introduced as collectibles. The basics behind the integrated marketing model was that when shopping, consumers received stickers for a certain amount of purchase. In the beginning, once the consumers accumulate a certain number of stickers, they can exchange stickers for collectibles. The campaign further developed and customers could buy collectibles at an additional price or exchange stickers for other 7-ELEVEN merchandise. This instant success then spilled over to businesses in the PCSC Group, and even to other brands, generating a fad rarely seen in convenience retailing and giving birth to a nationwide popular movement of collecting 7-ELEVEN collectibles. To consumers, what matters the most is not just the surprise and satisfaction which comes with the exchange for collectibles, but also the bonding which occurs by talking to their children/parents or friends about experience. In turn, 7-ELEVEN has undergone a facelift from providing merely convenience to creating fulfilling and valuable experiences. This, we believe, is the perfect example of emotional marketing.



