Would you buy a meal to get a collectible? Wake up early to stake out a coffee shop for a limited-edition cup? Stand in line for hours for a pastel-colored grocery bag?

Brands are betting you will. Starbucks has its Bearista cup. Trader Joe's has its coveted tote bags. Movie theaters sell specialty popcorn buckets. Sometimes collectibles come as blind boxes, where buyers don't know what they're getting until they open it. Other times brands publicize a limited release to create scarcity—and, likely, high resale value. The Starbucks Bearista cup reportedly sparked fights, long lines, and resale listings as high as $500.

This year, Jack in the Box joins the craze. The fast-food chain, celebrating its 75th anniversary, launched a line of collectibles including glass Jack Sipper Cups shaped like its mascot, pins, and Labubu-like Jibbis bag charms. The inspiration goes back decades: an antenna topper featuring the mascot, first distributed in the '90s, Sheena Dougher, VP of brand marketing at Jack in the Box, told Marketing Brew.

For the brand, the offering goes beyond anniversary celebration. Dougher said the collectibles address changing guest expectations as "the value equation shifts" between brands and consumers.

"People want more for their money, and it goes beyond the food," Dougher said. "They want experiences from brands."

Expected experience

The second edition of the Jibbis rolled out earlier this summer as a companion to Jack in the Box's Philly cheesesteak Munchie Meal. The collectibles, which have also included antenna balls as "a nod back to the original," have come as a gift with meal purchases as the chain works to "elevate" the offering, Dougher said.

The chain has also started experimenting with actual solo purchases of the items.

Dougher said collectibles deliver an experience customers "not only want but they're starting to expect." The sweet spot, she explained, comes when the chain turns collecting into "a game where you're on the hunt to collect" all of them—or makes something "extra rare" that "makes people so excited about these and why it was really important for us to be part of."

For marketers, the perks extend further. Collectibles appeal to the growing "kidult" audience seeking experiences that remind them of their childhoods. They also tap into little-treat culture, popular among Gen Z.

There's also the content dividend. When brands create collectibles, consumers often take photos and videos—official unboxings or simple show-offs—on social media.

"At the end of the day, you're gonna get all this content from nano [influencers] and micros [influencers]," Danielle Wiley, founder and CEO of Sway Group, told Marketing Brew.

That has played out for Jack in the Box and its Jibbis in particular. Fans have posted about hunting down missing charms, completed sets, and menu hacks to aid collecting.

Virality is never guaranteed. But those posts can go a long way for brands trying to cut through the noise, Wiley said.

"I think anyone who can jump into this is going to because all these brands need just so much content right now," she said. "You're gonna get content from doing that."

Source: Marketing Brew (https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/jack-in-the-box-collectibles-brand-strategy?utm_source=&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=feed) / Source: yahoo.com (https://www.yahoo.com/news/article/starbucks-apologizes-after-bearista-cup-sparks-fights-long-lines-and-500-resale-listings-191508172.html)