MCM builds giant playground in Shanghai flagship store

Chinese consumers change swiftly, and brands must react just as quickly. The German leather goods brand MCM understands this. To celebrate their latest Autumn/Winter collection, and as part of the Tmall Super Brand Day initiative, MCM built a giant playground inside of their flagship store in Shanghai’s iapm mall, transforming the entire space into an immersive MCM dreamland.

When it opened last week, the brand invited the hip-pop singer Lil Ghost and idol group UNINE to join, which drew large crowds. Additionally, fans could access a dedicated MCM game both inside the store and online.

The secret entry code was revealed on Tmall with a search of “I wanna join (我要入伙).” Set primarily as an HMTL5 mobile game page, players can choose any avatar, such as Gen-Z’s favorites like Billie Eilish and the rap singer Childish Major. In the game, they navigate a virtual playground made of hundreds of tiny gadgets, including iconic MCM handbags. Plus, players can view other players in real-time. 

Fans responded positively—the brand saw about 20,000 players joining the game so far, with an average time spent on the site around 10 minutes. MCM also offered generous rewards for their fans by converting the mobile game into a retail event and a simple physical board game as a giveaway to brand’s friends, influencers, and VIP customers. Players can also receive a discount code to use on Tmall, as well as a cute MCM doll. The pop-up store will last until August 11th.

According to MCM, the campaign took about half a year to create and the online and offline connected game was developed within three months. The goal of the campaign is not necessarily all about selling (though a player can enter Tmall to shop after the game) but rather, creating a playful impression of the brand for trendy Chinese millennials and beyond.

This initiative is also part of MCM’s in-depth collaboration with Tmall, as well as to ramp up data and insights for their upcoming 11/11 sales in the fourth quarter.