McDonalds Singapore knows very well the psychological power of this and proceeded to come up with a fitting product: the Prosperity Burger. I personally tried it and did not feel the least bit prosperous. I felt the peppery sauce was too strong and salty. The sauce was so gooey that the whole thing was just one hot mess.
The business of utilizing symbols of luck to market products is not a new thing. Though it seems to be more pronounced in Chinese communities.
I remember my boss telling me about this story. It was a time when the Singapore economy was experiencing much drawbacks and hardships. The government, worried about the country's state of affairs, decided to consult a Feng Shui expert to assess the situation and recommend possible solutions. The expert, after applying Feng Shui principles, concluded that because of the railway project being constructed at that time, it disturbed the "mythical dragon" residing underground. The said project has actually injured the dragon's spine. To counter the bad luck brought about this, the advise was to have as many pakwa/bakwa (the octagonal shape which symbolizes luck) in every household. How to convince the diverse racial groups in Singapore can pose a challenge. The solution, reach in your pocket for a one SGD dollar coin and look at the edges carefully. See the shape just inside the round border? That is the pakwa/bakwa. Legend has it that Singapore's economy grew to leaps and bounds after that and the rest was history.
I'm not sure if I got the details of the story right. But that was the gist of it.
Interesting, isn't it? So when marketing to a specific group or community, it would be beneficial to know their long held beliefs and symbols that represent happiness and prosperity then start from there.
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