Enter into the expectation of others

Even if no one needs them, they are always there.

Small giveaways at the supermarket checkout to collect. Made for children. One plastic figure in a bag each. A total of 20 or more figures in a series. They are given out by sales and in random order. No one knows which figure is in which bag.

Who would not like to put a smile on the face of his children? The joy costs apparently nothing, because the figures are already paid. So you dutifully take the figures home.... And hand them over to the intended recipients.

This determines where the next purchase will take place....

Children quickly discover that it is actually a series of 24. They immediately see the gaps in the emerging collection.

Don't you forget the figures on your next visit to the supermarket.

Arriving home without them leads to a stressful situation and massive disappointment. The child, full of joy for the day's loot, has neatly draped the already existing collection. It is the time to add more figures. But the dad has empty hands....

If the collection is not complete, a sour aftertaste remains.

The next time you go shopping, you have to make sure to ask for the giveaways.

The urge to complete the collection, the unexpected surprise, the thrill of opening the bag, the colorful, funny, made of plastic figures form an irresistible experience, which so many do not want to do without.

It's a little addictive machine. It's like social media, or an email where you don't know what it contains. Could be something entertaining... So you keep checking it, even if it lacks good content.

What a marketing pattern with the characters: arouse the urge to complete, the hunting instinct, provoke consistent behavior, use social pressure, throw in the unexpected surprise... All for a few cents that get lost in the noise in the slim margin.

Would that also be a good way to address the real problems of the world?