The Effective Marketing Hack Hiding in a Happy Meal

Last weekend, a member of my family begged me to make a stop at McDonald’s. Not for the fries. Not for the McNuggets, or the Big Mac. The reason? BTS.

Yes, the world’s most famous K-pop group had invaded the Happy Meal, and the toys included were themed around each band member. Naturally, my relative wanted to “collect them all.” And just like that, I was reminded of one of the simplest and most powerful marketing hacks out there: make people want to come back, over and over again, until they complete the set.

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Chess Pieces as Honoraria

Years ago, during the 1990's, when I worked at a previous medical marketing research agency, we leaned into this exact principle. Our firm ran syndicated studies with physicians, payers and patients. To get them to participate repeatedly, one of the things we offered them was … wait for it… high-end chess pieces.

Yes, you read that right. Survey respondents received one piece at a time for participating in studies. If they stuck around long enough, they could eventually complete the set. The first time, they got the board and a knight. Then they came back for the rook. Then the bishop. Several pawns. You get the idea. By the time they were closing in on the queen, they were hooked.

It sounds almost laughably old-fashioned now. But it worked. Repeatedly.

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Why This Works

The psychology is primitive, yet ingenious:

• Scarcity. You don’t know if you’ll get the rare piece this time, so you keep coming back.
• Completion bias. Humans can’t stand an unfinished set. We’ll chase the last 5% with more energy than the first 95%.
• Gamification before gamification was cool. Collecting pieces turns participation into a game.

McDonald’s knows this. So do sports card companies, cereal brands, and apparently, even 1990s pharma research agencies. And every time, customers / respondents keep coming back.

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Lessons for Pharma Commercial Teams

Now, you might be thinking: Cute story. But what does this mean for pharma?

Here’s the thing: our industry is going through a rough patch. Budgets are tighter. HCP engagement is more challenging than ever. And competition is fiercer. Which means we need to get creative. Really creative.

Pharma commercial teams can learn from the Happy Meal:

• Design engagement that builds over time. Instead of one-off touchpoints, think in series. What could make a doctor or patient come back for the “next piece”?
• Create incentives that feel like progress. Even small wins can build momentum. The key is to make participation feel rewarding and incomplete at the same time.
• Borrow shamelessly from other industries. Fast food, toys, gaming -- they’ve mastered repeat engagement. Why shouldn’t we?

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A Challenge to Insights & Analytics Folks

If you’re in insights and analytics (like many of my LinkedIn readers are), here’s your homework: go toy hunting.

Look outside pharma. See how consumer brands nudge behavior. Then ask: How might this apply to patient support programs? To HCP education? To digital engagement strategies?

It may feel silly. (Trust me, I laughed too when I found myself negotiating over which BTS member we “needed” next.) But silly often works. And in a challenging market, we can’t afford to dismiss tactics just because they seem too simple.

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Don't Laugh at Something That Works

Whether it’s chess pieces for doctors or BTS figurines for kids, the principle is the same: if you make engagement collectible, people will keep coming back.

So next time you’re puzzling over how to drive repeat HCP engagement or patient adherence, ask yourself: What’s the Happy Meal toy?