Bailian × “The Outcast” Dream Collaboration! Youthful Gameplay Brings New Vitality to Offline Consumption

Source: State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC)*

To further showcase the dynamic practices at the grassroots frontline of Shanghai’s state-owned enterprises, and to highlight their experience and achievements in driving industrial development, optimizing business models, improving management efficiency, and realizing technological innovation, “Shanghai State-owned Assets” has specially planned and launched the “Frontline Focus” column. It turns the spotlight onto the enterprising moments of the frontline, demonstrating the responsibility and developmental vitality of state-owned enterprises. This edition’s focus: Empowering physical commerce with Chinese anime culture – how Bailian breaks through old paradigms and embraces Gen Z ↓

Recently, a large number of young faces have appeared across multiple stores under five major business formats of Bailian Group. Anime enthusiasts and fans of Chinese comics have gathered to check in, and content related to the Bailian × “The Outcast” themed Bailian Card has been continuously trending on social media platforms. The new Bailian Card, featuring classic characters from the nationally renowned Chinese anime IP “The Outcast” (Yi Ren Zhi Xia), has officially launched and quickly become a market focus, sparking a new wave of integrated consumption blending culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions – a trend led by IP-empowered business innovation.

Shaping Commerce with “Culture”:

Partnering with a Hit Chinese Anime IP to Break Through and Engage Gen Z

The Bailian Card, often called the “Bailian Red Card”, is a single-purpose prepaid card registered under Bailian Group. It is a common payment tool used by Shanghai citizens for shopping and by employees for benefits, and can be used across Bailian’s entire range of business formats, including supermarkets, department stores, shopping centers, outlets, specialty stores, and new-concept convenience stores.

As Gen Z becomes the main consumer force, the consumption needs of this younger demographic have shifted from “functional consumption” to “emotional consumption”. They are more willing to pay for cultural identity, emotional resonance, and experiential scenarios. Cultural consumption has become a key engine driving innovation in physical commerce and boosting the recovery of the offline real economy.

As a frontline practitioner of youthful transformation, Bailian Financial Services has identified a key to breaking through the development bottleneck: giving the Bailian Card an “IP wing” to activate new commercial vitality through cultural empowerment. After in-depth research and precise planning, Bailian Financial Services partnered with Yuewen Group to launch the first Bailian × “The Outcast” themed Bailian Card, using a nationally beloved Chinese anime IP as a bridge to break down communication barriers between traditional commerce and young users in a way that appeals to them, and to build deep emotional connections.

Renewing with “Product”:

Reshaping the Card Design Matrix and Creating Immersive Consumption Scenarios

To break away from the traditional image of the Bailian Card, Bailian Financial Services has revitalized product design guided by Gen Z preferences, allowing the Bailian Card to transcend age groups and become a trendy item that combines consumption functionality with social attributes.

This initiative introduces seven brand-new card designs, deeply integrating the classic “Bailian Red” background with core characters from “The Outcast” – such as Feng Baobao, Zhang Chulan, and Wang Ye – blended with China-chic aesthetics and modern design language. While retaining the brand identity of the Bailian Card, the new designs significantly enhance visual appeal and collectible value. At the same time, five types of exclusive limited-edition merchandise have been launched – card sleeves, badges, standees, liquid glitter boards, and custom cushions – precisely matching the collecting and consumption preferences of young people.

Leveraging Bailian’s group-wide ecosystem advantages, the project team adopted a two-pronged strategy of “product innovation + scenario operation” to create an integrated online-to-offline IP marketing loop:

Offline: A group-wide “Walk with the Outcasts” check-in campaign was launched, with themed check-in points set up at core stores including Lianhua, Baigu, First Medicine, Sanlian, and Yike. Immersive “store-within-a-store” marketing campaigns were also rolled out at locations such as First Medicine’s “Fenzi Pharmacy”, creating a complete IP-themed consumption journey.

Online: Social media platforms were used to encourage card-sharing and topic interactions, while coordinated official resources amplified the campaign’s reach, forming a virtuous cycle of “online traffic generation and offline conversion”.

Breaking Through with “Innovation”:

Deepening Culture-Commerce Integration, Demonstrating New Vitality of State-owned Enterprises

The gathering of consumer interest has driven a consumption boom, and the IP effect has quickly delivered tangible results. After the launch of the themed Bailian Card, large numbers of young fans have been seen carrying the card and visiting offline stores to check in. Within these immersive cultural scenarios, they naturally trigger diverse spending on shopping, dining, and leisure, effectively boosting store traffic and sales. This has truly transformed “traffic into sales” and “check-ins into consumption”, injecting strong youthful spending momentum into Bailian’s offline businesses.

This cross-border collaboration between the Bailian Card and a Chinese anime IP is not only an innovative upgrade of the product form by Bailian Financial Services, but also a classic case of traditional commercial prepaid cards in Shanghai embracing young consumers and exploring the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions. The deep synergy between IP elements and diverse business format consumption scenarios injects cultural traffic into offline commercial spaces, expands consumption boundaries, and activates new drivers for the consumer market.

Bailian Group will continue to explore more possibilities for IP connections, injecting cultural IP value into its various business divisions and continuously deepening the integrated innovation path that links culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions.