Family Mart and Hatsune Miku

Summary

From March 3rd to March 10th, 2012, Hatsune Miku “invaded” Family Mart, a convenience store chain originating from Japan, as a promotion for her event, Miku no Hi Kanshasai. Each store featured Hatsune Miku decorations and offered exclusive items for customers who spent at least 390 yen ($3.60 USD currently, roughly $4.80 at the time). Four shops near the Tokyo Dome City Hall would be giving away their items during March 8th and 9th, the days of the concert.
Each store held 1000 items per day, with each customer entitled to one of them. The items included clear files and stickers of diverse illustrations of Miku and other Vocaloids.

First Collaboration

Later, in 2012, another collaboration between Miku and Family Mart occurred in the form of a figure of Miku donning a vest inspired by Family Mart’s uniform at the time -- a black shirt with green stripes, and a white skirt. On her wrist, a wristband with the brand’s colors, white, blue and green.
Every participating Family Mart store gave away only one of these figurines and the only way to obtain her was through an in-store lottery, with each ticket costing 800 yen ($10 at the time, $7.30 currently). The ticket would award the buyer with one of 100 items randomly. The possible awards were a 1:6 scale figure and a Nendoroid, but the store also had many other Hatsune Miku products that were available for regular purchase, such as fried noodles, vegetable juices (300 yen as opposed to the 200 yen listed in the song PoPiPo, and Hatsune Miku-inspired meat buns known in Japan as "nikuman" but for the promotion were rebranded as "Mikuman", a play on words that juxtaposed "Miku" and "man" (bun).
Family Mart, in association with Crypton Future Media, launched a variety of commercials nationwide. The first of the commercials featured a young man who enters the store and is interrupted by a singing Hatsune Miku, placed into the advertisement with computer-generated graphics.
A wonderful feature with the commercials was that often they would be appended with an outtake where Hatsune Miku fails to complete saying the chain's slogan "Anata to combini, Family Mart!" (You and the convenience store, Family Mart!) In one outtake, she accidentally pitches her voice incredibly higher than the jingle dictates, while in another, a crow flies overhead and distracts her before the director yells, "Cut!"
These commercials were also released on the Family Mart YouTube channel but have since been removed. They proved so popular with fans, that many musical remixes were made of the outtakes.

Additional Collaborations

Family Mart and Hatsune Miku worked together again in 2013 for yet another in-store lottery, offering not only a Nendoroid of Family Mart Miku, but also a Swimsuit Summer Hatsune Miku and two other Vocaloid Nendoroids, Kagamine Len and Rin who also donned the Family Mart uniform. Other rewards included Vocaloid-themed papercraft, stationery kits, bags, bowls, and a plush Hatsune Miku tissue box.

In 2014, the 3rd campaign was realized. Prizes included a Hatsune Miku-themed electronic keyboard by KORG, a Wii U with karaoke expansion, a copy of Meiko Vocaloid3, one out of five types of Vocaloid pin badges illustrated by famous Vocaloid illustrator CHAN×CO, and a limited-edition Family Mart gift card worth 1000 yen.
This time, too, edible Vocaloid-themed merchandise was sold again, including drinks, candies, and chocolate. Later in 2014, the Miku Loves Family Mart campaign offered a Hatsune Miku-inspired menu and raffles for prizes such as a copy of the Hatsune Miku V3 software, illustrations, a Miku blanket, and a variety of other merchandise.

Additional years continued the trend of Miku and Family Mart campaigning together, but the original merchandise came to a pause, ever since mostly centering on products with Miku’s imagery and advertising for events, including Racing Miku and Snow Miku.
Since the inception of the Snow Miku event in 2010, Family Mart stores all across Hokkaido, Japan have been selling limited-edition merchandise including plush toys, foods and drinks, and stationery. Among the popular stationery sold are special event-themed clear files, pens, and notepads.

Links

Anime News Network
Sora News
Piapro blog
MikuFan
Family Mart x Miku campaign
Family Mart