Cultural heritage is becoming a bigger driver in the Chinese market. Consumers are showing more national pride in their own heritage and stories. Brands that engage with these pieces of culture are reaping the rewards.
Love festival shows the power of cultural campaigns
Brands across all categories rolled out campaigns for China's Qixi (七夕) Festival on 14 August. The day celebrates an ancient mythological love story between a cow-herder and a weaver. In modern times, the annual festival has become a Chinese Valentine's Day.
Luxury brands were typically active. Jing Daily reported on 8 luxury brands that won over Qixi Festival shoppers. Valentino, for example, crafted content around modern Chinese romance – in karaoke booths, aquariums and game centres.
Food and beverage brands also got involved. Coca-Cola launched limited-edition flavours around the theme of love, such as chocolate and rose.
Sales success for beauty brand
Florasis is a popular beauty brand in China. Its successful Qixi campaign boosted sales of the brand's eyebrow pencil range.
Florasis' campaign used the story of Zhang Chang, from the historical Chinese Book of Han. The story tells of a notable scholar who often drew his wife's eyebrows for her. Florasis made a short animation based on the story. It then used the hashtag #QixiDrawEyebrows across social platforms. The campaign also invited couples to share pictures and videos to echo the story.
All the while, Florasis widely promoted its eyebrow pencil range. Consumers clicked through to sales touchpoints from social platforms like Weibo, Douyin and Kuaishou.
Tmall data shows that sales from the eyebrow pencil range totalled A$2.35 million in the first 15 days of August. That figure exceeded the total sales for July (A$2.28 million).
Local strategies becoming more important for Australian brands
Australian brands need to study Chinese culture if they are to tap into this success. Chinese consumers have fewer opportunities to experience Australian brands in their home market. As travel restrictions continue, it will be important to engage consumers in relevant, localised ways.
About this insight
We commissioned this insight from China Skinny. China Skinny is a Shanghai-based market research consultancy.
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