Valentine’s Day (February 14), typically a consumption battleground, had a tough time this year. Uncertainty around the novel coronavirus swept away romance in the air and strict quarantine measures ruled out in-store promotions and activations.
However, with the situation on-the-ground improving each day, and warmer weather on the horizon, brands are looking for new ways to serve consumers.
One of the imminent opportunities is May 20 – China’s unofficial Valentines’ Day. It is on the long list of China’s E-commerce holidays. (For other holidays check out our previously published 2020 China E-commerce Calendar).
Cultural Context of 520 marketing campaign in China
Said in Chinese, May 20 has a phonetic connection to the phrase “I Love You”. As such, it was originally seen as a perfect opportunity for men to express romantic love to their crushes, girlfriends or wives.
However, expressions of love don’t need to be limited to romantic partners. Now, the day is an opportunity to send gifts and messages of endearment to romantic partners, friends and family members.
This transition makes May 20 a key emotional occasion and a 520 marketing campaigns in China a key part of your overal China strategy.
Opportunity and Inspiration
It goes without saying, this year’s Valentines’ Day didn’t go according to plan. With the situation on-the-ground improving, consumers are looking forward to life returning to normal. That means expectations around May 20 are ratcheting up. To meet those elevated expectations, here’s some inspiration from previous love and romance-related campaigns to get you thinking:
Wyeth
Wyeth Nutrition is a savvy digital practitioner, and last year’s 520 campaign was no exception.
Wyeth gave mothers the tools to make a shareable digital poster to show which child-rearing issues they are facing. We know that might sound a little negative at first glance but bear with us!
The beauty of this campaign is each poster’s contents showed how maternal love and Wyeth’s infant milk formula can work together, conquering issues like constipation and interrupted sleep. Completing the poster unlocked a coupon which could be redeemed at their next infant milk formula purchase. As such, Wyeth gave mothers the opportunity to show how their care and nutritional choices improved their baby’s life.
Pluses To Take Away:
- 520 isn’t just love between romantic partners
- Shareable digital assets
- Give mothers opportunity to express some of the challenges and rewards of motherhood
- Create connections between mothers who have similar child-rearing issues
- Tie digital poster to reward
Dove
At the last Olympics, Dove’s Chinese Valentine’s Day campaign featured animated characters competing in the ‘Love Olympics’. Advertising in WeChat Moments asked users to try their hand at the ‘Love Olympics’. Clicking through that advertisement led to a H5 , where users could create brand-inspired ‘Gold Medals’. Each ‘Gold Medal’, shaped like a Dove chocolate, featured with messages of love and affection. These could then be sent on to loved ones, with lucky loved ones also winning a gift box on receipt of the message. Check out the video of the campaign here.
Given the Olympics are just around the corner, how can you use sports-related themes to inject novelty into your 520 campaign? Contact us to arrange one of our team to help you brainstorm.
Pluses To Take Away:
- Clear user journey between advertising in WeChat Moments and digital asset creation
- Olympic Theme
- Creative take on love, sports and competition
- Shareable digital assets
- Randomized rewards
C&A
C&A, a fast fashion retailer, added a twist to a common way of local couples expressing affection: couple outfits. C&A allowed users to create animated couple avatars, with one catch –avatar’s clothes can’t have matching colors.
This encouraged users to consider a greater range of style and clothing options. In so doing, C&A was given license to show users its Spring/Summer collections and get couples thinking about fashion purchases heading into the new season.
Cleverly, C&A incorporated a search function in the avatar creation station. This allowed users to search for items and styles they had been previously been interested, and see what C&A has to offer.
Pluses To Take Away:
- Local user insight
- Highly shareable campaign
- Various shareable digital assets
- Exploration and curation built into digital experience
Have these examples got your creative juices flowing? If you’re ready to up your digital marketing game, check out our e-commerce calendar and see some of our previous work.
