Wechat became the most powerful app to leverage for brands developing a marketing strategy in China. The messaging platform is counting an incredible number of users (846 millions) and is integrating more and more advertising solutions.
It is essential for foreign brands to develop an efficient Wechat strategy to reach Chinese consumers. In this article, we are going to see 5 examples of marketing campaigns that have been run successfully by foreign companies on the chat app.
GIVENCHY
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Brand
Givenchy is a French luxury brand. It was founded in 1952 by “Hubert de Givenchy” and is now owned by LVMH group. The brand has women, and men’s wear collection, as well as perfumes and cosmetics products.
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Campaign
Earlier in the year, Givenchy has run a very successful Wechat campaigns.
The brand used one of the most famous Men’s KOL, Tao Liang, to launch a limited edition of bags. Tao Liang, also known as Mr bags gathered an audience of 1,2 million people on wechat. This was a way for Givenchy to reach a maximum of very engaged and fashion oriented followers.
The KOL made a post on WeChat announcing its collaboration with the luxury brand. He also revealed the release of 80 exclusive bags sold at a price of 14 900 RMB the unit.
Givenchy leveraged many marketing technics to make this campaign a success:
- The use of a KOLs in China is very effective because they generate trust and engagement among their audience.
- Selling a limited number of bags is a way to increase interest and create exclusivity. Moreover, Givenchy bet on the Chinese cultural tradition using the lucky number 8.
- Finally, the campaign was made just before Valentine’s day and last a limited amount of time. This was a very smart move knowing that Chinese are crazy about gifting.
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Results
The brand managed to sell its 80 bags in 12 minutes for an amount of 1,192 million RMB. It also considerably increased its awareness and engagement by associating its image to a famous and trendy influencer.
MONTBLANC
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Brand
Montblanc is a Swiss luxury watch maker. It has very soon understood opportunities that represent the Chinese market. It entered the market in 1990’s and since then has adopted a strong development strategy.
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Campaign
Few months ago, Montblanc launch a campaign on wechat promoting its collection of pen. Already known for its Moon Phase campaign, the brand has bet again on the social platform to reach Chinese consumers.
The first step of the campaign was to increase the knowledge among its product history. Using Hugh Jackman as spoke-man, Montblanc has narrated its heritage.
By entering the app, users could see a letter written in Chinese character “Art can’t change the world, but it can change the way people think—and people can change the world.”
The goal was for the Montblanc to immerse the audience into its strong heritage and showcase its know-how.
The second part of the campaign was to engage the consumer by making him choose the color of the pen he preferred and making him share the result through Wechat.
PEPSI
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Brand
Pepsi entered China more than 30 years ago. It went from a new entrant to one of the major player in the market. The brand has successfully adapted its range of product to the local tastes. It has also ameliorated its brand image creating innovative social media campaigns.
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Campaign
Pepsi launched a huge campaign during the Chinese New Year.
The campaign consisted on two parts:
- A H5 page enabling users to send fireworks greeting to their friends
- A H5 game with a rooster (referring to the CNY)
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Results
Leveraging creative design, Pepsi managed to engage its audience.
The greeting campaign was an innovative idea based on Chinese tradition. It was easy to use and to share so it spread very fast.
With the game, the brand created an addictive and low branded tool. Games are very powerful in China because the population is use to play all the time.
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