The Social Edition is our weekly series which deep dives into luxury initiatives in China’s social media landscape. Every week, we highlight brand campaigns distributed on Chinese digital platforms — WeChat, Weibo, Tmall, Douyin, and beyond.
Our coverage spotlights global luxury brands, global beauty brands, and local Chinese brands. The latter gives insight into some of China’s most successful campaigns, which often come from local players, and are outside of the beauty and fashion space.
In this week’s roundup, we look at three campaigns, including Burberry's newly-opened flagship store in Shanghai, Dior's art exhibition, and homegrown lifestyle brand Beast's fragrance tapping Chinese traditional culture.
Burberry Unveils New Flagship Store in Shanghai#
BRAND#
Burberry
CATEGORY
Luxury
PLATFORMS
MEDIUM#
Offline Event, Image, Short-video
FEATURED TALENTS#
Yu Nan (1.1M Weibo Followers) | Li Meng (5.8M) | Cai Yun (4.6M) | Chen Yu (742K) | Li Daben (1.3M)
OVERVIEW#
On November 11, Burberry opened its new flagship store, co-created by the house and architect Vincenzo De Cotiis, at Plaza 66 in Shanghai. The brand invited its partners, such as actress Yu Nan and supermodel Chen Yu, to attend the opening event, posting their looks on Weibo. It also posted a short video touring the store interior and its visual merchandising. On Xiaohongshu, the brand also listed highlights of the store's concept, including contemporary artistic codes, shopping experiences, and a sustainability agenda.
NETIZEN REACTION#
The campaign hashtag #BurberryShanghaiPlaza66 racked up 18.2 million views on Weibo within five days — a substantial number for a one-time event. According to netizen comments below the social posts, many showed strong interest in exploring the curated retail space in person and were impressed by the store location.
VERDICT#
Though the opening event was an offline initiative, Burberry leveraged social communication tactics to maximize its traffic. More impressively, the house tailored its content for different platforms. On Weibo, the brand posted a diverse profile of celebrities who visited the shop, while on Xiaohongshu, it sorted out key takeaways from the store's concepts, encouraging users to make physical visits. Both activities help to drive transactions from online to offline.
Dior Mounts Shanghai Art Show With Local Talent#
BRAND#
Dior
CATEGORY
Luxury
PLATFORMS
Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu
MEDIUM#
Offline Exhibition, Image, Short-video
FEATURED TALENTS#
Angelababy (103.5M Weibo Followers) | Liu Yuxin (22.1M) | Huang Xuan (10.8M) | Chen Feiyu (10.3M) | Jing Tian (26M) | Wang Likun (19.7M) | Ren Min (5M) | Lu Jingshan (4.5M) | Sun Yihan (6.5M) | Chen Yu (742K)
OVERVIEW#
Dior is launching its "Art’N Dior" exhibition at West Bund Art Center, Shanghai, from November 12 to 23, which debuted in China at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning in Shenzhen. Featuring masterpieces from the brand's DIOR LADY ART project, the exhibition focuses on global artists that have injected their creativity and vision into the house’s signature handbags. In addition to artworks from Cai Yaling, Liang Manqi, Liu Yue, Wu Jian'an, and Zhang Ding from the previous Shenzhen exhibition, Wang Yuyang was also added to the Shanghai edition.
NETIZEN REACTION#
Thanks to extensive celebrity endorsements, the campaign hashtag #ART’NDIOR has garnered over 600 million views. However, Dior’s previous collaboration with Chinese photographer Chen Man sparked controversy among local netizens due to a photo that many thought catered to Western stereotypes of Asian women.
VERDICT#
Hosting culture-driven exhibitions in China has become a common and efficient conduit for consumer education. In this case, Dior not only presented a diverse celebrity profile that includes creative talents in various sectors, but it also partnered with Chinese contemporary artists to bring local culture into the conversation. Beyond the physical exhibition, the brand released an online tour starring the virtual idol LUNA 1.28, allowing the event to reach broader audiences.
Beast Tapped Chinese Traditional Culture to Launch Fragrance#
BRAND#
Beast
CATEGORY#
Lifestyle
PLATFORMS#
Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu
MEDIUM#
Image, Short-video
FEATURED TALENTS#
Yu Feihong (334.9K Weibo Followers)
OVERVIEW#
On November 17, Chinese lifestyle label Beast collaborated with local auction house Duo Yun Xuan to launch their Oriental Beauty fragrance collection, decked out in red color and orchids, which are symbols of Chinese women. The special release included perfume, scented candles, and pajamas. The brand also announced Chinese actress Yu Feihong as its fragrance ambassador and featured her in the campaign.
NETIZEN REACTION#
The 50-second campaign video starring Yu Feihong has received 97,700 views on Weibo, with much positive feedback from netizens. Many commented that Yu represents the ideal image of oriental beauty, and her personality aligns with orchids, which symbolizes thoughtfulness and refinement in Chinese culture. Though Yu’s social following is not as large as top-tier idols, her endorsement earned organic traffic for the collaboration.
VERDICT#
Fueled by soaring patriotism, a growing cohort of made-in-China and made-for-Chinese fragrance brands are increasing their market share at home. This boom has been driven by China's sophisticated younger generations who are searching for something other than the likes of Chanel N°5. They are not only pursuing novelty, but also craving scents and imagery that evoke a sense of Chinese identity — which has been tapped by Beast’s collaboration with Duo Yun Xuan.