In “Headlines From China,” we share the biggest news stories about the luxury industry in China that have yet to make it into the English language. In this week’s edition, we discuss:
- Dior Names Wang Junkai their New Brand Ambassador in China
- Prada Partners with Local Florist Beast for Resort 2020 Campaign
- Chinese Government to Promote Blockchain Technology in Media
Dior Names Wang Junkai their New Brand Ambassador in China - brand#
Christian Dior named the 20-year-old actor/singer Wang Junkai (Karry Wang) to be their new brand ambassador in China. This news was announced on November 20 via the brand’s official Weibo account and has already garnered more than 1 million shares, and received overwhelmingly positive comments from fans of Wang Junkai. The new face of the brand started his career as a member of the popular Chinese boy band, TFBoys, when Wang was only 16. The band garnered a great deal of older women fans, who referred to themselves as "mom fans" to these teen boy stars and spent money on the endorsed brands to show supports. From there, Wang went into acting and has since appeared in many reality TV shows and movies. He has also been frequently ranked on the Jing Daily x R3 top 20 celebrity list. Additionally, Wang has walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana before their misstep in China and modeled lipstick ads for Lancôme as the brand ambassador of their makeup and perfume line.
Prada Partners with Local Florist Beast for Resort 2020 Campaign - Jiemian#
Prada continues to push out new initiatives to become more consumer-centric. Most recently, it delivered bouquets of flowers wrapped in Prada-branded paper to VIPs and influencers to promote their resort 2020 ad campaign. Prada partnered with florists in seven major international cities. In Shanghai, they partnered with the Beast, a high-end florist and concept brand that’s featured in trendy shopping malls. The partnership happened right before Prada announced a digital revamp – beginning in December, it will launch a new section on the official e-commerce website, called Time Capsule, featuring a monthly drop of a limited edition product that will only be available for 24 hours. Prada said their first drop will mainly focus on their ready-to-wear line.
Chinese Government to Promote Blockchain Technology in Media - the paper.cn#
China has been big on the development of blockchain, especially since China's President Xi Jinping publicly supported the technology in October. On November 19, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) of China announced to use blockchain technology in broadcasting and television networks. It stated the importance to closely track the trends of blockchain technology development, and to integrate it into 5G development and to improve the quality of radio and television reception.
Even though it’s not clear yet how this may impact brands in China, they should be aware of the technology in order to keep up with the latest digital trends there. To date, the biggest advantage that blockchain technology has offered in fashion lays in anti-counterfeit. LVMH has developed a platform called Aura that uses blockchain technology to track luxury goods and stop counterfeit products from entering the market. The platform is expected to kick off next year around May or June with Louis Vuitton and Christina Dior and then roll out to its 60-plus luxury brands. Local e-commerce player Tmall also plans to build a blockchain verification system that can track the status and history of each luxury item down to manufacture, distribution even custom check-up.