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 Miu Miu's push into the handbag category, Lanvin's WeChat memes for Children's Day, and Estée Lauder's video on anxiety — a timely message amid China's post-lockdown uncertainty.
Miu Miu Creates Its Next 'It' Bag by Leveraging Celebrity Power#
BRAND#
Miu Miu
CATEGORY#
Luxury
PLATFORMS#
WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu
MEDIUM#
Image
FEATURED TALENTS#
Liu Wen (26.1M Weibo followers) and 18 other female celebrities
OVERVIEW#
On May 30, Miu Miu launched a series of photo campaigns featuring the house’s Miu Wander handbag, starring 19 Chinese female talents across various fields. Executed in the tactile Matelassé leather, the new edition of the Miu Wander from the brand’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection builds on its Spring/Summer 2022 debut, this time with sustainable materials and varied sizes.
NETIZEN REACTION#
The campaign hashtag #MiuWander has racked up 26.7 million views on Weibo, thanks to the combined social influence of the featured female celebrities. Among them, Zhang Yifan, a member of the Chinese girl group BonBon Girls 303, garnered the highest impression on the social platform, receiving 23,200 likes and 7,700 comments within one day. Netizens said her personality and outlooks embodied the Miu Miu girl.
VERDICT#
The Miu Wander campaign marks the house’s first advertising campaign exclusive for a handbag. In its previous campaigns, the brand focused on its signature Matelassé lamb leather instead of a certain hero product. As such, this initiative indicates that Miu Miu will allocate more efforts to the handbag category in hopes of building the next “It” bag. Plus, through collaborating with local young female faces, the house becomes more relevant to the younger demographics in China.
Lanvin Celebrated Children’s Day by Launching WeChat Memes#
BRAND#
Lanvin
CATEGORY#
Luxury
PLATFORMS#
WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu
MEDIUM#
Image, WeChat Mini Program
OVERVIEW#
In celebration of Children’s Day falling on June 1, Lanvin rolled out a dedicated campaign named “Big Child, Lil Adult.” Instead of focusing on children, the narrative encourages adults to maintain their childishness and be themselves. In addition to posting a series of parent-child styling inspirations, Lanvin launched WeChat memes featuring the brand’s icon — the fictional Babar the Elephant — which is free for users to download.
NETIZEN REACTION#
Lanvin’s WeChat memes received positive reactions from netizens, with comments saying they are “so cute.” However, the overall engagement is relatively low, garnering only 3,600 views within one day. Though Chinese consumers have a preference for cute and cuddly things, a popular IP is crucial for broader distribution, as proven by the Loewe x Spirited Away and the Gucci x Doraemon collections.
VERDICT#
Generally, luxury brands rarely curate content for Children’s Day, an occasion targeting underaged consumers. In contrast, Lanvin is dedicated to experimenting with local trends and never misses any marketing opportunity in China. The house nimbly leveraged the holiday to speak to adults in their twenties and thirties about being their authentic, child-like selves. However, awareness of the featured Babar needs to be improved among local shoppers who are not familiar with this character.
Estée Lauder Empowers Females to Say No to Anxiety#
BRAND#
Estée Lauder
CATEGORY#
Cosmetics
PLATFORMS#
WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu
MEDIUM#
Image, Short-video
FEATURED TALENTS#
Shi Ce (531K Weibo Followers) | Zhong Chuxi (7.8M) | Wu Yue (1.5M)
OVERVIEW#
Estée Lauder released a dedicated campaign named “With Collagen, No Anxiety” to promote its Revitalizing Supreme+ collection, a higher-end skincare line targeting consumers with anti-aging demands. The campaign features a short film starring three Chinese female celebrities, portraying how much anxiety they face in their daily life and encouraging other women to listen to their heart.
NETIZEN REACTION#
Over 1.4 million Weibo users watched the one-minute campaign video, and the hashtag #With Collagen, No Anxiety received nearly 26.9 million views within one week. The high social traffic has also been transferred to the brand’s Tmall flagship store ahead of the 618 Shopping Festival. The featured Revitalizing Supreme+ Soft Creme recorded monthly sales of 10,000 pieces on Tmall.
VERDICT#
Anxiety has become a common sentiment among Chinese consumers facing a certain degree of post-lockdown uncertainty. By highlighting the struggles at work and home, the campaign easily resonates with today’s Chinese women who juggle multiple identities. Meanwhile, the brand sent a message encouraging female consumers to purchase the premium skincare products as a way of treating themselves.