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 “Mountain Club” event in Shanghai, Louis Vuitton's China-special social initiatives in celebration of its founder's 200th birthday, and Diptyque's retrospective exhibition in Shanghai.
Miu Miu Unveils Its “Mountain Club” Popup in China#
BRAND#
Miu Miu
CATEGORY#
Luxury
PLATFORMS#
Weibo, WeChat, Little Red Book
MEDIUM#
Image, Short-video, Offline Pop-up
FEATURED TALENTS#
Lexie Liu (8.1M Weibo Followers) | Zhang Yuqi (13.3M) | Zhou Yutong (13M) | Qian Xin (12.8M) | Qiu Tian (2.7M) | Xiaowen Ju (3.2M) | Estelle Chen (736K) | Cici Xiang (2.5M)
OVERVIEW#
On September 6, Miu Miu hosted the Miu Miu Mountain Club party at No. 1 Waitanyuan in Shanghai to celebrate the official launch of the Miu Miu Fall/Winter 2021 collection. The house recreated Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites Alps, the setting of its Fall/Winter 2021 show, by meticulously decorating the building from the inside out. Meanwhile, a pop-up store landed at Shenzhen MixC on September 4, and another one is unveiled at Shanghai IFC from September 9 to 19.
NETIZEN REACTION#
The campaign launch has hit China’s social platforms, thanks to extensive endorsements from celebrities and fashion KOLs. In particular, the campaign hashtag #MiuMiuMountainClub has recorded over 27 million views on Weibo. Netizens showed strong interest in the girlish winter looks from the collection, with many saying they "cannot wait to gear up for the upcoming snow season.”
VERDICT#
On the heels of its sister brand Prada’s foray into the snow sports arena, Miu Miu kicks off the campaign with offline and online activities that engage sports aficionados and others. More importantly, the house is solidifying its luster by underlining a Miu Miu community. From Chinese models Xiaowen Ju and Cici Xiang to Qiu Tian, these faces allow the brand to consolidate its unique brand DNA in China and retain its loyal customers.
Louis Vuitton Teams With Chinese Stars to Celebrate 200th Year#
BRAND#
Louis Vuitton
CATEGORY
Luxury
PLATFORMS
Weibo, WeChat, Little Red Book
MEDIUM#
Short-video
FEATURED TALENTS#
Liu Yifei (68M Weibo Followers) | Justin Huang (24.7M) | Ouyang Nana (20M) | AnnyFan (5.8M) | Dilraba (76.5M) | Xu Jiaqi (12.5M) | Gong Jun (18.5M) | Austin Li (20.3M) and more talents will be announced
OVERVIEW#
2021 marks the 200th birthday of Louis Vuitton’s founder. And to celebrate this meaningful year, the house has been launching a special initiative in collaboration with Chinese creative talents on social platforms, including Weibo, Douyin, and WeChat. In the campaign, the featured faces — ranging from brand ambassadors, artists, and media veterans to fashion KOLs — tell the founder’s journey and the house legacy via a series of short videos.
NETIZEN REACTION#
So far, the videos that have received the highest viewership star brand ambassador Gong Jun, Chinese singer Xu Jiaqi, and Justin Huang. Since the launch of the anniversary celebration campaign, the hashtag #Louis200 has garnered 77.7 million views. With the ongoing short-video series, the social traffic of the campaign is expected to reach a new high after the release of the brand's mobile game “Louis: The Game.”
VERDICT#
Storytelling has always been the foundation of luxury brand communications with customers. As one of the most established legacy houses, Louis Vuitton is a veteran of contextualizing the brand heritage into today’s socio-cultural environments. By partnering with talents from various creative industries, the house underlines its relevance to the contemporary cultural scene while engaging broader audiences, so they learn more about the brand's history across two centuries.
Diptyque Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary Through the Lens of Art#
BRAND#
Diptyque
CATEGORY#
Luxury Perfume
PLATFORMS#
Weibo, WeChat, Little Red Book
MEDIUM#
Pop-up Exhibition
OVERVIEW#
On September 9, the French luxury perfume maison Diptyque opened a pop-up retrospective exhibition “Le Grand Tour” at Fuxing Art Center, Shanghai, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the house. The brand invited five renowned artists, namely Joël Andrianomearisoa, Johan Creten, Zoë Paul, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Rabih Kayrouz, to discuss art and perfume. The exhibition will be open to the public from September 11 to October 7, presenting an interactive journey featuring visual and olfactory experiences. A special collection, including five destination-inspired perfumed creations, was launched on Tmall on August 26.
NETIZEN REACTION#
The campaign hashtag #Diptyque60thAnniversary has racked up nearly 14 million views as of the opening of the exhibition. Thanks to the reviews of the limited-edition “Le Grand Tour” collection posted by fragrance KOLs on Weibo and Little Red Book, many perfume enthusiasts have shown high expectation for the campaign, which also created interest for the offline pop-up exhibition.
VERDICT#
China’s fragrance market is undergoing a rapid shift towards niche brands, as explained in Jing Daily’s latest report How Niche Fragrances Are Winning Over Young Chinese Consumers. This surging demand hints at a huge market opportunity for lesser-known players in the sector, which, to date, rely on product reviews on social platforms to play a crucial role in a fragrance consumers’ journey. However, higher-end fragrance brands are not only about how they smell, but more often act as a symbol of one's lifestyle.