Reports

    Mulberry Steps Up Its Digital Game In China With New WeChat Account

    As WeChat's ubiquity in China becomes impossible to ignore, the British luxury leather brand joins a growing number of high-end labels launching new accounts.
    Jing Daily
    Jing DailyAuthor
      Published   in Technology

    A screengrab featuring Cara Delevingne from Mulberry's new WeChat account.

    As luxury brands rush to join the massively popular Chinese mobile messaging app WeChat, British luxury leather brand Mulberry is the latest to get on board with a new account.

    Launched on July 22 with help from digital marketing firm Hot Pot Digital, Mulberry’s new account features a behind-the-scenes look at brand ambassador and “it girl” Cara Delevingne’s recent campaign shoot for the brand and product descriptions.

    “Launching WeChat was a natural progression for Mulberry," said Hot Pot Digital Managing Director Jonathan Smith. "The aesthetic of this iconic British luxury brand lends itself perfectly to a rich experience on WeChat through stunning images, video and audio. We have exciting plans in place for the evolution of Mulberry’s WeChat account, which will become ever more immersive in the coming months."

    Looking to grow its presence in the China market as part of a global comeback strategy after slumping stock prices, Mulberry has been stepping up its digital game over the past year. In May 2013, it launched its Weibo account and began featuring promotional campaigns, including one with Delevingne called “This is my bag.”

    Mulberry's WeChat QR promotion that was published on Weibo. (Mulberry)

    “We are constantly looking for new platforms to communicate the depth and breadth of the Mulberry brand and tell the Mulberry story to our consumers,” said Anne-Marie Verdin, Brand Director, Mulberry. “WeChat’s advanced functionality and prominence in the daily lives of consumers means this will be a central tool to communicate with our audience in China and continue to amplify our brand storytelling.”

    While the company was relatively late to log onto Weibo, it has more of a head start on WeChat. Despite the fact that WeChat is China’s most popular mobile messaging app and now has about 650 million individually registered users, an L2 report this May found that less than half of all luxury brands had an account on the app. As companies rapidly join, however, that number is likely to be much higher next year.

    Discover more
    Daily BriefAnalysis, news, and insights delivered to your inbox.