What happened
Premium wine brand Penfolds unveiled a pop-up space at TX Huaihai between October 24 and November 6. TX Huaihai, now one of the hippest shopping destinations in Shanghai, hosted “Venture Beyond,” an immersive experience that challenges local visitors’ conventional understandings of wine, through an array of fully immersive, engaging activities such as a futuristic, garden-themed speakeasy bar, a masterclass theater, a photo booth, and a wine shop.
The ephemeral showcase spotlights the newly-launched One by Penfolds (奔富一号) series which expands on Penfolds’ multi country of origin winemaking approach. For the first time in the brand’s history, this launch includes a trial wine sourced and made in China’s northern Ningxia region. The much anticipated made-in-China wine will be sold in the Chinese market exclusively starting from October.
The Jing Take
Penfolds has been engaging global wine lovers with the launch of the annual “Penfolds House” — a pop-up series featuring unexpected, multi-sensorial wine experiences with Shanghai in 2020 and Chengdu in 2021. Building on that success, the winery elevated this year’s experience through leveraging its “Venture Beyond” space-travel storytelling.
In addition to this, celebrity partnerships added the pop-up event’s lure to local audiences. Award winning actor Duan Yihong, Penfolds Greater China brand ambassador, played the role of the “Chief Space Captain” and gave a personal tour of the pop-up for media and VIP guests at the grand opening. He has also featured in a livestream session which helped the brand attract China’s online audiences to its e-commerce retail partners.
Penfolds hosted a “Venture Beyond” party on with a full-house of Shanghai trendsetters, anchored by singer, actor Fan Shiqi whose appearance in viral reality TV show Call Me By Fire (披荆斩棘的哥哥) Season 2 garnered him a large younger fan base.
Both celebrity endorsements contributed to the online discussions on Weibo, driving huge traffic for the campaign hashtags. With an engaging brand experience and interesting domestic ambassadors, Penfolds is consolidating its appeal to wine connoisseurs whilst expanding its reach among the younger generation of luxury consumers.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.