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 Boucheron's jewelry exhibition, Chopard's high jewelry and watch livestream, as well as Ubra's breast cancer initiative.
Boucheron Exhibits Historic Jewels Online & Off#
BRAND#
Boucheron
CATEGORY
Luxury Jewelry
PLATFORMS
Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu
MEDIUM#
Offline Pop-up, Livestream, Short-video
FEATURED TALENTS#
Zhou Dongyu (31.3M Weibo Followers) | Lu Han (63.1M) | Hu Yitian (20.2M) | Rainie Yang (14.6M) | Caelan Moriarty (1.8M) | Sun Jialing (1.3M) | Zhang Youhao (5.6M)
OVERVIEW#
Kering-owned French luxury jewelry house Boucheron opened its immersive “La Maison Boucheron” exhibition in Shanghai on October 28, presenting its signature high jewelry collections and house history to local visitors. Before it opened to the public, the show was livestreamed on October 21, with tours led by brand ambassadors Zhou Dongyu, Lu Han, and four brand partners.
NETIZEN REACTION#
Over 19.7 million viewers tuned in to the exhibition livestream on Weibo because of its two famous brand ambassadors. Meanwhile, the campaign hashtag #LaMaisonBoucheron has garnered 210 million views, thanks to the livestream warm-up. However, due to the limited duration of the pop-up (closed October 31), the physical visits barely got shared on social platforms.
VERDICT#
Luxury houses have to deal with more complicated challenges when hosting a jewelry exhibition due to security and transportation issues. Yet virtual touring has offered them an alternative to reach their Chinese audiences. Together, livestreams can leverage celebrity power to strengthen brand awareness in the local market — while a four-day offline pop-up can engage the brand’s loyal consumers that want to learn more about brand heritage.
Chopard Livestreams New Watch & Jewelry Exhibition to Reach Chinese Online Audiences#
BRAND#
Chopard
CATEGORY
Luxury Jewelry
PLATFORMS
Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Douyin
MEDIUM#
Image, Short-video, Livestream
FEATURED TALENTS#
Lei Jiayin (14.8M Weibo Followers) | Ayanga (5.1M) | Cheng Yi (16.7M)
OVERVIEW#
Swiss luxury watch and jewelry manufacturer Chopard unveiled an exhibition called “Paradise” on November 1 via a livestream on its WeChat Channel and Taobao. Featuring six chapters, the exhibition showcases the brand’s timepieces and high-end jewelry. In addition, it featured insight from Harper’s Bazaar jewelry editor-in-chief and publisher Jing Jing. The brand also collaborated with nearly 20 celebrities to roll out campaign photos.
NETIZEN REACTION#
Though the exhibition has not opened to the public, the livestream and campaign photos have allowed it to reach extensive online audiences. Viewers were impressed by the dazzling jewelry and watches showcased during the livestream and enjoyed the private virtual conversations with experts to learn more about the house, the gems, and the craftsmanship that goes into creating such timeless pieces.
VERDICT#
Distinct from ready-to-wear, handbags, and accessories, hard luxury is a category all on its own, due to its private and top-tier store experience, and the physical interaction between consumers and brands. This nuance explains why players in this sector were lagging behind in digital transformation. However, the pandemic became a game changer, pushing luxury watchmakers and jewelers to reconsider their digital touchpoints and experiment with virtual tools like livestreaming. In Chopard’s case — though the extensive celebrity endorsements helped the exhibition to reach broader audiences — physical experiences are still relevant for today’s visitors who are watch and jewelry enthusiasts.
Ubras’ Breast Cancer Initiative Falls Flat#
BRAND#
Ubras
CATEGORY
Fashion
PLATFORMS
MEDIUM#
Image, Short-video
OVERVIEW#
In October, the homegrown underwear brand Ubras launched a new initiative called Ubras Care — a project dedicated to breast cancer prevention, co-launched by non-profit organizations like the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Rehabilitation Branch, China Women's Magazine, and Tencent Charity. In addition to rolling out a campaign video, Ubras collaborated with China Women’s Magazine and a local survey institution to release a report on Chinese breast cancer patients. The campaign aims to enhance consumer knowledge of breast cancer and encourage self-testing for breast cancer.
NETIZEN REACTION#
The hashtag #UbrasCare has received 3.1 million views since it kicked off on October 29, a relatively low engagement number compared to the brand’s marketing campaigns. Although this project featured rigorous research and analysis, its content failed to reach online audiences with a social-friendly approach. And since it lacked personal narratives, the campaign barely resonated with viewers.
VERDICT#
Ubras had been betting big on celebrity power through its collaborations with Gen-Z idol Ouyang Nana and Chinese supermodel Liu Wen. However, the overall engagement of its social content is flatter than that of competitors like NEIWAI. Although the Ubras Care concept promises to raise awareness of breast cancer, the content production and communication strategy were nothing new or encouraging, missing the target female audiences.