Consumers want more from Women’s Day campaigns

As International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 recedes in the rearview mirror, a clear dividing line has emerged among luxury brands: those merely participating in the annual marketing ritual and those genuinely advancing women’s causes. This year marked a watershed moment as Chinese consumers, particularly women with growing economic influence, decisively rejected superficial “female empowerment” messaging in favor of brands demonstrating authentic, sustained commitments to women’s progress. The most successful campaigns transcended the traditional 24-hour celebration, instead embedding women-centric initiatives into their year-round brand strategy. From Chanel’s continued investment in female filmmakers to Valentino’s multi-dimensional cultural matrix centered on Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek, luxury players that approached IWD as part of a comprehensive ecosystem rather than an isolated marketing opportunity found themselves rewarded with deeper consumer engagement and loyalty. Meanwhile, linguistic missteps and performative gestures were quickly called out by increasingly savvy female consumers who expect consistency between a brand’s stated values and its actions. As brands navigate this evolving landscape, one truth became abundantly clear: sincerity, consistency, and meaningful action have become non-negotiable elements for connecting with women in the luxury space. Words matter: The linguistic pitfalls in women’s marketing On March 8, a Xiaohongshu user going by “Passingby” (过路) posted about her experience at an Aesop store on Beijing’s Wangfu Street. She noted that while the brand had previously embraced “International Women’s Day” in its communications, this year it had pivoted to “Happy International Goddess Day” — a shift that, in her view, undermined the goodwill Aesop had built through its women-focused reading activities in previous years. “I won’t completely dismiss a brand for a single misstep in wording, but I do hope they can more accurately convey women’s values,” she told Jing Daily in a follow-up interview. Reading events have long been Aesop’s strong suit in China. The brand launched its “Aesop Women’s Literature Library” in Singapore in 2022, and for International Women’s Day 2023, it transformed its Shanghai Dongping Road location into a temporary “Women’s Literature Library,” offering complimentary books to all who visited. This activation resonated powerfully with Chinese consumers, generating over 2.45 million views on Xiaohongshu and becoming one of Shanghai’s most talked-about cultural events that year. For Aesop, a relatively recent entrant to the Chinese market, the initiative successfully cemented its reputation as a brand that genuinely supports women’s intellectual growth and cultural advancement. Yet, these years of carefully cultivated brand equity risked being undermined by a single customer service interaction featuring the phrase “Happy International Goddess Day.” Ayur, founder of the women-focused jewelry brand Yin, explains the significance: "Brands must maintain consistency in both their language and actions concerning women’s issues. In today’s complex media landscape, where consumer awareness has reached unprecedented heights, brands face heightened vulnerability to controversy stemming from misinterpretation or flawed execution. This necessitates regular staff training and robust internal knowledge management systems to ensure all customer touchpoints accurately reflect the brand’s core principles.” The aversion many consumers express toward terms like “Goddess Day” or “Queen’s Day” warrants nuanced interpretation. Some industry analysts suggest the fundamental issue isn’t the terminology itself, but rather the market saturation of these concepts, which has prompted consumer fatigue. Rachel Zheng, a fashion business media veteran, offers an incisive perspective: "Marketing that truly succeeds enables consumers to recognize their inherent worth, rather than relying on gendered terminology as mere packaging.” Beyond one-off campaigns: The rise of multi-dimensional marketing ecosystems Moving beyond linguistic considerations, Tab Jethro Lai, founder of Tab CONSULTECH and former strategy director at WE WestEast Cultural & Creative Group, identifies a persistent problem: many brands remain trapped in a “marketing for budget expenditure” mentality. This shortsighted approach often yields superficial content that can inadvertently reinforce problematic stereotypes — such as the notion that women must compensate for insecurity with displays of strength. By contrast, truly effective female-focused marketing requires not only precise audience segmentation, but also sustained investment to build enduring brand equity. Chanel exemplifies this commitment to long-term value creation. Since 2021, the French luxury house has collaborated with the First Youth Film Festival to develop “First Frame: Her Frame,” an initiative championing cinematic works centered on women’s experiences. To date, this program has nurtured an impressive creative ecosystem encompassing 252 feature films, 1,173 short films, and approximately 1,200 filmmakers. These productions explore multifaceted portrayals of women and female-oriented narratives through cinematic storytelling. Their impact extends beyond initial screenings through community forums, public exhibitions, metropolitan tours, interdisciplinary collaborations, and ongoing project development — all designed to amplify women’s voices and perspectives. This comprehensive approach not only advances the art of filmmaking, but also reinforces Chanel’s authentic commitment to women’s empowerment. Rather than relying on isolated, calendar-driven marketing moments tied specifically to International Women’s Day, forward-thinking brands are increasingly constructing sophisticated marketing ecosystems with long-term strategic horizons. Valentino exemplified this evolution this month, disrupting the conventional “moment-driven” approach by orchestrating a content matrix with multiple consumer touchpoints. This strategy introduced extended, multi-layered brand experiences that fostered deeper mental engagement among consumers. Valentino anchored its campaign along Shanghai’s historic Suzhou Creek (often called the “Mother River” of the city) with a series of thematically linked activities titled “City Walks: Encounter Her Power.” The initiative integrated five distinct experiential elements — photography exhibitions, musical performances, fashion showcases, literary spaces, and floral installations — each revealing different facets of female empowerment to luxury consumers. The Italian luxury house initiated its campaign on February 22 with Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi’s solo exhibition, “The Star That Shines Far Away Flickers in Your Hand,” hosted at Shanghai’s Fotografiska photography museum. On March 1, Valentino presented the Women’s Live House music event at the New Sky Chapel, featuring female musicians sharing their artistic voices. From March 7 to 9, this historic venue was reimagined as a dynamic fashion showcase where consumers could experience the brand’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection, highlighting creative director Alessandro Michele’s distinctive vintage-inspired aesthetic. Further extending its cultural footprint, Valentino partnered with Shanghai’s respected Ideal Bookstore to curate a specialized women's literary salon. The collaboration featured female authors and artists sharing their unique perspectives on literature and creativity. The bookstore offered a reading list curated specifically for women, with any purchase from this collection receiving exclusive gift wrapping in the brand’s signature “Valentino Green.” Through this orchestrated series of initiatives, Valentino constructed a multi-dimensional cultural marketing ecosystem that demonstrated genuine understanding and respect for female empowerment while simultaneously strengthening consumer loyalty in China's competitive high-end market. Authenticity as the ultimate luxury: When brands get it right A leader in the outdoor performance category, Arc’teryx ventured into documentary filmmaking with its debut non-fiction production, She Is the Mountain. The film quickly gained viral traction across Chinese social platforms, propelled by its authentic narrative approach. The documentary chronicles the high-altitude expedition of Arc’teryx athlete Yang Xiaohua, actress Ni Ni, and documentary filmmaker Zhou Yijun through France’s challenging Mont Blanc region, documenting their personal breakthroughs and growth experiences across varied professional domains. In one resonant scene, Zhou recalls her tenure as a war correspondent, when a colleague jokingly inquired if she required a pink bulletproof vest due to her gender. Rather than rejecting the gendered color association outright, Zhou emphasized that capability — not color — is what truly matters, subtly dismantling deeply ingrained biases surrounding femininity. The documentary further challenges idealized female imagery as Ni Ni candidly acknowledges that theatrical performance represented a personal summit she needed to conquer, complete with moments of profound self-doubt. Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing and Technologies, which operates in China and Canada, offers this perspective: “In progressive Women’s Day marketing, brands should concentrate on tangibly improving female consumers’ lives rather than trafficking in hollow ‘empowerment’ rhetoric.” Arc’teryx’s film never explicitly foregrounds “women’s empowerment” as a concept, instead conveying the essence of mountaineering through authentic personal narratives that illustrate how women continually progress despite obstacles. From emotional resonance to value co-creation As luxury competition intensifies in China’s maturing market, IWD marketing is clearly evolving from simplistic “emotional resonance” tactics toward more substantive “value co-creation” approaches — a shift that fundamentally transforms the brand’s role. Historically, brands projected values at female consumers; moving forward, they must position themselves as facilitators of women’s personal development and catalysts for broader social advancement. This evolution means International Women’s Day marketing can no longer function as an isolated annual event, but must integrate into a comprehensive brand strategy encompassing product development, communication frameworks, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. As 2025’s International Women’s Day campaigns have demonstrated, Chinese luxury consumers can readily distinguish between performative gestures and genuine commitment — and they’re increasingly voting with their purses accordingly.

Consumers want more from Women’s Day campaigns

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Published March 11, 2025

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Consumers want more from Women’s Day campaigns