Harrods' Christmas Weibo Campaign Engages London's Chinese Tourist Influx

For Harrods' new Sina Weibo campaign, fans must find presents hidden by the retailer's iconic "Green Men" in the store and upload photos for the chance to win. (Harrods) As London sees a huge influx of Chinese visitor spending thanks to efforts by both the UK government and retailers, luxury department store Harrods is engaging its Chinese visitors with a new online-to-offline (O2O) Sina Weibo campaign for Christmas. Last week, the retailer launched its "Harrods Christmas Treasure Hunt" campaign, which was kicked off when Harrods' iconic "Green Men" hid three Christmas gifts around the store printed with the Sina Weibo logo. With the help of a printed Chinese-language store guide, Weibo fans and store visitors are tasked with finding each of the three locations in-store and uploading photos of themselves with the Christmas presents. One winner will be chosen to receive all three luxury gifts: a Harrods Steiff bear, a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Champagne, and an Aspinal of London luxury leather travel collection that will be specially monogrammed with the initials of the winner. The followers will be given one clue per day on Harrods’ Weibo page until the winners are selected on December 24. The campaign is aimed at both Chinese visitors to the UK as well as the significant existing UK-based Chinese population, and is being supported by leading Weibo travel influencers to extend brand awareness to future visitors to the UK. Harrods is known for its early adoption of Chinese digital marketing tools: it was was one of the earliest UK retailers on Weibo, and in September 2013, became the first major UK retailer to launch an official presence on WeChat. These marketing efforts are likely to be highly beneficial to the retailer: Chinese visitor spending has already grown by a stunning 132 percent this year, and is expected to keep climbing.

Harrods' Christmas Weibo Campaign Engages London's Chinese Tourist Influx

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Published December 10, 2013

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Harrods' Christmas Weibo Campaign Engages London's Chinese Tourist Influx