WeChat has become one of the most important windows for luxury brands to communicate with Chinese consumers. While users of the app receive many WeChat campaigns from brands they follow each day, what are some of the factors that inspire people to open a post, and to read and engage with the brands, and purchase the products they offer, whether online or offline?
The “Winners and Losers” column is where we attempt to help luxury brands understand this question. Each week, the editors of Jing Daily pick the winners and losers of luxury and premium fashion campaigns on WeChat. We select our choices based on pageviews* (those with the most and the least), originality and creativity, and the level of engagement. Since there are two types of accounts** you can have on WeChat, we also indicate the type of account.
The following are the winners and losers from this past week. In the comments section below, please tell us what you think!
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Winners of the week:#
Hogan: storytelling for Millennials#
Pageviews:#
5,843
Likes:#
41
Account type#
: Service Account
Hogan’s campaign was a hidden gem despite the relative low pageviews, we found refreshing storytelling from this Italian fashion brand that connects to Chinese millennials. The post featured six talents working in the creative fields from Europe: a DJ, an actor, a blogger, a creative director, in the post they spoke about their diverse lifestyles and but all we're united in their choice of Hogan sneakers. We look forward to the brand adding more Chinese faces to what they call the 'Hogan club,' a unified label for millennial Hogan lovers.
Longchamp: Leading the race of Qixi gift-giving#
Pageviews:#
13,295
Likes:#
40
Account type#
: Service Account
Longchamp is one of the few brands that promote Qixi, a special Chinese Valentine festival that happens every year on August 28. Leading the race for gift-giving, this post also marked Longchamp’s highest pageview tally for the past month. Consumers can shop Longchamp’s Valentine style bag that was made available globally via Longchamp’s mini program. Longchamp is an early adopter in implementing the mini program, the brand CEO Jean Cassegrain has previously told media that WeChat pulled in a lot of sales.
Prada: Created for the global Chinese travelers#
Pageviews:#
21,765
Likes:#
133
Account type#
: Service Account
Using WeChat as an exclusive news tool, Prada showcased a new Galleries Lafayette store display in Paris, adding one more item for the global Chinese travelers to add to their travel itinerary. The post also featured special items that were made exclusive for the store location, incentivizing consumers to travel to the store and make the purchase. Prada uses the post to decode the construction of the offline shopping experience, and is the perfect example of how every detail can be incorporated into the DNA of this Italian fashion house. Even if the reader can't make to the store, they can leave the post with informative knowledge like how decorative details like lighting and floor textiles can create a different mood for the stores.
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Losers of the week:#
Bally: Not enough to feed the consumers appetite#
Pageviews:#
14,604
Likes:#
142
Account type#
: Service Account
We had high expectations when Bally announced its first Asia Pacific spokesperson Tang Yan. Chinese consumers were eager to know what kind of spark this new brand face would bring to the hundred-year-old Swiss fashion brand. We were lured in by the new WeChat post titled “exclusive behind the scenes from Tang Yan's first Bally campaign," but left feeling disappointed. The post featured a video of Tang Yan announcing her role and encouraging readers to follow her and Bally. The video also offered snippets of the actress posing and smiling. Though visually pleasing, it lacks narrative. When announcing the news, the CEO Frédéric de Narp said Tang Yan was chosen because of her authenticity and she will work with the brand to design an exclusive handbag. Looks like we still have a lot to look forward to.
Miu Miu: Out of reach for Chinese consumers?#
Pageviews:#
15,013
Likes:#
29
Account type#
: Service Account
Featuring Moonlight Oscar nominated actress Naomie Harris and fashion icon Kate Moss in New Orleans, this A-list-celebrity-filled campaign was rather out of reach for Chinese consumers that may not be familiar with either the stars or the location of the shoot. The video portrayed a dazzling Southern dream, a visual feast with models, in a celebratory mood, wearing various Miu Miu products from fur coats to classic pumps encrusted with jewelry. As the consumers on the other side of the world, we are not sure if the campaign will lure them or leave them wanting. Miu Miu’s WeChat campaign is often visually clean and simple, but we would recommend giving some styling tips to get the readers more engaged.
Versace: The gap between the look and the message#
Pageviews:#
5,709
Likes:#
44
Account type#
: Service Account
Featuring star model Gigi Hidad and many others, the theme of Versace’s WeChat campaign is hope and unity. One thing we liked about the post is it invited the photographer Bruce Weber to talk about his inspiration for the shoot, but we are confused about if his message really was delivered successfully. We tried our best to read through the visual clues and the text, perhaps the mixed color of the clothing, hair and makeup expressed a sense of diversity, and the message of unity was expressed when models physically get close together? From the WeChat post, the visual presentation seems straightforward and lacks the sophistication of the message they wish to deliver.
*We derived our data on pageviews from the WeChat industry monitoring software Curio Eye, which monitors over 1,000 accounts in 15 different industries. Our pageviews report is based exclusively on data from this monitoring tool. While some brands have multiple accounts on Curio Eye, not all of them may currently be monitored.
**A WeChat account can be categorized as either a service account or a subscription account. A service account allows the brand to publish four times per month and to focus more on customer service, whereas a subscription account focuses on providing content and allows the brand to publish once a day. Because each brand may have more than one WeChat account, in this series we specify the type of account on which the campaign was published.