Are you a western brand looking to succeed in the lucrative Chinese consumer market? Women’s day is a superb occasion to engage with sophisticated, middle-class and increasingly affluent Chinese buyers who appreciate quality western brands. Our Chinese digital marketing tips will help you to plan your campaign successfully and see that all-important return on your spend.

About Women’s Day in China

Women’s Day is celebrated in China on 8th March. It celebrates the achievements of women, and also allows Chinese men to express love for all the women in their lives. Naturally, Women’s Day is also a huge marketing opportunity and Chinese people greatly enjoy the occasion, with males across the country lining up to buy gifts for their partners and female relatives.

The good news for the women? They often get treats from their employers such as a dinner party or spa trip, and a half-day holiday – which they often use to hit the shops and support the increasingly powerful ‘she’ economy. Boston Consulting Group found in 2016 that 62% of leading consumers in China were women, and female consumer markets were worth $2.6 trillion. This means a huge potential female-focused market for savvy western brands.

Case study examples

It’s important to remember that Chinese Women’s Day looks slightly different to Western Women’s Day, particularly with its unique blend of Valentine’s and Mother’s Day gifting elements. JD.com has its own ‘Butterfly Day’ (蝴蝶节) which has been running successfully since 2014 with deep-discounting across its clothes, cosmetics and electronics range. Beauty products are a particularly popular category, and Olay, Maybelline and L’Oréal have all produced hugely successful customised gift boxes to celebrate the occasion. Amazon China also partners with high-end beauty brands such as Borghese to host themed flagship stores.

Last year, Secoo worked with Parson’s to host a 10-day Goddess festival, marketing luxury brands such as Chanel, YSL, Gucci and Hermes to its affluent female customers, with targeted Women’s Day ‘treat’ campaigns, special wrapping and limited edition products.

Defining your ‘hook’

As an example of a successful Women’s Day campaign hook, Lancôme ran a Women’s Day event called ‘unafraid of ageing, speak up bravely’, featuring famous Chinese actresses of different ages who spoke about their view of bravery. A competition tie-in offered the chance for participants to win a high-end beauty product. Similarly, Dior China appointed female ambassadors from the acting, jewellery design, art and culinary worlds, reflecting its customers’ high-end, sophisticated and elegant tastes.

The Chinese digital marketing tips you need to know

1. Plan ahead

Chinese consumers love fun, interesting and inspiring content that they can share. Why not leverage the Chinese love of smartphones with a quirky game for Women’s Day that offers special offers for winners and participants? Consider digital Women’s Day cards and a story-led, inspirational social media campaign that ties into the messages of Women’s Day and which positions your brand favourably in the hearts and minds of your female audience. You may even want to release a special women’s edition of your product range or offer special gift-wrapping for the occasion. Digital cards are also great for ‘share-ability’.

2. Get your digital marketing platforms in place

You might already have an official presence on WeChat, Weibo, Baidu, but if not, you’ll need to set these up. The processes can be complex and time-consuming. Happily, a Chinese marketing agency can take this task off your hands and speed up the process! Consider other, more niche, social platforms too, depending on your audience and product offer, seeking advice where necessary to allow you to best target your efforts.

Alongside the set-up of your platforms, it is helpful to work with Chinese experts to create compelling, meaningful and culturally-sensitive content that celebrates Women’s Day from the perspective of your Chinese market; being sensitive to local contexts, language and superstitions and ensuring it has the necessary ‘wow’ factor that encourages plenty of shares and conversions!

3. Consider your partnerships

Remember, this special calendar date celebrates the empowerment of women. This could encompass an admiring focus on women who are financially independent and in a position to treat themselves. For Western brands, it also means using brand ambassadors that women respect and look up to. Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) work with Western brands in a variety of sponsorship and partnership arrangements, from launching competitions through to delivering recommendations, subtle product placement and explainer videos. The trick here is to find the right KOLs for your brand and arrange a sponsorship partnership that will work for your product and audience. Again, your Chinese marketing agency can find the right KOLs and make the necessary arrangements.

4. Optimise your commerce channels

Some brands will simply offer Chinese language translation of their existing Western website, but others will go one step forward and create targeted Chinese microsites, social media stores and apps. An offline store can also be a bonus for a B2C market so that your female audience can experience your products first hand. Remember to create that rich, joyful and engaging experience at all times, adding value with tactics such as expert demos and explainer videos that bring your products to life.

5. Make sure you are seen…

Plan a Baidu PPC campaign so that any adverts you run are placed on the correct platforms for your Women’s Day campaign. The use of targeted online advertising in China is also a channel to allow you to be seen.

6. Evaluate

All activity should be reviewed and evaluated to demonstrate progress against your original goals. This means capturing a range of metrics which evidence success and areas for refinement in any future Chinese marketing campaign.

The Chinese marketing experts

At Market Me China, we know that Western brands seeking to do business in China want access to local marketing experts with the knowledge, language skills, cultural awareness, expertise and contacts needed to launch a successful campaign. We act as strategic partners to work with brands of all sizes and at all stages in their Chinese marketing journey, offering measurable value and access to specialist skillsets at all stages.

Whether you want Chinese digital marketing tips for a product launch or a fully-managed programme of annual campaign delivery and brand-building with evidenced results, we are here to help. Please contact us for a no obligation chat about your needs and we will be delighted to help.