Luxury brands are rushing to lure Chinese buyers as coronavirus lockdown is lifted – but is it too soon to shop safely?
As China continues to show signs of recovery from the coronavirus outbreak, luxury brands are starting to act quickly, hoping to move forward their promotional calendars and entice shopping-deprived, freshly-out-of-quarantine customers before the mark-down season hits. After a dormant period during lockdown, celebrity-driven campaigns are now being released with taglines and messages conscious of the current situation.
Positive, feel-good and motivational campaigns are gaining traction online and via social media. STYLE takes a look at how luxury brands are cautiously capitalising on Chinese buyers in the wake of the coronavirus recovery.
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Zhou Dongyu named Victoria’s Secret China ambassador
Lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret named Zhou Dongyu its latest China ambassador. The award-winning actress announced the news on her Weibo account on April 20 with a video captioned “sexy has many facets” and “define the new sexy”.
Unlike the scantily-clad Victoria’s Secret Angels, the clean-faced Zhou was featured in the black-and-white video wearing a casual ensemble of loungewear. Zhou, best known for her girl-next-door demure, seems to be an unlikely fit for Victoria’s Secret. However, she’s a refreshing ambassador for the lingerie giant, which is often under fire for its harassment allegations and criticism.
Zhou who made her breakthrough starring famous Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s Under the Hawthorn Tree (2010) and won Best Actress at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards for her role in Soul Mate (2016) has been tapped by luxury brands including Burberry and Boucheron as ambassadors.
Victoria’s Secret cancelled its 2019 fashion show – an extravagant marketing stunt amid declining sales and show ratings, as well as a change of direction for digital marketing.
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BMW appoints Jackson Yee as first-ever China ambassador
BMW is another brand hoping to harness the fan economy of Chinese new-generation celebrities. Yee, the 19-year-old singer-actor, is not only the first official ambassador for BMW in China but also the youngest.
Yee, who entered show business at the tender age of 13 as a member of the boy band TFBoys, starred in the BMW campaign video featuring a tagline “The blue sky and white clouds will arrive as promised”, which injects energy, hope and positivity to the messaging, as well as recovery from the pandemic.
The announcement made on Yee’s weibo earned more than 1.6 million likes and more than one million comments. The comment section is flooded with picture proof of enthusiastic fans showing off their BMW rides. With Yee’s fan base consisted of mostly millennial female fans, BMW’s commitment shows an attempt to reach out to the rapidly growing segment in luxury automobiles.
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Wan Li Mu launches not one but five celebrity ambassadors
Unlike BMW and Victoria’s Secret, luxury e-tailer Wan Li Mu opts for celebrity ambassadors who are well established and household names. The online luxury e-commerce platform taps not one but five celebrity ambassadors including actors Huang Xiaoming, Zhao Wei, Zheng Kai, Lei Jiayin, and Jia Nailiang.
The five ambassadors will be live streaming on Wan Li Mu’s TikTok account from May 1 to May 5, the annual Labour Day “Golden Week”. The five celebrity ambassadors enjoy a strong fan base: a total of 270 million followers on their combined Weibo accounts alone.
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Victoria’s Secret named Zhou Dongyu its latest China ambassador, BMW has Jackson Yee as its face, and Wan Li Mu asked 5 Chinese celebrities to help promote its brand