Special Edition: Why China (social media) is living in the future
Never thought I'd see the day when you could do this within Xiaohongshu so seamlessly...
Lululemon just launched an incredible campaign (in so many ways) but I want to highlight the platform(s) used and why it’s so groundbreaking.
First, let’s start from the customer journey.
As someone who is interested in sports/health/wellness, naturally my Xiaohongshu feed started becoming populated with Lululemon’s latest campaign, #一起好状态” (“Together in a Good State”) in time for World Mental Health Day in October.
The campaign, launched in collaboration with Graphic Rewilding features beautiful illustrations of floral designs. Graphic Rewilding was founded by artistic duo, Catherine Borowski and Lee Baker, “as an artistic counterbalance to the severe lack of green space in cities”. Their work is vast, flower inspired, maximalist, attention grabbing, positivity inducing artworks and immersive environments in often-overlooked urban spaces.
So, wanting to know more about the campaign I typed ‘Lululemon’ into the search bar and it brought me to a special campaign page.
This page plays a campaign video and audio, and at the top it gives me three cards to click into;
1) Go the campaign page
2) View the campaign hashtag
3) Go the Lululemon Official Xiaohongshu Account
Let’s start with the option in the middle - clicking into the campaign hashtag page
Three things to pay attention to here:
Campaign: The title emphasizes the concept of achieving and maintaining a “good state” through physical and mental well-being, which is the core theme of this Lululemon campaign.
Xiaohongshu Partnership: The top-left shows the “Lifestyle” tag under Xiaohongshu, indicating this is a lifestyle campaign in collaboration with the platform, likely targeted at promoting wellness through personal experiences.
Hashtag Popularity: The hashtag #一起好状态 has gathered 31.36 million views on the platform, showcasing the large engagement with the campaign.
Now, how YOU (a regular user) can get involved! (!! Key aspect of what makes Xiaohongshu so unique).
Participants are encouraged to share how they find their “good state” as part of the ongoing campaign, running from September 24 to October 23.
By posting a note following the campaign guidelines, participants have a chance to receive increased exposure and possibly win Lululemon gifts.
Call to Action: The right side provides a button labeled 去发布 (“Go Publish”), inviting users to create and share their own posts related to the campaign.
Next option - visit Lululemon's Official Account
Third option on the right takes you directly to Lululemon’s Xiaohongshu account where you’ll be able to see all the brand’s posts, related content and follow for more news and updates.
Now, here comes the most amazing and groundbreaking part…
If you click into the first option on the left, you're invited to explore the campaign further and you’ll be taken outside of Xiaohongshu directly into WeChat and into a special campaign WeChat mini program 😱
Let’s pause here for a moment because for years, you couldn’t even mention or reference WeChat on Xiaohongshu without getting your content blocked or taken down. The two platforms were in such strict competition there was no linking at all!
Now, here you have a direct link into a WeChat mini program, and the ability to use your WeChat wallet and Tencent verified ID information to reserve/pay for things.
The walls between platforms are indeed, finally breaking down and here is a beautiful example of why that is such a huge advantage for both the consumer and brands.
OK, let’s keep exploring….
Within this beautifully designed WeChat mini program you’re able to dive deeper into the campaign, and the upcoming campaign events.
During October, Lululemon will host a range of events across cities in China, and through the mini program you can explore these events and reserve your spot.
You can discover more about the instructors and the type of event etc. by clicking through the cards.
If you can’t join an offline event, you can play online games on mini program to win campaign medals, and the mini program also lets you know that if you post content on RED with campaign hashtag, the brand will select winners to send a set of medals during the time period.
Next, and so importantly for any campaign, you can share this mini program to any one of your contacts, encouraging them to sign up as well. You can even generate a custom graphic card to share the campaign with your circle of friends.
*turn your sound on for soothing soundscapes!
Campaign details aside, this is such an amazing example of 1) the ways platforms are constantly shifting and evolving in China and 2) a brand deeply understanding the Chinese customer journey, leveraging the right platforms and technology and the right mechanisms to engage, delight and amplify awareness.
And perhaps the most beautiful part of it all... it's not commerce-focused.
It's brand building.
This is why Lululemon does well in China.
🫶🏼
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