After the madness of Christmas and the January sales, you may think it’s all over but with one of the biggest marketing opportunities of the year just around the corner, now is not the time to relax. Chinese New Year takes place on February 19, and savvy brands should start gearing up now to take advantage of this lucrative and often overlooked shopping occasion.
Why is Chinese New Year so important for marketers?
Although it’s most commonly associated with lavish celebrations, shopping is an important part of Chinese New Year as people purchase new clothes, jewellery and food, and travel to visit family and friends. Last year, retail sales in China increased by 15% in the period leading up to the New Year. In spite of this, surprisingly few brands in Australia market specifically to their Chinese customers at this potentially very lucrative time of year.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of the numerous opportunities on offer, here are some tips to help you prepare and implement an effective Chinese New Year marketing strategy.
Preparing in Australia
As Australia is located in the Asia Pacific region and has a high Chinese population, chances are that a large percentage of your target market will be celebrating here. This means that there are plenty of opportunities to tailor your marketing strategy to the Chinese New Year with localised content and relevant special offers.
Christmas special offers can be repurposed for Chinese New Year very easily. Visual marketing is particularly effective at this time of year, and as this is the year of the goat, basing your visuals around this theme rather than relying on visual clichés like dragons can make you appear more relatable and relevant to your audience.
Preparing in China
For those marketing to a Chinese audience in China, this is the time to go all out and brace yourself for huge demand. Festival-themed marketing campaigns show that you care and can help you tap into the buying frenzy at this time of year.
When preparing your marketing content for your Chinese audience, make sure you are authentic and create great content in Chinese rather than relying on translated content. Media and advertising spaces go fast in China at this time of year, so make sure you book well ahead so you don’t miss out.
Whether you are looking to target a Chinese audience in Australia or in China, make sure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to boost your sales and exposure during the Chinese New Year celebrations. Preparing and creating specific campaigns will help ensure you can make the most of the seasonal buying frenzy, no matter where you are based.
Digital Crew has helped a wide range of Australian companies achieving their marketing and business goals in the Chinese market segment.
Talk to us today!