China's Lunar New Year is just around the bend and many luxury brands are trying to capture the attention of the extensive Chinese market. Some survived while others did not appeal much to the country's luxury consumers.
According to The South China Morning Post, one of the brands that appear to have missed the mark is Bulgari. The Italian jeweler's Year of the Pig campaign lasted for roughly a day mainly because it ignited debates on Jewish culture.
Bulgari capitalized the word "JEW" on its ad. While this word sounds very similar to "Zhu" or "Pig" in Chinese, the wordplay immediately lost its sparkle when some consumers noticed that the campaign may have a negative implication on Jewish traditions.
On the other hand, there's Gucci. The famous fashion brand approached the Lunar New Year with a more millennial theme that played well into the Italian provider's revenue. The campaign capitalized on Disney's "Three Little Pigs" theme.
Aside from just focusing on the Chinese market, Gucci's Chinese New Year campaign also appealed to other countries as it featured models from outside of China. Furthermore, the fashion company extended its customer reach by letting TikTok users know about its ad.
Luxury experts recommend that international brands trying to connect with the Chinese market should explore localized ideas that imply global visions. For analysts, it is important to keep track of consumer behavior to ensure that the campaign will appeal to multiple audiences.
Meanwhile, other luxury brands continue to show improvements in their attempts to celebrate the Lunar New Year. One of them is Louis Vuitton's 2019 campaign that features a pig keychain that highlights the classic stud commonly seen in trunks offered by the fashion brand.
Calvin Klein has also joined the long list of international fashion brands that release collections dedicated to the Lunar New Year. According to Jing Daily, the American fashion house released its very first Chinese New Year capsule collection that characterizes gold and bold red palettes.
For the 8th year in a row, Piaget released its Chinese New Year edition watch that follows a similar pattern from last year's release. The Grand Feu pig is placed in the center of the limited-edition watch that comes with a price tag of $71,250.
Longchamp, Dior, Bally, and Erno Laszlo also released their own products that cater to the Chinese community as the country celebrates the Year of the Pig. Most analysts noticed that the campaigns and products are appealing to the younger, more luxury-inclined audiences.
