How Brands are Responding to the Coronavirus Crisis this Valentines Day

Valentines Day is typically a crucial holiday for fashion & beauty brands in China. Positioned right after Chinese New Year, it is oftentimes the first major campaign of the year.

But this year’s Valentines Day has been hampered by the coronavirus crisis, which is now running into its second month. Brands in China are at a loss as to how to handle this crisis. Many are afraid to launch marketing campaigns, for fear of being perceived as insensitive.

Despite these challenging times, some brands have stood out for their campaigns to maintain their connection with customers. We take a look at how local brands such as Perfect Diary and Erdos are doing it.

Perfect Diary Offers Something for Couples and Single People Alike

Perfect Diary, now China’s favorite cosmetics brand, was one of the first to feel the effects of the coronavirus. In January it had planned to expand its business by building 600 new physical retail stores.

Those plans have since fallen by the wayside. Instead, Perfect Diary has turned to interactive entertainment & games to appeal to its millions of customers stuck at home. 

The below game is designed for danshengou, or “single dogs”, a self-deprecating and amusing term used by single people in China. The game involves protecting the single dog from adversaries and offers prizes such as boxes of perfume and face masks for winners.

Perfect Diary’s Valentine’s Day-themed game 

Customers can also browse some of the products on Perfect Diary’s updated WeChat mini-program. Below, a banner from the brand’s WeChat Official Account contains direct links to product pages on its mini-program. A gift box set is on sale for just 229 RMB.

Perfect Diary’s Valentine’s Day Campaign

Source: Perfect Diary WeChat Official Account, Mini-Program Store

To encourage the users to make purchases, Perfect Diary also rolls out other promotions such as 1 RMB flash sales and 100 RMB coupons. This gives Perfect Diary a chance to rid itself of unsold inventory as well.

Such online campaigns make sense as most of China’s population is working from home to avoid potential contamination from the coronavirus. With more free time on their hands, users are likely to spend more time browsing social media content. 

ERDOS’s “Love is the Cure” Campaign 

ERDOS is a popular domestic cashmere brand in China. Once seen as an outdated brand, it has since transformed itself to appeal to younger generations.

In particular, it has doubled down on its digital marketing efforts.

For Valentines Day, its WeChat Official Account published an article titled “Love is the cure” to keep customers’ spirits up as they stay inside to avoid the coronavirus.

ERDOS’ Valentine’s Day content

Source: ERDOS WeChat Official Account, Mini-Program Store

ERDOS shows different looks such as “Colourful Love, Classic Love, Warm Love, and Refreshing Love” to commemorate Valentines’ Day.

Such simple slogans convey a feeling of warmth and rejuvenation without coming off as insensitive to those worried about the coronavirus crisis.

By combining content with e-commerce, Erdos’s WeChat account acts as a one-stop-shop that allows customers to explore new products and place an order in a seamless fashion.  Also, given that most Chinese consumers are staying home, online shopping offers an outlet for them to shop and express themselves again.  

Key Takeaways

1.    China’s coronavirus crisis has forced over a billion consumers to stay and work at home. While offline retail is suffering, brands are doubling down on digital marketing and e-commerce efforts.

2.    Perfect Diary offers Valentines Day gift sets and prizes for those that participate in its WeChat “single dogs” game. The interactive nature of the game takes advantage of the extra free time that Chinese internet users have nowadays.

3.    Erdos’s Valentine’s Day campaign offered up different looks to commemorate the season of love in China. The campaign is a simple expression of warmth and comfort for those feeling down because of the coronavirus crisis.