Chinese Consumers Want More And More Authenticity In The Year Of The Rabbit

According to the Report on China's High Quality Consumption released on November 7, 2022, "China's domestic market has become the world's largest luxury market for the first time due to the rapid growth of two consecutive years far exceeding that of other countries, with the share of the global luxury market rising to 30%, and the share of Chinese domestic luxury consumption reaching 64%." Not only that, with the overall recovery of the domestic market, Bernstein Research estimates that luxury sales of Chinese consumers are expected to continue to grow by 35% in 2023. The 2023 Lunar Year of the Rabbit is undoubtedly one of the moments when brands choose to bet.

In the past decade, the Chinese zodiac themed capsule series has become increasingly popular, while Chinese consumers and brand management have undergone fundamental changes. The lazy marketing around the theme of the Chinese zodiac is not only completely ineffective, but also gradually "tied" with the brand image, which will leave a record in China's most important festivals. How do commercial brands tell stories about rabbits in the limited series of Spring Festival every year?

Chinese consumers want more and more authenticity, and also hope that brands can truly understand the nuances of Chinese culture and do some less rigid products - of course, this is not easy. But if brands can realize that it is the zodiac series that provides them with contact with Chinese culture, they can start from the details and find resonance with Chinese consumers.

Maximilian Davis, the designer who took over from FERRAGAMO, was ingenious in the limited series of the Year of the Rabbit, extracting the "eyes of the auspicious rabbit", which made Chinese consumers pay attention to this common and neglected detail. The rabbit's eyes are transparent and colorless, just reflecting the small blood vessels in the eyes, so they are red. This feature is reflected in the pure silk fabric, which brings a clear and open visual experience. This feeling is close to the meaning of leaving blank in Chinese aesthetics, but it is also impartial in the context of Florentine elegance.

In addition, the Swiss rabbit peach tree printed mulberry silk shirt and silk scarf were released together. The brand chose the popular Chinese traditional images of white rabbit, peach tree and bamboo forest, grasping the cultural consensus of Chinese consumers, so that they are willing to pay for their own "lonely white rabbit", "peach" and "green bamboo".

With the extensive exposure of the limited series of the Year of the Rabbit, FERRAGAMO implanted the new brand temperament into the cognition of Chinese consumers during the important period of transformation, realizing a win-win situation for business and brand image renewal.

Of course, although the Spring Festival series is a special series, it still serves the overall brand marketing. Its ultimate goal is to let more consumers know and follow the brand - which requires that the brand should be as authentic and consistent as possible in the Spring Festival series. Loewe has achieved great success and accumulated a lot of experience in the business process of animal products (including the highly responsive Bunny Bag). In this Spring Festival series, it has brought more mature design details: amplifying the "rabbit ear" part of the rabbit image, and ingeniously integrating Bunny Bag and Hamlocks bags to form a "rabbit ear knot", which conveys the auspicious meaning of "knot" in Chinese culture. What is more imperceptible is the application of colors from Chinese monochrome glazed porcelain to bags, which reflects the brand's self requirements and sincerity, ensures the high standards of Loewe animal products, and wins more trust for it.

LOUIS VUITTON, as always, tries to find a link with the brand spirit from the Chinese zodiac culture. As a more interesting interpretation of the rabbit image, LOUIS VUITTON Lunar New Year series refers to the more exquisite rabbit shape of Chinese window grilles and two-color prints, the more mild and moderate rabbit image, and the product consideration for more age audiences - sincerity is important. At present, consumers are more sensitive than ever before.

As time goes by, China Red is no longer the first reaction of brands to think about the zodiac series. With the expansion of the Chinese market and the upgrading of Chinese consumers' tastes, brands must put themselves in the Chinese culture before they can make the Spring Festival limited series of products that sell well. Or on the other hand, it is wiser to actively find a balance between Chinese culture and brand tonality instead of passively catering.

The stones from other mountains can be used to attack jade. With the help of well-known rabbit IP, on the one hand, the brand has avoided its own shortcomings in Chinese culture, on the other hand, it has won a wide range of natural audiences, making the product easier to be spread and discussed. The traditional consumption concept has risen to spiritual and cultural consumption here. Brands have also realized that only by constantly creating topics can they maintain freshness and influence among user groups, improve user stickiness, increase purchasing power and repurchase rate, and have the opportunity to export brand image to potential consumers.

As an "old" IP born in 1955, Miffy Rabbit is a world famous "super fresh" fairy tale image. When people think of her, they will think of simple and easy childhood life, simple life, love and friendship. Mulberry launched capsule accessories series jointly with Miffy Rabbit in the Spring of the Year of the Rabbit, which well grasped the simple outline of Miffy Rabbit, and selected the form of complete color blocks to match the IP image with bags and accessories (including all colors used by Miffy Rabbit: orange, blue, yellow, green, white). Without the sense of discord and cheapness, Mulberry has become a part of people's love for Miffy Rabbit, which has successfully improved consumers' preference for the brand.

In the case of the essence of the value of commodity use, consumers try to seek the identity of lifestyle and values through brand tonality and symbols.

The co branding relationship between brands and IP is undoubtedly one of the best ways to break the traffic circle. That is to say, it is important to see IP "in another place", and the use mode and effect of IP are the issues to be discussed in the next step. Chloe's Cute Rabbit New Year series cooperates with Riman's classic IP Melody rabbit, and integrates the image of IP into T-shirts, sweaters, baseball caps, fisherman's hats and bags with flat sewing and embroidery techniques. Despite the support of lovely items such as necklaces, knitted pendants and silk scarves, the series is slightly thin as a whole, which fails to present the effect of "one plus one is more than two" between the brand and IP, However, the gentle IP image of Sunrise Melody Rabbit and its expression pack culture derived in the past two years have a wide audience and high market acceptance, which is consistent with Chloe's natural and primitive brand tone, and still has captured the attention of some consumers.

Of course, the choice of IP is also the choice of brand image, and even to a certain extent, this choice determines who the product wants to sell to, that is, the audience. The increasing popularity of cartoon images in fashion operation shows the changes of consumer groups. Brands know better than ever that popular culture is the main form of contemporary cultural consumption. Only by exploring brand images in popular culture can we gain audience for stories.

MOSCHINO is again co branded with Bugs Bunny IP and appears in its limited series. Compared with the past, the application mode of Bugs Bunny IP has not been upgraded much. It is mainly independent printing of classic items, but Bugs Bunny's printing image has more elements and changes. In addition, the Bugs Bunny high-heeled shoes with cocky whiskers and the rabbit headphone car bag and other items also maintain MOSCHINO's always humorous deconstruction method. Here, Bugs Bunny, born in Brooklyn, is a representative figure with independent personality, resistance to evil power and witty words. When people see its appearance, they will think whether MOSCHINO has the same personality to some extent. Imagine that once it happens, the brand will be successful in marketing.

In essence, what the co branded IP should do is to bring people a new imagination and perspective on the rabbit image. Brands should be infinitely close to the "rabbit image" in the minds of Chinese consumers, or bring them a larger "rabbit dimension", from ancient times to the present, from reality to the screen, from China to the world······

COACH further expanded the "Rabbit Universe" of the Spring Festival limited series, and selected the big white rabbit milk sugar related IP that best represents the childhood memory of Chinese people. The limited series of bags and ready-made clothes have added the red, blue and white color matching of White Rabbit Milk Candy. It has been proved that the more widely known IP is, the more it can create a sense of contrast and dislocation for people, which also brings a topic.

Therefore, compared with design behavior, co branding is more of a marketing model, which tests the designers' multiple thinking and integration ability. The original long creation cycle has been replaced, and the co branded IP has brought designers major inspiration, topic gimmicks, and cultural added value enough to increase the unit price in a short time. This is a labor-saving way, but it does not point to lazy design.

In the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit, in addition to the limited series and the brand New Year red envelope cover, the brand has also entered the vision of more consumers through micro films, animation of the Year of the Rabbit, small program games, artworks and other ways. HERMES released the interesting New Year's animation created by the artist Sanqian, Chanel produced the rabbit image made of classic twill women's cloth, and Bottega Veneta invited the director Zou Jing to produce the New Year short film "Reunion in Motion". In their own way, brands are delivering New Year greetings to Chinese consumers. Finally, in the Spring Festival special activity integrating product, media interaction and art creation, brands received their own answers.