On 11 November 2015, Australia’s Chemist Warehouse became Alibaba’s number one vitamin seller within its first fortnight of launching its products online in China.
How? At least one factor is all about timing — they had picked the perfect date to launch.
They knew when Chinese consumers would have their wallets out. And of course, selecting auspicious dates has every significance in Chinese culture!
Big days in Chinese culture
Here are dates of festivals you should be aware of if you are looking to expand into the Chinese market:
What can businesses do to mark Chinese cultural festivals?
Some examples to get your creative juices flowing:
- Filipino ice cream producer Sebastian’s brought out Chinese New Year flavours (see more Chinese New Year ideas here)
- To mark the mid-autumn festival, Starbucks sold mooncakes stamped with its mermaid logo and stuffed with coffee, green tea and berries. Haagen-Dazs produced mooncakes made of macadamia nut, chocolate and cookies and cream ice cream with a mango sorbet yolk. Belgium’s Godiva also released a very successful chocolate version of a Chinese moon cake.
- Valentine’s Day…or Days I might say! The 15th day of Chinese New Year, 14 February and “qi xi” 9 August 2016 are all great days to be promoting jewelry, flowers and chocolate.
Get a slice of the market
The Chinese e-commerce market expanded by more than 50 per cent in 2014 to reach the equivalent of half a trillion Australian dollars and is expected to keep growing. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia is also projected to grow exponentially, increasing demand for culturally appropriate products and services.
As Australian companies gain greater access to overseas clients, capturing a slice of the Chinese market is no longer a distant dream for your company.
As you plan your marketing activities for this year, do consider: how can you structure strategic promotions campaigns around prime buying times?
If you need help with export planning or a Chinese digital strategy, do remember that the Baker Marketing team is only an email or phone call away.
Image by William Murphy on Flickr (CC by 2.0)
