Digital activations kick off Lunar New Year 2023

During the first Lunar New Year celebrations since China eased its zero-Covid policy, brands and retailers experimented with digital-first engagement strategies for the start of the Year of the Rabbit.

The rabbit represents the luckiest sign in the Chinese zodiac, and brands leaned into this newfound sense of optimism and excitement, looking towards a brighter future after the challenges faced globally since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Consumer spending confidence for the Spring Festival is steadily returning following the disruption of the last three years, with 56% saying they planned to spend more for the 2023 festivities, according to a survey by management consulting company Oliver Wyman, fuelled by a desire to improve their lifestyle and additional savings carried over from 2022.

Yet alongside the well-established Lunar New Year shopping season built around red envelopes and zodiac-themed capsule collections, brands are increasingly looking to connect with shoppers in virtual spaces too, tapping technology to boost online engagement and social sharing opportunities with interactive digital experiences.

Lunar New Year digital activations act as a way to highlight a forward-thinking outlook and cutting edge creativity. As the concept of the metaverse enters mainstream consciousness (and remains the ultimate marketing buzzword), the holiday presents a chance to showcase an optimistic and celebratory vision of a brand’s digital presence.

It also gives global brands an opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of local and regional customs. Incorporating local cultural components and characters into marketing campaigns remains a key focus for campaigns, while the growing shift into digital spaces means brands will need to keep pace by collaborating with relevant Asian content creators, influencers and artists. Part of showing understanding of local customs also means brands must not lose sight of the deeper meanings associated with Lunar New Year – this means prioritising family and togetherness, and respecting the emotions and values underpinning the event.

Here we round up some of our favourite digital-first activations from the Lunar New Year 2023 celebrations:

McDonald’s teamed up with content creator Karen X Cheng for its Lunar New Year campaign. The Asian American creator is best known for her viral video clips making use of innovative camera techniques and augmented reality, and is the founder of creative agency Butterbar.

The spot Cheng has created with McDonald’s is inspired by her childhood memories of Lunar New Year. It uses neural radiance fields (NeRF) to create a 3D image generated by artificial intelligence, opening the door to some spectacular visual trickery.

A QR code in the video whisks viewers off to a McDonald’s metaverse activation featuring 3D sculptures of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, while an AR filter on Instagram shows users a visual illusion as the Year of the Tiger shifts to the Year of the Rabbit.

Travel retailer DFS launched its ‘Fortune Rabbit Scavenger Hunt’, adding an extra dimension to familiar Lunar New Year retail themes.

Customers could use the company’s digital platform ‘DFS World’ to access exclusive offers across beauty, luxury, fragrance, fashion and accessories, and take part in interactive experiences based around the celebrations. Guests were invited to join the scavenger hunt for a chance to win Fortune Rabbit NFTs.

Hong Kong-based e-commerce loyalty programme Yuu Rewards Club leaned into traditional Lunar New Year themes of festivity and rewards on its app.

The platform, which offers shoppers rewards and discounts for shopping online, allowed users to tap on digital rabbit ears appearing in the app to earn bonus reward points. An accompanying social game also allowed members to take selfies in partner stores, holding up two of a product over their head as bunny ears to earn extra points.

Further extending the crossover between online and physical retail, Yuu Rewards released red envelope gifts designed by a local artist.

The Sandbox, a decentralised virtual gaming world that’s part of Animoca Brands, created a series of free Lunar New Year in-platform experiences for users to discover, celebrating creativity and togetherness moving into the new year.

Creators and brands from across the region came together for the event to create new experiences based on popular existing IP. Meanwhile, an extensive range of prizes and rewards helped attract users to participate, including in-game currency, NFT prizes and ‘Chinese Dragon’ mystery boxes containing special limited edition items and LANDS (in-platform real estate).

Through accessible virtual experiences like this, brands are introducing consumers to Web3 infrastructure and familiarising them with digital assets.