5 Examples of How Chinese Traditional Brands can Innovate with Cross-industry Collaborations
The Chinese product marketing arena is extraordinarily lively. A variety of cross-industry collaborations has emerged with more and more unexpected products. Cross-industry and co-brand marketing is among the most effective ways for brands to attract new customers' attention, and break their original perceptions.
1 - Rio Cocktail X Hero - the "Ink Cocktail"
In China, this is the phrase used to praise a learned person: "肚子里有墨水," means "You got ink in your belly."
Rio, one of the promising names in the alcohol industry, has teamed up with the long-established brand “Hero” to create a striking "Ink Cocktail." The packaging design continues the classic style of Hero Ink, and uses blueberries and blackcurrants as ingredients to make a wine flavor "Blue and Black Ink."
2 - Perfume from Wine Company
In addition to drinking, how do you make yourself smell like alcohol? I am just kidding. But 泸州老窖 Luzhou Laojiao, a company that has always been famous for making wine, went viral online by making perfume. The bottle of this perfume is inspired by the Luzhou old wine bottle. The fragrance is floral, with top notes of the Sicilian lemon leaf, green lilac, middle notes of wisteria, peach blossom, red peony, and finish notes of Lebanese white cedar, sweet musk, and amber.
3 - Lipsticks from haemorrhoids cream brand?!
This might be the most shocking cross-industry product. 马应龙Ma Ying Long, a well-known long-established company in China and currently famous for its haemorrhoids cream, has recently launched three lipsticks. This contrasting "from the bottom to the top" cross-industry move quickly triggered netizens' attention and ridicule.
With this trending topic, Ma Ying Long markets its brand and its newly established "big health industry." The public was aware of Ma Ying Long's health industry without the launch costs, high marketing expenses, and the incredibly cumbersome launch process.
4 - Traditional Chinese Medicine X Ramen
Yummy food and medicines create a double feeling of security in the cold winter. The ramen brand 拉面说 Ramen Talk has collaborated with pharmaceutical brand 999 to make things happen, launching a "warm chicken soup" co-branded gift box. The outer packaging looks like a 999 iconic medicine box at first glance.
They also made a series of exciting merchandise. Bullet journals look like a clinic book; cell phone anti-slip stickers look like plasters; tea bags look like packets of granules. Since ramen and cold medicine can both fight the cold weather, in this way, they have the same brand tone. In the late winter and early spring flu season, this is a heart-warming product, which is exceptionally creative and builds up a favourable impression to users of these brands.
5 - Lip Balm from Traditional Candy Brand
The 59-year-old brand White Rabbit (candy brand) and 56-year-old Maxam (skin-care brand) also engaged in a significant event, jointly launching this White Rabbit lip balm.
As a long-established brand in Shanghai, White Rabbit milk candy is a childhood memory for every Chinese person. The packaging of this lip balm is made of paper, and the pattern is the classic Big White Rabbit. On the day of the product launch, nearly 1,000 sticks in stock were sold out in less than 2 seconds, and even CCTV reported the news. Everyone may be eager to try it. After all, it is everyone's memories. White Rabbit hand cream and body wash are also under planning.
Behind those brands' success are their differentiated positioning and youthful marketing. The popularity of co-branded products highlights the shift in the marketing approach, which focuses more on fashion and differentiation elements to meet the needs of young Gen Z consumers, who are upgrading their consumption. The reason behind its popularity is that consumers are diversifying their choices and emphasising more on creative and personalised consumer experiences.
