Establishing a successful brand is becoming increasingly challenging. Whether it’s large corporations or small businesses, the demand for digital-based strategies continues to rise.
However, this evolution has welcomed a new set of opportunities in China.
A recent study from Baidu states this era has welcomed a new type of customer, where they’re willing to share, search, and spread relevant information in seconds. As a result, businesses are facing a variety of challenges in appealing to the masses and building brand awareness.
In this read, I will share a detailed case study on “The House-Mum” and its spectacular growth in 2 months. In less than 60 days, the brand added an impressive 20,000+ subscribers to its mobile app.
We accomplished these results by designing a well-rounded event marketing campaign in unison with a modernized social media strategy. Our team used Weibo, Weixin, live broadcasts, and traditional media (news outlets) to build the perfect plan.
About House-Mum
In 2015, an online startup named “The House-Mum” was established. This company aimed to deliver multiple services including childbirth guidance, pregnancy guidance, childcare guidance, and maternal feeding consultations. In its current state, the company provides all of these services and a comprehensive service interface for experts in pregnancy and nursing.
The Problem
Before we signed up to help, House-Mum had been getting ready to launch its mobile app. Their primary goal was to build brand awareness in tier 1 cities.
With this in mind, we started listing our pre-campaign assumptions:
- Traditional marketing would be wasteful and less likely to work
- The campaign had to include an “event” (trigger) to encourage sharing/forwarding
- The event/story should be relevant, engaging, and emotional to gain an immediate response
Our Solution
Theme – Have men experience the pain of birthing and being a mother. Broadcast this contest live to acquire new female subscribers.
Three Stages of Campaigning
- Stage 1 = Recruit 3 “House-Mum’s Mr. Mommy” Candidates
- Stage 2 = Establish a 10-Day Real Life Experience Contest and Broadcast Updates Online
- Stage 3 = Follow Up and Convert Leads
Let’s dive deeper into each stage!
Stage 1
We began by setting up a recruitment drive to bring in eligible male candidates. To do this, our team used WeChat KOL to spread the word.
This contest would pay RMB 10,000 for 10 Days.
Of course, WeChat KOL was only the first part of our strategy. We also established a large-scale press release using major offline media sources.
Within a few days, House-Mum had already welcomed 9,899 registrants for its contest. It was a barrage of applications!
The official Weibo and WeChat accounts mentioned our “House-Mum’s Mother” contest in real-time. Plus, we received a spot among “Present Articles” with an article titled “Mr. Mommy Arrived in Shanghai, Took to the Streets for Support.” This particular article received an impressive 23,961 readers and 329 likes on WeChat.
Stage 2
The interest blew us away and it was time to work on stage 2.
Between August 1st and August 10th, 2015, we set up the contest and had three men (chosen by our team) go through a 10-day real-life experience on birthing. WeChat’s official channel promised to track daily work tasks and highlight specific experiences during the contest. This resulted in an impressive 442,104 readers over 10 days.
Stage 3
The job wasn’t done!
We had to convert these leads into subscribers.
After the contest wrapped up, we immediately put up a press release titled “Three Men in Shanghai, Confined to Experience Women’s Postpartum Life.”
As expected, local and major news outlets were already tracking our contest. This press release was picked up instantaneously and found its way onto their homepages. In fact, traditional media (newspapers) also picked up our news release and printed it in their latest publications.
The mass hysteria led to international exposure with British reporters joining in on the fun. Jamie (British Daily Mail Reporter) took the opportunity to visit Shanghai to learn more about our contest.
It had gone viral!
The brand was being mentioned alongside quotes such as “individual characters rule,” with an outpour of positive support.
Our Results
- Recruiting = 9,899 Resumes + 23,961 Readers on WeChat + 329 Likes on WeChat
- Real-Time Broadcast (10 Days) = 442,104 Readers
- Conversions = 10x of House-Mum’s Expected Return
Key Lessons
Our case study revealed the beauty of digital marketing and its effect on Chinese businesses.
Here are three key lessons from our House-Mum’s campaign:
- Creativity is the heartbeat of any digital marketing campaign
- Don’t be Afraid to Integrate Digital Media with Traditional Media Opportunities
- Use Paid Content To Share Content, But Not To Gain Exposure
We hope this helps businesses take the next step towards becoming powerful brands in this rapidly developing market!
