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When Dries Van Noten opened his third store in China towards the end of 2022, the PR campaign that supported it was a creative treat. The Belgian fashion designer collaborated with calligraphy artist Wei Ligang who applied brush strokes across the Chengdu store. An edgy video series featured local creative talents including poet Zhai Yongming, photographer Feng Li, and musicians Aflou and Mia Aim. At the opening, a repurposed food truck was transformed into a flower installation, inspired by Noten’s aesthetic.
Behind the campaign was domestic PR and communications agency BOH Project, founded by 28-year-old founder Qui Bohan. He’s one of a new generation of PRs winning business from international fashion brands seeking to re-energise their marketing in China. Other new names include Huang Di of Fashion In Place, Frolic Culture’s Amanda Wang and Zemira Xu from Dia Communications.
The common thread? They’re all close to the younger generation of Chinese, understanding their trends, habits and preferences. And, they are zfall proving the value of localised marketing campaigns that resonate very specifically with the Chinese consumer — made by Chinese for the Chinese.
A unique ecosystem
For the new Chinese consumer, cultural authenticity, individuality, fresh takes, pioneering ideas and in-the-know campaigns are all must-haves, says Audrey Peng, CEO of E&A PR Communications, who notes a steady stream of visitors from Kering and LVMH in China in recent months as luxury executives seek a better understanding of how the market is changing.
In 2022, Peng took over the reins of a company founded in 1998 by Sophie Jiang. The longevity of the company marks E&A out from its peers — E&A was there to track and accompany the surge of Western fashion brands entering Greater China in the first two decades of the century. Since Peng took over, the emphasis has been on becoming ever “more flexible and agile”.
Post-lockdown, Peng says that doing PR in China is different to any other market. China’s relative lack of integration with other markets and the acceleration of digitisation during its lockdowns have compounded a unique ecosystem of social media and e-commerce channels. “This has meant that, in certain cases, China’s mobile-first approach has created features and formats that have yet to be introduced to other markets,” she notes.
BOH Project’s Bohan agrees. “We have so many different channels (offline, e-commerce, social, networking such as WeChat, Weibo, Bilibili, Tmall, etc.). Each is so vast, with very different people of influence and ways to function. This complicates localisation.”
The PR’s role is not simply about “just translating” these channels, insists Bohan. It’s about dissecting the content and “seeing what fits and what will resonate”. Also in the mix in 2023 is the need for sophisticated Web3 strategies and an understanding of blockchain systems.
Bohan started his company in 2019. It now counts 24 staff and is opening BOH Korea in July (BOH stands for Back of House). Besides Van Noten, Nanushka, Amiri and Calvin Klein are among his 15-strong client list. “Over the past couple of years it s becoming hard to copy and paste [international] strategies. We almost have to write a new story in Chinese but with the same ethos or approach,” he says. “Quite often [international brands] come with a specific idea that simply doesn’t work, but I’ve seen a paradigm shift in the last few years as brands have started to listen [to Chinese marketers and publicists].”
For the launch of Nanushka, the team came up with a theme around bamboo. “People ask me, is that culturally appropriating? I would say no. If you actually try to understand and credit in the right way, people are happy that you have taken the effort,” he says.
During the lockdown, his employees were able to “escalate their learning” as they collaborated with teams all over the world and executed projects from afar. The learnings have proven beneficial in a market that has become even “more competitive”, he notes.
Beyond the superficial
Adding to the domestic competition is disrupter agency Cypress Communications, based in Shanghai, and headed by Zhang Congya. It was founded in 2018 and currently comprises a team of eight people. Zhang specialises mostly in domestic names (such as Oude Waag, Chen Peng and Maia Active) and is enthusiastic about “unconventional marketing”. She thinks many brands are “too ordinary, or working with very traditional agencies that [follow] strict rules… Now they need to be more creative. It’s also about moving away from this global dominance of all the PRs having to report back to head office.” Cypress Communications has provided agency support for the likes of Prada and Louis Vuitton. Zhang suggests companies can benefit from mixing and matching their agencies and people.
The agency’s campaign for London jeweller Monica Vinader was styled by renowned Chinese stylist Lucia Liu and featured her media platform The Ballroom. Combined with Cypress’s seeding strategy, this “created a lot of noise” and translated directly into strong sales on Tmall. Congya’s approach is thorough and methodical — she takes the time for clients to understand what can be achieved beyond the superficial. “We can offer a lot of services. It’s like a freebird mentality,” she says.
She notes that many Chinese clients don’t yet fully understand the significance of PR and comms. That said, her experience of working with local clients has made the company leaner and more agile. “Because we often have limited budgets we need to be smarter and more imaginative.”
There’s a constant, intense search to identify “fresh, new and unique angles” for content and local talents. “We need topics that relate to us and our social life,” says Zhang. “These will attract eyes and get you noticed here.” On her radar for growth of her business: more international clients, crossover and lifestyle brands and art-focused projects.
At the heart of the best Chinese PR operations is an appreciation of the importance of culture. Peng says that Chinese consumers put increasing emphasis on the intrinsic values of brands and products. They also value the connections between Western brands’ storytelling and Chinese traditions.
For a recent campaign for Georg Jensen’s home accessories launch, E&A explored how to add beauty into everyday life by bringing together a variety of industry leaders to discuss how design can positively impact life. It’s the kind of idea that gains real traction in China.
“Whether it’s understanding the impact of digitisation and AI or creating a synergy across the Greater China region, communications are vital,” Peng insists. “We are the caretakers of your brand in China.”
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