FINDING LUXUS: Decoding Luxury Content on Chinese Social …...Chinese social media landscape is vast and complex MARKET CONTEXT 1.418 Billion Urbanization 60% 1.543 Billion vs. Population

LUXUS{ DECODING THE INGREDIENTS OF IMPACTFUL

LUXURY SOCIAL MEDIA }

CHINA 2019 / 2020

WHAT WE DID TO CREATE THIS WHITEPAPER

In writing this paper we were looking to

provide a unique perspective on luxury

social media content to answer a key

question all luxury brands ask

themselves:

HOW DO WE MAKE

OUR CONTENT MORE

IMPACTFUL

To unlock a formula for success on

social media we’ve looked at social

media content and trends from four

different perspectives.

Social Imaging – In order to examine

luxury content through the eyes of

consumers we used EVA: Kantar’s AI

powered User Generated Image posts

analytics system with semiotically

inspired algorithms and parameters.

KOLs – Mediacom reached out to KOLs in

order to gain insight into what they believe

makes great content.

FGD – interviewed a group of millennials

and younger centennials with Kantar’s

Qualitative team.

Semiotics & Cultural Analysis – Kantar’s

specialized Semiotics and Cultural Analysis

department deep dived into the data

generated from EVA, Kantar and third party

data to uncover the cultural nuances and

dynamisms responsible for the trends in

social media.

“

Social Imaging, KOLS, FGD, Semiotics,

Cultural Analysis and Kantar Data

MEET EVA

EVA was engineered by AI specialists

and semioticians to understand the

equity that brands and categories have

in culture - at scale.

More than 23 000 pieces of user

generated content (UGC) was

collected under hashtags related to

luxury. These were automatically

clustered into patterns through EVA’s

image recognition capability and

prepared for semiotic analysis.

Kantar then used semiotic analysis to

further refine content clusters

and deep dive into the associated meanings

behind each one. Findings were grouped

into territories and themes attached to larger

cultural trends.

To make this piece more actionable Kantar

and Mediacom collaborated to distill the

findings into a formula which all luxury

brands can use as a guide to optimizing

their content.

POWERED BY EVA…

ANALYSED THROUGH SEMIOTICS AND

CULTURAL EXPERTISE…

Kantar’s AI powered Enhanced Visual

Analytics system with semiotically inspired

algorithms & parameters

LUXUSPREFACE

P

PREFACEA brief history of luxury and its convergence

with social media in China

The word “luxury” originates from the Latin word “Luxus” which means the indulgence of the

senses, regardless of the cost. In ancient Chinese culture as with the rest of global cultures

luxury has historically been associated with the desire to acquire a small part of an imperial life

and hence an illusionary sense of its grandeur.

As such this created the almost complete amalgamation of luxury and materialism. As status

became not the exclusive privilege of royalty (through their decline) – luxury became more

spread and democratized, a privilege of those who were wealthier than others – Imperial

privilege was substituted by materialistic wealth.

Material connoisseurship turns to experientialism driven by the social media rise and the desire to be projected in them in the most aspirational way. Marking the first shift heavily influenced by social media

Materialism as we know it is being born as people begin to get their piece of royalty and communicate their upgraded social status

What we perceive as luxury started as objects that belonged to Royalty and ’naturally’ signified their highest and most prestigious status

Exhibitionism of material wealth as the economy booms and China opens to the world

LUXUSCONTEXT

C

Chinese social media landscape is vast

and complex

MARKET CONTEXT

1.418 Billion

Urbanization

60%

1.543 Billion

vs. Population

109%

802.0 Million

Penetration

57%

1.007 Billion

Penetration

71%

1.007 Billion

Penetration

71%

Total

Population

Mobile

Subscriptions

Internet Users Active Social

Media Users

Mobile Social

Media Users

Sources: Hootsuite and We Are Social

99% 85% 1H 57M 9.0 24%

Visited or used

social network

or messaging

service in the

past month

Actively

engaged with

or contributed

to social

media in the

past month

Average

amount of

time spent per

day using

social media

Average

number of

social media

accounts used

per user

Percentage of

social media

users that use

social media

for work

purposes

CONSUMER CONTEXTChinese luxury consumers: Progressive,

Modern, Labelled and Divided

• Traveling domestically and internationally is highly aspirational and regularly done. As such they are culturally aware, and fast becoming global connoisseurs.

• Increasingly more life quality driven –pursuing passion.

• They are experiential and explorative. Novel and unique experiences are important.

• Driven more by substance and experiences, willing to experiment and try new things.

• Leisure time is highly valued and filled with increasingly more intense and/or meaningful entertainment.

• More open and curious mindset, less constricted by rules and conventional obligations. Determined to make their own decisions.

Luxury media consumers are progressive and modern



There are the Self-Made or the Rich Second Generation

Self made

• Successfully worked their way up the

career ladder.

• Starting to command a high salary,

don’t worry too much about money.

Content with their materialistic life.

• Striving for a rich, stimulating and

exciting life of leisure.

Rich second generation

• Come from affluent families. Key social

network comes from similar or

complimentary backgrounds.

• Work is not their only income source,

but it ensures they are connected with

society and gives life value.

• Unburdened by the day to day grind,

they have more time to

pursue passions.



Luxury consumers areheavily labeled

• Labeled by brands they wear and use. A powerful way to find a friends’ circle and belongingness when entering a new environment.

• Trends are very important, getting constantly updated on latest developments, to keep themselves relevant in social circles.

• Sharing on social media platforms or amongst close friends help to create and maintain an aspirational identity.

• However, as more people can afford luxury, the labels consumers want to be associated with are shifting, this is particularly the case with the rich second generation.

• They want to be seen as in-the-know, discerning, owners of things that others don’t own – exclusivity is the key to separate them from those that do not belong to the circle.

LUXURY CONTEXTThe meaning of luxury in general

Consumers have a common understanding of luxury. Most started with material luxury,

pursuing classic and world class luxury brands.

However, with more life experience, most switch their pursuit from materialistic luxury,

“show-off products” to “product experiences” & “niche / individualized products” (别人没有，

只有我有”).

There is a shift from high profile luxury to low profile luxury, from older, classic and

extrovert luxury to younger, trendy and introvert luxury.

UNIQUE

EXCLUSIVE

LIMITED EDITION EXPENSIVE

RARE

CLASSIC

CUSTOMIZED

DELICATE

TOP

HERITAGE PRESTIGE

CRAFTMANSHIP

NICHE

SHOWOFF

The above word cloud represents the key themes which emerged when we asked

consumers what luxury meant to them.

SOCIAL IMAGINGOVERVIEW

O

CLUSTERS / SHARE OF VOICEThe clusters produced by EVA and their share

of voice by percentage

Themes produced through semiotic analysis

Modern Interior

Style

3.63%

Luxury Mockery

2.16%

Extravagant Lifestyle

2.29%

Natural Beauty & Optimism

3.63%

Girly Heart

3.90%

Precious Sharing

Moment

4.06%

The Perfect

Non-Posing Pose

4.34%

Romantic Wedding Moment

4.54%

Cutting Edge Urban Discovery

4.71%

Exclusive Seascapes

5.22%Western Classical

Heritage

6.24%

Celebrity Peak

4.54%

Precious Hand

4.86%

Luxurious Handbag

8.72%

Indulgent Food

5.01%Trendy Luxury

2.93%

Exquisite Luxury

Fashion

2.93%

Sophisticated

Minimalism

2.93%

Timelessness

2.37%

Luxury Wheels

3.16%

Fragmented Data

7.95%

SOCIAL IMAGING OVERVIEW

In answering the question of what

makes content more impactful, we

need to look at content from three

angles. In the semiotic and cultural

analysis we place findings into three

defining categories: Residual,

Dominant and Emergent

communication trends.

Residual generally refers to findings

containing meanings and expressions

which have lost momentum.

Dominant findings refer to mainstream

meanings that have become the norm,

what is normally regarded as

the majority.

Luxury UGC mapping across residual

content to emergent trends

Emergent are as the name suggests the

new trends which have just started to find

their way into expression and social media.

One of the key dimensions in making

content more impactful for luxury brands is

about balancing what is effective in the

dominant trends and what are the right

emergent trends according to different

brands’ strategy needs. In the sections to

follow we will take you from dominant to

emergent trends adding examples of

emergent brands who already tap

into them.

LUXURY UGC FOCUSIn this whitepaper we will be focusing on

these trends and their associated codes

MINIMALISMExquisite

Luxury

Fashion

Modern

Interior

Style

Stylish

Minimalism

CULTURAL PRIDE Western

Classical

Heritage

Timeless

Heritage

EXPERIENTIALISM

Extravagant

Lifestyle

Exclusive

Seascapes

Cutting Edge

Urban Discovery

HUMANISMPrecious

Sharing

Moment

Celebrity

Peek

Girly

Heart

The Perfect

Non-Posing

Pose

LUXURY UGC TRENDSMINIMALISM

1


A residual/dominant code due to overt ostentatiousness associated with

fashionable lifestyle and aesthetically exclusive beauty

Share of voice:

4.34%

Exquisite

Luxury

Fashion

Looks Like:

fashion shows and catwalks;

garments with intricate designs;

top models

Associated Meanings:

exclusive fashion and beauty;

magnificence; delicate and

elaborate design; retro style in

contemporary interpretation;

(light touch of) quirkiness

FROM:

TO: A more emergent luxury projected through less loud expressions such as:

Looks Like:

simple design; use of

straight lines; use of earthy

tones and warm hues;

colour blocking;

minimalistic compositions


understated stylishness;

simplicity; minimalism;

purity; sophisticationShare of voice:

3.97%

Stylish

Minimalism

LUXURY UGC TRENDS

LOEWE is also rising fast, simple and young, but also very

neutral. . .

- MK Liang Liang

“

Balenciaga demonstrates a great example of how the

content feels more luxurious and of higher value. Their

UX and content is fantastically minimalistic allowing a

person to focus on what’s important.

A great example of satisfying (from a content

perspective) a deeper cultural need for simplified

elegance to combat visual oversaturation.

MINIMALISM

More emergently the trend evolves not just in it’s minimalism but also in it’s sophistication. It’s

not only about minimalism but about the sophistication in crafting the minimalism.

Looks Like:

plain interior home spaces;

interior decoration using warm

tones, absence of clutter;

minimalistic layouts


clean and pure modernism;

brightness; warmth

contemporary design and

aesthetics; refinement; reserveShare of voice:

7.8%

Modern

Interior

Style

The (Chinese) perspective on luxury consumption is evolving:

Luxury cues such as subtle colors, design and scale, understated branding and

sophisticated looks implying personal cultivation

As sophistication increases the emphasis shifts from the obvious exhibitionism.

The idea of simplification gets even extra value through the association of cutting the

clutter and noise in order to focus and highlight what is essential and meaningful.

• To more understated states where

genuine appreciation, a sense of inner

cultivation and refinement are

becoming key drivers.

• From luxury consumption

associated with social upgrade,

exhibitionism and a materialistic

sense of superiority.

Brand Routes / Activations

• Less is more and brands that choose to speak in an understated way suggest confidence

in esoteric superiority and sophistication of their products.

• Simple product and packaging lines and shapes, subtle colors and details, minimal visual

compositions, motifs and product displays become evidence of luxurious branding.

• Brands tap into the art world and gallery inspired retail spaces to suggest masterful

crafting of products that are the commercial equivalent to works of art for a discerning,

eclectic audience appreciative of high aesthetics and understated exclusivity.

• Subtle and witty humor communicates a superior brand, full of confidence that operates

in an exclusively higher level of communicating with the correspondingly same level

of audience.

MINIMALISM

CULTURAL DYNAMISM


• Social Consumer Relationship

Management (SCRM) and social

commerce ecosystems are highly

complex, and for guiding to point of

sales. As such, sophisticated

minimalism in brand owned social

buying assets is key in converting

sales. Content needs to be rich but

minimal between “discovery” and

“point of purchase”.

• For brand owned assets, user

experiences and interfaces should not

only form part of the functional

strategy in controlling user experience

and traffic but also show

sophistication in the way it is crafted.

When functionality is sophisticatedly

minimalistic it conveys luxury and this

reinforces the brand’s equity.

KEY TAKEAWAY – Content luxurious through minimalism1 1

TOP 3 RISKSLOWER than averageHIGHER than average

1. Exposure to

pollutants and

contaminated air

(87%)

2. Exposure to poor-

quality or

contaminated food

sources (82%)

3. People or

companies

misusing personal

data (76%)

Pollution and food contamination are heightened risks in China, severely outweighing

immigrant, political and economic issues. With so many concerns and complexities, the need

for a simplification of life emerges:

• Political divisions

paralyzing the

government of my

country 28%, -40pts from

average

• Significant downturn in

my country’s economy

44%, -33pts from average

• Immigrant populations

challenging the

established values and

way of life in my country

43%, -18pts from average

• Exposure to poor-

quality or contaminated

food sources 82%

+11pts from average

• Exposure pollutants and

contaminated air

87%, +7pts from

average

• Public humiliation from

a social media post

going viral 45%, +6pts

from average

LUXURY UGC TRENDSHUMANISM

2

Share of voice:

4.06%

Precious

Sharing

Moment

Looks Like:

the moment spent together or

with friends; family members;

significant others; selfie angle

or close up camera shots;

emotional imagery


intimacy; priceless moment;

joy; happiness; authenticity

Just like many people

describe the relationship

between stars and fans as

"eating with love".

- MK Liang Liang

“

Longchamp is a good example of a brand

leveraging this. It invites young celebrity Yao Chi

as a photographer to document the city’s energy

of communities. He captures moments of family,

friends being together and sharing happiness. The

moments of daily togetherness demonstrates

warm and pricelss connections in society.


A typical code and very unique to China, devoid of any direct luxury cues but

emphasizing on the importance of the preciousness of human connections.

Looks Like:

celebrity as the protagonist;

wearing luxury items; celebrity in

everyday life; discussing the

specific luxury items they are

wearing; un-styled appearances;

imperfect conditions


curiosity; desirable yet relatable

lifestyles; celebrity culture, luxury

closely associated with celebrity

authenticity; humanity

Sincerity is one of the key ingredients identified by MK Liang Liang

for a successful content strategy and this UGC is a perfect example

of this. There has been a clear shift away from the glitzy glamour

image celebrities worked so hard to maintain towards more humane

expressions of themselves.

Unique recipe, I think is sincerity, and let

everyone feel your sincerity- Mk Liang Liang“

Share

of voice:

4.54%

Celebrity

Peek


Celebrities are humanizing themselves through this content and showing

authenticity moving away from distancing exclusivity.

Zhou Xiao Chen also refers to a very important nuance of this; it is important for luxury brands to

understand how strong the need for “Real” is in contemporary Chinese culture.

Successful social copywriting must be

authentic and resonate. Write everyday about

everyday life that no one else can touch. In

fact, the content I like very much is to share

everyday, very trivial things. I love to read

books and movies and so on, going to an

exhibition, this is some of the content that fans

can experience, and will be more popular.

- Zhou Xiao Chen

“

A further example is what was labelled a

publicity stunt by Qiao Bi Luo Dian Xia (a

live streaming celebrity). She had used an

emoji to cover her face for years as she was

worshiped by hundreds of thousands of fans

as a “cute goddess”.

She chose to reveal her true self with a

“glitch” resulting in her followers surprise.

Contrary to the expected outcome, the

revealing of her natural unpolished self

drove more following than it diminished.


Share of voice:

3.9%

Girly

Heart

Looks Like:

young females as the

protagonists; using selfie

angle or close-ups; use of

emojis stickers on their image

creates hyper realistic beauty;

cute make-up style and

innocent facial expressions


innocence; childish moments

simple; fun; cuteness

A great example of this is brands using gamification to

create a playfulness around their brands.

Luxury brands place silly and basic interactive games on

their social media platforms with the intent to create more

time spent on the platform. This prolongs exposure to

brand content and proximity to purchasing catchment

zones, frequency of return and increasing likelihood of

further engagement.

On the right is great example from Balenciaga of a basic

Pac-man parody. Features such as these associate with

the inner playfulness of consumers and play a key role in

driving frequency of use.

In the context of younger audiences, their true natural selves are very different from that of

the youth outside of China. In China, youth are forced to mature much faster. This

accelerated maturity results in many parts of their youth getting lost thus producing a latent

playfulness which reveals itself as innocent cuteness.


Share of voice:

5.22%

The Perfect

Non-Posing

Pose

Looks Like:

protagonists carefully curating

their non-posing moment; in

elegant dress codes; luxury

items (e.g. handbag, jacket);

looking away from camera;

minimal yet stylish high end

background


“caught in the moment”

perfection; desirable lifestyle;

well-prepared;

unconsciousness;

Sophistication; thoughtfulness

One of the most emergent codes that disrupts the concept of direct self projection, association

with luxury and social status. It projects the desire to evoke authenticity and sophisticated

understatement and to project a more immaterialist, full of substance self–image

(especially due to the high aesthetic and artistic related

backgrounds compositions).

Finally we look at the most emergent expression in terms of being human of luxury UGC

produced by EVA:

Balenciaga uses a similar approach in a WeChat

campaign. In this campaign in which they show perfectly

dressed models being captured by a security camera.

This communicates the authenticity of everyday life and

bringing high end fashion back into a raw reality.


CULTURAL DYNAMISM

Relevant Emergent Cultural Context

• Over the past few decades Chinese

citizens have gone through

unprecedented change.

• The move from conformism as part

of a whole to the rediscovery of the

individual and the emergent luring

concept of individualism has created

an radical change in society.

• As the sobriety sets in so to does

the need to seek those with similar

backgrounds.

• As such we see Chinese society as

a whole moving towards

reestablishing social connections

and placing a significant value on

social connection.

• It’s important to note that this is not

a new concept to Chinese society

but rather a return to the culture’s

natural state.

• Chinese culture has historically

been a very close tight knit culture

and this value is reemerging.


• On social media brand need to provide

platforms for consumers / users to display

their awareness and sobriety of the world

around them through online forums.

• Brands can use their platforms as micro

versions of social ecosystems creating a

platform to connect like minded

individuals, forming communities.

• Use activations as networking catalysts

rather than one-way promotional tools.

Humanism & individualism

Emergent luxury advertising depicting consumers in different forms of interactions


• Luxury brands should be selecting

KOLs who show their human side and

associate themselves with true human

moments which resonate with the

lives of their target consumers.

• When speaking to younger audiences

luxury brands should be willing to be

more playful. To increase time users

spend in the brand worlds, find

engaging and more playful ways to

keep consumers / users engaged and

coming back.

• Luxury products are no longer just

vehicles of projecting wealth but now

more than ever about projecting

identity. Luxury brands need to be real

and authentic in the style of their

content. They need to tell real stories

and show real life.

• In selecting KOLs luxury brands

should be choosing those who

actually resonate with their brands

DNA on a personal level, humanizing

their equity and creating greater

degree of intimacy and inclusiveness.

Brands should be choosing people not

social media numbers.

KEY TAKEAWAY – Be authentic, make real connections, speak to users2 2

Source – Global Monitor – Market Briefing 2019

50%

47%

41%

21%

49%

37%

36%

32%

thinks of them as a friend

gets good grades in school

excels in subjects such as science,tech & math

is popular in school

GLOBAL CHINA

Social connection and closeness is a priorityPercentage of parents who say the following is “very important that their child … ”

Most noteworthy in this

supporting evidence is the

fact that in China 32%

percent of parents want

their children to be popular

at school vs the global

average of only 21%.

This shows the importance

which emergent culture is

placing on the importance

of social connection.

LUXURY UGC TRENDSCULTURAL PRIDE

3

Looks Like:

architecture of overseas destinations, such

as European countries; the angle of tourist

photo shooting;

wide angle images


European / western heritage;

documenting the moment of travelling

discovery; the experience of overseas travelShare of voice:

6.24%

Western

Classical

Heritage


Looks Like:

antique objects; museum display /

environment; close look at the object;

antique insignia; antique golden items;

jade objects


precious-ness; timelessness; classical value;

history/heritage appreciation; sophistication;

cultural pride; appreciation

Share of voice:

2.37%

Timeless

Heritage

Residual UGC associated with Western cultural admiration. It attains a more

dominant tone and popularity due to the dynamism of the travelling trend - When

analysing this through the lens of luxury brands, the provenance and heritage of

brands is overtly used to drive brand equity.

FROM:

TO:More emergent reveal of the resurgence of cultural pride. Whilst the UGC

produced is quite residual in it’s appearance, it’s presence in this data is an

important sign of cultural pride.

Many luxury brands, especially those

with a long heritage, have global

content strategies and then simply

translate the content into local

languages. This strategy will no

longer work in China. Instead luxury

brands need to embrace the cultural

nuances of China into their design

and brand strategies, such as Luis

Vuitton. The chic design celebrates

Chinese heritage whilst post-

modernizing the aesthetics through

European influenced sophistication,

creating an authentic blend of global

culture.


An example of this can be

found with Versace.

Creating a post-modern

experience for the store

on the left.

Using content such as this

capitalizes on

demonstrating respect for

cultural pride of China

while being true to the

edginess and authenticity

of the Versace brand.

A more emergent and far more relevant content strategy takes the form of brand experiences

that are post-modern - blending past present, foreign and local


• As China’s opening to the world and

international standing increases, the

allure of and reliance on blind

Western mimicry and influence

is fading.

• It is historically proven that after

financial growth comes cultural

confidence and pride. This is the

case for China now, where its past is

seen under a new liberated light,

acknowledged and respected for its

value and contribution to the world.

• At the same time, the realization of

domestic financial confidence

creates a sense of equally domestic

expectations of finding sources

of luxury.

• Old motifs, values and ideals are

resurfacing with emergent and

luxurious energy.


• Brand philosophies that draw inspiration

from the past but at the same time ride

the wave of emerging culture.

• Products and communications based on

traditional ideas and techniques but

adjusted in contemporary context and

aesthetics, connecting pride of heritage

with optimism and confidence

for the future.

• Traditional motifs, elements and patterns

resurface in digital format, new materials

and fresh combinations giving brands a

sense of historical continuity and eternal,

classical value.

Cultural confidence and Pride

TV show ‘the Nation’s greatest treasures’ introducing ancient antique pieces from various historical

museums across China;

Chinese traditional craftsmanship and patterns to inspired creation (JW blue);

Luxury brands (Shangxia, Hermes, Gucci, etc.) use traditional Chinese elements on product (traditional

CN furniture, CN zodiac, lantern, etc.)

CULTURAL DYNAMISM


• In terms of collaborations (both KOL

and brand) for social media - Luxury

brands should select KOLs which are

able to ground the brand in the

Chinese culture. Simply selecting

KOLs who mimic foreign culture and

don’t have a deeper connection to the

Chinese culture will result in

temporary following.

• Luxury brands cannot simply translate

global content. In order have the right

tone and manner brands need to find

the balance between their brand

heritage / identity and local cultural

pride. Pay respect to the Chinese

culture, but don’t try to fake being

Chinese.

KEY TAKEAWAY – Respect classic and facilitate contemporary Chinese culture3 3

• 62% agree that “I am

more open to local brands

because they can meet

the needs of the

local consumers”

• 73% agree that “I like

video content, music, etc.

that feature local

elements and traditions”

Fashion accessories

Personal digital gadgets

Small electronics

Personal Care

-100 -75 -50 -25 0 25 50 75 100

Prefer foreign brands Somewhat prefer foreign brands Somewhat prefer local brands Prefer local brands

From Global to LocalPreference for “local” elements has been growing

LUXURY UGC TRENDSEXPERIENTIALISM

4

Looks Like:

unusual scenes; resort environments (e.g.

luxury hotel, swimming pools);

well arranged display of items; protagonist

immersed in activities of enjoying the

luxuriousness


extravagance; sumptuousness;

the desirable; living / experiencing exclusivity

A more emergent energy due to the travelling trend and the association of luxury with off

the beaten track exclusive settings and experiences.

LUXURY UGC TRENDSEXPERENTIALISM

A dominant / emergent code associated with travelling and luxurious lifestyles, and an

escape to more pure and less crowded environments; the idea of exclusivity here blends

with the idea natural beauty.

Share of voice:

2.29%

Extravagant

Lifestyle

Share of

voice:

2.29%

Exclusive

Seascapes

Looks Like:

long shots of seascapes; people immersed

in scenery; gestures of enjoying / embracing

the natural environment; blue and white as

predominant color


travelling escapism and exclusive set ups

nature appreciation; clean-ness and purity

(without pollution)

Share of voice:

4.71%

Cutting Edge

Urban Discovery

Looks Like:

cutting edge (usually minimal)

aesthetics design; urban corner

/ spot /detail often used as

background; people posing in

front of urban landscapes;

unusual / sophisticated posing


urban beauty and exploration

stylish living; minimal; cutting

edge aesthetics appreciation;

contemporary design;

appreciation and proof of

discovery; search

for acknowledgement


Burberry’s mobile marketing piece on

WeChat to promote the launch of a

new flagship store in Shanghai.

Images of the two cities blend with

each other in a saturated retro style

image composition communicating

brand heritage and local relevance.

This is an example of a brand tapping

into the larger hyper reality trend.

An emergent code that tones down the idea of luxury through materialism and emphasizes

experiential discovery and the appreciation of design aesthetics of urban environments. The

use of cutting edge urban aesthetics here serve the role of ‘found and earner’ accessories.

The trend of hyper reality has

encompassed both brand

experientialism and social buying.

On a brand level of hyper reality,

Balenciaga in a recent WeChat

campaign have used digital models

and AR to model their clothing,

distorting the lines between realities.

Luis Vuitton has gone as far as to pair-up

with the Final Fantasy series to use one of

the characters as a brand ambassador.

From a UGC perspective hyper reality has

seen consumers / users completely

transform themselves e.g. Meitu & Douyin.

WHAT COULD BE NEXT . . .

With brands using digital KOLs, the diffusion

of AR and VR technology paired with

consumers abilities to mould their own

image and create content endlessly, it’s not

a far cry to imagine that consumers may be

creating their own KOLS soon.


A real without origin

or reality- Jean Baudrillard

“

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Another major trend being influenced by the

hyper reality trend is social buying.

Xiao Hong Shu is of course the princess of

social buying, and remains a priority for

luxury brands although losing momentum.

Much more emergent are platforms like

Mogu. Mogul fuses the digital trend of highly

addictive short video formats with

social buying.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Brands need to understand that social

buying is no different from social media. It

cannot be a cold one way line of promotion,

but must have two way interaction.

Two potential routes:

ONE: HUMAN

Using emergent social buying formats

brands will need to show their products as a

part of everyday life and optimize their

choice of KOLs to fit a more real connection

with their consumers rather than perfectly

polished and staged scenes – Video

streaming must move to live streaming.

TWO: GO BEYOND REALITY

Brands can commit into an entirely new

digital reality. Using digital KOLs created

specific to the needs of the consumers.

These digital KOLs need to be part of their

realities and need to interact with their real

worlds. It’s only through seamless

integration of these realities that this will be

successful. Digital KOLs are impervious to

scandal and can evolve constantly thus

avoiding becoming obsolete.


Platforms such as Farfetch represent the

digital equivalent of the buyer shop trend in

dominant culture. As Chinese consumers’

luxury consumption matures, the need for

niche items representative of their

identities prevails.

More emergently we see platforms such as

O’Lavie which take the pursuit of individual

luxury purchasing a step further. A platform

which connects professional shoppers /

buyers to consumers, giving them an even

more personalized experience as the

products they acquire are highly niche.



• As mobile and digital connectivity

have become an inseparable part of

Chinese consumers’ daily lives, the

idea of reality is being renegotiated

and its rarity is being seen as a

precious commodity; moments of

intimacy and real personal

connection become important and

that applies to consumer-brand

relationships also.

• This has caused an increasing

appreciation of the need to create

‘real’ and ‘physical’ connections

which deliver richer and more real

brand experiences.


• Retail is evolving into theatrical kind of

spaces, creating immersive environments

(through design, service, and overall

experience) while celebrating the brand.

• The use of design elements such as

organic shapes, intimate lighting and

carefully orchestrated product display as

well as the use of pop-up shops and

ambient media create elevating brand

contact points that draw from the

increasing value of physical

and real experiences.

• Brand provenance comes back into

relevance only this time not by sheer

Western emulation but by simulating the

cultural experience and value of travelling

to the country of origin.

Exclusive And Experiential Discovery

Luxury brands using the form of pop-up stores and art exhibitions to deliver

exclusive experiences.

CULTURAL DYNAMISM

KEY TAKEAWAY - Create immersive worlds through mixed reality4 4

• Social buying needs to be supported

by intuitive AI driven SCRM systems

and ecosystems in order to create

better two way conversation between

brand and consumer. Luxury brands

will need to realize that social media is

not a promotional tool, and that paid

social advertising is a temporary fix for

what is a larger need – interactive

social engagement.

LUXURY UGC TRENDSEXPERIENTIALISM

• Luxury brands should invest heavily in

mixed reality in terms of their brand

owned social assets. These assets

should seamlessly blend realities

through a well crafted mix of AR, VR

and other immersive technologies.

• In selecting KOLs, brands will need to

optimize their selection even

potentially opting for more emergent

choices such as digital KOLs which

exist in gaming or film, or create their

own digital KOLs.

CHINA GLOBAL

Make me feel relaxed and recharged 62% 47% +15pts

Help me grow or accomplish things 33% 42% -9pts

Expose me to something new and exciting 35% 35%

Are memorable 18% 34% -16pts

Allow me to help others 23% 28%

Connect me with others 19% 22%

Help me express my creativity 14% 22%

Provide an escape 30% 21% +9pts

Make me feel like I belong 32% 19% +13pts

Make me feel special 15% 19%

Make me look cool or stand out 11% 7%

Can be easily shared on social media 10% 4%

Percentage who say the following is “one of the three most important things they look for in an

experience”:

LUXUSACTION

we have the Key takeaways, now . . .what’s the points to action

A

SIX ACTIONPOINTSTO ACTIVATE LUXURY CONTENT ON

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Be Authentic

Brands need to be authentic in their story telling. In selecting KOLs they

need to choose KOLs which are real and are able to form real connections

with consumers. Be true to yourself, tell real stories and be part of

consumers real lives.

Have Dynamic Multiplicity

Be able to engage with users in many different mediums and on several

different levels, be agile with your strategy.

Personalize The Experience

Make the experience feel personalized and unique to the user, it’s about

attention to detail, build intelligent AI and dynamic SCRM systems.

Build Brand Worlds That Fuse Realities

Users want to be part of memorable and impactful experiences; build

exclusive and immersive real experiences that can be seamlessly fused

with social worlds and enhanced with AR and VR.

Empower Your Users

User interaction is not just engaging with your brand but also about and

giving them a platform to show their awareness of relevant topics. Activate

their needs to share.

Create Smaller Communities

Social media and many KOLs have become mass media. Have smaller,

warmer and more tight knit communities. Have one hundred followers who

are valuable rather than one million which are dormant and inactive.

1920

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Kantar:

Panos Dimitropoulos

Joe van Rensburg

Ben Xu

Snow Chen

Coco Wu

Claire Martin

Janet Zhou

Jerry Wu

MediaCom

Saw Gin Toh

Sonia Fang

Iris Chen

Leon Zhang

Howard Thompson

KOLS

Ci He Shang

Du Shao Fei

MK Liang Liang

Yan Fan Jame

Documents

FINDING LUXUS: Decoding Luxury Content on Chinese Social …...Chinese social media landscape is vast and complex MARKET CONTEXT 1.418 Billion Urbanization 60% 1.543 Billion vs. Population