What began as an “anti-Valentine’s Day” holiday for singles in China is now a multi-billion-dollar shopping-stravaganza – and the Levi’s® brand is showing up in a big way.
November 11 – known as 11/11, or “double 11” to locals – represents bare branches, the Chinese expression for people who are unmarried. But thanks to the incredibly popular Chinese site Tmall, the holiday has since morphed from a one-day online purchase event for one’s self or others to a full-blown shopping celebration that generated almost $18 billion in sales in 2016 – triple the $5.9 billion spent on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving combined in the U.S.
“Every year, Singles Day raises the bar for innovative ways to attract the attention of our Chinese consumer,” said Marc Rosen, President and EVP, Global Ecommerce. “It’s not only a major event for sales, but the production surrounding the day takes the concept of ‘retail as entertainment’ to new levels with things like virtual shopping tours, augmented-reality games and a television gala that rivals the Super Bowl half-time show in the U.S.”
This year, the brand has once again teamed up with Tmall for pre-event activations that are exclusively featuring the most inspiring brands with the coolest innovations. As part of that display, the Levi’s® brand created a 3D video experience highlighting the “Birth of Blue Jeans” that culminates into a live catwalk featuring product available exclusively via Tmall.
Tmall also partnered with the Levi’s® brand for a pop-up shop held during the site’s Denim Festival (Oct. 15-18), and it has given us exclusive site prominence this week leading into Saturday’s big event. This includes the premiere of another video featuring one of the brand’s biggest fans, who shares his Levi’s® love story and his appreciation for our craftsmanship.
Other online activations include a slew of social media campaigns on Weibo and We Chat, especially during the pre-shop period. Additionally, Levi’s® stores are getting in on the otherwise online shopping tradition with sales mirroring those available online the day of November 11.
With its success in China, more countries are starting to participate, from North and Southeast Asian markets to countries in Europe. It provides yet one more opportunity to showcase a global brand like Levi’s®.
