The Moodies – Influencer/KOL-led Campaign
Best Influencer/KOL-led Campaign
Winner
Fresh – Kombucha Essence 2.0 Influencer Activation in Hainan
Fresh first launched Kombucha Facial Treatment Essence (known as KBC) in 2018 and in 2023 introduced its upgraded version, KBC 2.0, which offers advanced skin protection. For its seeding campaign, Fresh aimed to boost the flagship product and elevate brand awareness in Asia Pacific travel retail through collaborations with key opinion leaders (KOLs) on social media.
The company took into consideration insights from a social listening project with online travel agency partner Ctrip which revealed Hainan as the top-searched destination among Chinese travellers in the second quarter of 2023. This defined the target audience for the campaign: 30 to 45-year-old urban residents from tier one and two cities in China who are interested in beauty, travel and lifestyle. Social media platforms such as RED and Douyin were identified as their primary sources of pre- and in-trip information.
With a US$180,000 budget, Fresh unveiled a data-driven KOL strategy for return on investment (ROI) optimisation. The company analysed industry level cost-per-click and cost-per-engagement performance for different tier KOLs on three leading social media platforms: Douyin, Weibo and RED.
Douyin and Weibo offered a higher cost per mille (CPM) compared to RED, expanding content reach. Douyin was found to be a better fit for location-based content targeting in-trip travellers, while Weibo offered premium content quality to help enhance brand image. On the other hand, RED was recognised as the leading social platform for travelling tips research, allowing deeper seeding and accurate reach for KBC 2.0.
The company invested 60% of its overall campaign budget in Douyin and Weibo, and the rest on RED. Fresh selected 11 KOLs across the three channels to lead the social buzz for the KBC 2.0 campaign. To avoid generic brand/product content, the brand focused on delivering one message: ‘Fresh KBC 2.0 is a must-buy in CDFG Hainan.’
In collaboration with renowned tea brand Basao, Fresh created a travel retail-exclusive gift box to send to 50 KOLs, 24 media partners and 100 key opinion consumers (KOCs). The company also invited 10 influential mid to top-tier influencers to an offline travel retail event in Sanya. Influencers had the opportunity to learn about Kombucha creation, gain deeper insights about KBC 2.0 and create a ‘Liquid Gold’ fluid painting.
Fresh collaborated with 100 KOCs who visited duty free stores and unboxed seeding packs. Their participation helped generate authentic travelling shopping tips and boosted campaign awareness. The company also conducted a sampling programme with travel retail review platform Globuy, resulting in 2,000 redeemed samples of KBC 2.0 and 150 authentic reviews on RED, successfully reaching 165,000 travel retail shoppers.
As a result of the campaign, KBC 2.0 sales soared by +50% in CDFG Hainan in the second quarter of 2023. The social content achieved 27 million views and 391,000+ engagement through KOL posting, increasing total brand engagement on RED by +54% and on Douyin by +205% during the campaign period (based on data collected by KOL agency Duomai).
Through public relations and press seeding, the campaign garnered media value of ¥3 million (US$420,000) and 45 clippings in volume. The KBC 2.0 campaign not only enhanced product visibility but also strengthened consumer engagement, showcasing a positive impact on brand awareness and sales in the Asia Pacific travel retail market.
Highly Commended
L’Oréal Travel Retail Asia Pacific – Prada CNY 2023: Paradoxe Unveiled with Influential Voices
Prada’s ‘Paradoxe Unveiled with Influential Voices’ campaign showcased strategic brilliance with a S$300,000 (US$223,738) budget. Targeting Lunar New Year shoppers and tourists in Hainan, the campaign blended traditional Chinese aesthetics with Prada’s modern allure. The pop-up store at cdf Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay provided an immersive experience spotlighting Paradoxe perfume.
Digital advertisements on online travel agencies facilitated online-to-offline transitions. Influential KOL engagements yielded remarkable results, with over 25 million views and 519,000 engagements. The campaign success was evident in a tenfold increase in sell-out, 90% recruitment rate and a +820% boost in excess share of voice. Overall, the campaign proved a triumph in driving sales and amplifying brand engagement during the festive season.
The red lantern – a traditional Chinese symbol of good fortune – was incorporated in the pop-up design to create a vibrant and immersive effect
The Moodie Davitt eZine The Moodies 2023
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