A concise yet holistic summary of March 2025’s key marketing developments in China, highlighting valuable insights and their implications for brands.

Instead of chasing scale through aggressive franchising or racing to the bottom with price wars, Honeymoon and Ah-Ma Handmade are playing the long game: building brands rooted in culture, craftsmanship, and emotional connection

Longchamp grew 20% last year while other luxury brands struggled. It did so by building its brand around its products, and by building immersive, seasonal experiences

POPMART's Labubu's popup in London's Harrod's is symbolic of increasingly global Chinese brands, and the plenty of lessons that come from them

A concise yet holistic summary of January 2025’s key marketing developments in China, highlighting valuable insights and their implications for brands.

Conversations are likely to be a little different for many young Chinese returning home for their Chinese New Year holiday

A Harper’s Bazaar campaign featuring hotpot CEOs is a testament to the power of blending fashion, culture, and business leadership. It not only redefines the role of CEOs in branding but also highlights broader trends in cultural revival, emotional connection, and experiential marketing.

AI has become an integrated tool for marketing in China 2025, making marketing easier at a surface level, but harder than it has ever been before. How do brands utilise AI to stand out?

A concise summary of last month's key marketing developments in China, highlighting valuable insights and their implications for brands.

MINISO has launched MINISO LAND, attracting massive crowds. Its first global “IP theme park-style” flagship blends globally- known IPs into an immersive shopping experience.

Jellycat CAFÉ has taken Shanghai by storm with its limited-time pop-up. Exclusive plush toys and immersive packaging performances highlight Jellycat's unique blend of emotional value and playful creativity.

Founded in 2019, Tiaohai Village (跳海酒馆) is a community-driven pub brand. Despite having around 30 locations nationwide, it's said to have achieved over ¥100 million ($14m) in revenue in 2023, together with over 200 highly active online alcohol communities. Check it out to learn about what sets Tiaohai apart from other pubs and how it truly connects with Chinese young people emotionally.

More and more Chinese youth are showing their personality by pairing their bags with cute bag hangings.

Chinese youth behaviour gives hints to what connects with them, what is missing, and idealistic ways they view familial relationships

To help China’s mental health transition from the taboo-to-talked about, Chinese found cute toons as an effective way to communicate their feelings, and they are now taking off as marketing tools

Cartoons who have become established as emojis are connecting with consumers emotionally through big brand collabs, including the recent Miniso x Chiikawa which saw 7-9 hour queues at their popup

Easy access to data and ecommerce is seeing products and promotions become more homogenous in China, but brands that stand out and command the highest margins are those who connect emotionally with their target audience

With China’s market becoming more and more flooded with brands and products, smart brands are tapping into consumers’ emotions with strategies such as Colour Marketing and Psychological Healing Marketing