Xiaohongshu: the driving force behind Lululemon, Bing Dwen Dwen, and popular Win...

Xiaohongshu: the driving force behind Lululemon, Bing Dwen Dwen, and popular Winter Olympics memes in China

Xiaohongshu: the driving force behind Lululemon, Bing Dwen Dwen, and popular Winter Olympics memes in China

Rebbeca Ren

posted on February 9, 2022 6:59 pmEditor : Wang Boyuan

Xiaohongshu has become one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in recent years, as it proves to be a valuable resource for young Chinese consumers making purchasing decisions.

With the Beijing Winter Olympics in full swing, Xiaohongshu, China's answer to Instagram, has become one of the most active platforms for netizens to talk about the games, opening up more opportunities for brands or individuals to conduct marketing projects.

As Canadian athletes went on stage for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, Chinese netizens were captivated by their Lululemon Athletica-sponsored official uniforms. Some users asked, ‘I like the style and color of Canadian athletes' down jackets. What is the brand? Where can I get it?’, in their posts on Xiaohongshu, also internationally known as RED. Soon after, more people joined the discussion, propelling the topic to a trending spot on the platform.

Posts about Team Canada's Lululemon down jackts

Since the Canadian team's down jackets are yet to be released in China, some Xiaohongshu users claimed to have asked relatives and friends living in Canada to help buy the items for them. Others, living in North America, shared their purchases in try-on posts, receiving tons of likes and comments.

The debut of Lululemon's Team Canada outfit on Xiaohongshu was in stark contrast with its debut on Twitter. When the brand first unveiled the design in October 2021, it got a lot of backlash and roasts on Twitter, with some even calling it the world's ugliest Olympic uniforms.

According to an employee of Lululemon in downtown Ottawa, ever since the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony, a huge number of Chinese customers have flocked to the store to try on or buy Team Canada down coats, and at present, the coats are out of stock at many locations.

The topic’s popularity on Xiaohongshu has not only helped the down jackets become best-sellers but has also brought tremendous visibility and popularity to the Canadian brand on the platform in a short amount of time. It was an unprecedented marketing success for Lululemon, which entered mainland China in 2016 but was previously only known to a small group of consumers.

Aside from Lululemon, Ben Sherman, the official designer for Team GB, and Ralph Lauren for Team USA are also highly praised by Xiaohongshu users for their unique designs and iconic colorways.

Xiaohongshu helped Bing Dwen Dwen, the panda mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics, become a superstar overnight. Posts about the chubby panda in a hard, transparent bodysuit are bound to receive lots of likes, collects, and comments. Countless similar posts have even managed to change the opinions of some users, who were initially unimpressed with the mascot, but now think that the character is adorable and say they can't wait to have one.

Posts about Bing Dwen Dwen

The craze for Bing Dwen Dwen has caused merchandise to sell out at incredible speeds. Faced with strong, unmet demand, the organizing committee stated on Sunday that China will increase the supply of merchandise featuring Bing Dwen Dwen.

Whether it's Lululemon or Bing Dwen Dwen, going viral relies heavily on user-generated content. Compared to other social media platforms that always cast the spotlight on top influencers, Xiaohongshu is more user-friendly, since it focuses more on building an online community, with lots of credible user-generated content and word-of-mouth advertising.

Due to this distinct trait, Xiaohongshu, established in 2013, has become one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in recent years, as well as a crucial tool for young Chinese consumers, ladies in particular, for seeking out reviews and recommendations of a particular product on Xiaohongshu before they make the purchasing decision.

The platform is also striving to diversify its userbase by encouraging the creation of more types of content, such as sports, electronic devices, and workplace-related topics.

Before the Winter Olympics, Xiaohongshu launched the "Ice and Snow Season" campaign, inspiring users to post ski-related content. The number of posts published on Xiaohongshu containing the term "skiing" has increased by 232% in January 2022 compared to January 2021 and by almost 8.3 times (827%) compared to January 2020.

Xiaohongshu has lured in multiple top-notch Chinese Winter Olympics athletes, including Eileen Gu, Yang Yang, Xu Mengtao, and Liu Jiayu, and has become an integral channel for them to interact with fans and run personal marketing.

According to Xiaohongshu, as of November 2021, it has more than 200 million monthly active users, out of which 72% were born after 1990, and 50% live in first and second-tier cities. In addition to that, as of March 2021, the number of posts on its platform has exceeded 300 million.

Despite its remarkable growth, the platform has also come under pressure due to a lack of diverse monetization channels. In 2020, advertising has had a contribution of $600 to $800 million in revenue, accounting for 80% of the company's total income.

In November 2021, the Shanghai-headquartered company raised $500 million in its latest funding round at a valuation of $20 billion from Singapore state-owned investors Temasek, Tencent, Alibaba, Genesis Capital, and Tiantu Capital, as reported by Reuters, which cites people familiar with the matter.