Post-90’s Chinese males face different struggles compared to their older counterparts.

As China continues to develop they are caught in a wave of economic pressure, constantly struggling to ensure they succeed in their career endeavors. They are also faced with societal pressures – as a result of the One Child policy, parents continuously want the best for their children, and that involves ensuring their kids end up with the best possible life partner. This is further compounded by the fact that post-90’s have a very limited support system, since their elders cannot relate to the struggles they go through

Therefore, to resonate with this young audience we needed to create a platform that provided a solution to their socio-economic issues, in a way that is relatable and entertaining to them.

In May to July 2015, Lynx partnered with Dior’s Man – a digital program on Sohu that has amassed a cult following among young Chinese Males due to its light and humorous tonality. Dior’s Man follows the story of Da Peng (played by celebrity Dongcheng Peng) as he tackles hot societal topics in a funny, exaggerated, and cheeky manner.

For instance, in one episode Lynx poked fun at the advertising industry, at the same time delivered its brand essence, by simulating a brainstorming session with employees getting inspired while using Lynx in the office.

Further promotional efforts helped drive traffic to the Sohu Video Site:

• • Cross-marketing promotion by placing a QR code on-pack and on key visuals in eCommerce encouraging scanners to watch Dior’s Man

• • Paid digital ads driving traffic towards video site

• • Series of viral video pre-rolls seeded across various video sites.

Over the course of the campaign period, Lynx Dior’s Man’s 4 episodes accumulated an impressive 443 million views.

As a result, Total Brand Awareness jumped by 27 percentage points. Key emotional and functional brand attributes such as “Lynx is cool and trendy” increased by 20 percentage points, and “Lynx has better fragrance than other brands” increased by 14 percentage points.

As the audience became increasingly aware and engaged, they actively searched for Lynx online – with eCommerce search index increasing by 84% vs. past year. This translated into online sales, with Lynx’s eCommerce flagship store sales increasing by 3x vs. past year. In the end, Lynx’s Brand Usage metric increased by 13 percentage points.

All in all, the Dior’s Man partnership delivered positive results – successfully driving brand health and gaining market share for Lynx.