China has a total population of over 1.3 billion. Due to economic imbalance, one out of every six people leaves home and works in large cities. Most of them go back home once a year during the Spring Festival. In 2018, the Chinese government stopped collecting highway tolls to relieve pressure for public transport, resulting in 1 billion people traveling home by carpooling. Mengniu wanted to take advantage of this occasion to drive brand buzz and increase sales.

Targeting at the young migrant workers in China, Mengniu innovatively created a virtual compass to show distance and direction home during the Spring Festival. Users will be offered discounts on the Mengniu Pure Milk based on their distance home. The campaign was launched within Baidu Map to precisely reach our target audience who used the navigation platform to drive home. Then the users could order online directly. Mengniu’s fast delivery system ensured that the milk made it home before they did.

In 2018, the Chinese government stopped collecting highway tolls to relieve pressure for public transport, resulting in 1 billion people traveling home by carpooling. As it is the first time many has driven such long distance, many would use navigation apps to direct them home. So Baidu Map became our top choice for media touch points for its high exposure during the period. In the meanwhile, we leveraged the widespread sense of nostalgia among the country during the period to effectively connect with our audience.

Mengniu joined hands with Baidu Map to create a virtual compass called “Home Compass”. Usually, a compass points the direction of north. However, “Home Compass” always points home. Enter your home address into the Baidu Map, and it will show your distance and direction home, no matter where you are. You could also make purchases of Mengniu Pure Milk online directly and get discounts based on your distance from home.

The campaign was well received, generating 180 million impressions, over 5 million direct purchases, Mengniu Pure Milk sales increased 18% over the previous Spring Festival period. Driving up sales volumes and brand buzz volume significantly.