In China, CNY is a time for homecomings all over the country, and beer is commonly consumed and gifted during these reunions with family and old friends. Our creative idea was to sponsor this meaningful moment, by letting the beer (and brand) express the feelings of gratitude you have for your loved ones. To do that, we created a bottle design with the words “Thank You” integrated into the label, along with a unique double-toast ritual that echoes the fact that “Thank You” in Chinese, is a double repetition of one sound – “Xie Xie”.

To launch the new bottle, we created a nationwide multi-media campaign around the hashtag #???? ????# (Two words for thanks, two clinks to say it). At the heart of the campaign was a unique bottle that we designed with the words “Thank You” integrated into the label. TV commercials, outdoor and retail promoted awareness and participation in this new thank you ritual offline, while branded content online generated further virality and participation online.

During the campaign period, overall sales revenue increased 22.1% year-on-year, special gift sets on e-commerce increased our revenue by USD 1.92 million, while brand preference reached a historical high of 26.1%.

The mini-film and campaign story was picked up by 266 top media sites in China, delivering 667 million impressions worth more than 52 million RMB (USD 7.5 million). On Sina Weibo, the hashtag trended at number 3 with more than one million mentions during the campaign period. While our mini film “The Long Ride” ranked number 1 for most watched long-form branded content. More importantly, it delivered a lasting cultural impact with many wanting Budweiser to continue this meaningful campaign beyond 2017.