Xiao Zhu, a new air purifier brand, launched in China’s most polluted cities, where it needed to stand out in a market that was almost as congested as the air. This is a market where half a million people, mostly children, have died due to air pollution–related–illnesses, which really concerns the parents we were aiming to reach. We saw an opportunity to establish Xiao Zhu’s reputation as the air purifier that’ll best protect their loved ones from this threat.

We put the spotlight on air pollution’s biggest culprits: factories. We turned the world-famous Chinese pollution itself into our medium, by projection-mapping a video of a choking child with our message about the pollution and the brand on the toxic smoke spewing out of the factory smokestacks.

This highly visible, highly relevant projection instantly gained the attention of our target audience. In addition, it was also filmed and released online. This helped garner the attention of parents, community leaders, online influencers and the media. It also gained the attention of the factory owners, who promptly shut us down, but unfortunately for them, the message was already out.

As a result, our video received 17.3 million views in just a week. We also received US$3.15 million in media coverage. More importantly, the attention helped clear the way for Xiao Zhu’s entry, with over 4.8 million visits to its website and a 38% increase in brand awareness.

Our objective was to raise brand awareness by at least 25%, by targeting parents. Our research, through publicly available literature, our proprietary GenAsia consumer study and interviews, showed us that there was an opportunity to engage parents on how they can defend the one thing they cared the most about – their children – with Xiao Zhu air purifiers.

The factories forced us to shut down within days. Unfortunately for them, the message was already out. Videos of our projection went viral across China, receiving 17.3 million views in just a week. We also received US$3.15 million in media coverage. More importantly, the attention helped clear the way for Xiao Zhu’s entry, with over 4.8 million visits to its website and a 38% increase in brand awareness.

The team literally put the spotlight on air pollution’s biggest culprits: factories. We turned the world-famous Chinese pollution itself into our medium, by projection-mapping a video of a choking child with our message about the pollution and the brand on the toxic smoke spewing out of the factory smokestacks.

This highly visible, highly relevant projection instantly gained the attention of the locals, who promptly shared what they saw online. In addition, the projection was also filmed and released online. This helped garner the attention of parents, community leaders, online influencers and the media.

Xiao Zhu, a new air purifier brand, launched in China’s most polluted cities, where it needed to stand out in a market that was almost as congested as the air. This is a market where half a million people, mostly children, have died due to air pollution–related illnesses. Yet, while parents were increasingly aware of the effects of air pollution on their young children, they weren’t really aware how else they could protect their children beyond using masks. We saw an opportunity to establish Xiao Zhu’s reputation as the air purifier that’ll best protect their loved ones from this threat.

We knew that our target audience – parents of young children – were increasingly aware of the lethal effects air pollution had on children, but knew little about what they could do, apart from using face masks. We saw an opportunity to position Xiao Zhu as the air purifier that’ll best protect their loved ones from this threat.

To reach them, we decided to use the most visible manifestation of this threat to their children as our medium: the toxic smoke spewing out of factory smokestacks.