China has become the world’s largest spirits market. Imported spirits account for around 40% of all alcohol consumption, and the proportion is expected to grow due to Chinese female millennials’ increasing interest in premium spirits.
A luxury spirits group asked Cherry Blossoms to decode the new communication codes, in the liquor & spirit luxury industry in digital communication in China:
Understand the evolution of communication codes: what has changed, new communication trends – topics & formats
Identify what are the main communication drivers – symbolics, aesthetics, brands’ incarnation (ambassadors), storytelling, concept & representations of luxury/exclusivity, values, emotional resonance
Identify innovative ways to transpose ad campaigns into a Chinese context and show respect to China
Decoding good & bad examples of localized brands’ communication – resonating or not for the Chinese audience

We provided recommendations for the group’s brands to improve the localization of their communication in China – resonate at a deeper level with the Chinese audience – especially the younger generation, men & women – raise desirability and show respect to Chinese culture.

We analyzed an extensive corpus of luxury brands’ communication campaigns on social media via:
Cultural decoding / semiotic analysis – from a Chinese perspective:
Crossing various disciplines: aesthetics, design, sociology, psychology, history, cultural studies
Taking into account the resonance of Chinese traditional culture, as well as recent trends in China
Qualitative social media listening: analysis of web users’ comments on Chinese social media