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As almost 20% of the world's population, China accounts for a huge proportion of the world market. This makes it super important for any business operating globally or in the Asian market to recognise Chinese culture in their marketing efforts. Here are some great tips and examples to help you create a Chinese New Year email campaign.
What is Chinese New Year?
In China (as well as a few other Asian countries) New Year is celebrated according to the Lunar calendar. In China, the first day of the New Year begins when a new moon appears. This does not have a fixed date and traditionally occurs between 21st January and 20th February.
Chinese New Year is a hugely important celebration for millions of people worldwide.
Here are a few interesting facts about Chinese New Year:
- Each year has a zodiac animal which serves as a symbol for the entire year, as well as anyone born in that year. In total, there are 12 zodiac animals. This year (2024) is the Year of the Dragon.
- Chinese New Year is also known as Spring Festival and lasts for 15 days. In this time, it is common for everyone to return home and celebrate with their families. This causes the busiest travel period in China.
- The color red is believed to bring good luck during the start of a new year. Most people decorate their homes red and wear red clothing. Money is also commonly gifted to children in red envelopes for good fortune.
- Certain flowers are are always associated with the start of a New Year and often used as decorations. For example, the narcissus flower symbolises prosperity and blossom represents luck.
- The Chinese New Year is celebrated worldwide. Celebrations are held in major locations all around the world. London hosts the biggest celebrations outside of China and events are held throughout the city; including a huge parade.
Chinese New Year email campaign examples
Many big name brands send out a Chinese New Year email marketing campaign each year. Here are 5 of the best examples we've come across. Hopefully they'll inspire you to create one of your own!
Brand: Kate Spade
What we love: Aside from being super cute, this campaign is also really unique and creative. Kate Spade used their email campaign to promote a limited edition range especially for the Year of the Dog (back in 2018.)
Brand: Clinique
What we love: Here we can see another limited edition product being promoted which was created especially for the Year of the Rat. The red, gold and white color scheme is also well fitting to the occasion.
Brand: Harney & Sons
What we love: This campaign is not only super informative, it also manages to creatively use the zodiac animal (in this instance the horse) to connect the product to the celebration. Pairing this with an interesting main graphic and classic Chinese font made the email a winner.
Brand: Sunuva
What we love: This design is big on blossom - which is a traditional symbol associated with the Chinese New Year celebration. Putting together this edit was a great way for Sunuva to make their products relevant for the occasion.
Brand: La Mer
What we love: Gold goes hand in hand with any big celebration. This email campaign perfectly combines red and gold for a classic Chinese color scheme. We also love the subtle integration of the monkeys (zodiac animal for 2016) on the centre graphics.
Tips for your Chinese New Year email campaign
Remember the zodiac animal
Centring your campaign around the zodiac animal is a really smart way to stay relevant. Find ways to reference the zodiac animal of the year in your email; either through design (e.g. illustration, motifs, graphics) or text (subject line, puns, email copy, etc.) The more creative, the better!
This email by Karen Millen isn't massively related to Chinese New Year, but still stays relevant by giving a fun nod to the zodiac animal of that year.
Use traditional colors and symbols
As seen in the examples, the color red is a massive part of Chinese New Year celebrations. It's important to try and use this in your design. A red background, or red text are both good ways to add some color and stick to the theme.
In addition, other symbols such as the dragon, or the flowers we mentioned earlier would also be great to include in your design.
Concentrate on the theme of new beginnings
In all cultures, the start of a new year is synonymous with new beginnings. This is also the case with the Chinese New Year. Whether it's a new product range, a sale or promotion, or tempting your customer to try a new service, there are many ways you can incorporate this theme into your campaign.
Everyone can get involved
Even if you don't have a huge Chinese customer base, Chinese New Year is still well known enough to warrant an email campaign - just make sure to go about it respectfully. Find a way for your business to celebrate Chinese culture. This could be anything from art, cooking, language, film, fashion, etc.
Holding a special event or launching a promotion on Chinese-themed products are both good ways to get involved and share the celebration with your customer base:
Lakeland used this email campaign to celebrate Chinese cooking and promote their range of woks.
Remember you have time
While the start of the New Year is what's most commonly celebrated, Chinese New Year celebrations actually last for 15 days. Don't panic if you haven't started on your campaign yet, as you still have time to celebrate with customers!
Hopefully you have found these tips and examples inspiring and will consider creating a Chinese New Year email marketing campaign of your own.
Looking for a place to get started? Mail Designer 365 offers you all the creative tools you need for your Chinese New Year email campaign:
- Download Mail Designer 365 for Mac free
- Edit our ready-made Chinese New Year email template or drag and drop to create your own
- Click on Start Campaign to send to your audience via Delivery Hub
New user? Send to up to 200 contacts for free! Learn more.
HTML Email Template for Chinese New Year
Exclusively available in Mail Designer 365! Send your audience a warm greeting for the Chinese New Year using this bold, fiery template.
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A good email marketer always needs to be two steps ahead in terms of planning. Using a calendar to map out content and campaigns is a great way to stay motivated and reach your 2024 marketing goals.
Now is a great time to start looking at your email marketing plan for 2024. When deciding on your campaign ideas throughout the year, it’s useful to have a clear overview of all key events taking place over the next 12 months. This will help you create email content which is relevant and interesting to your target audience.
Our 2024 marketing calendar will help you get started with your email marketing planning for the coming year – available for you to download free!
Your free 2024 marketing calendar:
Use your free, interactive 2024 marketing calendar to view all the most important dates, holidays and sales periods coming up in 2024. You can edit the template to add any additional events you want to include to start planning your 2024 email strategy.
Carry on noting down todos, campaign ideas, important links, etc. throughout the year and keep track of all your campaign planning in one key document. We’ve already provided you with some useful links to help you get started.
Create email campaigns for 2024
- Download Mail Designer 365 free
- Explore and edit 240+ ready-made sales and seasonal email templates
- Email design ready? Click Start Campaign to send directly to your audience via Mail Designer 365 Delivery Hub
Want more inspiration for 2024? Keep reading to discover more unique marketing opportunities you can get involved in this year…
12 dates you need in your 2024 marketing calendar
Every year has those key marketing dates that a marketer can't do without, such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, Black Friday, etc. What really sets your business apart from the rest is getting involved with unique holidays and events that keep your campaigns fresh and interesting to your target audience.
Here's a monthly breakdown of exciting events coming up in 2024 that you can adapt for your own creative campaigns.
January 11th - International Thank You Day
January 11th is International Thank You Day and poses the perfect opportunity for your business to show your gratitude to customers in whichever way you see fit.
One idea could be to launch a "thank you" sale or promotion, allowing customers to save money after the costly holiday period. You could also hold a special event in store, offer a free gift with every purchase, or simply send out a warm thank you email to all your subscribers. Tip: Here are some great ideas for thank you emails.
Say thank you to your customers this January on International Thank You Day
February 10th - Lunar New Year 2024
The Lunar New Year is a major celebration throughout China and the rest of the world and coincides with the first new moon of the lunar calendar. According to tradition, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon!
If you or your audience are also celebrating, take a moment to recognize this significant event by sending a New Year greeting or organising a promotional email campaign.
Use this fiery Mail Designer 365 Design Idea as inspiration for your Chinese New Year campaigns or get more tips in our dedicated marketing guide.
March 23rd - Earth Hour
There's never been a more important time to raise awareness about climate change and sustainability. The Earth Hour movement is all about taking time out to reduce our impact on the planet and switching off the lights to reduce global energy usage.
There are so many ways your business could get involved in raising awareness for this cause, for example by using your platform to share tips and ideas and to get the word out there. The Earth Hour website also has plenty more ideas and resources for you to explore.
Earth Hour is an extremely important movement that your business should be part of.
April 12th - Coachella weekend begins
Coachella is known worldwide for being one of the biggest music festivals of the year and for many, marks the start of the summer season. With major stars headlining each year, thousands of celebrities, influencers and members of the public flock to this huge musical event, taking place over two weekends in the California desert.
As well as music, festival fashion is also a hot topic during Coachella. Perhaps your business can find a way to incorporate some of these themes into your April marketing campaigns. Some ideas may include organising a special event, creating a Coachella lookbook consisting of your products, or sharing travel tips.
May 6th - Met Gala
For years, the first Monday in May has been well known by the fashion community to mark the date of the Met Gala – considered by many to be "fashion's biggest night". The Gala is held annually in support of the New York Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute.
Each year there is a theme which invitees (largely consisting of prominent celebrities and influencers) are expected to reflect in their outfit choices. For 2024, the theme is "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion".
As one of the most talked about events of the year, this could be a unique campaign opportunity for your business, especially if you are operating in the fashion or lifestyle industries. Met viewing parties or live commentaries are growing in popularity, or you could try creating content that provides insight on this year's theme.
June 1st - LGBT Pride Month begins
In the USA, and many other countries worldwide, June 1st signifies the beginning of LGBT Pride Month. During this time, events and parades are often held to celebrate LGBT people and promote tolerance and equality.
In recent years, more and more businesses have been getting involved and showing their support for the LGBT Pride movement. Whether that be for their LBGT members of staff, LGBT customers, or simply to demonstrate the company's overall values.
Consider taking this opportunity to hold a special Pride event, give LGBT voices a platform, or simply share a few words with your email subscribers about the importance of acceptance and tolerance.
The Mail Designer 365 Pride Collection contains a selection of bold email templates you can use to celebrate love and equality for everyone this Pride Month.
Happy Pride Month email template in Mail Designer 365
July 26th - Start of the 2024 Olympic Games
Held every four years, the Olympics are without a doubt one of the world's biggest sporting events and have people worldwide glued to their TV screens. In 2024, the Olympic Games will take place in Paris, France.
Like any major sporting event, the Olympics offer a great amount of marketing potential for your business – whether you're creating a special product range, holding an event or viewing party, or encouraging people to get active. See how you can incorporate these themes into your marketing strategy from July 26th - August 11th!
August 26th - Women's Equality Day
Most have heard of International Women's Day (March 8th), but August 26th also marks another important occasion for women in the US. Women's Equality Day is an annual day of recognition, commemorating the anniversary of women receiving the right to vote in the USA.
If a percentage of your audience is based in the US, this is a great opportunity to show your support for equal rights by sending out a dedicated email campaign. Need inspiration? Check out our marketing guide.
Mail Designer 365 email template for Women's Equality Day
September 21st - Oktoberfest begins
Taking place annually in Munich, Germany since 1810, Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer festival (Volksfest). Each year, millions of visitors travel from within Germany and abroad to Munich to join in the celebrations which usually take place during the last two weeks of September up until the first Sunday of October.
Oktoberfest or Wiesn is renowned for its fun, party atmosphere – something which you could try incorporating into your campaigns during this period. For example, an Oktoberfest themed menu at your restaurant or a community beer festival.
October 10th - World Mental Health Day
The importance of taking care of your mental health is something which is being emphasised more and more. World Mental Health Day allows your business to use your platform to raise awareness.
You could run a social media campaign inspiring people to open up and support one another, or set up a charitable campaign encouraging donations to leading mental health organisations. Alternatively, sharing tips and resources on dealing with common mental health problems is another useful way your business can help show support.
Mental health matters: World Mental Health Day falls on October 10th
November 25th - Small Business Saturday
Everyone's heard of Black Friday but have you heard of Small Business Saturday? As the name suggests, this is a day to show support for small, independent businesses in the run up to the holiday sales season.
If you are a small business owner, this is a great focus for your main seasonal sales campaign to drive more customers to your physical store or website.
Taken from the US Chamber of Commerce website:
"Small Business Saturday... encourages consumers to support local businesses by shopping small. American Express launched this shopping holiday in 2010, at the height of the Great Recession, as a way of redirecting holiday shopping to local stores. A decade later, it’s observed in all 50 states, and in 2011, the Senate passed a resolution recognizing Small Business Saturday."
December 6th - St Nicholas Day
St Nicholas Day is a Christian celebration based on the origins of Father Christmas. The holiday is celebrated in many countries throughout Europe, including France, Germany and Belgium, and provides a chance for your business to get super festive in early December. Especially if you have a big target audience in Europe, holding a sale or special event around this time could be a great warm up for Christmas.
Celebrate St. Nicholas Day in the run up to Christmas.
Getting started with Email Marketing in 2024
We hope we have given you some ideas and inspiration for your 2024 email marketing calendar. Alongside the regular holidays and events in your planner, these events should give you some fresh and interesting new subject matter to create engaging emails with in 2024.
Want to get started with your campaigns asap? Check out Mail Designer 365! Download the app free today to discover all the Design Ideas, creative tools and resources you need to create and send amazing emails in 2024…
Until next time,
Your Mail Designer 365 Team
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