Strategy to enter Chinese Market
- Active use of social media platforms to successfully increase brand awareness L’Occitane has actively employed social media platforms as a crucial instrument to increase brand awareness after realizing the potential of these platforms in China. L’Occitane uses its Weibo account to express pertinent comments, advertise various marketing initiatives on the site, and expose L’Occitane fans to new goods. Ideal Destinations was a promotion that L’Occitane sponsored on WeChat. Participants contributed their dream locations on the L’Occitane WeChat account, and the winners received an L’Occitane travel collection. A promotion by L’Occitane that encouraged sending Happy New Year messages to your loved ones was also promoted on WeChat and Weibo. To celebrate the New Year, participants had to mention L’Occitane’s Weibo account in a message they sent to friends on WeChat. Three days of the campaign were used, with one message being chosen each night at 8:14 p.m. and given a gift in return. L’Occitane ran a campaign on Weibo called “Dangling Sleep” to advertise the new item. Participants tweeted a picture relating to the topic and included the handle @L’OccitaneProvence, and the winner got a prize. It is crucial to actively use social media to raise brand recognition since current consumers continually engage with one another on social networks to learn more about items.
(2) Design strategy
One of the main selling aspects for cosmetic products is their appearance. The design component is actively used by L’Occitane as part of its sales marketing strategy. The entire L’Occitane brand is obviously reminiscent of Provence, and its packaging and containers correspond to this. L’Occitane uses drawings and retro design elements to produce a variety of packaging styles while still upholding the original brand concept. For instance, L’Occitane and the renowned Haute Macaron pastry chef collaborated to release a scent. The world’s top mobile internet start-up, Uber, and L’Occitane also collaborated on a promotion to diversify the brand’s image, offerings, and outreach to young consumers. L’Occitane has allocated an average RMB 47 million annually for marketing, with the goal of raising brand recognition in the Chinese market. L’Occitane anticipates achieving positive sales outcomes in the Chinese market by putting into practice an aggressive marketing and three-dimensional design strategy.
（3）The values of the farmer who cultivates the raw material and the long tradition of Provence are present in L’OCCITANE’s goods. The main tenet of L’Occitane—the spirit of Provence—is visible in the layout of its packaging and promotional efforts. Immortelle cream, which is created from the yellow flower immortelle that blooms in Corsica in southern France, is L’Occitane’s flagship product. L’Occitane coloured the container yellow for the first time in the industry to help consumers understand the bright yellow hue of the Immortelle flower. L’Occitane has been successful in creating a strong brand image in the minds of consumers by using yellow containers and packaging to represent the color of the primary component. L’Occitane’s annual sales, which include the Christmas season, are 45% higher between October and December. The distinctive promotional initiatives of L’Occitane made a substantial contribution to the strong sales results in the fourth quarter. The Christmas season is when most brands frequently use Father Christmas and the Christmas moose as promotional items. L’Occitane, in contrast, uses the traditional culture of Provence as a marketing idea rather than Father Christmas. In Provence, there isn’t a Father Christmas tradition, but there is a well-known tale of the perfume salesman who roams the region selling locally manufactured perfumes. The tale of Provence served as the inspiration for L’Occitane’s year-end marketing campaign for the product idea. From choosing the ingredients and creating the bottle to developing the marketing plan, L’Occitane kept with the Provence aesthetic throughout the entire process. In this approach, L’Occitane’s success in the Chinese market can be attributed in part to its consistent and distinctive branding.
Reflections：
L’OCCITANE is a French brand focuses on the co-value of French Naturism. In all its marketing campaign, it advocates and embedded the idea of “nature” and “organic” images as it always is. Despite its constant development, L’OCCITANE remains true to its beliefs and founding principles. It creates a 100% comfortable and healthy body and mind through pure and effective natural products. L’OCCITANE’s products are a true legend and a true pleasure to use.