Red Ant Wins “Best Beauty & Fashion Campaign” in The Drum APAC 2023 Awards for its CREED x ROBBi Campaign
February 17, 2023We are so proud to have successfully assembled a cohort of creatives to introduce a category first collaboration for CREED with China based IP ROBBiART, that has received outstanding industry recognition with our win at this year’s The Drum 2023 APAC Beauty & Fashion Award.
CNY is a highly publicised shopping event, with health and beauty brands competing to engage consumers via an array of digital and physical channels. For CNY 2023, CREED wanted to do something unexpected; something that would excite their existing customer base, and entice a brand-new young, fashion and trend-savvy audience.
We developed a “phygital” (physical and digital) campaign that would leverage China’s most popular social channels, and KOLs. The key element to the campaign was an exciting collaboration with a creative, visually striking mascot: ROBBi – a collectable, branded Art Toy.
A new approach for a new audience
Capturing the attention of CREED’s growing target audience of young, aspirational tech-savvy and spend-savvy people willing to save up for elite luxury purchases was central to the collaboration’s premise. Their ‘from bar to boardroom’ profile plays to CREED’s reputation as a status driver for customers, regardless of background or financial means.
The collectible toy market for Chinese millennials/Gen Zs is booming, increasing from $970million in 2015 to $3.2 billion in 2019. This will only continue to grow, projected to surpass $11.7billion in 2024, according to iiMedia Research.
ROBBiART is a China-founded Art Toy (IP), committed to challenging the mainstream aesthetic of art conventions with a sense of youth and rebellion. Founded by one of China’s leading, young, female, tech entrepreneurs – Ms. Rhea He, ROBBi’s original design inspiration comes from the jade rabbit – ideal for CNY 2023, the year of the rabbit. Together, CREED and ROBBi produced the first scented ROBBi collectible Art Toy, bringing CREED’s hero scent, Silver Mountain Water, to life in a metaverse-style experience. ROBBi enabled CREED to leverage ROBBi’s media network, including virtual and physical tastemakers, and the POIZON (Dewu) audience – China’s leading trend community
The CREED x ROBBi collab was available to purchase in two sizes – 400% (28cm) and 1000% (70cm). Each ROBBi is fitted with a unique NFC chip which is accessible via scanning the left foot. This chip reveals ROBBi’s unique number, making him a desired collector’s Art Toy.
Leveraging the impact of a first-of-its-kind collaboration between two iconic brands – CREED with its heritage and quality, ROBBi with its reputation for challenging conventions and spirit of youthful rebellion – would involve assembling the right blend of influencers, KOLs and creatives to share the story and build excitement both virtually and in the physical world.
Because ROBBi’s world is both virtual and physical, we worked with creative video agency Carbon to create a visually stunning 3D video to showcase the allure of CREED’s hero scent, Silver Mountain Water, coupled with ROBBI’s vibrancy and dynamism. A huge hit among luxury customers, commentators and influencers, celebrities as well as tech and marketing pundits, it was used across a wide range of media including social platforms, advertising, influencer content, in-store screens and a full takeover of CREED’s UK retail partner FLANNELS on London’s Oxford Street as well as New York’s Times Square.
Chinese virtual KOL Ayayi, also got behind the campaign and shared an unboxing video on her social media.
This social approach was a natural choice, given both brands’ substantial social media reach. The strategic mix of owned and paid channels allowed us to hit targets across both brands’ outlets, WeChat, RED and Douyin, as well as connecting with ROBBI’s POIZON trend community audience and media network of taste-makers.
The outcome
The CREED x ROBBi campaign’s bold approach more than delivered on every objective, from sell-out products to millions of impressions and engagements across social platforms. High-profile media coverage in titles including WWD, ELLEMEN, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Vogue Business boosted reach and engagement, and enabled what was intended to be a China-only campaign to become a global release with international recognition.
The most significant achievement is reflected in a 70% uplift in CNY revenue for CREED in 2023 versus 2022. CREED’s growth has typically been driven organically with traditional marketing content including print magazines, and video, and this unprecedented engagement could only be achieved by the brand having the ambition and foresight to try something new and innovative. And, thanks to the impact it had on its intended audience, the CREED x ROBBi collaboration continues to attract immense interest on the reseller market, proving that a well-planned and executed promotional strategy has the power to generate value beyond the initial life of the campaign.
To find out more about the campaign, please watch our recap video:
To find out more from The Drum, please check out their round up: