Dagongren originally meant something akin to “labourer”, though its usage could sometimes be expanded to include other types of low-paid shift work. But these days it has become a byword for the common struggle of all workers, thanks to China’s meme culture. Instead of “lying flat”, China’s disaffected young people now poke fun at their plight, portraying themselves as somewhat pitifully toiling for little reward, part of an unending cycle that is as tragic as it is comical.

This attitude forms an important part of understanding the Post-90 and subsequent generations. Let’s see how the two brands fared at targeting this demographic for the spring equinox marketing window.

Meituan: let hope blossom in the workplace

To concept of Meituan’s spring equinox campaign is simple: eat well and go to work happy. To motivate consumers to order takeout on this occasion, Meituan set up a lottery and stashed some care packages in selected food collection lockers in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou.

Some lucky customers in these locations who placed food orders on the day were randomly selected and discovered a care package waiting for them upon collecting their food. Tying this into the spring theme, the care packages include a packet of seeds – either sunflower, strawberry, tomato, or chilli pepper.

The campaign advert shows a worker’s inner monologue as he lists off his motivations for working: he hopes one day to have a house and a car and is determined to not be beaten down by life. He compares himself to a seed; full of hope, not afraid of heaven or earth.

Rating: 4/10 The core message comes across as slightly corny and ultimately feels out of step with Chinese Gen Z’s penchant for being tongue-in-cheek about work life.

Ele.me: work is not your whole personality

Ele.me’s campaign involves a clever play on the word pingfen 平分, meaning to split equally in half, and the equinox. On Weibo, Ele.me dubbed the equinox “split personality day” since it is when day and night are almost equal in length. With the tagline “How should life be divided?”, Ele.me suggests that like spring equinox, workers possess two opposing personas, one at work and one at home.

The brand humorously demonstrates this “split personality” phenomenon through a series of examples, such as the person who is dozing off at work, then bursting with energy at night, under the slogan “one half is me, but the other half is also me”.

The brand also came up with some “split personality” meal set suggestions. For example, the 养生 (health preservation)-themed meal comes with nourishing Taiwanese-style chicken soup and a bottle of Japanese Umeshu liquor. The emphasis is on trying something new and giving full expression to both sides of the personality.

Rating: 8.5/10 The core message as well as the style of the advert is firmly on the same wavelength as China’s young people. The campaign’s offline activation, however, lacked the dynamism of the online campaign.

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It’s not just the high proportion of women that counts. Female gamers also spend more on video games than their male counterparts. This presents a huge opportunity for businesses across sectors, as IP collaborations with video games offer an unparalleled channel for tapping into the zeitgeist and appealing to Gen Z consumers.

Of course, the 300 million-odd female gamers are not all cut from the same cloth and no genre is one-size-fits-all. But the once-niche otome genre commands a loyal female following and is about to take the industry by storm.

What is Otome?

Otome (Japanese for “maiden”) are story-driven video games in which the gamer, playing as a female protagonist, develops romantic relationships with male non-playable characters. The player has to win the men’s hearts either by following a decision tree format (e.g. selecting dialogue choices that affect their relationship) or through levelling up in stats like style and intelligence that will raise their standing with the male character.

There are usually multiple male love interests to choose from, each fulfilling a different archetype of male attractiveness and resulting in a different flavour of romance. Male-oriented and Boy’s Love dating simulation games also exist, but otome specifically refers to (straight) female-oriented ones.

The genre has been around since the 1990s and is informed by Japan’s long history of female-centered manga, which emerged at the turn of the twentieth century but developed rapidly in the 1950s as female artists in Japan earned more recognition.

The first otome title to reach a wide audience was Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side released by Konami for the PlayStation 2 console in 2002 (Konami is the behemoth responsible for franchises like Silent Hill and Yu-Gi-Oh!). Following the story of a normal high school girl, the gameplay in Girl’s Side was light-hearted and naturalistic – players could choose to go shopping or join an afterschool club, for example. This is true of early otome in general, but since then the genre has expanded to include more action and sci-fi elements alongside the main romantic plotlines.  

Chinese otome games

In China, Otome games are almost all produced for mobile, reflecting the dominance of mobile games in the market (they accounted for 75% of China’s total gaming sales revenue in 2023). The pioneering Chinese otome title was Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice, released in 2017 by Papergames, a Suzhou-based studio specialising in female-oriented games. It was a smash hit, making 20 million RMB (2.76 million USD) on its first day online and waking the industry up to the power of the demographic. Otome games primarily generate profit through a Gacha model, where players exchange in-game currency to generate a collectible item or new character.

Now, China’s game developers are scrambling to put out otome games. There are more female gamers than ever before and 2024 is set to be the first fully “normal” year of development for the industry since facing several regulatory crackdowns from 2018 onwards.

In January, Papergames released its much-anticipated follow-up to Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice. The new title, Love and Deepspace (恋与深空), is the first otome game to use 3D character modelling and players can customise the female protagonist, making its gameplay more immersive than ever before. In its first month online it generated approximately 600 million RMB (82.9 million USD) and drew in well over 6 million monthly active users. The groundbreaking release is stimulating fierce competition: Tencent Games and NetEase announced marketing campaigns for their respective otome games, Light and Night and For All Time, on the same day that Love and Deepspace went live.

How brands can get in on the hype

At first glance, otome fans might seem like caricatures of harmful stereotypes about female gamers: geeky, ill-adjusted loners who can’t find a boyfriend in real life. It’s true that otome, like all simulation games, offers a fantasy. But the powerful appeal of that fantasy speaks to what many young Chinese women feel is lacking in reality: a sense of power. The best new Chinese otome titles like Love and Deepspace offer multi-dimensional love interests, intriguing sci-fi lore to get to grips with, and exciting side missions with combat. Many otome players say they find this empowering – it’s not just about falling in love but being a badass female character.

These new-era otome games demonstrate clear respect for their female target audience. Brands that can similarly show appreciation for what makes the genre great will earn major brownie points with fans. With 2024 set to be a banner year for otome, brands should strike while the iron is hot and collaborate with some smash hit female-oriented IP.

For more on IP collaborations – from television series to internet memes – watch this space for our upcoming in-depth report, available only to Dao Plus subscribers.

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Traditionally used for rug-making, tufting is when a gun-like device is used to punch yarn through a screen to create an image. The final image is then cut out of the screen, resulting in a fluffy, pom-pom textured artwork. The craft has exploded over social media both in China and overseas recently for its satisfying process and cute outcome. Users of China’s lifestyle-sharing platform shared their Haidilao tufting creation in droves, with the most popular post gaining 11.8k likes and 2842 comments.

Tufting is just the latest unexpected activity Haidilao has tried to tag onto dining, including massages, haircuts, and mani-pedis. Whilst the other add-ons usually act as an extension of Haidilao’s top-tier customer service, offering diners further chances to experience star treatment, the Tufting Station focuses more on the chance to learn something new. This appeals to many Chinese consumers’ thirst for knowledge and self-expression, as well as offering a more generative approach to stress relief.

Unlike other Haidilao services such as nail art, the Tufting Experience Station is not free for diners, although they do get a discount. Depending on the size of the final piece you aim to complete, the session will set you back anywhere from 39-99 RMB (5.5-13.9 USD), not including the 50% off for diners.

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Learn a new skill at night school

Wine appreciation, relationship management, and Beijing opera performance are among the many skills on offer in the booming night schools of China’s metropolises. Data from Dianping and Meituan show searches for “night school” have recently jumped a staggering 980% compared with the same time last year. According to state media outlet the Global Times, night schools are renewing disenfranchised young people’s zest for life. “For the stressed-out urban youth, these schools promise self-cultivation, community bonding, and most importantly, a happy environment lacking in their regular workplace.” In this way, night schools are a proactive solution to burnout – or the Type A person’s answer to “lying flat”. 

They are also a chance for workers to shed self-limiting beliefs and inhabit a new, more confident version of themselves. One Xiaohongshu user called Martin, who took a class in the traditional Beijing comedy style xiangsheng, claims to have transformed into an extrovert as a result of his night school experience and is preparing to come back next term for a course in stand-up comedy. More curious minds are likely to follow in his footsteps, as the Xiaohongshu hashtag (#夜校) is already at over 8 million views and counting.

Book a solo hotel stay and binge watch TV

At 35 million views, this hashtag (#原地度假) is by far the most popular of this month’s lifestyle inspirations, and it’s easy to see why. The suggestion translates to “spend your time off right where you are”, but Xiaohongshu takes this one step further by prescribing a hotel stay and a weekend-long TV binge. This suggestion is perfect for introverts and “lying flat” advocates, who may lack the desire or social battery to plunge into a completely unfamiliar group setting after a long, hard week at the office.

This low-effort and cosy experience appeals to many young Chinese people’s affinity for songchigan (松弛感), an internet buzzword that blew up this year in the wake of zero COVID chaos. Often translated as “chillax”, the term also evokes a sense of ease and being at peace with oneself. The opposite of the night school students, proponents of this lifestyle favour self-acceptance over self-improvement.

Forget “old money” – embrace “no money style”

Of the three picks, this one is perhaps the most niche, clocking in at only 600,000 views (#没钱风) so far. “No money style” is a tongue-in-cheek response to the explosion of “old money” in China’s fashion blogging space this year, which sees ordinary people seek tips and tricks on emulating the look of generational wealth, much as their Western peers do. This usually entails looking well put together while remaining understated and effortless (no gaudy designer logos or showy bling. And add a hint of smugness).

By contrast, “no money style” invites people to exaggerate their lack of funds. This could mean wearing baggy, mismatched clothes (think taking out the bins or popping to the supermarket – the more ripped and stained the better) or simply wearing your favourite outfit on repeat. Like the buzzword “letting it rot” or zombie-style graduation photos, “old money style” turns giving up into an art form. The term is totally open to interpretation, so the experience is about throwing away social pressures to look a certain way and adding your own spin on a viral discussion.

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• Staying true to its penchant for fashion collaborations, McDonald’s China dropped a collab with the edgy Japanese label Verdy.
• Leveraging 90s nostalgia, the campaign dabbled in the Gen Z fashion trend Blokecore and pop art cartoon IPs.
• McDonald’s also held a retrospective exhibition in 4 cities under Verdy’s “Best Friends Forever” tagline.

Fashion and fast food might seem like unlikely bedfellows for a marketing campaign. But in China, they go together like peanut butter and jelly – that is to say, perfectly. This owes a lot to McDonald’s China, which has consistently redefined the meaning of cool with its playful collaborations with designers.

McDonald’s already put on an outlandish “Chicken Food Fashion” show earlier this year with the help of Chinese designer Angus Chiang. On top of that, we saw the brand drop a sleek collaboration with Edison Chen’s streetwear label CLOT as well as a fun Crocs series.

This time, the fast food behemoth teams up with Japanese streetwear label Verdy for a campaign featuring Blokecore-infused apparel, a funky packaging refresh, and even a cultural exhibition.

McDonald’s gets a Y2K makeover  

As with the Crocs collaboration, Mcdonald’s is leaning heavily into its classic cartoon IPs to evoke childhood nostalgia among post-90s consumers, who will remember them fondly. Verdy added its own iconic character, a panda/rabbit named Vick, into the mix for this campaign, partnering him up with the Hamburglar and Speedee under the tagline “Best Friends Forever”. But the campaign theme avoids being too cutesy by adding a splash of Y2K cool alongside these adorable cartoon designs.

The top designed by Verdy, the campaign’s centrepiece, has a distinct vintage jersey feel, with its shimmering fabric and collar closely resembling a 2000s football kit. This taps into Blokecore, a Gen Z fashion trend that swept Chinese social media during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. It has remained popular this year with the rise of women’s football on the international stage.

Much like the Blokecore examples on Xiaohongshu, the McDonald’s x Verdy tees are paired with slick ponytails and baggy trousers in the campaign material for the full Y2K effect. Confident fashionistas can also choose to rock the tee with the co-branded bandana and chunky chain necklace made for the collection. The chain is also customisable with Best Friends Forever-themed widgets, making it the perfect mash-up of cool and playful.  

Offline delights for the young at heart

On top of the exclusive clothing collection, 14 different types of McDonald’s packaging, from drink cups to Happy Meal boxes, got remodelled Verdy-style. Along with the fresh packaging come three exclusive new menu options – Matcha Soymilk Pie, Matcha Soymilk McFlurry and Matcha Flavour Ice Cream Swirl. Playing on the “Best Friends Forever” theme, McDonald’s is also offering a 50% discount to diners who place a second order of food.

Netizens seemed to delight in the packaging even more than the trendy apparel drop, perhaps as it tickles many young Chinese’ fondness for collectable items. One post on McDonald’s official Xiaohongshu profile even demonstrated an alternative use for the packaging – when folded and slipped inside a clear phone case, a burger wrapper becomes a cool pop art phone accessory. A few lucky customers who shared their own co-branded DIY art on social media were rewarded with a McDonald’s meal card worth 100 RMB.

McDonald’s topped this all off with a retrospective exhibition in Beijing, Foshan, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, proving that luxury brands are not the only ones that can show off their brand legacy. Here the campaign’s leveraging of nostalgia was even more explicit. To promote the exhibition, which runs until December 10, McDonald’s shared one of its old newspaper adverts, edited with “Best Friends Forever” in Verdy’s font underneath the Golden Arches.

As McDonald’s doubles down on its investment in China by repurchasing a 28% stake in the local business, the brand can confidently claim it is – and always has been – deeply committed to this market. The nostalgia of this collaboration achieves the ultimate goal of feeling completely authentic, as it honours 33 years of continued success and connection with Chinese consumers.

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Aptly named “Hey Buddha” (佛喜), the hot-or-cold beverage also marks Hey Tea’s first-ever tea latte. One of the three cups printed with different sculptures comes randomly with each tea purchase. If you buy a set of tea and merch, it will include one magnet of your choice, out of the three exclusive Hey Tea logo artworks.

The “speechless Buddha” is originally one of a series of ceramic sculptures exhibited at the China Ceramics Museum, depicting the Eighteen Arhats, or Luohans in Chinese, from Chinese Buddhism. The sculptures were created by Zeng Longsheng (1900-1964), one of the masters at Jingdezhen. The Thinking Luohan gained internet notoriety earlier this year after memes of its photo with the added text “speechless” (无语) went viral. Taming Tiger Luohan and Happy Luohan from the series also went viral with him, becoming the other two designs from the collaboration.

The Luohans usually come with texts in their memes. Thinking Luohan, with its stoic facial expression, is usually accompanied by “speechless”, while Tiger Taming Luohan, more assertive looking with fingers pointing out, normally says “I’ll unalive you” (“鸡哔你”, a play on “击毙你”). The Happy Luohan, a new addition to the meme family, does not have an accepted usual text with it. The first two memes, depicting speechlessness and righteous indignation, are popular among office workers for expressing their moods. During the early October National Day holiday, the sculptures attracted an unusual amount of tourist attention after going viral as memes.

The topic “Hey Tea Buddha have a cuppa” (#喜茶 我佛持杯#, a play on “Buddha have mercy”) shot to number 1 on the Hot Search list on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent. It garnered 84.71 million views on the platform within a day after launching on the 28th. With the younger generation increasingly interested in temples and Buddhist culture, the collaboration hit the right note at the right time.

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1. The young still buy at Double 11 and most spent the same or more than last year

88.1% of Soul users said they made purchases during Double 11. Over 70% had the same budget (36.8%) or more (35.6%), compared to last year. However, most people kept rational consumption in mind and stuck to the essentials. 78.9% of Soul respondents set limits to their spending and only 15.9% went over their budgets

2. The era of brand-hosted livestream channels has arrived

The survey from Soul confirms that the trend of brand-hosted livestream channels is strong among younger consumers. 30.68% of their users bought through these channels, while only 12.2% made purchases “based on recommendations from leading livestream influencers”.

2023 has been hailed as the “first year of brand-hosted livestream”. Over 60% of livestream channels selling over 100 million RMB (13.85 million USD) are brand-hosted. The ratio seems more pronounced among Soul App users, a cohort made up of 80% Gen Z.

3. Self-care and experiential purchases are on the rise

Almost 50% of young people bought experiential products or services such as travel, health checks and healthcare. Nearly 60% of the post-95 generation users bought travel products or services during Double 11, and 23.8% post-00s purchased more travel products or services than in 2022. This would also point to the post-pandemic trend of self-satisfaction among Chinese consumers.

From 1,757 respondents, Soul has gained a representative picture of its predominantly post-95 and post-00 user base. As well as re-affirming observations that self-care is on the rise as a purchase motivation, this report also reveals how far-reaching these trends are among Chinese Gen Z.

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In a down-to-earth spin on the tradition, some young couples teamed up with local transport departments to create a bespoke “wedding bus” experience. In this trend, public buses decked out in DIY wedding decorations carry the wedding party to their venue, instead of the typical suite of austere luxury cars.

The top wedding bus post on the lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu, which garnered over 20,000 likes, shows how one Hubei couple’s interpretation of the trend stopped traffic, with onlookers on bikes stopping to snap photos of the sensation.

Besides the detailed instructions on booking a wedding bus, there are also pointers on how to stay in your bus driver’s good books. “Remember to prepare cigarettes and sweets when renting a bus. We gave some to the driver at the beginning of the day. He was in a good mood after that and the whole journey went smoothly,” wrote Xiaohongshu user @小玫瑰.

The wedding bus trend overlaps with the #小众婚礼 (#nichewedding) and #真实婚礼(#realwedding) hashtags on Xiaohongshu, which have amassed 745 million and 1.49 billion views respectively on the lifestyle-sharing platform.

In the former, young couples showcase their unconventional wedding ceremonies, many of which boast vibrant rainbow colourways or far-flung destinations, while the latter is more about sharing a candid and idiosyncratic alternative to the stiff, posed wedding photo. Both reflect Chinese Gen Z’s penchant for putting an individualistic spin on life’s milestones.

With birth and marriage rates sinking lower and lower in China, state-led campaigns to encourage marriage and childrearing have become pervasive and transparent. For many young Chinese, this pressure turns them off the idea entirely, creating the sense that their bodily autonomy is secondary to the nation’s needs. But trends like wedding buses, as simple as they are, breathe new life into staid traditions and allow Gen Z and millennials to take ownership of these highly personal life decisions. 

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• POP MART’s Beijing theme park opened to high enthusiasm both online and offline.
• However, the launch was also plagued by complaints about price and resale.
• How effectively POP MART is leveraging its IPs remains to be seen, as more IP brands enter the theme park market.

POP LAND, POP MART’s hotly anticipated Beijing theme park, opened its doors to the public on 26th September in time for the National Day holiday between 29th September and 6th October.

POP MART is a toy retailer that specialises in ‘blind boxes’, which are trading figurines sold in randomised boxes from a set, without showing which model they are. With a giveaway of 100 preview tickets through its announcement livestream on Tmall in late August, POP MART built considerable hype around the park ahead of the launch.

LAND of POP

Situated within Chaoyang Park in Beijing, it is the toymaker’s first foray into China’s theme park market. The 40,000m² park is divided into three areas: POP Street, where interactive installations and shopping happen, LABUBU Adventure Forest where THE MONSTERS (a group of characters that LABUBU belongs to) and games live, as well as the centrepiece of the park, MOLLY’s Castle, containing several eateries with varying menus.

The opening was met with great enthusiasm, both online and on site. The hashtag #泡泡玛特城市乐园# (#POPLAND) gained 31 million views and 72,000 interactions in total on China’s Twitter equivalent Weibo. Offline, not only was the park met with long queues every step of the way on launch day, the limited and exclusive figurines also quickly sold out. The park also enjoyed a long-tail attendance at the end of the National Day holiday. With stamp-collecting, photo spots to tick off, diverse shopping and dining locations, POP LAND remains a popular destination on Xiaohongshu (RED).

Mixed Reactions

However, the popularity did not come without scrutiny. One of the main complaints is the price. With a 150 RMB (20.5 USD) entrance fee, most of the park can be ‘ticked off’ in under 30 minutes if you are not queueing for attractions or blind boxes. The indoor children’s playground and the immersive experience will cost extra. Although whether it is worth the ticket is subjective, many have noted that the main purpose of most (adult) visitors is to nab the exclusive figurines that attracted the long queues.

Which brings us to the next complaint – resale. Before the official opening, those with advance access to the park had already been stocking up on the exclusive blind boxes for resale, sometimes buying the whole set of 10 figurines. POP MART’s 2-per-person restriction after official launch further inflates the price for the scalpers, especially for the complete sets. The fleecing online also makes queueing a more frustrating experience for regular fans.

From IPs to …?

Despite early ambitions of Wang Ning, the brand’s CEO, of making POP MART ‘the closest thing to Disney China has’, POP MART avoids comparisons to Disneyland or Universal Studios. POP MART clarifies that the park aims to be a ‘brand mecca’ similar to Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, to ‘deepen and solidify’ its IPs while providing experiences to visitors. Along with opening more shops abroad, the theme park is one of the first steps in POP MART’s plan to diversify its business by leveraging the popular IPs.

The diversification is out of necessity, as much as ambition. POP MART released its half-yearly report in August. The brand’s revenue grew 19.3% from 2022, to 2.8 billion RMB (383 million USD). With a 477 million RMB (65 million USD) H1 net profit, surpassing the whole of 2022, POP MART has recovered quickly after the return of in-person shopping. The Classic IPs MOLLY, SKULLPANDA and DIMOO make up 46% of its turnover. However, with slowing growth of 1.75%, 13.99% and 21.30% from these ‘big three’ IPs respectively, newer characters have yet to reach the level of popularity to fill the gap.

But there is also concern that POP MART lacks stories for its IPs. Popular theme parks such as Disneyland and Universal Studios all have narratives for their characters. Lin Huanjie of Institute for Theme Park Studies China argues that without adequate content, IPs alone cannot establish an emotional connection with visitors.

Partially addressing this issue, POP MART announced its first ever mobile game Dream Home, featuring classic characters from POP MART’s line-up, earlier this year, with a playtest slated for Q4 this year. The game will feature AR functions to bridge the online and offline for the park. The immersive and interactive nature of the game has the potential to fulfill the need for greater storytelling and emotional engagement.

POP MART is not the only IP-centric brand trying to move into the theme park market, as the snack brand Want Want has also announced a plan to build an amusement park in Changsha. A McKinsey report on China’s theme park market estimates that the size of the market is set to expand to 90 billion RMB (12 billion USD) in 2025 from 40 billion RMB (5.5 billion USD) in 2019. McKinsey stresses that ‘[s]trong brands with associated IP are critical to theme park success’. With more IP-based amusement parks joining the fray, China’s theme park market looks to become more bullish and competitive.

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Users are encouraged to share high-quality pictures and long-form videos related to their daily lives or interests, marking a different strategy from its parent app Kuaishou – a platform that initially gained traction mostly through low-end, short-form funny videos.

The layout of Pu Ji bears a strong resemblance to the lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu, which has already gained huge popularity nationwide. According to public reports at the beginning of 2023, Xiaohongshu had reached over 300 million MAU (monthly active users), making it a formidable competitor for Pu Ji in the social media market space. More importantly, do young Chinese people really need another “Xiaohongshu”?

The answer is unclear as of now, but it is no secret that Kuaishou is eyeing a bigger share of the youth market in China. With the short video sector becoming increasingly competitive and saturated, businesses must explore new avenues for growth. Long-form, in-depth video platforms for Gen-Z appear to be the newest goldmine.

However, Kuaishou is not alone in this endeavour. Months ago, another video-sharing platform Douyin released a new app Qing Tao (青桃) , which was later renamed Douyin Selection (抖音精选), as a counterpart to Bilibili (a website focusing on long-form videos, popular amongst young Chinese). Meanwhile, WeChat Official Accounts also updated its picture and text function, with a layout that resembles Xiaohongshu. This resemblance even earned WeChat a new nickname, “little green book”, in a mocking comparison with Xiaohongshu.

For both Pu Ji and Qing Tao, it will be an arduous battle to make headway against the current giants in the field. However, up-and-coming social media platforms always come with new opportunities for influencers. Pu Ji may be able to attract those who haven’t made it big on fashion-focussed Xiaohongshu, allowing them to find their voice among a new audience and a new ecosystem.

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