CHINA. Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific and China Duty Free Group (CDFG) attracted a vast livestreaming audience with their ‘Ride Home with Kiehl’s pop-up at the Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay, Hainan, in January.
The spectacular activation featured a number of noteworthy O2O elements, which included the brand’s sustainable ‘Future Made Better’ zone and its first-ever livestreaming game show, starring Chinese singer Chang Xi He.
The ‘Ride Home with Kiehl’s Lunar New Year pop-up dominated the central atrium of the CDF Mall. The installation combined traditional Lunar New Year symbols with Kiehl’s New York Heritage. It was decked out in festive red and yellow Year of the Ox motifs mixed with colourful illustrations of New York landmarks created by Chinese-Canadian Artist Weitong Mai.
Chang Xi He — who is a member of popular Chinese boy brand Unine — hosted an escape room-style game show via livestream on Yizhibo. The O2O livestream attracted 30 million viewers on the platform.
Meanwhile, the Future Made Better zone invited visitors to learn all about Kiehl’s conservation efforts. For every purchase of the brand’s best-selling Ultra Facial Cream (125ml), shoppers were able to scan a QR code, discover Kiehl’s environmental protection initiatives, and make a digital commitment to support Kiehl’s tree planting project. The programme — launched in partnership with long-time Kiehl’s collaborator PUR Projet — aims to plant 100,000 trees in China’s Yunnan province by 2025.
Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific has committed to planting a tree for every 200 consumer commitments as part of its Future Made Better programme throughout 2021.
In addition, the Ride Home with Kiehl’s pop-up was constructed with sustainable and mono materials, using renewable energy sources. The structure can also be easily deconstructed for circular end-of-life recycling, while displays can be reused in stores and points of sale. Finally, all the plants featured in the pop-up were replanted back in nature after the event.
“We are honoured to partner with China Duty Free Group once again for our first-ever Lunar New Year collaboration in Haitang Bay,” commented Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific General Manager Petrina Kho. “The ‘Ride Home with Kiehl’s’ pop-up incorporated an escape room game livestream – a breakthrough concept which truly engaged our digitally savvy travelling consumers.
“We are also excited to kick-off the 2021 Kiehl’s Future Made Better program with PUR Projet at the Future Made Better zone, reinforcing our commitment to pave the way for a better future in 2021 and beyond,” Kho added.
China Duty Free Group Vice President of Central Merchandising Division Terry Chua commented, “It’s so exciting to usher in Chinese New Year 2021 with Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific at the Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Mall – a landmark first to our ongoing partnership.
“The ‘Ride Home with Kiehl’s’ Chinese New Year pop-up is innovative, highly-interactive, informative, and educational for our travel retail consumers – and is a fresh and new experience I’m sure all will enjoy as we celebrate the new lunar year together.”