The Campaign

While the media was fretting over the slowdown in China’s economy, a counter-intuitive trend was also playing out: the appetite for luxury goods in China was actually booming. Such international luxury houses as LVMH, Richemont, and PPR were reporting strong sales, and expected growth in China to continue throughout 2012. This presented an opportunity for Wedgwood, legendary maker of fine British china. The company’s signature collection, Wedgwood & Bentley, combines classic pieces with contemporary designs, using materials such as fine bone china, black Jasper, gold and platinum. Each piece is handcrafted by artisans using methods developed by founder Josiah Wedgwood; most are limited editions signed by the artist. Wedgwood & Bentley represented the highest-end collection made by Wedgwood, and offered unique appeal to the emerging class of Chinese luxury consumers. But the first name in china still needed a proper introduction to China. The PR team crafted a coordinated launch campaign to create and build awareness for the Wedgwood brand. The East-meets-West theme was further enhanced by media events featuring Wedgwood ambassador Lord Wedgwood and A-list movie star Zhang Yuqi to give the brand a contemporary relevance. Given its exclusive and highly discerning audience, Wedgwood’s China launch made a stunning impression.

The Brief

1. To establish Wedgwood & Bentley as an aspirational new choice among China’s luxury consumers considering the purchase of fine china. 2. To educate China’s luxury consumer on the desirability of owning a legacy brand of fine china.

Results

The launch party attracted more than 100 journalists from 92 local and international media, including general lifestyle and business news media, as well specialty media covering art and design, home and decoration, fashion, entertainment and lifestyle trends. The event resulted in 135 high-quality branded stories from print, broadcast and online media. It delivered almost 21 million impressions with a combined equivalent advertising value of US $2.03 million. Top-tier titles covering the launch included Bazaar, GC, 21st Century Business Herald, San Lian Life Weekly, Modern Weekly, Better Homes and Gardens, The Bund, Business Travel, China Daily, ReLUXE, Jet Master, Prime, Metrozine, Shenghuo Jia, and Air Travel. Reports frequently highlighted key Wedgwood brand messages, identifying Wedgwood’s status as “an icon of western art,” and a brand “favored by European royalty”. As a result, when China’s new luxury goods consumer thinks of china, a 250-year -old British brand now comes to mind.

Execution

The Wedgwood and Bentley launch started with a teaser showcasing the brand’s presence at Beijing’s Shin Kong Place, a high-end retail store that features dozens of luxury brands. A VIP reception-cum-exhibition featuring Chinese and British influencers – handpicked from government, arts & entertainment, and business and finance social circles – was the climax of the launch. The PR team developed a media plan prioritizing key media from art and deco publications; lifestyle, entertainment & high fashion publications; and leading business & general news media and customized the news angles to suit. But the team’s real coup was securing the endorsement of A-list movie star Zhang Yuqi, and pairing her with Wedgwood’s most famous brand ambassador, Lord Wedgwood. High-quality media interviews were secured for Lord Wedgwood and Zhang, generating in-depth stories on the historic brand, showcasing it as the epitome of a noble lifestyle and demonstrating its relevance to contemporary China.

The Situation

A new class of affluent consumers was fueling explosive demand for luxury goods in China. While the appetite for established international brands is strong and growing, education and awareness-building are often required, especially for products with minimal retail presence. Great Britain’s Wedgwood was bringing its 250-year legacy to China, along with its highest-end collection, Wedgwood & Bentley, and needed a strong, precisely targeted launch in order to draw attention to, and establish a reputation for, its elite artisan products and give them a contemporary relevance in the birthplace of fine china.

The Strategy

The PR strategy centered on building awareness of the Wedgwood brand as the epitome of British noble elegance and an indispensable feature of an aristocratic lifestyle, while also demonstrating its relevance to contemporary China. While Wedgwood represented one of the first established luxury brands in the world, favored by royalty and nobility for centuries, it needed to establish its contemporary credentials among the nouveau riche in China, the birthplace of fine china. The launch demanded a strong message that would resonate with an affluent target audience accustomed to thinking of China as the home of fine china, a creative approach to bring the authentic heritage and elegant allure of a British luxury product to life in China, multiple news angles to appeal to different types of media, and a proper tie-in with a preferred retail presence