The Campaign

Branded content posted on Weibo has to comply by the platform’s content regulations, and brands cannot release information / messages that are related to any of the following categories: • Opposition of the basic principles determined by the constitution Threat to national security and unity • Threat to the country’s reunification, sovereignty and territorial integrity • Disclosure of state secrets, threat to national security or impairing national pride and interest • Aggravation of racism, racial discrimination and devastation of • Disruption of national religious policy and promotion of evil cult • Dissemination of rumors and disruption of social orders and stability • Propagation of obscenity, gambling, violence, erotic materials, murder, terrorism and instigation of crime • Incite of illegal assembly, of association, of procession, of demonstration or of gathering to disturb public order

Results

Mainland Chinese travellers are drawn to Tibet both for its beautiful landscape and its spiritual resonance. When launching the new Shangri-La hotel in Lhasa, we wanted to celebrate these facets of Tibet in a way which connected with the heartfelt values of the brand, rather than focus on the ‘hardware’ of the hotel itself. The focus of the campaign was to follow a Grammy-award winning Tibetan singer, Yangjin Lamu, as she went on a journey through Tibet, taking in the numerous spiritual joys to behold in Lhasa and beyond, the wonder of the Potala Palace and the breathtaking scenery of Lake Namtso. Daily video and image content was posted on the Shangri-La Weibo page, so netizens could keep in touch with her journey. They were further involved in the campaign by being invited on Weibo to submit their own personal wishes, which were then translated into Tibetan and scribed onto traditional ‘wishing flags’. In a grand gesture at the culmination of the trip, Yangjin Lamu hoisted all of the flags above the wondrous Lake Namtso, connecting everyone with her rich, spiritual journey. As a lasting testament to their involvement in the experience, each person then received through Weibo a personalized image, with their own ‘wishing’ flag’. A montage of all the personal flags was also created on the Shangri-La Weibo page. A final video, featuring many of Yangjin Lamu’s experiences in Tibet, serves as a summary to the spiritual journey. This was posted on Weibo as well as Facebook, Shangri-La.com and in thousands of hotel rooms around the world.

The content was launched and hosted through the Sina Weibo platform, and specifically the Shangri-La Weibo page. Netizens were driven here through the influence of Category & Persona KOLs, encouraging them to interact with and share the content on the site.

The campaign generated great awareness for the launch of the hotel amongst potential mainland China travellers: - Impressions (through Persona/Category KOLs): 690,080,802 - Post readership: 6,890,436 - Video Views: 176,012