Why is this work relevant for PR?

999 Gan Mao Ling Keli is a well-known brand in China, for its integrated Chinese and Western medicine to prevent and treat colds. For this campaign, we found an innovative way of utilizing crossover mediums. We re-invented the traditional long johns and designed a line of Warm-Hearted Leggings to refresh the outdated brand image. The Campaign idea "high-waisted long johns to keep you warm while staying fashionable", which became a sensation on social media, thus caused a new trend of wearing long johns among the young targets. Nearly one third of Chinese joined the conversation.

Background

Situation: In China, 999 Gan Mao Ling Keli is a well-known traditional brand, for its integrated Chinese and Western medicine to prevent and treat colds. Nowadays, more and more Chinese young targets are inclined to treat colds with Western medicine; therefore, the influence of using 999 Gan Mao Ling Keli is declining, and the brand is becoming outdated. Brief: There are many restrictions on the Pharmaceutical advertising and communication in China. We hope to break through the traditional communication approach, to find an innovative way such as crossover collaboration to deliver the 999’s core value and brand positioning of "Feeling warm from heart to heart". Objectives: - To renew the brand’s image while keeping up with the young culture. - To become young targets’ top preference of cold & flu prevention and go to item. - Through the design of four “Warm-Hearted Leggings”, to deliver 999’s core value.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The traditional long johns are tedious and out of fashion, so the young targets reject to wear them. We re-invented the traditional long johns by raising the waistline above the chest to demonstrate the warm-hearted brand spirit. And by adding cool, fashionable elements, we transformed the old into something new inspiring a new trend for the young while at the same time saving them from flu. Here are the themes of the 999 Warm-Hearted Leggings: • Martial Arts theme - The won't get cold "Bad Youth" • Religious theme - Bless your heart with "Wearable Luck" • Punk theme - Be the hottest on the disco floor with "Regimen Punk" • Branded theme - Or maybe you feel happy when the "Logo Is All Over" Appealing to both young and old, the 999 Warm-Hearted Leggings experienced unbelievable newfound success by becoming the most talked about topic on social media.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Winter is always the season for cold and flu. So, in the old days people in China used to wear long johns for an extra layer of protection. However, these days, Our target audience - China’s early adopting Gen Z and Millennials reject long underwear because they look awkward and out of fashion. This means there is a higher chance of getting cold. Under the idea of “high-waisted long johns to keep you warm while staying fashionable”, we re-invented the traditional long john by raising the waistline above the chest and adding cool and fashionable elements. We transformed the old into something new inspiring a new trend for the young while at the same time saving them from flu. Our strategy employed touch points that: • Crossover approach, attracting the young targets’ attention and interest • Were digital in nature • Were social and conversational • Conveyed credibility and sophistication

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The 999 Official WeChat feed released the article "999 Gan Mao Ling Keli officially enter the fashion industry". Soon after, it caused a sensation in both health, fashion, and lifestyle related industries. We posted the KOL's street style photos on Weibo. The trending hashtag #999 Warm-Hearted Leggings# reached Number 2 spot on Weibo's Hot Search. Then we promoted our leggings as limited-edition giveaways, and some KOL started to show off by styling the leggings on their own. They posted these contents on social media platforms such as "RED" (the biggest fashion and lifestyle social platform in China). In addition, during the Chinese hottest reality shows "Ice Hockey Hero", the 999 Warm-Hearted leggings were presented as a gift that was given to the members of China's National Ice Hockey team by the Chinese famous stars – Ray Lei and Jackson Yi. This brought the campaign to the climax.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

1）Media Outputs： • Number 2 spot on Weibo’s Hot Search. * • 560% increase of views on 999’s official WeChat feed. ** • 790% of increase on WeChat search on the day of launch.** • More than 21.5 million views of video. 130 million trending hashtag exposure with 15,000 interactions.*** • More than 430 million views generated through social media & mobile apps. *** • More than 8 million RMB earned media through social media & mobile apps. *** 2）Target Audience Outcomes： • An increase on the perception of the brand image as “youthful” – 30% of consumers perceive 999 as young and fashionable, compared to 5% in 2018**** 3）Business Outcomes： • 32% Sales Increase of 999 Gan Mao Ling Keli compare to same quarter last year.***** *Source: Weibo index：Sina Weibo Data Analysis Tool **WeChat index：WeChat Big Data Analysis Tool *** Baidu Netizens Behavior Data Analysis Platform ****Source: Ipsos 999 Cold Drug Brand equity survey report in Q1, 2019； *****Source: IMS Retail Pharmacy Statistics Report for Adult Cold Drug Sales Data in Q1, 2019