Authentic Lunar New Year marketing strategies include:
Work with creatives and creators from different communities
Each culture has its unique spin on Lunar New Year. Brands can work with creators and creatives from Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean communities to highlight their unique traditions and who can speak authentically about their importance.
Embrace diversity and inclusivity with culturally specific elements
The term Lunar New Year is inclusive of the many different cultures that celebrate the holiday. Despite that, many representations of the holiday—including red envelopes, lanterns, zodiac animals—tend to skew toward Chinese culture.
Brands that include cultural nuances—such as white envelopes for Korean culture—in special-edition products, packaging and celebrations, will show that they understand and embrace the AAPI community.
Turn Lunar New Year into a celebratory event
Lunar New Year celebrations have become very common in the United States. Brands can lean into the festivities by throwing their own events, such as having lion dance performances—meant to expel evil spirits and attract good luck for the coming year—or working with grassroots community organizations on authentic partnerships.
Include streaming
The AAPI community streams more content than any other demographic, with YouTube as the No. 1 streaming platform. This can help identify channels on which brands should be advertising, as well as creators and influencers with whom they should partner.
Lunar New Year is an important date on many marketing calendars—but it should not be the only time brands try to connect with AAPI consumers who value authenticity and inclusion. According to Nielsen, AAPI audiences are “the most likely to buy from brands that feature someone from their identity group in ads.”
A Lunar New Year campaign is only one cultural touchpoint. Whether that’s advertising that shows sensitivity and understanding of the diversity of Asian cultures, working with authentic AAPI creators or partnering with community organizations, brands need to embrace AAPI inclusion and diversity all year round.