No new tricks in cherry blossom season marketing?

What new marketing methods and changes have emerged in the cherry blossom season? Have they caused aesthetic fatigue? In this article, we summarize the different products and activities launched by major brands during the cherry blossom season, showing the current situation of the market brands with a hundred flowers blooming, including image design with flower elements, brand linkage, etc. Finally, we summarize the ideas for launching activities during this cherry blossom season. We recommend this article to people who are interested in the products and activities of various brands, hoping that it will be helpful to everyone.

Every spring, the brand launches products with cherry blossom elements to cater to the spring atmosphere and use the pink economy to attract consumers.

But this year the cherry blossoms are not blooming alone. As if reflecting people's active moods, the types of flowers chosen by brands have also become more diverse.

However, the various kinds of flowers cannot change the stereotyped marketing form, and aesthetic fatigue seems to have become the final outcome of cherry blossom season marketing.

Today, we have reviewed the various products and activities launched by brands this spring using the element of "flowers" to see which one will catch your eye~

1. Spring limited food, a variety of flavors

Spring limited editions are a regular feature of catering brands, and using flowers as product flavors is the simplest and most direct method. Among them, cherry blossom products launched by beverage brands are often combined with fruits to give consumers a refreshing taste.

This year, Chunzhen's main theme is "'Cherry' for you and purity", and it has launched a limited edition product exclusively for the pure cherry blossom season - cherry blossom green plum flavored yogurt. The sweet and sour green plum paired with the aroma of cherry blossoms must have a unique taste.

Chunzhen Sakura Season Limited Sakura Green Plum Flavored Yogurt

Hema launched cherry blossom and camellia flavored milk, which was well received by consumers. The brand also brought together "pink group" products under the theme of spring camping to send a signal of spring to consumers.

Hema Spring Products

Nayuki's Tea also officially announced the return of the cherry blossom season in early March. Different from other brands' innovations, the brand upgraded its existing product, the classic raw yogurt strawberry, and teamed up with the oatmeal plant protein brand OATLY to launch the light oatmeal cream topped "domineering cherry blossom raw yogurt strawberry". The hot-selling beverage + joint name is a good choice, and it can also attract fans of both brands to buy. There are also cherry blossom-shaped gifts "Girls are great" lollipops and cherry blossom balloons to attract consumers to take photos and check in at the limited theme store.

Nayuki's Tea Sakura Season Limited Drinks and Activities

CoCo’s limited edition product for the cherry blossom season, Sakura Pink Lychee, also combines cherry blossoms and fruits, and has small pink peripherals to add fun to young people’s spring.

CoCo Sakura Pink Litchi

During the cherry blossom season, Bawang Tea Princess replaced its packaging with bright pink and launched the seasonal limited edition "Sakura Oolong" series. The brand not only used cherry blossoms as a gimmick, but also gave pink the value of "exploring oneself". The "Spring Banquet·Sakura Oolong" brand film also used dance to strengthen the memorable point.

Bawang Cha Ji "Sakura Oolong" Series

Bawang Cha Ji's "Spring Banquet·Sakura Oolong" brand film However, sakura-flavored drinks may not be accepted by everyone. Bawang Cha Ji's new product has received mixed reviews.

Netizens commented that Bawangchaji's new product Shanghai Auntie's Sakura Season Limited Edition has used a clever method to avoid the situation where the sakura flavor is not popular. Peach-flavored milk tea is easily accepted by consumers, and paired with sakura jelly that only resembles sakura, it satisfies young people's spring drink needs in terms of both taste and appearance.

Shanghai Auntie Loves Peach Blossom Drink

Of course, you don’t have to put the cherry blossoms in your mouth to feel the flavor. The cherry blossom scent bottle launched by Daily Fresh in spring has the secret in the bottle mouth. The cherry blossom petals of different shades are not just for decoration, but can produce the fragrance of cherry blossoms by rubbing them with your hands.

Daily Fresh Cherry Blossom Fragrance Bottle

Many brands have also abandoned their obsession with cherry blossoms and started with other varieties of flowers. After all, spring is always full of flowers. As long as it is seasonal, suitable for check-in, and has a strong atmosphere, there will always be a type that will enter the hearts of consumers. Many brands started with camellia and tried new flavors. RIO's spring limited edition cocktail is a camellia grape flavor.

Starbucks also launched Camellia Latte and Camellia Frappuccino on White Valentine's Day.

On International Women's Day, Wanglaoji changed its red packaging and launched a new product with camellia flavor, sending holiday greetings while reflecting the spring atmosphere.

Luckin Coffee chose apricot blossoms and jasmine as the spring themes to launch new products.

In terms of food, McDonald's Sakura Pie, which also has the flavor of cherry blossoms, has won the favor of many consumers, and some are even in short supply. On March 14, Pi Day, McDonald's also officially played a meme to interact with consumers.

McDonald's Sakura Pie

User reviews

The innovative flavors chosen by brands are not limited to flowers, but more about using peaches to decorate people's spring taste buds. #Suck in the peach scent and eat up spring in one bite# is a topic jointly launched by 10 brands, using different foods to bring "peach flavor" to users.

Cornetto's new special milk "Hazel Heart Rose" launched on Women's Day also uses peach as its core ingredient, but this is not indicated in the product name.

Oreo's seasonal limited edition sandwich cookies come in two flavors: Peach Blossom Rice Wine and Mango Sago, which are suitable for camping, afternoon tea and other occasions.

After seeing so many spring limited editions, TOP is already dazzled. I have to say that after years of pink economy and the "destruction" of cherry blossom-flavored products, the innovation of other flavors is probably better.

2. If there are not enough cherry blossoms, we can make up for it with collaboration

If most brands adopt the same theme, then "dream linkage" is a good choice for brands to differentiate themselves from competitors. Tmall Supermarket's Sakura Season has linked up with six major brands, including Oreo, Chunzhen, Glico, Carlsberg, Crest, and M&Ms, to recommend limited-edition Sakura products and launch a pink camping plan. The platform also joined hands with the Hangzhou government to host the Hangzhou Sakura Art Festival, "contracting a cloud" and bringing consumers a cherry blossom rain.

Tmall Sakura Cloud

Tmall joined hands with 6 major brands to promote online multi-brand promotions using discounts to attract purchasing power, and offline romantic art installations to add spring colors. Tmall's promotional activities can be said to kill two birds with one stone to meet the needs of the platform and brands. Coincidentally, REVER also launched the "Big Roof Cherry Blossom Rain" event, using offline interactions and small gifts to create a limited cherry blossom season scene.

REVER Big Roof Sakura Rain KFC, with the theme of "Ideal Spring", has collaborated with the classic animation character Moomin to launch the Moomin family meal. The Moomin-image toys are very popular among adults who have watched the Moomin animation in their childhood.

KFC×Moomin

For the ideal spring, Wrigley chose to collaborate with the Scent Library to launch limited edition chewing gum and perfume with floral scent as the theme. The combination of the two captures the commonality of scent and provides insight into the consumer needs of scent lovers. Oral fragrance and body fragrance are equally important.

Green Arrow x Smell Library

Ningji and Hello Smart Electric Vehicles jointly launched new products for the Sakura Season. Ride on the Hello Smart Electric Vehicle, drink Ningji Sakura Explosive Coconut to enjoy the cherry blossoms, and unlock the double romance of spring. Users can get limited gifts by participating in the event in the store. Hello has also launched a new car discount event for the Sakura Season. This linkage puts consumers in the scene of riding and driving, and better reaches the general public.

Lemon Season×Hello

Chevrolet teamed up with M&M's to "turn you into a fan" in the pink cherry blossom season, and jointly launched the Star Mylo co-branded cherry blossom limited edition model. The brand also held an offline exhibition in Shanghai, bringing the public a spring atmosphere and a childlike experience.

Although the various collaborations between Chevrolet and M&M's are all based on the same principles, it is not difficult to see that joint products often involve more scenarios. In addition to using online topics to expand the voice, they can also reach the public through offline interactions and realize the conversion of consumer purchasing behavior.

3. Conclusion

The cherry blossom season marketing has been going on for many years, and even TOP Jun has become a little tired of it. Even if flower viewing becomes a daily routine for the public, saving the cost of market education for brands, it is still difficult to innovate in products.

The massive entry of new consumer tracks has increased consumer choice, making "uniqueness" an unattainable goal. Joint ventures and offline events have become shortcuts, but the elements involved are similar.

Overall, this year's cherry blossom season marketing among brands was so dull that it was hard to tell which one was better. How to stand out from a crowd of brands at the same time point is an issue that brands urgently need to consider.

TOP believes that people’s desire to travel is growing this year, so focusing on innovation in outdoor activities may be a good choice; or you may become a unique camellia among the cherry blossoms, and perhaps you will be the next leader of the fashion trend.

Author: TOP Jun

Source: WeChat public account "TopMarketing (ID: TMarketing)"