Every year around the Spring Festival, there are talks about the lack of “年味儿” (lit. taste of the Chinese New Year) or the “vibe” of CNY. With the festival officially a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), hyping up the CNY vibe became a quest for many brands and local authorities. Against this backdrop, Danish toymaker LEGO wanted to set an example by launching its version of the “temple fair” (庙会, miao hui) called “妙会” (also miao hui), replacing the “庙” (temple) with “妙” (wonderful).
The ‘wonderful market’ is a combination of an online campaign, exclusive products and an offline pop-up in Shanghai, which dwarfs the pop-up in Beijing last year. The online campaign includes 3 short films, co-created with and featuring three young inheritors of ICH. Another part of the online campaign is in collaboration with Alipay where users have to collect 5 “Fus”. These are virtual cards that feature the LEGO CNY pot plant series artwork, so users can earn perks on the payment platform.
Offline, LEGO launched its pop-up in Yu Garden (豫园) in Shanghai, near the City God Temple, where major temple fairs are held each year. With sculptures of ICHs, such as a paper fan and a lantern, as well as a giant lucky cat, created with hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks, the LEGO market serves as a perfect “check-in” (打卡) spot. LEGO also created miniatures of these sculptures, as well as brick versions of the plants to boost the CNY vibes for the Year of the Snake.
With CNY-themed window displays and products at their offline stores across China, LEGO is pushing a multi-pronged omnichannel campaign this CNY. LEGO is doubling down in China in the new year as the Shanghai LEGOLAND theme park prepares for its grand opening in 2025 and the Shenzhen LEGOLAND nears completion. With that in mind, the toymaker is expected to have a much more prominent presence in the country.
