Key takeaways:
- Chinese New Year is China’s most important traditional holiday; many brands have launched marketing campaigns to commemorate this event and Bottega Veneta is one of these.
- Bottega Veneta is a high-quality leather goods company that is attempting to maintain a positive online reputation.
- Bottega Veneta took over a section of the Great Wall of China with a massive digital screen to commemorate Chinese Lunar New Year and together with this installation, has pledged a donation to support the renovation and preservation of the ‘Shanhai pass’.
The year 2022 is the Year of the Tiger
Chinese New Year is China’s most important traditional holiday, and this year, it fell on Tuesday, February 1st. Unlike the western calendar, which has twelve zodiac signs for each month of the year, the Chinese calendar has twelve zodiac signs for the entire year. According to the Chinese calendar, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger, the third sign of the Chinese zodiac and a symbol of power, courage, and great predilection.
Could this be the driving force behind the world’s best luxury brands’ creations? Many brands have launched marketing campaigns to commemorate the event; Bottega Veneta’s installation on the Great Wall stood out among these.
The Italian leather goods company is a pinnacle of quality
Bottega Veneta is a leather goods company that has become synonymous with high quality. Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro founded the company in Vicenza (Veneto region) in 1966, and its main product at the time was leather products.
Bottega Veneta is a brand that has not only entered, but also successfully moved into China, delivering fashion, culture, and art.
Taddei and Zengiaro transferred over control of the brand to Taddei’s former wife, Laura Moltedo, in the late 1970s. Bottega first gained widespread attention from famous artists and celebrities in the 1980s. Then, Daniel Lee was appointed the creative director halfway through June 2018 and had little recognition as a young British designer at the time, despite a track record that was more than impressive. Bottega Veneta and Daniel Lee announced Daniel Lee’s departure from the label after three years on November 10, 2021. The brand named Matthieu Blazy as the new creative director, effective November 15, 2021.
In China, branding is all about image and storytelling.
Bottega opened 11 stores in China in 2011 and launched a new website, reflecting the brand’s commitment to and respect for Chinese customers and furthering the goal of highlighting the brand to anyone who wants to learn more about Bottega Veneta.
This is a brand that has not only entered, but also successfully moved into China, delivering fashion, culture, and art. An Italian brand that places a strong marketing emphasis on their Italian heritage and builds quality, but what makes the brand stand out is how they do both online and offline advertising within China.
Bottega Veneta is very active on Chinese social media including Weibo, WeChat, and Xiaohongshu, and the famous Kering brand, that manages Bottega Veneta, also keeps posting content and engaging with its online community. Maintaining a positive online image is critical, and therefore, extreme caution needs to be exercised. In China, branding is all about image and storytelling, and you must focus on the values you will share with Chinese consumers.
The art exhibit on the Chinese ancient monument
Bottega Veneta took over a section of the Great Wall of China with a massive digital screen to commemorate the recently passed Chinese Lunar New Year.
The colour naturally gets linked to vivacity, happiness, and brightness, all of which align with the festival’s atmosphere.
The public art installation by the Italian luxury fashion house, which was on display from January 6 to 12, 2022, displayed a colourful festive message in shades of Bottega green and tangerine - a symbol of luck in Chinese mandarin, and together with its linguistic meaning, the colour naturally gets linked to vivacity, happiness, and brightness, all of which align with the festival’s atmosphere. So, on a section of the wall, the message “Happy New Year” in Chinese characters, as well as the company logo, were displayed.
That art exhibit on the ancient monument was created by the luxury brand as an advertisement for the brand’s campaign designed specifically for the Chinese market.
Together with this installation, Bottega Veneta has pledged a donation to support the renovation and preservation of the ‘Shanhai pass,‘ China’s easternmost great wall, historically known as the ‘First Pass Under Heaven.’ The house does not cater to customers with preferences within each regional market. Instead, it respects and celebrates the indigenous cultures and heritages of the region.
Rather than following suit and appropriating zodiac animals, Bottega Veneta fluidly merged its authentic interpretation of local cultures with the brand identity and chose to value the past that is shaping our future.
The campaign comes hand-in-hand with Bottega Veneta’s Lunar New Year capsule.
The Great Wall is not frequently open to fashion houses. The Chinese government is working to preserve this magnificence through preservation programs as well as methodical repairs and renovations to parts of the fortification that are currently closed to the public; this may be one of the reasons why Bottega’s initiative was accepted, as the brand will donate for the same purpose.
The campaign comes hand-in-hand with Bottega Veneta’s Lunar New Year capsule, which introduced a new tangerine colour into its collection of iconic accessories. The year of the Tiger, in fact, inspired a capsule collection by Bottega Veneta, which introduced the animal’s symbol on its famous bags to the market.
One thing is certain: we expect nothing but great things from Bottega in the near future. Meanwhile, we can expect the brand will continue to covet the iconic handbags made with meticulous attention to detail and intention.
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