Key Points of This Article
1. In the past two weeks, the "520" hype has been on the rise, reaching its peak on May 20th. Douyin platform had the highest enthusiasm, with the volume of mentions breaking through 20 million , and the number of interactions surpassing 500 million times .
2. Celebrities took advantage of "520" to sweetly interact with fans, KOLs created content around the theme, and brands played with "Celebrity Effect + Holiday Marketing" to make a splash on 520. Content and styles of high-liked posts show differences across different platforms.
3. Snow Beer teamed up with Gong Jun, Shiseido paired up with Luo Yunxi for "Celebrity Effect + Holiday Marketing" to harness 520. The former's single post likes exceeded 20 million , and the latter's exceeded 9 million .
4. Female and younger users remain the main force during the holiday, with a romantic demand still to be tapped in the middle-aged and elderly demographics. Users posting on Weibo are concentrated in first-tier cities, while users from third and fourth-tier cities prefer to express love loudly on the Douyin platform.
5. "I love you" knows no bounds; loved ones, family members, friends, pets, and oneself are all loved ones. Expanding the boundaries of gift recipients has become a breakthrough point for brand marketing.
The sunny day brings the scent of warm wheat, and the green shade and quiet grass surpass the beauty of flowers. Love and temperature rise together in May, bringing warmth to consumers. The Mother's Day on the second weekend of May still leaves the aftertaste of maternal love, and yet another "520" has romantically arrived last weekend.
Following the tailwinds of Mother’s Day marketing, leading into 618 big e-commerce promotion, "520," as a strong internet holiday with good seeding and conversion effects, has always been a significant node where brands spare no expense to layout their strategies. Doing well on 520 not only leads directly to sales conversions but also enhances brand exposure and enriches the brand image, preheating for the upcoming 618, accumulating traffic and momentum to better play the big promotion game.
So how popular is this year's 520? Which brands and sectors stood out in this 520 and won consumer attention? What kind of consumer demographic is paying attention to 520? What kind of 520 are they focusing on? Amidst the changes in demographics and scenarios, what trends can we capture from 520? Next, Moojing will invite you to review 520 in 2023 based on social media data.
According to Moojing Market Intelligence, from May 7th to May 20th, the "520" enthusiasm built up day by day, with a surge in mentions and interactions on the 20th of May, reaching the peak. Among them, users on the Douyin platform were the most passionate creators, pushing the volume of mentions beyond 20 million and the number of interactions over 500 million on that day.
Looking at the like counts, high-heat content on different platforms has certain differences. The Weibo platform focuses on celebrity posts that include both brand collaborations for holiday marketing and celebrities leveraging "520" to interact with fans. High-liked posts on Douyin include both celebrities and KOLs, with most high-liked tweets consisting of personal content creation, using platform tags such as #520HeartThrobbingDiary# for traffic, and many creators embed brand products in short drama content around the 520 theme. On Xiaohongshu, high-liked posts center around KOLs with more diverse topics, from holiday gifting to romantic love and singles self-pleasure , all attracting a large audience.
Looking at single-post likes, Snow Beer, Shiseido, and Wuliangye have garnered massive traffic and exposure during this "520." Snow Beer partnered with Gong Jun to promote Mars Green Beer, and Shiseido partnered with Luo Yunxi to promote Pure & Fresh Toners and Emulsions. Both used "celebrity + holiday " tactics to penetrate fan groups for marketing promotion, driving sales through traffic. In contrast, Wuliangye took a different path, breaking the "520" stereotype with "Father's Love" interpretations, resonating with users and leading to a high of 430,000 likes in related KOL content creation videos.
The top 10 brands in single-post likes are concentrated in the food and beverage and cosmetics and skincare tracks, with cosmetics and skincare brands linking to the gifting scenario, promoting holiday gift boxes, and playing with the romantic economy.
Looking at the user profiles of those posting, females and young users remain the main force of the holiday, with females posting users exceeding a 70% share on both Weibo and Douyin platforms. There's still unexplored romantic demand among the middle-aged and elderly demographics, especially on Douyin, where users aged 41 and above account for more than 16% of the posts, making the silver-haired demographic layer marketing of "520" worth paying attention to. Posters on Weibo are concentrated in first-tier cities, while third and fourth-tier city users prefer to declare their love loudly on Douyin. On Weibo, nearly 40% of the posters are from first-tier cities, with a decreasing gradient from first-tier cities to third-tier cities and below. On Douyin, the share of posters from first-tier cities is significantly smaller, with a more even distribution of posters from all other tiers of cities, peaking in third-tier cities.
Compared to last year's 520 and this year's 520, Weibo has seen an increase in male posters, and the attention of the 41-45 year old middle-aged demographic has risen ; although Douyin is a content creation stronghold for users from third and fourth-tier cities, this year's 520 has seen a significant increase in posters from first and second-tier cities, spreading content more broadly. How Do People View "520"?
By conducting a scene analysis of 520-related posts on Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, Moojing discovered that the connotation of "520" in users' minds has started to evolve. "520" is no longer just about romance and love, nor is it only a day for couples to exchange gifts and profess love to each other. "I love you" has no restrictions; lovers, family, friends, pets, and oneself are all loved. One should surprise their significant other with romance, wish their best friend well with friendship, express gratitude to family members, tell themselves self-love is important, and of course, the furry kids at home also deserve a piece of 520 affection. **Expanding the boundaries of gift recipients has become a marketing breakthrough.
Although the recipients of gifts have become more diverse, lovers remain the most popular gift recipients, with romantic love still being the mainstream tone of "520". In the gifting scenario, posts about giving gifts to boyfriends account for over 9%, second only to the scenario of giving gifts to girlfriends. The demand for men to celebrate the holiday is gaining attention, and brand marketing could make a breakthrough from the angle of the male gift recipients.
Apart from gifting, the dating scene also accounted for over a million posts, with dating outfits being the largest sub-topic, and a certain volume for sharing dating makeup looks. Apparel and cosmetics categories took advantage of this to create traction, gaining substantial exposure. Posts about dating restaurants and strategies activated offline consumption scenarios.
In addition to gifts and dates, Moojing also noticed holidays mentioned alongside 520, namely the preceding Mother's Day and the following Children's Day. Especially in relation to Mother's Day, 520 takes on an additional meaning of reciprocating love and gratitude to mothers, with many mothers on social platforms sharing their children's 520 blessings and gifts. When it comes to Children's Day, users tend to joke, revealing a reluctance to grow up. Connected holidays, focused marketing, and building a campaign that links multiple points could become a breakthrough in brand holiday marketing.
