Recently, the "employee ID badge" trend has taken off on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book). This trend involves young generations identifing themselves as "打工人" (working bees) playing with the homophonic pun of their names and creating humorous ID badges.
These playful puns reflects the younger generation's dissatisfaction with their highly competitive work environments, using humor to cope with their frustrations.
👆🏻For example, one common pun is "陈住气" (Chen Zhuqi), which sounds like "沉住气" (stay calm), and another is "李来做" (Li Laizuo), which sounds like "你来做" (you do it). To help you better understand, consider similar English puns such as an ID badge that reads "Ben Dover" (bend over) or "Al Beback" (I'll be back).
According to the Xiaohongshu's data, there are over 190,000 posts related to employee ID badges and more than 20,000 related products. The trend started with a workplace influencer account named @打工人关怀中心 (Caring Center for Working Bees). Their post titled "I just said my colleagues are really brave..." received over 84,000 likes.
👆🏻Many brands have followed suit, leveraging the "employee ID badge" trend to catch the attention from young consumers.
While brands chase trends and stay relevant, they must also build a unique and memorable brand persona to attract young consumers and enhance brand loyalty. In this article, we will share 3 case studies of brands successfully building unique personas that are relatable to young consumers, which will offer new perspectives and possibilities for brands aiming to appeal to younger audiences.
Case Study 1
CamScanner: Humanized as a "Busy Working Bee" Persona
👆🏻Diverse posts featuring the "busy working bees" persona
@扫描全能王 (CamScanner) is a utility app with document scanning as its core feature. The brand’s official account on Xiaohongshu is humanized as a young social media manager who is also a "working bee" with a lot of creative ideas and love to joke. This persona resonates closely with Gen Z audiences. Through diverse posts embodying the "busy working bee" persona, the brand not only showcases the practicality of its product but also conveys a positive workplace attitude, making audiences feel the company is warm and friendly. This low-cost social strategy has allowed CamScanner to rapidly rise on Xiaohongshu, becoming an essential tool for young professionals.
The CamScanner's official account on Xiaohongshu quickly gained 200,000 followers in six months, with an average viral post rate of 82.3%, far exceeding the industry average. This success demonstrates how a carefully constructed brand persona can convey core product values and beliefs, enhancing user loyalty and recognition, and laying a solid foundation for sustained brand development and market expansion.
Case Study 2
Sexy Tea: A Friendly Companion on Social Media
👆🏻The WeChat account features content related to product launches, food safety inspections, and co-branded activities, along with everyday musings, giving the brand a more vivid and lively image.
Chinese popular milk tea brand Sexy Tea has transformed its WeChat official account into an interactive "WeChat moments" with customers, using down-to-earth storytelling and a humorous "slacker" persona to bridge the gap between the brand and consumers. This communication style makes the brand more approachable and allows customers to feel cared for while enjoying delicious beverages. Sexy Teasuccessfully integrates its brand management philosophy with its social media content style, achieving deep resonance with its customers.
Case Study 3
Hema: The Humorous "Life Artist"
👆🏻"Ganba" in Chinese can mean "dry" and is also a homophonic play on the word "干巴巴" (gan baba), which describes something dry and unappetizing. Hema used this name for the sourdough products, reflecting not only the "dryness" of the bread, but also monotonous aspects of life, adding a touch of humor to the product and resonating with the "busy working bees" consumers.
Hema Fresh uses its unique marketing approach and humorous brand image to position itself as the "life artist" in the minds of young consumers. From launching trend-chasing products like the "Ganba Lunch" series to creating relatable contents, Hema demonstrates a keen insight into market trends and a profound understanding of consumer needs. Through vivid selling points and rich lifestyle details, Hema successfully tells a compelling brand story, winning the love and support of many young consumers.
DOUBLE V TIPS:
As brands race to appeal to younger audiences, creating a relatable and memorable brand persona has become a key strategy for deeply connecting with young consumers. A brand who talk like a friend with a distinct personality, unique attitude, and genuine emotions can firmly root itself in the hearts of young consumers, building unbreakable trust and loyalty.
The "working bees" persona, which embodies complex emotions of effort, struggle, and self-deprecating humor, is currently a significant point of self-identification and emotional resonance for young people. It serves as an excellent entry point for brands to engage with this demographic.
As marketers, how can we capitalize on this? In other words, what aspects of brand persona can brands utilize?
● Humanized Image Presentation:
By creating a brand persona with a distinct personality and emotional resonance, brands can build an emotional bridge with users. This makes the brand more than just a cold logo or product name but a friend or partner with warmth and emotions.
●Promoting Positive Corporate Culture:
Utilize the positive cultural atmosphere of the "working bees" trend to convey the brand's corporate values and social responsibility. Through positive stories and case studies, brands can evoke empathy and recognition from young consumers, enhancing brand image and social influence.
●Innovative Marketing Formats:
Break free from traditional advertising constraints and adopt more avant-garde and creative marketing formats to attract young consumers' attention. Whether through co-branding collaborations or cultural exploration, brands should closely integrate their marketing with the social context and interests of young people, making the brand more relevant to their lives and minds.
Double V Consulting is a marketing consultancy specialized in female consumer goods brands. We have been helping overseas brands navigate the complexities of the Chinese market since 2017. We specialize in creating strategies that resonate with Chinese female consumers, leveraging deep market insights and cultural understanding.
If you're interested in learning more about how we can assist your brand in understanding and connecting with Chinese consumers, don't hesitate to reach out by click the "Read more" link below.
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