Ambassadors carrying giant 618 paper bags part of Taobao HK's guerilla marketing stunt

Taobao Hong Kong has launched a 360-degree marketing campaign themed "做人夠淘氣 先至有『利』可淘" to highlight the exciting 618 deals and year-round 88VIP member privileges as part of this year's 618 festival. 

The 618 shopping festival is one of the key sales initiatives for Chinese eCommerce platforms, aimed at attracting shoppers through exclusive deals and limited-time offers centred around 18 June, a date that originated from JD.com’s founding anniversary and has since become a major eCommerce sales period in China.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Taobao HK's spokesperson said the campaign has leveraged a full-funnel approach enhancing offline presence as a key tactic to engage a wider audience across both online and offline touchpoints.

On the weekends in May and June, a team of Taobao ambassadors parade around Hong Kong’s central business districts carrying a giant Taobao paper bag and giving away souvenirs, together with a limited edition of "Tao Magazine", to spark excitement and boost brand awareness for the 618 campaign. The "Tao-Fluencer" programme expands by recruiting more influencers and consumers to share shopping experiences through product sponsorship. 

In addition to traditional marketing channels, Taobao Hong Kong is expanding its outreach by recruiting influencers and consumers for its ambassador program,e, called “Tao-Fluencer”. Participants can receive product sponsorships from Taobao by sharing their shopping experiences and product recommendations. These initiatives broaden consumer engagement and enhance brand awareness for Taobao Hong Kong, while supporting the local influencer community. 

On the other hand, Taobao Hong Kong’s 6.18 Shopping Festival has simplified the shopping experience by offering a direct 15% discount on eligible items. Consumers can enjoy such a discount without minimum purchase requirements.  

Eligible local consumers with a loyalty score over 1,000 can join the 88VIP program and pay annual membership fee in Hong Kong dollars now. During the two checkout periods, each 88VIP member enjoys consumption vouchers worth RMB820 and RMB1,050 – highest in its history.  

It also provides exclusive vouchers for 88VIP members – the platform’s loyalty programme, which now accepts local currency payment options for the first time. All the aforementioned discounts – including the 15% off, 88VIP vouchers and category-specifics vouchers – can be applied during the transaction. 

Taobao Hong Kong also partners with various banks and payment service providers to offer localised payment benefits to Hong Kong consumers. These includes handling fee waivers and extra discounts. The platform continues to offer free shipping to Hong Kong for self-pickup orders worth over RMB99, allowing shoppers to save on cross-border delivery fees.

The excitement is expanding to its offline touchpoint, as its furniture store  PapaHome located in Tsim Sha Tsui is joining the 6.18 campaign for the first time, said the spokesperson. "The store brings an in-person and immersive experience to Hong Kong consumers, in partnership with various local brands and merchants during the campaign."

To celebrate PapaHome store’s first-ever 618 campaign, Taobao Hong Kong will host a pop-up event "Tao Market" from 6 June to 20 June, showcasing a wide range of high quality Taobao merchandises - from clothing and home accessories to consumer electronics and pet products - where the shoppers enjoy a seamlessly online-merge-offline (OMO) shopping experience by scanning the QR code to order, alongside with in-store engagement activities. 

These new elements and developments are all part of Alibaba’s broader user-first initiatives, with the aim to smooth and improve local consumers’ experience throughout the shopping journey,. added the spokesperson.

The first phase of this year's 618 festival took place from 16 to 26 May, while the second checkout period will continue until 20 June.

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