Marketing campaign hits a nerve amongst China's growing brands
A marketing agency in Shenzhen has given marketers a glimpse of a possible new world order by distributing US dollars imprinted with the faces of China's emperors and historic leaders to emphasize the importance of overseas competition to Chinese brands.
Hundreds of US notes were mailed out to 500 top Shenzen, China companies in red envelopes – with the question: "Are you ready to take over America?" The envelopes were sent by Shenzen agencies ITTIZ and Global from Asia to brands like Lenovo, ZTE, MEIZU, Huawei, Haier, OPPO, DJI, and others. The point? To showcase a creative way to stay ahead of the global competition, particularly in a prospering city like Shenzen.
The bills are actual US currency notes, ranging in value from $1 to $100, with a removable sticker of a Chinese emperor covering the respective US icon's image. The timing for sending out the red envelopes coincides with the Fourth of July, American Independence Day, which was chosen for maximum impact.
The creative agency ITTIZ notes that the campaign is expected to reach a wide audience spanning various industries.
"The campaign sparked the imagination of all those involved," said Sean Davis, chief executive officer of ITTIZ. Davis expects this campaign will attract more attention to his company and showcase what ITTIZ can do for clients.
"One of the other reasons we ran this campaign was to showcase the creative abilities currently available in Shenzhen. A lot of the time there is a large focus on hardware, while the creatives are left out in the cold. We wanted to show that Shenzhen is not only a place for hardware innovation, but for innovation on all fronts, such as, in our case, marketing, branding, and design," said Davis.
"We see Shenzhen being a technology hub for the 21st century. We feel that creative ideas will only accelerate this movement. The future is coming at us quickly, everything in today's economy is up for grabs, and Shenzhen is ready to grab hold and take it."