Lunar New Year 2025: Mastering Brand Strategy for Maximum Impact!

With longer holiday periods now common in key regions such as China, Korea, and Vietnam, brands need to adapt by understanding cultural nuances better and exploring new avenues in travel, lifestyle, and wellness to capture interest and grow with changing cultural trends.

Opportunity

Known by various names such as the Spring Festival in China, Seollal in Korea, and Tết in Vietnam, and celebrated by the Chinese diaspora globally, this festival engages around two billion people. It is a critical time for retail and marketing within the Asian cultural calendar (TIME). As the governments of China and Vietnam extend the holiday duration—with China celebrating for eight days and Vietnam for nine—the festival’s dynamic is changing, boosting sectors like travel and entertainment. Adding to the excitement, UNESCO recognized the Spring Festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.

Consumers are also reevaluating how they celebrate, adopting new priorities and practices that emphasize health and wellness, virtual celebrations, and more thoughtful ways of marking the occasion. In Vietnam, for instance, traditional favorites like beer and sweets are being replaced with healthier options such as nuts, yogurt, and bird’s nest. Despite these changes, the essence of traditional celebrations is preserved as people strive to maintain a connection with their cultural heritage.

Adapting to New Family Traditions and Dynamics

As younger generations reshape their view of family and explore fresh celebratory customs, there is a significant opportunity for brands to help create lasting memories by ensuring representation and engagement across all consumer interactions.

For those who consider pets as part of the family, introducing pet-specific celebrations, such as Lunar New Year fairs for pets, pet-friendly areas in stores, and themed outfits for pets, could foster greater inclusivity.

Engage in New Celebratory Landscapes

Address the needs of new shoppers and the evolving nature of celebrations, which increasingly take place online and extend into the night.

Short-video platforms like TikTok Shop, WeChat Channels, Douyin, and Kuaishou are becoming the preferred shopping channels for festival purchases (77.6%), surpassing traditional e-commerce sites (76.7%). Brands should manage their inventory across both channels and consult our detailed reports on Livestreaming in China and Southeast Asia for effective strategies.

Another emerging trend is the nocturnal lifestyle of consumers. Brands can explore this by hosting nighttime events such as fireworks, light shows, AR and drone displays, and creating Lunar New Year-themed nightlife activities. Investing in nighttime hospitality and public spaces can also cater to consumers traveling during the festival period.

Prepare for Post-Festival Adjustment

Extend the festive momentum for your brand by introducing experiences that help consumers recover from the post-festival lull.
Support urban dwellers returning to the fast pace of big cities with spaces that promote mindful commerce, integrating physical and introspective activities such as meditation, book clubs, and art therapy to help find balance and rest after the festivities.

Explore the trend of edible wellness with post-festival food and beverage experiences inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to aid in health recovery after indulgences.

Capitalize on the Lantern Festival, which marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations, to inject a renewed sense of joy as everyday routines resume. Introduce exciting packaging or transform the occasion into a celebratory event to maintain consumer engagement.

Request a demo to learn how to genuinely and culturally connect with consumers celebrating the Lunar New Year.