Chinese New Year 2023: Verticals to Target
Seasoned advertisers, affiliate marketers, and brands know that certain holidays are incredible for driving profits. With the Chinese New Year around the corner, these same advertisers are ready to jump on the opportunity again and make a LOT of money!
If you’re also thinking about running a Chinese New Year-themed campaign this January, then you’ve got the right idea. But you might be wondering exactly how to set up a stellar campaign.
Luckily, we have a wealth of real-world examples of Chinese New Year campaigns to share with you. 😉
But first, let’s learn a little bit about what the Chinese New Year is.
Who celebrates the Chinese New Year?
Contrary to what many think, the Chinese New Year isn’t just a Chinese holiday. It’s celebrated by multiple countries in Asia and is better known as the Lunar New Year.
It’s a special day that marks the start of a new year in the lunisolar calendar that is traditionally used in many East Asian countries. It signals the beginning of spring and is often used as a time to shed yourself of the previous year’s bad luck as you welcome a new year.
More than 1.5 billion people celebrate Lunar New Year with rich traditions and activities unique to each country. And this year is no different as people prepare to welcome the year of the Rabbit! 🐰
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How do people celebrate Lunar New Year?
People in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, and other countries celebrate Lunar New Year with fireworks, red clothes, food, decorations, gifts, and red envelopes containing money.
Just like during other holidays, people spend more money during Lunar New Year on celebrations and gifts. In fact, in Vietnam, people can spend as much as 50% to 81% of their monthly salaries on Lunar New Year.
Advertisers have a big opportunity during Lunar New Year
Advertisers across a diverse range of verticals have a wonderful opportunity to drive profits during Lunar New Year. For example, the below graph shows the share of what Vietnamese consumers spent during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) from 2020 to 2021.
Everything from imported foods to beverages gets a substantial share of consumer spending.
But it doesn’t stop there.
People spend MORE time online during Lunar New Year
Whether it’s watching videos on social media or playing games, the proof is in the numbers. People have time off work and school, and that means they spend more time online.
In fact, in China, people spend almost 7 hours using the internet during Lunar New Year. That’s a lot of time to reach them with strong advertising campaigns.
9 GEOs to target this Lunar New Year
According to our observations, research, and performance data, the top GEOs for advertisers to target during Lunar New Year are:
- Indonesia 🇮🇩
- Malaysia 🇲🇾
- The Philippines 🇵🇭
- Thailand 🇹🇭
- Vietnam 🇻🇳
- Singapore 🇸🇬
- South Korea 🇰🇷
- Japan 🇯🇵
- The United States 🇺🇸
Best verticals for advertising during Lunar New Year
We analyzed the data from last year (19/01/22 – 04/02/22) and found the following verticals to have the strongest performance:
How top verticals advertise during Lunar New Year
You may be curious about how these verticals drove such strong performance during their Lunar New Year campaigns last year.
Let’s jump right into the numbers and creatives to see the secret to their success.
Top GEOs for eCommerce
eCommerce performed great, as expected, due to the big need for gifts for the Lunar New year. The top GEOs were Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
| Country | Impressions | Clicks |
| ID | 541 408 803 | 338 195 |
| PH | 524 338 585 | 418 410 |
| TH | 206 813 732 | 89 020 |
| GB | 216 508 446 | 192 708 |
| VN | 48 345 073 | 30 257 |
| GB | 216 508 446 | 192 709 |
| KR | 57 049 745 | 63 219 |
| SG | 42 471 226 | 19140 |
Top GEOs for iGaming
iGaming is a lucrative vertical for holiday advertising, and the numbers speak for themselves. If you’re planning an iGaming campaign, including the social casinos, consider targeting Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia to start.
| Country | Impressions | Clicks |
| TH | 2 099 396 830 | 2 700 558 |
| CA | 173 676 846 | 206 068 |
| AU | 37 901 063 | 79 703 |
| NZ | 17 973 031 | 51 151 |
| PH | 32 590 140 | 189 074 |
| SG | 49 356 172 | 86 250 |
Top GEOs for Giveaways
As you can see from the below graph, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand were the top three GEOs for advertisers in the Giveaways vertical.
| Country | Impressions | Clicks |
| ID | 2 191 044 6648 | 17 812 081 |
| PH | 955 073 445 | 4 655 227 |
| TH | 1 155 603 143 | 1 120 359 |
| VN | 2 552 330 828 | 1 471 397 |
| PE | 95 642 019 | 313 653 |
| GB | 165 867 099 | 109 371 |
| AU | 40 553 808 | 26 071 |
| CA | 36 627 446 | 27 597 |
Top creatives
A strong creative marks the difference between a good ad and a great ad that drives conversions. Remember to incorporate the color red and festive decorations or designs.
In general, the strongest styles of creatives to use are themed around red envelopes and money.
For example, the below creative was used for a Giveaways brand. It’s a winning-themed Red Envelope. People familiar with the Lunar New Year will instantly recognize it and understand that the red envelope is associated with cash.
How to test and get fast results
Now that we’ve seen the performance numbers and how to design a solid creative for your campaign, let’s take a look at how to run tests for strong results, fast.
We recommend testing (in terms of tools) the following:
- Animated templates (Interstitial): these draw immediate attention to your ad, and this ad format is popular in Asia.
- Interest targeting (shopping, games, dating, giveaways, etc.): we know that people spend a lot of money during Lunar New Year, so targeting by interest is a logical way to reach customers most likely to convert.
- Direct click: This is the best option if you don’t have creatives and/or you want the best traffic, fast. Direct-click ads use AI to place your ads in front of the highest-quality audiences that are most likely to convert.
To sum up…
Welcoming the year of the Rabbit means welcoming good luck, prosperity, and fortune into your life this 2023.
As advertisers, we can get a headstart on welcoming all three with clever campaigns, the right targeting, and a red envelope creative or two. 😉
Good luck, and Happy Lunar New Year!
