Beyond red and gold: How brands are rethinking Chinese New Year marketing

On a February evening in Shanghai, a young woman scrolls through Xiaohongshu. Red. Horse. Gold. Lantern. Celebrity. Swipe. Another horse. Another red bag. Another brand wishing her prosperity. Swipe again.

By the time she pauses, it isn’t for a galloping mascot or a limited-edition zodiac charm but a campaign that doesn’t try so hard to look like Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year has long been retail’s most reliable seasonal crescendo across Greater China and much of Asia. But in 2026, as consumer sentiment remains cautious and digital feeds groan under the weight of near-identical zodiac visuals, brands are confronting a harder truth: Attention is no longer guaranteed simply because the calendar says so.

The fatigue factor

Olivia Plotnick, founder of Wai Social, told Inside Retail that what cuts through Chinese New Year marketing fatigue today is not louder symbolism, but sharper self-awareness.

“Zodiac-themed products, red-and-gold visuals, or last-minute celebrity tie-ins no longer register as distinctive on social media. They’ve become visual background noise,” she said. “What does resonate is when brands tap into a real social or emotional pressure point, or reinterpret tradition from an angle that makes consumers feel deeply seen and understood.”

A strong example this year came from Estée Lauder. While many beauty players leaned heavily into zodiac motifs, the brand deliberately pivoted away from overt symbolism. Instead, it centred its campaign on “Mrs. Estée Lauder’s New Year Dinner,” drawing on its own heritage and positioning itself not as a guest trying to blend in, but as a refined host.

“This de-zodiacised approach cut through the seasonal clutter precisely because it felt self-assured. It signalled cultural respect without overcompensation, and elevated the brand with a sense of timeless sophistication,” she added. 

Emotional storytelling versus utility 

For all the talk of consumer rationality in a slower economy, emotional storytelling has not lost its power. 

During Chinese New Year, consumers are not only evaluating products on price and features but also reassessing brand purpose. Beauty and luxury labels, in particular, have room to lean into narrative and values, while more functional categories may need to foreground utility and give practicality.

Singapore-based accessories brand Charles & Keith launched its ‘In Transit’ collection for Lunar New Year 2026, refreshing its Sammie and Hazel bags in prosperity red and playful pink, complemented by fortune cookies and rocking horse charms. It is festive yet also anchored in existing product lines instead of being created as a one-off novelty.

“The campaigns that have stood out this year did so by weaving together stories that were culturally and emotionally relevant but that also aligned with the brand DNA,” Plotnick said. 

Historically, many Western brands relied on festive packaging or celebrity endorsements to convey relevance. Today, however, brands like Bottega Veneta and Dior are telling human stories instead of selling seasonal kitsch. Bottega Veneta’s Chinese New Year campaign is built around a short film starring multi-generation family figures that evoke nostalgia and intimate ritual. Similarly, Dior’s Year of the Horse capsule embraces motifs like luck, renewal and vitality, blending them into ready-to-wear and accessories in a way that feels wearable and meaningful. 

“During a time like Chinese New Year, it’s a great opportunity for many brands to use emotional storytelling to connect with consumers and strengthen communication around a brand’s core values. Today’s consumers are not just evaluating a product’s value based on features, quality and price, but also on the broader purpose of the brand,” she added. 

The cultural playgrounds

Brands are also moving beyond campaign moments toward day-to-day cultural integration, embedding micro-activations into lived urban experiences rather than relying solely on large-scale holiday visuals.

Italian luxury house Valentino staged a two-day lantern festival at Shanghai’s Tianhou Temple, a historic riverside site dating back to the late Qing dynasty. Curated with the Shanghai Bund Art Museum and featuring seven Chinese artists, the activation layered contemporary light installations over heritage architecture. 

Meanwhile, Prada opted for a bold visual statement with a geometric “Red Horse” installation appearing across key China boutiques. Visitors interacted with the structure, unlocking blind-box gifts and exploring Spring/Summer collections worn by celebrity ambassadors Yang Mi and Ma Long. The zodiac was present but abstracted through Prada’s avant-garde design language.

Its sister brand Miu Miu took a more grassroots approach. Transforming Shanghai’s Donghu Road into an open-air festive route under its Encounters concept, the brand integrated lanterns, café partnerships and low-barrier rituals like stamp collecting and sugar painting. The activation blended into city life rather than demanding pilgrimage to a single flagship.

Perhaps the most philosophically distinct was Loewe. Drawing on Chinese classical animation and Qinhuai lantern-making, it staged installations in Nanjing and Shanghai that emphasised patience and shared artisanal values.

“Brands that stand out during Chinese New Year are those that understand how to participate emotionally, while still staying true to who they are,” Plotnick said. 

Platforms with distinct roles 

In China, execution is increasingly platform-specific. Plotnick notes that the highest-impact digital platforms during Chinese New Year remain Douyin, Xiaohongshu and WeChat,  but each serves a different function.

“Douyin is where mass attention peaks quickly, Xiaohongshu is where consumers search, evaluate, and validate decisions, and WeChat is where brands convert that interest into action – through official accounts, mini-programs, and private groups,” she said. 

Yet one of the most common mistakes brands make, she argues, is assuming they need to post more during the holiday window. In reality, Chinese New Year is a hyper-competitive, high-noise period. Attention fragments easily.

“The brands that perform best are often those that are strategic about when they show up – and when they deliberately don’t. Posting just before the holiday rush, or during quieter moments when users are scrolling more intentionally, can outperform publishing at peak traffic when attention is fragmented,” Plotnick said. 

Precision over presence

The shift may also point to a deeper change in consumer behaviour across Asia. 

Shoppers are now more selective and more sensitive to authenticity than they were a decade ago. Big gestures are easy to dismiss. Cultural missteps are quickly amplified. But meaningful engagement, when done right, can generate lasting brand equity.

“Success comes from precision: Carefully planned posting windows, disciplined paid media allocation, and influencer content that is amplified selectively rather than sprayed broadly,” Plotnick said. “During Chinese New Year, smart restraint often drives more results than sheer volume.”

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