China has suffered a far longer impact from the pandemic than any other country. Recognizing China's disproportionate pandemic suffering, Hoegaarden, as a brand committed to empowering connections with nature and communities, has ingeniously repurposed abandoned COVID-testing booths as symbols of stress and isolation, into botanic bars as symbols of hope, offering communal relaxation spaces where people unwind and embrace the 'spring' of social freedom.

This initiative, addressing pandemic-induced anxiety, sparked a 35% rise in brand-related social discussions and an impressive retail sales increase by 39.36% y.o.y, 2X our set KPI, regaining its #1 position in witbier category by May 2023.

The overall beer market in China has entered a stagnant phase in recent years, with COVID-19 exacerbating the fierce, zero-sum competition between local giants and global players. Although Hoegaarden remains the witbier segment leader, our communications, with a casual, light-hearted, effortless undertone, is losing touch with the anxiety-ridden everyday life and social mentality during the COVID years. To defend our leadership and set us farther apart from the competition, we need to help drinkers rethink Hoegaarden - how this familiar brand is not only relevant in a unique way through our choice of media but also has the ability to bring positive change to their lives.

Aiming to increase brand search, positive social conversations that ideally leads to increase in eCommerce sales.

FIRST SPRING IN 3 YEARS.

China had a Zero Covid Policy in the 3 years of the pandemic, in efforts to slow down the contagion. For many, spring came and went for while on quarantine or lockdowns. Events, public spaces, travel, restaurants & bars were shut. Public gatherings over 10 persons were not allowed.

SYMBOL OF THE PANDEMIC

The protocols were strict, but it got extreme in 2022 when a 2nd wave of Covid19 hit the nation. Covid Testing Booths were enforced in every corner of every neighborhood, even in the farthest reaches of the country People got tested everyday. The policy was lifted In 2023.

Turning COVID Booths to Street Bars:

We are committed to helping people overcome the pain and difficulties caused by illness and lockdown as swiftly as possible. Our aim is to offer comfort and freedom to individuals in local communities, enabling them to experience the joy of spring in their everyday lives.

Covid-testing booths, once mandatory medical checkpoints, now stand abandoned at every community and street corner. They have become dilapidated symbols of painful experiences, disrupting the beauty of the spring environment. While removing them in the short term is not feasible, we propose a transformative approach.

These Covid-testing booths were converted into Belgian spring bars allowing neighbors to come together, raise their glasses in celebration, and enjoy delicious drinks and social activities in a free and relaxed atmosphere.

Targeting Young, Sophisticated Quality Seekers, aged between 18 and 29, residing in tier 1 and 2 cities as single individuals; 53.2% are male, and 46.8% are female; 37.4% of them have a relatively high income. They aspire to a free, artful, and creative lifestyle - even under restrictive lockdowns. They are not hesitant to showcase their refined taste in subtle details and the finer things in life. However, the COVID lockdowns have limited their ability to go out, explore the world, and even express themselves on social media. They drink to celebrate life’s discoveries and connections - yet they have fallen disconnected from the world. Drinking is a vital part of their lifestyle - but it’s never solely about the alcohol itself. It’s about creating ritualistic moments to appreciate their connections with loved ones and communities. However, during the frequent lockdowns, they feel cut off from the world.

To pay homage to the brand, COVID Testing Booths were redesigned to resemble Belgium architecture. The double-circle windows that once handed out swab tests now hands delightful Hoegaarden beer. Test tubes form a garden of flowers while long standing queues were replaced by lines of garden lounge chairs.

To facilitate replication of this success and spread a sense of liberation, the design schemes for transforming COVID-testing booths are available for free. Governments or local organizations can access these modular designs and use them to repurpose abandoned testing booths into community spaces. These transformed spaces will provide areas where people can relax and unwind, further enhancing the community's ambiance.

Paid media such as Weibo search, through government official media, etc. drove traffic for the launch. Bloggers and influencers were invited to experience offline activities. Owned media broadcast the event through Weibo, WeChat, and RED official.

149% Y.O.Y. (year-on-year, 2023.5 VS 2022.5) increase on eCommerce monthly search volume, almost 3x the KPI.

412% Y.O.Y increase on WeChat search (campaign duration), 4 x higher than the set target.

30M+ social media reach in the first 3 days, and 78M+ total media impressions in 7 days across major platforms (Weibo, Red, Weixin, Douyin).

Social buzz went up 35% Y.O.Y (year-on-year, 2023.5 VS 2022.5), 15pts higher than our set KPI.

Became the #1 Search on Red (a major social media platform) for witbier category during the campaign period.

The monthly GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) on eCommerce of the marketing campaign increased by 46%, more than double that of our set KPI.

Hoegaarden Fruity retail sales in 23Q2 increased by 39.36% y.o.y, 2X our set KPI.

Hoegaarden also regained its #1 position in witbier category in May, overtaking Kronenbourg1664 by 10.5% in terms of monthly sales value.

Everyone in China has endured the Covid Testing Booth experience. The booths were located in a prime corner of each neighborhood, every community had groupchats posting announcements on covid-testing and food availability. The booths was a constant negative event in people's lives but we saw the opportunity to transform it into a positive event to celebrate the social gathering of people again. And just like COVID-times, people naturally passed the word around on social channels but this time to enjoy the refreshing botanical taste of Hoegaarden.

The choice of this channel was also a strategic one since almost every street corner has an abandoned booth. To facilitate replication of this success and spread a sense of liberation, the design schemes for transforming COVID-testing booths are available for free. Governments or local organizations can access these modular designs and use them to repurpose abandoned testing booths into community spaces.