#FujianOneExtraDayOff# triggered a nationwide discussion during Chinese New Year. The following up discussion of “Why it is only people from Fujian who can have one extra day off” became a social buzz through China. In merely 2 weeks, the social buzz gained 250 million views and topped the Weibo search list! This campaign even spurred many Chinese companies to declare an extra day off formally. The far-reaching influence even affected a representative of National People’s Congress who lodged an official proposal to extend the Chinese New Year holidays, which made progress in revolutionizing the traditional Chinese New Year holiday.

Sedrin, established in 1986, and which joined ABI in 2006, is the leading local beer brand in Fujian province in terms of market share and preference (40%+). The brand proved its competence through the attainment of over 90% public awareness and over 60% market penetration in Fujian Province. Yet, the brand is currently facing difficulties in expanding its market share nationwide due to competition from domestic and foreign beer brands.

Chinese New Year is the most important time for Chinese people to get together. Sedrin has always been committed to creating more reunion time for people. Following this commitment, Sedrin initiated a campaign during 2019 Chinese New Year to deepen its influence on the existing target groups (Fujian people), while also preparing for the future expansion of its markets nationwide. The brand hopes to enhance its significance in the context of reunions and to enhance its favor among people.

We leveraged the Chinese New Year holiday to evoke the social hashtag #One Extra Day Off#. The topic triggered a heated discussion on social media, expanding from Fujian Province to the whole country. As long as Fujian people asked for leave from work and submitted leave applications to Sedrin, their wages would be reimbursed for the day off. This not only satisfied Fujian people’s eagerness for more reunion time, but also relieved anxieties over losing wages. The brand created more time for Fuijan people to gather together.

People from Fujian are united and bonded. They work hard in different cities in China all year long. Chinese New Year is the only time that their relatives and friends get to come home to celebrate together. However, for those who are used to being around the country, the homecoming trip is long and exhausting, making the 7-day-holiday seem less than enough. The anxiety of the lack of holiday time becomes a common concern during Chinese New Year.

Therefore, during this Chinese New Year, we eased the tension from a lack of reunion time, which evoked people’s attention and encouraged participation in the campaign to win more favors.

On January 14th 2019, 3 weeks before Chinese New Year, we convinced Fujian Daily, a government-owned paper, and other media outlets to make a joint announcement of the news #Fujian One Extra Day Off# on the front page. Through publication by official government media, the news was convincing and authoritative.

At the same time, we carried out a series of campaign, precisely corresponding to consumer's daily contacts with different media (e.g. metro stations, CBD elevators, restaurants, limited cans, etc.), which resulted in evoking a wide range of news coverage and explosive social buzz.

During the 2 weeks from January 14th to January 28th, Sedrin received a large number of leave applications from participants and had their wages reimbursed for their extra-day off.

#FujianOneExtraDayOff# had over 250 million views on social media and generated more than 4.3 million user interactions. That’s 11% of the population of Fujian Province!

The campaign received 78,950 leave applications, gained 46% earned media and topped the Weibo search list! This campaign even spurred other Chinese companies to declare an extra day off too! On 3 March 2019, a National People’s Congress representative named Zhao Wanping lodged an official proposal to extend the Chinese New Year holidays .

Giving more reunion time to Fujian people for the 2019 Chinese New Year earned Sedrin applause from all over China. This proved to be a solid first-step towards market expansion for Sedrin.