China is a very tightly regulated market. Exposing the dark secrets of a trade not considered illegal by the government, such as fur and fur farms, especially when you're airing this dirty laundry in public, can invite government intervention. Also, online platforms typically don't allow campaigns disguised as stores without paying hefty advertising dollars. With that in mind, we made sure that our messaging targeted action from the buyer, rather than regulators. We were also fully prepared to have our store shut down. Our campaign was designed to have the most impact in the shortest time possible.

China is home to the world’s largest online store, where you can buy anything, including ever-popular fur products. We wanted to get online fur buyers to stop buying fur. So to stop the buying on this massive platform, we started selling on the platform, by launching Maria’s Luxury Fur Store. We drove them in with offers they can’t resist on fur products the love. But upon clicking on products, users saw the gory process involved. Within days, 4.5 million users visited the store. 80% pledged never to buy fur again. We gained so much attention – over US$2.2 million in earned media and over 5.7 million shares on social media with a RMB5 budget – that we were taken down in 72 hours. Inspired by the success, we already are preparing to launch on even more platforms.

We wanted to get online fur buyers to pledge never to buy fur again. But before we did that, we had to first reel them in on this massive platform. To do this, we researched how the top stores on this platform drew in online shoppers.

To stop the buying, we started selling. We launched Maria’s Luxury Fur Store, enticing users with a massive fur sale. But when users clicked on the fur products, they’ll see the dark and gory process that goes into making that item.

4.5 million users visited the store, with 80% – that’s 2.8 million people – pledging never to buy fur again. We gained so much attention online and offline, with over 5.7 million shares on social media and US$2.2 million in earned media, that we were shut down in 72 hours. All on a campaign budget of RMB5. Inspired by the success, we already are preparing to launch on even more platforms.

Fur products are extremely popular in China, and most of the shopping for fur products happens on this massive online store. So before we could talk to them, we had to first entice them, using best practices from stores on this platform, as well as SEO techniques, in order to draw people with offers they can’t resist on fur products they love whenever people searched for fur on this platform.

China is home to the world’s largest online store, a platform so huge that it made US$9.3 billion in a single day, 5 times more than what all US e-commerce stores made on Black Friday combined. Here, you can buy anything privately, including, unfortunately for the animals, fur products, which are extremely popular in China. So how do we stop people from buying on this massive platform?