Celebrating Lunar New Year 2024
In Australia's rich multicultural landscape, Lunar New Year extends beyond Chinese borders. Although commonly referred to as Chinese New Year, diverse communities prefer the more inclusive term 'Lunar New Year' as it covers cultural celebrations across other cultures such as South Korea and Vietnam.
This festival not only marks the inception of the Lunisolar calendar but also encapsulates a universal theme of a fresh start, observed through diverse traditions that symbolise luck and good fortune. With over two billion global celebrants, Lunar New Year stands as a cultural cornerstone for a quarter of the world's population.
As Lunar New Year gains momentum in Australia, brands have a unique opportunity to authentically connect with this multicultural celebration, immersing themselves in the joyous spirit of new beginnings.
As the Year of the Dragon fast approaches, we encourage retailers to craft creative in store experiences that resonate deeply with their audience.
Celebrating the year of the Dragon
10 Feb 2024 - 25 Jan 2025
The Dragon is the only fictitious creature in the 12 Chinese zodiac animals - which is composed of 9 animals, including the body of a snake, the horns of a deer, the head of an ox, the mouth of a crocodile, the claws of an eagle, and the scales of a fish. The Dragon enjoys a very high reputation in Chinese culture and it represents auspiciousness and imperial power since ancient times - It is the token of authority, dignity, honour, success, luck, and capacity.
Here at Dashing, we take a look at ways in which you can interpret traditional Dragon and Lunar New Year symbolism - in order to connect people with your brand and transform your in store experience:
Make it Modern
The fantastical nature of the Dragon allows brands to reimagine how traditional elements can be brought to life: Focus in on the most distinctive features of the Dragon and make it the hero in your stores.
Think: Bold scaley textures, serpentine shapes, abstract heads and pops of colour to capture and keep your audiences attention.
Spark Joy
Lunar New Year is a joyous celebration that is an important time for families and friends to come together - ensure your in store displays inspires a fun-filled vibe that speaks to the inner-child in us all!
Think: Cartoon style characters, soft tactile moments, bold maximalist prints and high-contrast candy colour palettes.
Immersive Moments
Ensure your LNY in-store campaign encourages people to engage with your brand through interactive or tactile moments that will increase dwell-time in your stores.
Think: Creating moments such as the tradition of giving red envelopes with a gift - or creating shareable moments for people to capture, in order to build authentic connections with your audience.
Top 5 Strategies for nailing your Lunar New Year Campaigns:
Year-long Festivities
It’s called the Year of the Dragon for a reason: Continue your in store marketing campaigns after the holiday too.
Be Inclusive
Recognise the multicultural nature of Australia, ensure campaigns engage diverse communities that celebrate LNY.
Celebrate the Spirit
Infuse joy and new beginnings into campaigns, integrate the campaign authentically in-store and avoid the perception of mere profit-seeking.
Family Matters
Embrace the family-oriented focused nature of these celebrations in your interactions with customers.
Show Appreciation
Cultivate gratitude and loyalty by celebrating your customers and making them feel seen and valued.
Dashing can help you leverage these strategies to not only enhance your Lunar New Year campaigns, but also establish a lasting connection with more diverse communities.