So, this week the mooncake festival is taking place. We stumbled over it and would like to share the inspiration for any creative marketer — why not let your brand communication be inspired by how this is handled by s some high-quality brands?

[pic from here — most of it will be explained soon — will there be an explanation for the groggy rabbit?]

Mooncake festival is a mid-autumn festival in China. It is celebrated to

worship the moon and celebrate the harvest

These are the main facts you need to know:

• it is a celebration of the full moon in September
• after dinner, you gaze at the moon while eating mooncakes -some sommelier platforms recommend accompanying it with a nice glass of bubbles (well, of course! ;))
• wonder at the magic of life
• it is rooted in Chinese culture, however, is celebrated throughout Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
• of course, there is a mystic tale behind involving love and heroism. A guy saved the mortal world when 10 suns unexpectedly rose over the sky one year. Over the course of the events, the love of his life dies, choosing to live the after death live on the moon — and therefore the moon gets gazed at when it is considered to be at its fullest
• and… for some reason, a cute rabbit lives with her on the moon (‘cos… why not? ;))
• this year, the mooncake festival happens on Tuesday, 21 September
• Chinese people have a 3-day public holiday from September 19th to 21st — it is the 2nd important holiday in China after New Year. So, in a way, this is what easter is vs. Xmas here in Europe. And here in Germany, according to an acquaintance of mine who manages the supermarket in a village nearby, Easter is the #1 turnover day of the year. So this should get the business savvy thinkers among us thinking. ;)
• it seems to be a full moon holiday, but then again… according to “China Highlights” “in some years, the full moon is on the festival day, while in other years, the full moon occurs the day after the festival.”
• the mooncakes themselves are characterized by pretty fancy though varied fillings (this seems to be vastly regional)
• Chinese people celebrate it by gathering for dinners, worshiping the moon, lighting paper lanterns, eating mooncakes, etc.

Interesting fun fact: A similar celebration is happening in India as told by our designer Krupa. In this case, there is special milk involved that is cooked with saffron and other spices. The milk will be set in a char outside — and once the moonlight falls into it, it is shared by the whole family. One sits together, sips the milk sharing stories. Quite lovely, too!

Mooncakes in themselves and how they are presented have become quite some works of art. As symbols of abundance,

mooncakes gifts have become an important part of brand builders’ narrative in the Aisa.

Here are some examples we especially love:

as you can see here:

[Picture by Little Red Book]

I personally love the Belgian old school brand Delvaux — and this here is definitely a ‘direct mailing’ that — should you be one of the lucky recipients — clearly is a talk about.

Interesting is also where the comments about it ended up: It is Chinese platform Xiaohongshu — which as a digital marketer you should put into your little black book by now. http://www.xiaohongshu.com/

Sustainability has arrived in Mooncake Festival campaigns, too…

leading to lots of reusable (and super charming ideas… such as these lovely tiffin boxes by Changhosek: https://www.facebook.com/changhosek/photos/940490873215735

We also LOVE the idea of the cranes:

The emerald-coloured containers come printed with motifs of Tsuru (Japanese cranes), a symbol of hope and resilience that’s aptly suited for these unprecedented times.

Oh, yes, indeed very much fitting the atmosphere of the year!

Found at: https://thesmartlocal.com/read/mooncake-box-2021-singapore/

I personally fell head over heels for this set by The Marmalade Pantry:

Could it get any better?

Admittedly, I HAVE tried to order the set in their online shop… however (and not surprisingly ;)) they seem not to provide shipping to Europe.

What will a plane ticket to Singapore cost these days? *trailingoff* ;)

In the meanwhile, you are probably wondering

what the Mercedes Benz of Mooncakes is…

it seems to be Ding Mooncakes.

Ahem, well that seems to be to the point: ;) #soldout

Talking about a trusted brand and lots of impressive trust signals on the shop page here….

There are more ‘hands-on’ versions, of course.

If you look up “Mooncakes” on Alibaba, everything points towards the fact that they seem to be pretty much in demand:

Ok, so for the

Take-Aways for Avid Marketers:

How to infuse your marketing 2021/2022 with the stylish and poetic Mooncake Festival Spirit

• Moongazing in itself… what a poetic activity! This a) reminds us of life’s magic itself, which is great and b) it reminds us that MAGIC, instilling magic into our brands is just what it is about
• Campaigns by Dior or Delvaux might remind us that a high-quality direct mailing can really make an enormous positive impression. Mooncake festival with all its built-in poetry might be just right for a creative direct mailing to your most cherished clients and customers (think Delvaux level up here ;))
• Be ready for it for next year. Put in on your marketing campaigns calendar NOW — next year it will be on the 10th of September. A great back-to-school timing — and a much more interesting idea than just “back to school” ;)

And those cranes…?

Well, I guess, they deserve a design and marketing ideas post in itself, don’t they?

#noted #contentcalendar #nextup

Links and Resources about the Mooncake Festival

• The original inspiration came from Jing Daily Newsletter — highly recommended anyway!: 6 Luxury Mooncake Gift Boxes Winning Over Shoppers This Mid-Autumn Festival
• https://qz.com/1087121/mid-autumn-festival-%E4%B8%AD%E7%A7%8B%E8%8A%82-chuseok-tsukimi-what-is-it-when-is-it-and-why-do-people-eat-mooncakes/
• Overall overview: https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/mid-autumn-festival.htm
• Most stylish ideas overview here (nicely done PR article by Ding Mooncakes): https://thesmartlocal.com/read/mooncake-box-2021-singapore/

Not quite related but sth. this reminded me and I’d like to share:

• you might want to check out and buy some art at Toth Anan’s page: https://thoth-adan.com/