Brands start leveraging cat “memes” in China
Spend more than 5 minutes on social media anywhere in the world, and you’ll see a funny video involving a cat (a “meme”). But in China, you’ll also see brands using such videos to grab attention Gen Z’s attention.
How it all started…
The trend was launched in February 2024. A Japanese blogger published a cat “meme” describing his experiences in China. The videos got over 1.6 million views and gained over 200,000 followers in a week on Bilibili. Little Red Book followed quickly.
This start a craze of cat memes that grew exponentially month over month:
Soon enough, a “cat meme ecosystem” started to grow. Creators on Bilibili started to publish guides and instructions enabling users to create their own cat memes, helping the trend grow further.
Given the momentum of this trend, it wasn’t long until brands tried to leverage it.
How brands jumped on the trend
Brands took notice of the cat meme trend and decided to get attention from it. At first, it was mostly used by small brands using an informal and relatable tone to gather attention.
The pattern was the following:
- The creator mentions working for a specific brand
- The creator introduces a workplace challenge assigned by their boss
- Describes the task as difficult or impossible
- Ask the audience for help by engaging with the post and following the account
Larger brands soon started to follow the trend. Here is one created by China’s largest logistics company SF Express, that gathered over 200k engagements. SF Express uses cat memes in a funny video to depict the excitement of a new employee’s first day at their Fortune 500 company, showcasing office highlights and innovative features.
Brands like L’Oréal, Biotherm, and Estée Lauder are promoting affordable products, such as primers and cleansers, using cat memes. They create scenarios where couples are giving these products as gifts, making the brand and its affordable products more relatable to young users.
Nestlé launched a new ice cream flavor with a video featuring a popular cat meme, garnering 34,000 engagements.
Speed is crucial
In the first 30 days, over 50 brands engaged with young people using cat memes on their official accounts. The first ones that followed got a lot more reaction from the market.
Nestlé first cat meme ice-cream launch video received over 34,000 engagements in April, but a second video using a similar theme garnered less than 200 engagements in May. This 30-days gap highlights the significant impact of timing.
While a well-crafted story that incorporates brand features is important, the speed at which audiences switch their attention is the make-or-break factor.
