How Durex Makes Content Marketing so Sexy in China？

"Of all the brands using digital and social media to compete for the attention of China's 668 million internet users, Durex has emerged as the master of witty, shareable content." wrote AdAge.

If Content is king, undoubtedly, Durex is the king of kings. Let’s see some figures:

• Weibo: 2.4 million followers
• Wechat: 400k active followers
• Views of Wechat articles for recent 7 days: 40k to 100k

Durex has always made funny quips about hot topics. When iPhone X was launched, everyone was talking about the ugly notch of iPhone X. Durex created a spoof post which got 4659 shares, 5409 comments and 14972 likes.

iPhone X: Ten Years as A Day

If you want a post to go viral, you need to know what triggers people to share and engage in the first place.

Why Do People Share?

The New York Times interviewed 2500 people to understand the factors that spur the sharing of content online:

• To bring valuable and entertaining content to one another
• To define themselves to others
• To grow and nourish relationships
• For self-fulfillment
• To get the word out on causes they care about

Make sure your content taps into some of these reasons.

Four Principles of Viral Marketing

How going social helped Durex wins China market? Here are four principles of viral marketing that we can learn from Master Du.

1. Lure Your Audience

When creating your content, always ask yourself two questions:

• “Why people share this?”
• “Will this help people better express themselves?”

If you can answer either of these questions, that content will have a chance to go viral. No matter what you post, it ultimately comes down to emotion. You need to identify and articulate that emotion-driving element.

Marketers sometimes make a joke that the most effective marketing is to exploit the seven human sins (from the movie “Se7en”, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman):

• Gluttony
• Greed
• Sloth
• Envy
• Wrath
• Pride
• Lust

That’s a bit extreme but indeed, viral content is only effective if you fully understand your target audience and trigger some sort of emotions that your audiences are eager to share. People will only engage with content if they can resonate with it.

Durex’s target demographic is the 90s generation who are more “digitally native” and eager to express their own identity through personal experiences. They focus on the present, living in the moment. In the past, they never dared to talk about sex publicly, and now they can utilize Durex’s platform to express themselves boldly.

<Valentine's Day> Having said so many sincere words, for the end to say about "me", 152 shares, 536 comments, 596 likes

Valentine's Day

2. Create Buzz in Golden 12 Hours

Durex keeps on the forefront of the latest trends. Whenever there are any social events, hotspots or popular trends, Durex will never miss a chance to make witty articles on it. Recently, Hong Kong celebrity Shawn Yue announced his marriage on Weibo on 5th December. In just 44 minutes, Durex shared his post by making use of his famous movie. To react so quickly, you need to have a strong creative team who keeps making witty and humorous articles on a daily basis. In order to leverage the impact of social buzz, it would be better if you can respond within 12 hours, or at least on the same day.

<Shawn Yue> 5.21
Shawn, is it why you’ve selected today? (pronunciation of “521” is similar to “I Love You” in Mandarin)
1997 shares, 2005 comments, 8597 likes

5.21

3. Stay Relevant

Make it relevant. Even if you draw on a festival or a hot topic, it’s an opportunity to make your brand relevant. Humor is definitely the icing on the cake.

Create something unexpected grabs attention. Durex is leading in viral marketing by tiptoeing around the sensitive subjects to create engagements and timely communications that resonate with consumers online. Here are some of the typical topics Durex always uses:

• Cultures
• Festivals
• Social Events 
• Movies
• Celebrity News

< Singles’ Day> The only way to stop her from shopping at this moment
4036 shares, 1570 comments, 2052 likes

On Singles’ Day (world biggest e-commerce day on November 11 every year), people are waiting for the clock to strike midnight and scrambling to buy online. Durex's post makes its product related to Single's Day wisely.

Singles' Day

<Earth Hour> Light Off, Show On
85 shares, 277 comments, 598 likes

Earth Hour promotes to turn off the lights for one hour. During the light-off period, it's actually a good opportunity for people to spend some time with their partners. Again, Durex makes its products relevant to Earth Hour.

Earth Hour

Let's enjoy some more interesting creatives from Durex...

<Mid-Autumn Festival>211 shares, 417 comments, 1093 likes

Happy Women's Day

World Reading Day

<Logan> 1012 shares, 1138 comments, 1661 likes

<Spider-man> 1423 shares, 484 comments, 1225 likes

4. Make Friends with Your Audiences

People don’t like to talk to machines. When people are using social media, they are interacting with friends, sharing moments for their life or making more new connections.

In China, Durex has created a very cheeky social persona called “Dudu”. Durex built up a personality where Dudu is often doing unconventional things, having some fun and interacting with people. Dudu helps build a more intimate relationship with customers, encouraging more active engagement with its brand.

Don't Try to Be Durex

“You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”

~Richard Branson

You probably understand that it is nearly impossible to predict which post or video might go viral. However, if your content is both shareable and share-worthy, it will have a greater chance for people to share. Learn your own ways through trial and error. Practice makes perfect, always.

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