The Objective
From LA to China: PacSun’s strategic entry with essentials’ Fall 2023 Collection
Originating from Los Angeles, PacSun is a highly influential icon of American streetwear culture. In addition to his own brand, PacSun collaborates closely with popular brands like Fear of God Essentials, Brandy Melville, J. Galt, and Formula 1, winning the hearts of teenagers globally. As the exclusive partner of Essentials in China, PacSun leverages Douyin’s active user base and viral content capabilities to promote streetwear trends to Chinese consumers.
For PacSun, the upcoming Double 11 Shopping Festival wasn’t just an opportunity to capitalize on the expectations of users to spend money, but also a prime opportunity to launch their Essentials’ Fall 2023 Collection to the Chinese market. Leveraging the hype of Double 11, the influence of celebrities and influencers, and utilizing Ocean Engine Shopping Ads to integrate product seeding and conversions, the brand successfully introduced its Fall Collection to the Chinese market.
The Solution
PacSun links up with influencers and Ocean Engine as part of strategic buildup
Starting in early October, PacSun released a sequential series of celebrity/influencer-related videos as part of the warm-up period. During this time, the brand officially announced its collaboration with Hong Kong fashion icon Sam Lee, releasing videos of his popular outfits.
The brand launched exclusive livestreams featuring celebrity Sam Lee and fashion influencer Tam Tianyu during the acceleration period leading up to the Big Day, with Ocean Engine driving traffic to these special live sales shows. The livestream shows were promoted in preparation for the major brand event held on October 20, to both kickstart Double 11 and to avoid peak traffic congestion.
As livestreams often outperform short videos in gaining traffic but return a lower conversion rate, PacSun invested in Shopping Ads via the Ocean Engines to boost eCPM (effective cost per mile) competitiveness and capitalize on the high click-through rate of influencer-hosted live sessions. This strategy also aimed to maximize exposure within the brand’s advertising budget by securing more visibility at lower CPMs, while accumulating an A3 interested audience and brand audience assets for use later in the promotion.
Next, in the lead-up to the peak period of the shopping festival, Sam Lee premiered his new Autumn collection in a brand livestream room on Douyin, guaranteeing consistent live viewership. Ad campaigns were deployed to stabilize the live audience via the Ocean Engine platform, specifically, through the use of Shopping Ads with Autopilot Mode, Payment ROI, and 7-day Total ROI. This helped to maintain livestream traffic and accumulate high-spending fans, ensuring stable growth during the peak of the promotion.
By meticulously timing each action, the ad budget was concentrated on the initial surge phase to effectively navigate the competition for traffic and soaring CPM rates
Ad Products
The Results
PacSun records huge GMV growth and enhanced brand visibility
PacSun’s strategic efforts culminated in a staggering 280% GMV surge and a 45% ROI boost during the Double 11 Shopping Festival. The brand’s keyword search index, meanwhile soared by over 300% and post-event GMV continued to show significant growth, leading to greater long-term recognition and appreciation of the brand among Chinese consumers.
By capitalizing on the Double 11 Shopping Festival, one of China’s largest annual retail events, and leveraging influential partnerships, including a notable collaboration with Hong Kong fashion icon Sam Lee, PacSun demonstrated a deep understanding of the Chinese consumer market. Their adept use of Douyin for viral marketing, coupled with Ocean Engine’s Shopping Ads, allowed them to achieve a significant increase in brand visibility and sales.
