China Marketing Calendar 2024 for Social Media
With more brands vying for market share in China, staying ahead with China Marketing Calendar means syncing your marketing strategy with the heartbeat of the nation—its holidays.
As each holiday approaches, excitement and anticipation sweep the country, delivering a surge in online and offline activities.
From the pre-holiday build-up to the official kick-off, brands can deploy sustained content marketing to build anticipation and awareness before leveraging the buzz to drive conversions on platforms like Douyin E-commerce.
The China marketing calendar can be split into cultural holidays and shopping festivals.
Cultural holidays
Cultural holidays cover traditional holidays such as Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, which coincide with a public holiday, and new holidays adopted from overseas, including Valentine’s Day and Halloween.
People in China eagerly anticipate these holidays throughout the year, and this excitement translates into shopping and other leisure activities, including travel and family reunions.
These holidays create a unique opportunity for brands to align their offerings with the spirit of the season and fulfill heightened demand for products and services.
Shopping festivals
While shopping festivals aren’t official public holidays in China, they have become an integral part of consumer culture. Offering substantial discounts and membership benefits, shopping festivals provide consumers with the chance to grab great deals on popular and trending items.
With established shopping habits formed around these annual events, businesses can strategically position themselves to meet demand during these festivals, including 618, Black Friday, Double 11, and Double 12.
The key to successful marketing during these festivals is to attract users’ attention or turn their wish list into a shopping list within a short period of time, and then quickly close the deal by offering discounts or other benefits to meet their needs.
China 2024 Marketing Calendar
The China 2024 Marketing Calendar presents a roadmap for brands seeking to ride the waves of seasonal surges and capitalize on the cultural and festive moments that drive consumer behavior.
January
New Year’s Day – Jan 1
New Year’s Day marks the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year, and while it’s not a traditional Chinese holiday, it is still a nationwide holiday and widely celebrated by the younger generation.
Marketing approach: Start the year with a fresh and positive marketing campaign. Consider promotions that resonate with the spirit of renewal, new beginnings, and resolutions.
February
Lunar New Year – Feb 10-24
Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is the most significant traditional Chinese holiday. Each year, it is marked by a Chinese zodiac animal (e.g., Dragon in 2024). It is also a time for red decorations (symbolizing luck) and gifting red envelopes with (red) 100 CNY notes inside or transferring money via digital red envelopes on social apps.
Families travel vast distances to reunite for reunions, feasts, and various cultural activities. Increasingly, some people, including the younger generation and high-income earners from Tier-1 cities, take the extended break from work as a precious opportunity to travel abroad.
Popular product categories include Personal Care, Household Cleaning, Parenting, Food, Health, Consumer Electronics, Home, Jewelry, Fashion, and Luxury.
Marketing approach: Celebrate with red-themed promotions, incorporate traditional symbols, launch limited-edition products, and create special collections to tap into the cultural significance of Chinese New Year.
Valentine’s Day – Feb 14
While not a traditional holiday, Valentine’s Day is widely observed in China. Couples exchange gifts and express love and affection, especially among Gen Z and Millennials.
Marketing approach: Appeal to the romantic spirit with promotions on gifts, luxury items, travel promotions, and experiences that resonate with the theme of romance.
March
Women’s Day – Mar 8
Women’s Day celebrates the achievements and contributions of women. It is marked by events honoring women’s roles in society. Many companies in China host special activities, distribute small gifts, or allow all female employees to take the afternoon off work.
Popular product categories include Clothing, Shoes, Bags, Beauty, Personal Care, Household Cleaning, Consumer Electronics, Home, Jewelry, Fashion, and Luxury.
Marketing approach: Recognize and celebrate women with promotions that empower and appreciate. Focus promotions on products and services that appeal to women.
April
Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) – Apr 4
Qingming Festival involves honoring ancestors by cleaning and maintaining their graves. It’s also a time to enjoy the outdoors and appreciate the arrival of spring in China.
Marketing approach: As Qingming Festival isn’t a major consumer holiday, brands don’t normally dedicate significant marketing resources to this holiday.
May
Labor Day – May 1-3
Labor Day honors the contributions of workers and professionals. Many people take the opportunity to travel or participate in leisure activities during this three-day holiday
Marketing approach: Recognize workers with promotions on work-related products, services, or professional development courses. Consider employee appreciation campaigns and corporate gifting.
520 Valentine’s Day – May 20
In Chinese, the date “5/20” (Wǔ’èr líng) phonetically resembles the expression “I love you” (Wǒ ài nǐ). This date has gained popularity as a day for expressing love and affection, particularly among the younger generation. On this day, couples seize the opportunity to celebrate their love by exchanging gifts, presenting flowers and chocolates, and organizing romantic activities.
Popular product categories include Personal Care, Household Cleaning, Parenting, Food, Health, Jewelry, Fashion, and Luxury.
Marketing approach: Similar to Valentine’s Day, appeal to the romantic spirit with promotions on products and experiences that resonate with the theme of romance.
June
Dragon Boat Festival – Jun 10
Dragon Boat Festival is marked by dragon boat races, eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), and other festive foods. It pays homage to the ancient poet Qu Yuan.
Marketing approach: Highlight traditional elements in promotions, use dragon boat race themes, and consider interactive online events or games to engage your audience.
618 Shopping Festival – Jun 18
The 618 Shopping Festival is a mid-year e-commerce shopping extravaganza featuring a wide range of discounts, promotions, and special offers, driving a surge in online shopping. Popular product categories include Beauty, Consumer Electronics, Home, Jewelry, Fashion, and Luxury.
Marketing approach: Leverage the popularity of online shopping during this festival by offering exclusive deals, flash sales, and discounts on a variety of products. Collaborate with e-commerce platforms to maximize visibility and engage with the growing number of online shoppers during this period.
August
Qixi (Chinese Valentine’s Day) – Aug 10
Also known as the Double Seventh Festival, Qixi is a traditional celebration of love and romance, often referred to as “Chinese Valentine’s Day”.
Marketing approach: Capitalize on themes of love and romance, offering promotions on gifts and experiences for couples.
September
Mid-Autumn Festival – Sep 17
Mid-Autumn Festival emphasizes family reunions, symbolized by sharing mooncakes. It’s a time for unity and harmony.
Marketing approach: Focus on family-themed promotions, highlight mooncakes, and offer special promotions.
October
National Day – Oct 1-7
National Day marks the founding of the People’s Republic of China, celebrated with patriotic events and parades.
Popular product categories for this holiday include Clothing, Shoes, Bags, Parenting, Personal Care, Consumer Electronics, and Home.
Marketing approach: Embrace the patriotic spirit with promotions, discounts, and special offers. Recognize the week-long celebration as a prime time for increased consumer activity and travel.
Halloween – Oct 31
Halloween has gained immense popularity in many Asian countries, including China, especially among Gen Z and Millennials. Costume parties and themed events are common activities, particularly in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities.
Marketing approach: Tap into the growing interest in Halloween by offering themed products, costumes, and promotions.
November
Singles’ Day – Nov 11
Singles’ Day is China’s largest online shopping day, marked by substantial discounts and promotions on a broad range of product categories. Popular product categories include Clothing, Shoes, Bags, Parenting, Food, Health, Consumer Electronics, Home, Jewelry, Fashion, and Luxury.
Marketing approach: Capitalize on the shopping frenzy with exclusive deals, creative marketing campaigns, and strategies to engage your target demographic during the build-up period and the official day. Consider collaborations with KOLs and creators to cut through the noise and reach your target audience.
Black Friday – Nov 29
More e-commerce platforms and consumers have started to pay attention and participate in this iconic global shopping festival. There is a strong focus on the festival’s overseas origins, which creates a global ambiance and dovetails with growing consumer interest in specialty and high-quality products from overseas.
Marketing approach: Black Friday provides a focal point for brands and creators to promote high-quality content related to travel, global lifestyle trends, and overseas products.
Read about Halloween on Douyin to learn more about how this holiday is celebrated in China.
December
Double 12 – Dec 12
According to the China marketing calendar, Double 12 follows Singles’ Day, offering another opportunity for online shopping and promotions. Popular product categories include Parenting, Food, Health, Consumer Electronics, Home, Jewelry, Fashion, and Luxury.
Marketing approach: Extend the festive shopping spirit with promotions, discounts, and exclusive deals.
Christmas Day – Dec 25
Christmas is not traditionally a Chinese holiday, and it is not widely celebrated in the same way as in Western countries. However, in recent years, Christmas has gained popularity in major urban areas, and some Chinese people do participate in the festivities, including gift-giving. Christmas is also considered a romantic day among young couples.
Marketing approach: Embrace the festive season with Christmas-themed marketing. Offer holiday discounts, promotions, and limited-time festive products.
Travel holidays
Outside of these major festivals listed, note that the Summer (July-August) and Winter (January-February) school holiday breaks are essential times of the year for the travel industry, with Chinese parents often using their annual leave to travel with their children.
Public holidays in China, including Tomb Sweeping Day and Labor Day, are also typically merged with a weekend or extended by adding a workday before or after the holiday to create a 3-4 day window for short travel, which can be extended even further using paid leave.
Boost sales with paid advertising
Shopping and cultural holidays in China play a pivotal role in driving e-commerce sales and conversions, especially when complemented with paid advertising.
Traffic from Ocean Engine Shopping Ads for Douyin grows substantially during shopping festivals, especially later in the year, coinciding with Double 11, Black Friday, and Double 12 events. This strategic combination can catapult brand engagement and sales to new heights during key e-commerce events.
To learn more about paid advertising solutions for China, check out Ocean Engine’s suite of e-commerce advertising solutions.
