pH7 Communications, Shanghai, China: MLB Brand, Go Ahead With MLB Cap

Company: pH7 Communications
Company Description: pH7 Communications is an agile professional strategic communications firm in China, composed of a team who are independent thinkers, passionate, and most importantly creative. pH7 represents neutrality in chemistry. With neutrality at heart, we quickly adapt to new challenges and embrace new ideas.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Social Media Focused
2022 Stevie Winner Nomination Title: MLB Brand - GO AHEAD WITH MLB CAP
  1. Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
    Written answers to the questions
  2. If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.

    Campaign Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOkxg_hhB0

    Overview Given the fact that MLB Brand's cap products own a large number of SKUs, but the development of this category has been confined to only a few hot items, this situation has caused a challenge for the business of MLB Brand's caps, particularly in the present competitive China market. We captured that the cap isn’t only a piece to wear but also a carrier of lifestyle and personality expression for the brand’s core consumer group, Generation Z. Thus, we offered Cap Day to engage everyone who loves caps and finally made caps being universally recommended, successfully strengthening the trendy & fashion image of the MLB Brand.

  3. If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:

    Campaign period: ongoing since 09/01/2021

  4. If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):

    Total 227 words used.

    【Background】

    1. In the period since it entered the Chinese market in 2019 to mid-2021, the MLB Brand has developed from scratch into a popular street lifestyle sports brand and accumulated preliminary assets in the street fashion market. It is now really competing with its competitors head-on in the red ocean.
    2. "CAP" is one of the most iconic products of the MLB Brand.

    【Challenge】

    1. Chinese cap market’s annual natural growth rate has slowed down in recent years. According to data released by Euromonitor in 2021, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of caps was 5.8% between 2017 and 2019 and would be 4.4% between 2021 and 2023.
    2. However, because of the low entry requirements for manufacturing caps, more and more brands see it as an opportunity to boost sales figures and start to sell caps one after another, making the cap market increasingly competitive. There is currently no easy way out of this challenging situation for the MLB Brand.  
    3. The MLB Brand provides a diverse and appealing selection of cap styles. Every year, more than 500 caps with unique SKU numbers are for sale. When it comes to choosing a cap, consumers often feel confused or indecisive. In recent years, most of the MLB Brand’s cap business has depended on just a few cap styles, which may threaten the long-term stable development of its cap business.
  5. If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):

    Total 238 words used.

    Objectives

    • To develop a brand image of “there is always an MLB Brand cap that suits you” and let consumers learn more about the MLB Brand caps.
    • To stabilize the leading role of the MLB Brand in the cap market and stimulate sales and development of the entire cap category.

    Strategy

    1. Theme creation. Created “Cap Player” as the main concept to promote MLB Brand caps. Set September 19th as the annual MLB Brand CAP DAY to create opportunities for interactions between the brand and its consumers.
    2. Product differentiation. Gave each cap style an easy-to-remember nickname and a catchy selling point. Constructed engaging scenarios to show the differences between each cap style. For example, CP77 (Rookie Cap) is the perfect starter cap. It comes in a variety of trendy colors and has a one-size-fits-all design. CP66 (N-Cover Cap) is a cap for big heads. Its design can accentuate facial outlines. Similar nicknames include CP55, CP85, and so on.
    3. Influencer amplification. Leveraged over 100 celebrities and KOLs’ fashion styling, giving rise to the popularization of cap nicknames and the sharing of fashion ideas styled with MLB Brand caps, forming a discussion trend on social media platforms.
    4. Holistic promotion. Created an operation model that integrated all channels, including media-launched authority endorsement, multi-channel content creation and publication, in-feed advertisements, in-store customer experience, and CRM. These combined efforts gave rise to a multi-format, multi-dimensional, and multi-pain-point “information web” that swiftly captivated consumer attention.
  6. If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2019. Even if your initiative started before 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2020 only (up to 250 words):

    Total 243 words used.

    Activities Refer to campaign video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOkxg_hhB0

    Results

    - Communication level:

    1)      Over 3,000 social media posts were created under the topic “CAP DAY”, exceeding 7M engagements and 600M impressions.

    2)      Search volume for “MLB CAP” remained top in the cap category on RED(Chinese version Instagram). With a 40% month-over-month growth rate in search indexes, the gap between search indexes of "MLB CAP" and the second-ranked brand widened by 41%.

    - Sales level:

    1. Strengthened the market differentiation of caps, greatly enhanced caps’ recognition and turned multiple cap styles into best-sellers. During the CAP DAY promotion period, posts and searches related to MLB Brand cap nicknames surged on social media. Specifically, “CP77” experienced a 741% increase in user engagement on RED.
    2. Consolidated the top one position of the MLB Brand in the cap market and boosted cap sales significantly: “CP66” achieved a 1,145% year-on-year growth rate in sales; cap business increased by 387% (4.9 times that in 2020) by the end of 2021; market share expanded by 1.3% (from 0.41% to 1.75%).
    3. MLB Brand’s social media accounts gained followers rapidly: 41.71% more followers on RED and 63.44% more on TikTok during the CAP DAY promotion period.
    4. 20% raised in new member recruitment through the CRM activity.

    - Brand level:

    1. MLB Brand’s recognition grew steadily: 433% nationwide increase in top-of-mind awareness in 2021.
    2. Market share of the MLB Brand more than tripled in 2021.
  7. You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):

    Total 8 words used.
    Campaign video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOkxg_hhB0

Attachments/Videos/Links:
MLB Brand - GO AHEAD WITH MLB CAP
URL MLB Brand - GO AHEAD WITH MLB CAP