On Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m, blurry photos started appearing in WeChat โMoments,โ or the newsfeed feature of the social media platform. Clicking on a blurry photo revealed a small piece of the original photograph and gave users an ultimatum: send the photo owner a โred envelopeโ (็บขๅ ) filled with a random amount of money using WeChatโs online payment system and see the original photo, or refuse and the photo remains blurry.
The campaign was shut down about four hours later. According to Tencentโs tech news platform, yesterdayโs photo campaign was just a test.
โBecause our beta test met our expectations, we shut down the campaign. If youโre interested in playing the red envelope photo campaign again, weโll have another one on Chinese New Yearโs Eve,โ stated Tencent, the tech giant that owns WeChat.
Digital โred envelopesโ, sometimes known as โlucky money,โ are a feature that allows users to send and receive money through online payment systems including WeChat and Alipay, Alibabaโs equivalent. Traditionally, red envelopes are used in China to send money as a gift, especially around Chinese New Year.
The use of โred envelopesโ around Chinese New Year in marketing campaigns is not new. In 2015, Tencent launched a โred envelopeโ campaign during the Spring Festival Gala, a popular show broadcasted every year by CCTV (China Central Television) on Chinese New Yearโs Eve. Lucky users who used WeChatโs Shake feature at certain moments during the show received โred envelopesโ with random amounts of money or e-coupons. That same year, Alipay gave away 600 million RMB (around $91 million USD) worth of โlucky moneyโ in cash and e-coupons to its users.
The โred envelopeโ has been a point of contention between the two tech giants, who have both tried to block their users from using their competitorsโ payment system. โRed envelopeโ marketing campaigns like the one launched by Tencent yesterday are away to funnel more users into their respective payment systems, as well as create a buzz.
โThis campaign looks a little like the Japanese โlucky bagโ. You pay money for something you donโt know,โ says Alexis Bonhomme, referring to fukubukuro, a Japanese New Year custom. Mr. Bonhomme, who used to work for Groupon Tencent China, is a general manager at Curiosity China, a digital and tech company focusing on social CRM for international brands and agencies.
โYou have 650 million active users on WeChat. Imagine that 80% of them use Wechat payment,โ says Mr. Bonhomme. โItโs a key asset for Tencent, especially when it goes to fight Alipay.โ
According to Tencentโs tech news site, the โred envelopeโ photo campaign launching on Chinese New Yearโs Eve will be even more fun and interactive. The tech giant recommends that users upgrade to the latest version of WeChat so that they didnโt โmiss out on several hundred million RMB.โ
As Chinese New Year approaches, it will be interesting to see how other tech giants like Alibaba respond and launch their own campaigns. This yearโs Chinese New Year โred envelopeโ wars have officially begun.
Image credit: WeChat, Shutterstock
