Umbrella marketing refers to the explicit use of umbrellas in marketing campaigns, a phenomenon in China.

Forms

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The first high-profile case of umbrella marketing can be found in the 2017 Chinese Father's Day where Jingdong Mall utilised a 2015 online photo of a father and his son, causing a copyrights stir.[1]

Since then, there has been a rise in umbrella marketing through umbrella-sharing schemes. In March 2017 Molisan introduced its umbrella-sharing scheme through its WeChat service account in Guangzhou, initially releasing 1000 umbrellas in six underground stations.[2] In May 2017 e伞 (e-umbrella) released its scheme in Shenzhen, releasing 500 umbrellas the first day. Like the widespread bike-sharing schemes in China, these umbrella schemes work with a deposit followed by a pay-as-you-go service.[3] In August 2017 Mosun was established as an umbrella-sharing scheme in Shanghai, running across Shanghai's Line 2 Metro stations.[4]

In August 2017 Haier, the Chinese multinational consumer electronics company, also engaged in umbrella marketing through their launch of their custom umbrellas.[5] Urbem Media, a Shanghai-based dining club, has similarly utilised umbrella marketing akin to other forms of guerilla marketing, whereby VIP members receive access to company customised umbrellas.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jiadong, Wei (6 July 2017). ""雨伞爸爸"被"代言",你的借势营销是否侵了权" ["Dad Umbrella" was "endorsed", did your marketing infringement?]. www.meihua.info (in Chinese (China)).
  2. ^ Xinyu, Liu (17 May 2017). "三家共享雨伞巨头魔力伞、oto共享雨伞、共享雨伞JJ伞可以加盟代理吗?大佬们如何看?" [Can the three shared umbrella giants Magic Umbrella, Oto Shared Umbrella, and Shared Umbrella JJ Umbrella join the agency? What do the big guys think?]. www.jianshu.com (in Chinese (China)).
  3. ^ "共享雨伞驾临伞挂马路杆 收伞就算还" [Sharing an umbrella]. Sina Corp (in Chinese (China)). 18 May 2017.
  4. ^ Rui, Gao (12 August 2017). "共享雨伞现身申城地铁站 借伞需"实名认证+押金"" [Shared umbrellas appear at Shencheng Metro Station to borrow umbrellas requiring "real-name certification + deposit"] (in Chinese (China)).
  5. ^ "海尔雨伞问世:上面挤满了海尔兄弟" [Haier Umbrella comes out: it is crowded with Haier brothers]. Sina Corp (in Chinese (China)). 29 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Wayback Machine has not archived that URL".[dead link]