Umbrella marketing refers to the explicit use of
umbrellas
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...
in marketing campaigns, a phenomenon in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
Forms
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.
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
WeChat () is a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile app in 2018, with over 1 billion monthly active users. WeChat has bee ...
service account in Guangzhou, initially releasing 1000 umbrellas in six underground stations. In May 2017 (e-umbrella) released its scheme in Shenzhen, releasing 500 umbrellas the first day. Like the widespread
bike-sharing schemes in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, these umbrella schemes work with a deposit followed by a pay-as-you-go service. In August 2017 Mosun was established as an umbrella-sharing scheme in Shanghai, running across Shanghai's Line 2 Metro stations.
In August 2017
Haier
Haier Group Corporation () is a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong. It designs, develops, manufactures and sells products including refrigerators, air conditioners, washin ...
, the Chinese multinational consumer electronics company, also engaged in umbrella marketing through their launch of their custom umbrellas.
Urbem Media
Urbem Media (品味全城) is a Chinese luxury-dining club headquartered in Shanghai, initially released as a WeChat service account in 2015.
History
Urbem Media was founded in Shanghai in early 2015 by University of Oxford graduate Steven Chen. U ...
, a Shanghai-based dining club, has similarly utilised umbrella marketing akin to other forms of
guerilla marketing
''Guerilla Marketing'' ( si, ගරිල්ලා මාර්කටිං, italic=yes) is a 2005 Sri Lankan Sinhala action thriller film directed by Jayantha Chandrasiri and produced by K.C.K Communications for Euroshian Consultancy. It stars Y ...
, whereby VIP members receive access to company customised umbrellas.
See also
*
Bicycle-sharing system
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
The programmes themselves include bot ...
*
Guerilla marketing
''Guerilla Marketing'' ( si, ගරිල්ලා මාර්කටිං, italic=yes) is a 2005 Sri Lankan Sinhala action thriller film directed by Jayantha Chandrasiri and produced by K.C.K Communications for Euroshian Consultancy. It stars Y ...
*
Tissue-pack marketing
References
{{Reflist
Types of marketing