Specialties

The brief

In November 2021, the Xi’an Jingdong Mall (Xi’an JD Mall) was transformed into a fabulous Tang dynasty palace to warm up visitors for the ‘Double 11 Shopping Festival’. This unique event was themed as ‘What if the Tang dynasty had JD?’, with Pico appointed to plan, design, build and manage its operation.

Insight

The event’s concept centred on integrating Xi’an’s cultural history with the JD brand and technology. In the case of Xi’an JD Mall – whose speciality is computers, communications and consumer electronics – emotional buy-in would be encouraged by harking back to the city’s heyday as China’s Tang dynasty capital. Online game registrations and even mobile orders from JD online shops would be tied into the event to draw in a large number of young consumers.

Solution

The Pico team’s work for ‘What if the Tang Dynasty had JD?’ was extensive, integrating everything from costumed dancers, cultural history and digital technology to brand values into a cohesive, immersive experience.

At the physical end of the project spectrum, highlights included a hand-drawn Drum Tower – an architectural icon of Xi’an – around which roamed ancient horse-drawn carriages. The latter were in deliberate contrast to the speedy modern methods of product delivery offered by JD.

One of the highlights was the lavishly costumed ‘Tang palace dancers’ who provided a link between Xi’an’s history and special ‘JD value deals’, as well as being available for selfie-taking. Onstage performances provided shoppers with another reason to visit and enjoy the Tang-era atmosphere.

The online element of the event included two HTML 5 games developed by the team: a personality quiz, and ‘Tang palace dancers’ jigsaw. Both led registered players to the JD Consumer group for promotional messages and recommendations of mobile phone models matched to their personalities. Registered players also received discount coupons to encourage phone purchases, and could enter into lucky draws for prizes.

As a final touch, KOLs on Tik Tok demonstrating event activities were broadcast live at the mall, creating yet another attraction to those already on-site while luring TikTokers nearby to join in person.