Vogue’s Hashtags in Weibo engaging Chinese Millennials

Vogue Me, a new bimonthly magazine, is the very first fashion magazine in China that is specifically created for the post-Nineties generation – born after 1990.

This unique version of Vogue was in part inspired by the success of Vogue Mini, an IPad app that launched in China last year.   On the first day of online pre-sales of Vogue Me, 30,000 magazines sold out in just six minutes.

Moreover, the edition featuring a double cover also powered to 45,000 sales in only one hour.

The tone of voice is noticeable from the turn of the first page – the mood and energy is similar to a social network.  It is like a thematic catalogue to China’s newest consuming generation.  To them anyone before 1990 are simple not ‘part of the program’.

Each page is full on a grounded sense of individuality, both global and inherently Chinese, all in the the same photographic moment..  Often the interviews are presented in a handwritten, a statement of the spontaneity and transparency of the generation.

The main feature is a Q&A with Chinese heart throb Lu Han  – who is a actor and singer, who previously was part of Korean band EXO.  In the interview, he talks about the power of pursuing your dreams, and how this has become a mantra of the post-90s.

As part of the promotion of this special edition Vogue, several hashtags became popular on Chinese internet.  The hashtags were released on Weibo and become expressions of the more independent character arguably distinguishes the post-90s from their older compatriots the post-80s.

For brands, an understanding of this character shift, is essential in getting tonality correct, across all platforms, especially digital.