Hasta La Creative!

Alibaba is hosting a new online sale of wine and spirits on Friday, Sept. 9, or 9/9. For people who don’t speak Chinese, that won’t mean much. For local consumers, it’s logical: The word for nine in Mandarin sounds the same as the word for alcohol. Both are pronounced “jiu.”

Numbers and dates have special resonance in China; online users, consumers and marketers all delight in playing and punning with them. Coded numbers are in URLs, email addresses and slang terms. And now China’s e-commerce companies are cleverly using them during new sales and events.

“In China numbers can sometimes be very memorable, since they can share a similar sound to other words,” said Amanda Liu, VP and creative director for brand naming at Labbrand. Here’s an example: The digits 5,1,7 sound similar to the Chinese expression “wo yao chi,” or “I want to eat.” Naturally, 5/17, or May 17, is a day for specials from China’s online food delivery services. In China, McDonald’s food delivery hotline and internet address also include the digits 5-1-7, twice. Ms. Liu says numbers are so common in the ultracompetitive e-commerce market since they “really catch attention of consumers in a short time. It’s important the name or identity is very recognizable or memorable at first sight.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com