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Auckland’s Chinese-speaking community represents one of the city’s most dynamic and fast‑growing consumer segments. Yet, connecting effectively with this audience takes more than a direct translation of campaign content, it requires cultural understanding, precise targeting, and channel expertise.
When one of New Zealand’s leading home improvement brands set out to grow awareness and drive store visits among Auckland’s Chinese-speaking shoppers, the Marketing Minds team designed a programmatic campaign that combined data intelligence, cultural relevance, and performance efficiency. The result: standout engagement in one of the market’s most competitive digital spaces.
Understanding the Challenge:
The client aimed to:
- Boost awareness of its promotional campaign deals among Auckland’s Chinese-speaking community.
- Increase qualified website traffic and store visits.
- Achieve cost‑efficient customer acquisition.
- Sustain strong engagement across a concentrated 10‑day campaign.
- Compete on highly saturated Chinese digital platforms.
Reaching the Right Audience
To ensure precision and relevance, the campaign targeted Chinese-speaking audiences in Auckland using a multi-layered approach:
- Language targeting: Mandarin and Cantonese users across high-traffic Chinese-language sites and apps.
- Custom affinity audiences: Focused on users of New Zealand-based Chinese apps and platforms.
- Third-party data: Integrated insights from Oracle, BlueKai, and Datalogix for demographic and interest refinement.
- App-based targeting: Included Chinese apps such as WeChat, Xiaohongshu (RED), Douyin, and Kuaishou, along with local platforms like the SkyKiwi App.
- Search behaviour: Targeted users in New Zealand who search via Baidu for relevant categories and terms.
This strategic mix ensured the campaign reached high-intent, high-affinity, and highly relevant audiences.
The Approach: Programmatic Precision Meets Cultural Insight
The mission was clear: deliver a high-performing programmatic campaign that strengthened brand visibility, increased clicks to the catalogue deals page, and exceeded performance benchmarks for CPM, CTR, and CPC.
To achieve this, Marketing Minds adopted a programmatic-first approach supported by:
- Creative development: Multi-sized GIF creatives tailored to cultural preferences and designed to engage visually across mobile-first audiences.
- Smart placements: A balance between standard and premium inventory for maximum reach and cost efficiency.
- UTM tracking and attribution: Ensuring every impression and click could be accurately measured and optimised.
- Targeting refinement: Applying learnings from previous campaigns to focus on top-performing sites and audiences.
This data‑led strategy ensured visibility, efficiency, and tangible engagement throughout the campaign period.
Results That Matter
- 627,019 impressions delivered
- CPM of $2.74 compared to the NZ industry benchmark of $5-$15
- 125,404 unique audience reached
- 1,011 clicks i.e. a CTR of 0.3%
- CPC of $2.00 within NZ industry benchmark of approximately $2
Across just 10 days, the campaign delivered over 627,000 impressions and reached 125,000+ unique consumers, well within the ideal CPM and CPC range, demonstrating both reach and return across a culturally nuanced audience group.
The Takeaway: Multicultural Marketing with Measurable Impact
This campaign highlights how culturally targeted programmatic advertising, paired with culturally relevant creatives and precise optimisation, can drive strong engagement among multicultural audiences.
For New Zealand brands, the message is clear: integrating cultural understanding with digital intelligence isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a business advantage.
Interested in exploring how Marketing Minds can help your brand engage multicultural audiences more effectively? Contact our team to start your next campaign conversation.
*The client’s name has been hidden to protect the company identity
If you want to find out more about branding and marketing, or if you have any other questions, call us at +64 9 634 4390, email info@marketingminds.me or contact us.
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