Red envelopes containing real US banknotes with removable stickers featuring the faces of Chinese emperors were sent to 500 of the biggest companies in China including Lenovo, ZTE, Huawei, Haier, Oppo and more. This creative marketing stunt was a joint effort engineered by ITTIZ and Global from Asia, and was purposely sent out for maximum impact on the Fourth of July.

Following marketing agency ITTIZ’s first campaign in April of last year, which impacted around 15 million people, this second campaign was undertaken with help from Global from Asia. Sean Davis, CEO of ITTIZ, said that considering the current state of globalization, pulling back inwards is not an option for China. His company believes that this campaign is a creative way to share the importance of marketing with Chinese companies by tying it directly with currency, revenues and overseas competition.

With support from Mike Michelini, CEO of Global from Asia, they wanted to create something that taught companies in Shenzhen the value of creativity and showcased the amount of creative spirit available in the city. They also wanted to demonstrate that Shenzhen has more to offer than just hardware innovation, and is also a hub for marketing, branding and design.

While each note is unique, they are all titled, “Are you ready to take over America?” Michelini, who has been in China for over 10 years, was surprised by the reception the campaign has received. After opening their envelopes, here’s how some companies responded:

“It really puts into perspective the current state of global affairs and how the world is so quickly changing.” — Q. Shah, CEO, ATOM.

“Received the envelope and instantly thought that this will probably offend some people overseas, however we mainly see the comedic aspect of it.” — Enzo Wang, CEO, Jinzhouheng Electronics.

“Pretty excited to receive the red envelope. Who doesn’t love lucky money?! Initial thought was confusion as I thought it was fake, but extra happy when I found out the sticker was peelable and money was real. Not your normal campaign. Ballsy.” — Ibby Azzam, CEO, Mazai Sourcing.

“We found the red envelopes to be quite humorous.” — Leo Chen, CEO, JUISIR.



