The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2017
Xibei (西贝) turns kissing into a Valentine's Day discount — 140,000 diners in one day
Xibei's 'Kiss & Discount Festival': couples kiss in any style for a discount; 186 stores hosted 140,000 diners on Feb 14, 2017
Xibei (西贝)
What it had to solve
Xibei (西贝莜面村), a Chinese northwestern-cuisine restaurant chain, wanted a Valentine's promotion with a ritual it could own year after year; strategy partner Hua & Hua built the slogan '亲个嘴，打个折，I❤莜' (Kiss, get a discount, I love you), which was already cited in a University of Hong Kong casebook after the 2016 edition.
How it works
On Feb 14, 2017, Chinese restaurant chain Xibei (西贝莜面村) ran its second 'Kiss & Discount Festival' (亲嘴打折节): at all 186 stores, diners chose a way to kiss — an air kiss, a cheek kiss, a half-century couple's kiss, even high-difficulty stunts — and earned the matching discount coupon. The slogan '亲个嘴，打个折，I❤莜' (Kiss, get a discount, I love you) framed affection itself as the payment.
The idea came from Xibei's strategy partner Hua & Hua, which argued the chain needed a repeatable brand ritual rather than another price promotion; the concept had debuted in 2016 and was already cited in a University of Hong Kong casebook. The 2017 edition was amplified through subway and mall ads, store roadshows, and Weibo/WeChat KOLs, with the chain announcing it would make no money that day and just play with customers.
The day hosted 140,000 customers — 46% of them choosing the playful 'air kiss' — and official Weibo reads hit 12M+ that day and 48M+ in total; the Baidu index jumped 1,180% to 21,799, 20,000+ new members joined (a single-day record) and foot traffic rose 19.5% year on year. Jiemian reported the topic's Weibo reads reaching 52M with WeChat reads above 800K. The festival was held again through 2020 — moving online-only during COVID — as the brand's signature ritual.
Why it lands
- The discount was earned through a visible, funny act, so participants became the campaign's own media.
- By letting any kiss count, the mechanic invited couples, friends and even grandparents, widening participation beyond Valentine clichés.
- Positioned as a brand ritual rather than a sale, it was designed to be repeated every year — turning a promo into owned brand equity.
- The store-level spectacle generated street-level photos and stories that KOLs and Weibo amplified without paid media doing all the work.
What it did
The day served 140,000 customers and 46% chose the air kiss; official Weibo reads reached 12M+ that day (48M+ in total), the Baidu index jumped 1,180% to 21,799, more than 20,000 new members joined — a single-day record — and foot traffic rose 19.5% year on year; Jiemian reported the topic's Weibo reads at 52M with WeChat reads above 800K.
What you can take
A repeatable ritual beats a one-off stunt: a promotion that can be played 'this year, next year, 100 years' becomes brand asset rather than discount — the emotion does the advertising.
Since then
Xibei repeated the festival every Valentine's Day; in 2020, when COVID closed dining, it moved the festival fully online and kept the ritual alive, which Hua & Hua cited as proof that brand rituals — not discounts — were the asset that kept the brand strong through the crisis. Hua & Hua has said the goal is to play the festival for 100 years, making 'Kiss, get a discount' part of Chinese dining culture; the campaign is now a standard Chinese marketing case study for turning a promotion into a repeatable brand ceremony.
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