Good Mid-Autumn Festival marketing builds on what the festival is about: family reunion, the full moon, lanterns and giving mooncakes. The campaigns that work give people a reason to share something with family, such as a lantern riddle game, a mooncake gift draw or a reunion photo competition, and collect sign-ups with consent along the way. Start six to eight weeks before the festival, because mooncake gifting begins weeks ahead.
This guide is for marketers at brands that sell to Chinese-speaking customers and to customers from Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of East and Southeast Asia: global brands, European brands with customers from these communities, and e-commerce that ships cross-border. You'll find what the festival means, when it falls in 2027 and 2028, a planning timeline, 10 Mid-Autumn Festival campaign ideas with the right game format for each, prizes, consent and what to measure.
What Is the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节, Zhōngqiū Jié) is a harvest festival held on the night of the full moon in the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. The round full moon stands for reunion, so families gather for a meal, look at the moon together and share mooncakes: round pastries usually filled with lotus-seed or sweet bean paste. Children carry lanterns, and many people tell the legend of Chang'e, the goddess who lives on the moon with a jade rabbit.
The festival is also celebrated outside China. In Vietnam it is Tết Trung Thu, with a strong focus on children and lanterns. Korea's Chuseok, a three-day harvest holiday, falls on the same lunar date but has its own customs, so treat it as a separate occasion rather than "Korean Mid-Autumn".
For brands, the gifting matters most. People give boxes of mooncakes to relatives and friends, and in places like Hong Kong the exchanges start well before the night itself. Many brands outside food now launch their own gift boxes for the season.
When Is the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. The Chinese calendar follows the moon, so the date in our calendar moves every year, always between early September and early October.
| 2027 | 2028 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-Autumn Festival | Wednesday 15 September | Tuesday 3 October |
Dates from the Hong Kong Observatory's Gregorian-lunar calendar tables for 2027 and 2028. The Chinese calendar is calculated in advance, so unlike holidays that depend on sighting the moon, these dates are fixed.
Public holidays differ by place. Mainland China and Taiwan have a holiday on the day. In Hong Kong and Macau the public holiday is the day after, because the celebrations run late into the night. In 2028 the festival falls in the first week of October, close to China's National Day holiday from 1 October, so the two seasons blend into one. Read our Golden Week campaign ideas if you sell to Chinese travellers then.
For the European side of your autumn, our free marketing calendar shows holidays in 18 countries.
Where Mid-Autumn Festival Marketing Can Reach People
Be realistic about channels. In mainland China, brand campaigns run mostly inside local platforms and apps, and a campaign on your European website will reach few people there. Scratcher fits the other routes: Chinese-speaking customers who visit your own website or webshop, read your newsletter or SMS, follow you on social media, or walk into your shops in Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia or North America. QR codes in store connect the physical shop to the game.
Write the campaign in the language your customers read. Rex, our AI assistant, can translate the texts, but have a native speaker check every line. Choose Simplified Chinese for mainland Chinese and Singaporean customers and Traditional Chinese for Hong Kong and Taiwan, and test the result on a phone.
Planning Timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 8 weeks before | Pick the goal (sign-ups, gift-box sales, footfall) and one main idea. Order gift boxes and prizes. |
| 6 weeks before | Build the game, write the texts, have a native speaker review them. Set up prizes and odds. |
| 4 weeks before | Connect your email tool or CRM, test the consent flow and the welcome email. |
| 3 weeks before | Go live with gift-related ideas: this is when people buy and send mooncakes. |
| Festival week | Push reunion and moon ideas. Send a last reminder the day before the full moon. |
| The week after | Draw winners, share results, follow up with everyone who signed up. |
10 Mid-Autumn Festival Campaign Ideas
1. Lantern riddle game
What it is: Riddles written on lanterns are a custom at many Mid-Autumn lantern fairs. Put a riddle on each lantern and let people guess the answer, for example the name of a product. Sign up to enter the draw.
Channel: Newsletter and social media.
Format: Guess the word
2. Open the mooncake box
What it is: A gift box on screen that people tap to open. Inside is a prize: a box of mooncakes, a discount code or free delivery on gift orders.
Channel: Website pop-up and newsletter.
Format: Gift surprise or mystery box
3. Mooncake gift box draw
What it is: Sign up for a chance to win a premium gift box, with one winner drawn each day of the gifting period. It suits brands that make their own festive box.
Channel: Website, social media and SMS.
Format: Scratch card with an automatic daily draw
4. Which mooncake are you?
What it is: A short personality test that ends with a mooncake flavour, from lotus seed to snow skin, and a product suggestion. Shareable and light.
Channel: Social media and website.
Format: Personality test
5. Moon legends quiz
What it is: Five questions about Chang'e, the jade rabbit and festival customs around Asia. Everyone who finishes enters the draw.
Channel: Newsletter and social media.
Format: Quiz
6. Reunion photo competition
What it is: Ask for a photo of the family table, the lanterns or the moon from wherever people live, including celebrations with friends far from home.
Channel: Social media and website.
Format: Photo competition
7. Catch the falling lanterns
What it is: A skill game where players catch lanterns or mooncakes. Add a leaderboard and give a prize to the best score each day.
Channel: Social media and app.
Format: Drop game with a leaderboard
8. Gift finder for family and business contacts
What it is: A few questions about who the gift is for, then a suggestion from your range. Ask for an email to send the result and a code.
Channel: Website and search ads.
Format: Product finder
9. In-store lantern trail with QR codes
What it is: Hang lanterns with QR codes around the shop or mall. Each scan opens a small game or riddle. Deichmann connects in-store posters with QR codes to online games and saw a 60% increase in leads from its first campaigns.
Channel: Shops and events. See QR codes in store and make the codes with our QR code generator.
10. Countdown to the full moon
What it is: A door a day for the last week before the festival, each with a small game and a prize.
Channel: Newsletter, SMS and app.
Format: Campaign calendar
Want ideas for your industry? Try the free competition idea generator.
Prize Ideas
The prize decides who joins. A prize from your own range attracts people who want your products. Our guide to lead quality from competitions explains why.
- A premium mooncake box or your own branded gift box
- A family dinner voucher, since the meal together is the heart of the festival
- Lanterns, tea sets or homeware for the evening
- Many small instant prizes: discount codes and free gift delivery
- A gift card as the main prize in a draw
Avoid gifts with unlucky associations in Chinese culture, such as clocks. If you are not sure, ask a colleague or customer from the community before you order. To balance the number of prizes and the odds, use the prize odds calculator, and compare instant win vs prize draw before you choose.
Respect and Tone
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a family occasion with real meaning. Treat it with care:
- Involve people from the community. Ask colleagues, customers or a local agency to check names, characters, colors and imagery.
- Don't mix up cultures. Use Chinese, Vietnamese or Korean customs where they belong, not interchangeably.
- Get the wording right. "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" (中秋快乐) is the usual greeting. Avoid machine-translated slogans.
- Lead with sharing, not discounts. A gift idea or a reason to reach out to family fits the festival better than a loud sale banner.
Collecting Sign-ups and Consent
- Consent: Add a clear, unticked checkbox for marketing. The consent text generator helps you write it.
- Short form: Email and first name, plus preferred language if you'll use it.
- Fair play: One entry per email address or phone number, and throwaway addresses blocked.
- Terms: State who can enter, the prizes, the closing date and how winners are picked. The competition terms generator gives you a draft.
- Follow-up: Send the welcome email the same day, in the same language as the game. See our welcome email flow.
Check local rules. Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia each have their own rules for prize promotions and lucky draws, and some limit prize values or require approval. Check with a local lawyer before you launch, and read our guide on how to run an online competition for the planning steps.
What to Measure
- Visitors to the game and where they came from (tag every link with the UTM builder)
- Conversion rate: how many visitors played and signed up
- New marketing permissions, split by language or market
- Gift-box and code redemptions before the festival
- Cost per lead compared with your other channels
- Repeat buyers at the next occasion, such as Double 12 or Lunar New Year
The campaign ROI calculator turns these into cost per lead and return.
FAQ
When is the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2027?
Wednesday 15 September 2027. In 2028 it falls on Tuesday 3 October. It's always the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, so the date moves each year.
When should brands start Mid-Autumn Festival marketing?
Six to eight weeks before. People buy and send mooncake gifts in the two to three weeks before the festival, so gift-related ideas should be live by then.
Can I run a Mid-Autumn campaign for customers in mainland China?
Campaigns in mainland China run mostly on local platforms and apps. A Scratcher campaign works best for Chinese-speaking customers you reach through your own website, newsletter, social channels and shops, in China or anywhere else.
What is a good Mid-Autumn Festival competition prize?
A premium mooncake or branded gift box, a family dinner voucher, or products people can share at the reunion meal, plus small instant prizes such as gift-delivery codes.
Plan Your Mid-Autumn Campaign
Scratcher has 40+ game formats and 150+ templates. Rex, our AI assistant, designs a campaign from your website and helps translate the texts, so you can have a lantern riddle or gift-box game ready in minutes. See online competitions and giveaways and prizes and winners, start your free 14-day trial (no credit card needed) or book a meeting and we'll help you plan it.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
