Gen Z Favorite Bilibili Moves Further Into Content Commerce
Plus: Mango TV attracts brands, Secondhand luxury finally has a chance in China, and cosmetics sweep up during Singles' Day.
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The popular youth-oriented video streaming platform Bilibili (aka Station B) has been boosting its content-commerce game through a series of key investments and brand-friendly programming innovations.
As Bilibili has expanded from its original niche focus on ACG (Anime, Comic, and Games) content into more general lifestyle offerings such as food, beauty, and fitness, product videos have become increasingly popular, reportedly hitting some 5 billion views from an audience of 90 million over the past year.
Highlighting the brand opportunities on Bilibili, the platform recently published its inaugural “China-Z 100” list, a selection of the top 100 domestic products targeted at consumers under the age of 30. Consumer tech firm Xiaomi, beverage producer Genki Forest, and C-beauty brands Florasis (Hua Xizi) and Mao Geping were among those whose products made the list. This marked the first time that Bilibili has taken an active role in product recommendations, and was accompanied by a livestreamed broadcast introducing the top ten products from the “China-Z 100.”
The platform has been making key investments to boost its content, such as the previously reported 10% stake in the Hong Kong-listed studio Huanxi Media. On the animation front, it was recently reported that Bilibili has increased its investment in YHTK Entertainment, the studio behind its latest hit series, the post-apocalyptic fantasy “Ling Cage: Incarnation” (灵笼), which has drawn 240 million views and 5.9 million followers to its channel.
YHTK is also producing the hotly anticipated animated adaptation of Liu Cixin’s “Three Body Problem” trilogy for Bilibili, and has opened stores on Taobao and Bilibili to sell derivative merchandise such as “Ling Cage” branded t-shirts and headphones. The series has also integrated global brands such as Audi in a lengthy customized segment that aired within a recent episode.
In another move that expands on its original general interest programming, Bilibili will bring back “The Jin Xing Show” (金星秀), which previously aired on Dragon TV for three seasons from 2015 to 2017, under a new title. Hosted by the transgender dancer and choreographer Jin Xing, the culturally oriented series will focus on generational differences between guests, a popular topic among Bilibili audiences.
Further investments include the acquisition of animation-related collectibles firm ACToys and taking a stake in mobile video-editing startup Versa, hinting at Bilibili’s potential expansion into new areas that will continue to hold appeal for the platform’s core Gen Z user base.
- by Ginger Ooi
Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Alibaba, Audi, Bilibili, Crest, Dyson, Estée Lauder, Genki Forest, Gucci, Huawei, La Mer, Lancôme, Loewe, L'Oréal, Mango TV, Maybelline, Nongfu Spring Water, Olay, Perfect Diary, Samsung, Shiseido, The RealReal, Versa, Xiaohongshu, Yakult.
Mango TV’s Reality Shows Take the Lead in Drawing Brands
October saw the debuts of 33 new reality shows on Chinese TV networks and video streaming platforms, with the presence of brand sponsors rebounding after a slower September, caused by the flurry of state-sponsored documentary programming ahead of the October 1 National Day holiday. Twelve of the 21 series on video platforms secured sponsors, along with eight of the 12 satellite TV programs, according to Starlink.
Up-and-comer Mango TV, the Hunan TV-affiliated streamer, had the two most heavily branded reality shows of the month: the third season of relationship-oriented “Meeting Mr. Right” (女儿们的恋爱) drew 11, while “Lady Land,” the musical group follow-up to summer hit “Sisters Who Make Waves” (乘风破浪的姐姐), had seven. Both of these shows target female viewers, who make up the majority of Mango TV’s audience.
In addition to joint title sponsors Olay and Crest, “Meeting Mr. Right” features fashion e-commerce retailer Vipshop, style-focused platform Xiaohongshu, Samsung, and Dyson among the participating brands. “Lady Land” landed JD.com as the title sponsor and a varied group of consumer brands including Oreo, which also sponsored “Sisters Who Make Waves.”
October saw the launch of 35 new dramas, but only nine featured sponsored product placements. Starlink reports that seven of 20 online dramas had brand sponsors, while just two of the six TV dramas did.
CCTV’s “Little Doctor” (小大夫), a feel-good medical romance, led with 13 sponsors, followed by Youku’s youth romance “Her Smile So Sweet” (她的微笑像顆糖) with nine. Food and beverage brands predominated on “Little Doctor,” including Yakult, Genki Forest, and Nongfu Spring Water, along with health-oriented brands such as Nao Bai Jin supplements and Slaite milk powder.
CCI Take: Content-Commerce Could Help Secondhand Luxury Gain Critical Mass in China
by Avery Booker
Following years of double-digit annual growth in markets such as North America, Europe, and Japan, secondhand luxury has firmly entered the mainstream amid the global economic uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased focus on sustainable consumption among millennials and Gen Z. In a reversal from previous objections, luxury brands are starting to become active participants in the secondhand trade, with the understanding that products offered for resale often serve as a gateway for consumers to “trade up” in the future to full-priced, new items, and don’t necessarily cannibalize their business.
Some brands have taken their secondhand sales in-house (watchmaker Richard Mille is a recent example), while the likes of Gucci are inking partnerships with third-party platforms such as The RealReal to offer something akin to “certified pre-owned” items. An even smaller number are upcycling used items or pieces from previous seasons into new pieces — a trend led by Loewe with its newest Eye Loewe Nature collection
In China, despite years of resistance from consumers to buying used items, the secondhand luxury market is growing faster than ever, driven by both the Covid-19 outbreak earlier in the year along with changing attitudes among the younger generations.
Read the full article on Content Commerce Insider
Brand Film Pick: theMSLAN’s Science Fiction Guide to Fashion
Chinese fashion brand theMSLAN marked its 10th anniversary by producing a short film that also tied to its Singles’ Day campaign, utilizing a science fiction plot to showcase the label’s designs and history.
“Talk to Her” opens in the year 3046, in a world where clones are part of reality. One cloned woman comes under interrogation for her refusal to abide by the rules that require her to stay in uniform, and she looks back into the distant past (our present) to explore some of the contemporary dilemmas facing women, from self-fulfillment to love and work, with dozens of outfit changes on display in the process.
The message is ultimately one of both emotional sense and physical freedom: “Comfort and self-expression are both important,” reads the tagline at the end, appealing directly to theMSLAN’s core Gen Z and millennial consumers
News From China
In one of the most competitive categories of the Singles’ Day e-commerce extravaganza, C-beauty unicorn Perfect Diary achieved total sales exceeding RMB 600 million ($91 million) and topped Tmall’s makeup rankings, overtaking established cosmetics players such as L'Oréal, Maybelline, and MAC. According to the prospectus filed by parent company Yatsen Holding for its upcoming New York IPO, the group had RMB 3.8 billion ($579.5 million) in sales during the first three quarters of 2020, up more than 70% year-on-year.
Estée Lauder led for skin care, another hot sector, with RMB 2.4 billion ($360 million) in sales, with its success fueled by livestreaming. It ranked second to Huawei among the top-selling official Tmall stores on Taobao Live, where beauty brands claimed five of the top ten spots (Lancôme, L’Oréal, Shiseido, and La Mer were the others).
Along with Alibaba, fashion platform Mogu was an early mover into e-commerce livestreaming, which it launched in 2016, but has not seen explosive growth in the format until now. For Singles’ Day, Mogu reported that its livestreaming gross merchandise volume rose by 82% compared to 2019, with the average user watching 5.6 hours worth of livestreamed broadcasts (2.4 times as much as last year). Top seller “Little Sweetheart Ne” (小甜心_呢) sold more than RMB 100 million ($15 million) worth of goods, reportedly becoming the first livestream host to reach that mark outside of Taobao Live, Douyin, or Kuaishou.
News in English
China’s internet regulator has stepped into the fray of authorities seeking to control the country’s booming e-commerce livestreaming sector with a new set of draft rules released for public comment. Reuters
Smaller brands were a big draw for this year’s Singles’ Day on Tmall, thanks to special promotion via showcases for new products. Business of Fashion
The virtual idol competition show “Dimension Nova” on iQiyi aims to break new ground, but the technology may not be quite there yet. Radii
JD.com aims to make an even bigger move into offline retail with plans to create a network of more than five million stores over the next three years. CNBC
Luxury brands from Chanel to Dior seized the opportunity presented by Shanghai Art Week to engage high-end consumers with exclusive events, pop-up shops, and collaborations tied to the fair. WWD
From pet owners to powerful thirtysomething women, a look at some of the key emerging niche groups of China’s online consumers. The Next Web
Van Cleef & Arpels is the latest world-famous brand to find itself in trademark limbo in China after a citizen challenge to its application for its clover motif. The Fashion Law
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Jing Daily: Has China’s Anti-Consumerism Movement Hurt This Year’s Singles’ Day Sales?
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