The New Frontier in Content Commerce: Platform-Driven TV Gala Shows
Plus: Fewer TV sponsorships, the influence of Tmall Luxury Pavilion, and C-Beauty lessons.
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The gala television show, featuring a variety of entertainers from pop stars to comedians, has long been a staple of Chinese holiday programming, with CCTV’s Spring Festival extravaganza on the eve of the Lunar New Year the best known (and most widely viewed) example.
In recent years, China’s big e-commerce players have partnered with major satellite networks to produce gala shows that promote major sales events such as Singles’ Day and the 618 Shopping Festival, and now, we are seeing more of these splashy programs being developed to heighten the buzz around competing platforms and boost sales through entertainment content.
Baidu hosted its “Curiosity Night” (百度好奇夜) on Zhejiang Satellite TV on September 19 to celebrate the human drive of curiosity (a value that dovetails with the firm’s flagship search engine), with dairy giant Yili as the title sponsor, and even a month later, it is still being discussed.
Baidu’s gala was the most-watched program for the evening, beating out Hunan Satellite TV’s hugely popular “Happy Camp” (快乐大本营). With nearly 11 billion user interactions on the Baidu App and more than 17 billion impressions on Weibo, it also reportedly set a new record for branded gala shows. Guests included popular acts such as girl group The9, idol Cai Xukun, and folk star Tengger, along with leading creators from the Baidu mobile community. The show incorporated AI and intelligent search functions to allow viewers to engage more deeply with Baidu during the broadcast.
Bytedance’s Douyin produced its third annual “Wonderful Night” (抖音美好奇妙夜) on October 16. This year’s event was broadcast on Zhejiang Satellite TV, Xigua Video, well as Mango TV and with Chinese automaker Hengchi as the title sponsor, while global cosmetics giant L'Oréal Paris and C-beauty player Florasis (Hua Xizi) also featured. Like Baidu’s show, the Douyin show included top celebrities such as Angelababy, Ouyang Nana, and Kris Wu and popular creators and amateurs from the ranks of Douyin users, sometimes paired together, as with Angelababy’s performance alongside a children’s choir group that has nearly 9 million followers on the platform. Douyin’s show was also reportedly the most-viewed program of the night, with more than 52.5 million people tuning in from Douyin’s livestreaming channel.
Douyin rival Kuaishou is up next with its planned “One Thousand and One Nights” (一千零一夜) on Jiangsu Satellite TV on October 30. The theme for the show is “Fireworks on Earth,” with Kuaishou aiming to set off fireworks in viewers’ minds through its content, which will highlight a range of experiences from big-name stars (pianist Lang Lang, actor and Kuaishou spokesperson Chen Kun) to more than 100 Kuaishou creators specializing in everything from music to e-commerce.
And if the latest 618 Shopping Festival in June was any indication, we are likely to see an even larger number of TV gala shows supporting this year’s November 11 Singles’ Day, as more platforms compete to get in on the e-commerce and entertainment game to drive sales for the world’s biggest shopping event.
- by Ginger Ooi
Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Bose, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Coach, De Beers, Didi, Douyin, Golden Goose, Huawei Honor, Jaeger-LeCoultre, L'Oréal, Mastercard, Mercedez-Benz, Michael Kors, Nongfu Spring Water, Oppo, Pinduoduo, Salvatore Ferragamo, Spotify, Versace, Vivo, Viya Niya.
Brands Pull Back on TV and Video Streaming Sponsorships
With China’s peak summer TV viewing season wrapping up, fewer brands sponsored shows that debuted in September.
On the reality show front, there were 34 new series, according to Starlink’s monthly report, of which 19 were documentary-style programs, with the majority focusing on China’s largely successful efforts to combat the coronavirus epidemic — the type of state-sponsored content that may hold little appeal for most brands.
Ten of the 24 reality shows online had brand sponsors, while eight out of ten network shows did. Tencent Video’s romance-oriented “Heart Signal” (心动的信号) and Dragon TV’s home renovation show “Dream Home” (梦想改造家) tied for the most sponsors, with five apiece, but that’s significantly lower than the dozen or so brands featured on hit summer shows such as “Sisters Who Make Waves” (乘风破浪的姐姐) that boasted more than a dozen sponsors.
Vivo returned as the title sponsor for the third season of “Heart Signal,” enjoying deep brand integration as its mobile phones are treated as an integral part of the show. (With its cast explaining and showing off features of the S7 model in extensive detail, and the brand’s logo and color scheme displayed prominently on sets through props such as pillows, signage, and even a Vivo-branded treadmill.) Two of the show’s stars also used their Vivo phones to make short films that were shared with fans on social media, further expanding audience reach for the brand.
Dramas continue to draw less interest from brands, with only 12 of the 43 September releases obtaining sponsors, according to Starlink.
The majority (34) of these series premiered on streaming video platforms, with Youku’s youth-focused “First Romance” (初恋了那么多年) attracting the most sponsors with 11.
Dragon TV’s workplace drama “The Ordinary Glory” (平凡的荣耀) was the runner-up with 10 brands appearing on the show, including title sponsor Jinjiu wine and other major names such as Didi, Huawei Honor, and Nongfu Spring Water seeking to enhance their images through placement in the show’s high-powered world of Shanghai investment banking.
Three Years On, Tmall Luxury Pavilion Has Changed the Game for Luxury Brands in China
by Avery Booker
While luxury’s rush to digital in China came about for many reasons, it is impossible to overlook the influence of Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Tmall Luxury Pavilion, which recently celebrated its third anniversary. Up until the launch of Luxury Pavilion in 2017, high-end brands had a hot-and-cold relationship with Tmall, as the platform struggled to both attract them and keep them on board.
Coach, for example, joined and quit Tmall twice — in 2011 and 2015 — before finally putting down roots on Luxury Pavilion in 2019. Michael Kors, too, famously quit Tmall in 2016 amid concerns about counterfeiting before joining Luxury Pavilion last year. Currently, the platform boasts nearly 200 brands with an official presence, among them Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Golden Goose, De Beers, and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Tmall managed to coax luxury labels back via its efforts to crack down on counterfeiting while boosting its focus on content-commerce, fostering a more premium look and feel (managed by brands themselves), rolling out a popular VIP loyalty program, and offering integration with the vast Alibaba ecosystem to reach new consumers and smooth the path from brand discovery to purchasing and fulfilment.
Read the full article on Content Commerce Insider
Key Takeaways From the Webinar “C-Beauty Secrets: Learnings From China’s Top Cosmetics Brands”
On October 14, CCI sister site Jing Daily hosted a webinar on key beauty trends in China and what we can learn from today’s top C-Beauty brands. The meeting was moderated by Jing Daily’s editor-in-chief, Enrique Menendez. Featured speakers included Carol Zhou, the SVP of China Business Innovation & Investment at Shiseido; Chloé Reuter, a founding partner at Gusto Luxe and founding partner and vice-chair at Gusto Collective; William Lau, founder & CEO of Bonnie & Clyde; and Yishu Wang, the director of Half A World, and Linzi Zhan and co-founder of Out of Office Beauty.
The conversation centered around how these invigorated C-Beauty brands would continue to play a critical role in China and the global market in the immediate aftermath of Covid-19 and beyond.
The webinar also touched on a range of other topics, from understanding the nature of C-Beauty brands to how consumer preferences changed after the pandemic and new local selling tactics via technologies like AR, VR, and livestreaming. During the hour-long webinar, Zhou, Reuter, Lau, Wang, and Zhan dove into the varied practices of niche C-Beauty brands. They also discussed how beauty brands could strategically adapt to the ever-evolving Chinese market.
Read the full story on Jing Daily
Brand Film Pick: Oppo Scores With League of Legends Music Video
The hit multiplayer online game League of Legends has drawn an enviable roster of brand partners from around the world for the 2020 World Championships, among them Mercedez-Benz, Spotify, Mastercard, and Bose. A number of these brands are featured in LoL’s music video for “Take Over,” its official theme song for the event, which is running in Shanghai through the end of October.
But going a step further, mobile phone sponsor Oppo produced its own music video to promote a limited-edition Find X2 handset collaboration created for the world championships (an image of the phone was also teased in the video for “Take Over”). “Be the Legend” (英雄登场), sung in English by Tia Ray, has drawn rave reviews from fans inside and outside China who prefer the branded song and video to the official selection.
Oppo’s video subtly incorporates the brand through both lyrics (“Find X/ Find more”) and visual elements such as the large X that appears in the sky at the end, and the commercial aspect hasn’t deterred viewers. Since its release on October 12 (exactly one week before the launch of the limited-edition phone), the video has been viewed more than 3.2 million times on Bilibili and its hashtag has made 230 million impressions on Weibo.
Whereas “Take Over” sticks to a fairly straightforward style of two-dimensional animation, “Be the Legend” incorporates the popular “2.5D” trend that bridges the real and virtual worlds, featuring top players and their avatars against a shifting Shanghai backdrop. The musical style is similarly designed to appeal more to young audiences, with a dance-inspired track that includes a rap interlude, in contrast with the rock-oriented “Take Over” and its more generic sound.
News From China
Bilibili is stepping up its original content game with a new deal that will deepen its collaboration on productions led by BBC Studios.
Highlights of the partnership could leverage core interests of Bilibili’s audience of 170 million-plus, predominantly young Chinese through a science series, “Odyssey into the Future” with Hugo Award-winning novelist Liu Cixin, and a potential animation project.
Bilibili will also become a production partner in China for new titles such as “The Green Planet” and “The Mating Game” and the deal will see the inclusion of more Chinese voices and segments in BBC Studios’ programming along with the development of documentary series on various aspects of Chinese culture. The deal also covers greater access to BBC Studios scripted content, with exclusive video-on-demand rights in China for fantasy series “The Watch,” plus access to popular shows such as “Top Gear” and “Doctor Who.”
The move follows other recent notable content-boosting deals involving the video platform that include taking a 10% stake in the Hong Kong-listed film and TV studio Huanxi Media and Sony’s $400 million investment and content partnership.
Meanwhile, Tencent Video’s programming is making inroads into Japan through a distribution deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan that will cover 20 popular drama series, representing a major expansion of Tencent’s drama content into an overseas market: Since 2017, it had exported just 80 films and series to various countries.
Top-selling livestreamer Viya has launched her own fashion label, Viya Niya, but with a twist.
Rather than create an in-house brand from scratch, as other influential livestreamers such as Zhang Dayi and Lie’er have done, Viya has taken the more collaborative route favored by Li Jiaqi, working with eight established designers from around the world to launch a 48-piece collection that debuted with a runway show during Shanghai Fashion Week.
Naturally, the event was livestreamed, with Viya taking her turn on the catwalk in a bold jacket that could be purchased through an on-demand “see now, buy now” feature. A reported 23 million viewers tuned in and purchased RMB 222 million ($33 million) worth of product.
Chinese platforms have been deepening their integration with more mainstream entertainment channels, as illustrated by the wave of gala shows on satellite TV networks hosted by various tech players.
Douyin has proven popular as a source of short video recaps of TV dramas and livestreamed content linked to popular reality shows. Now, with China’s box office resurgence, it has also become a critical venue for film marketing, as seen during the recent National Day holiday with its expansive campaigns for the top-grossing patriotic film “My People, My Homeland” (我和我的家乡).
Also teaming up with the feel-good movie is e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, which launched a section on its app devoted to agricultural products from regions depicted in the film’s five parts. The partnership successfully leveraged audience interest in exploring local goods seen on-screen and offered subsidies for purchases, with the campaign reportedly racking up 100 million orders.
News in English
From upgraded logistics to billions in consumer subsidies, e-commerce platforms are deep into their preparations for Singles’ Day. Pandaily
And the traditional e-commerce players are facing increasing competition from newer entrants such as Douyin and Kuaishou that are seeking a piece of the e-commerce pie during this year’s shopping festival. Business of Fashion
Directly inspired by successful examples from China, the U.S.-oriented 1010 Shopping Festival on October 9-12 saw participation from nearly 100 brands and retailers to jumpstart holiday retail with gamified experiences. Coresight Research
BrandZ’s ranking of the top 100 most valuable Chinese brands sees Alibaba at the top once again, followed by Tencent and Moutai in second and third. PR Newswire
The appeal of short video: the average daily consumption of short video content was 110 minutes per day as of June, surpassing instant messaging usage. KrAsia
Delivery platform Meituan is moving into bricks and mortar with the launch of unmanned smart stores for order pickups. Pandaily
KFC is cashing in on two of China’s biggest food trends by offering self-heating snail noodles on its menus, its latest effort at appealing to domestic consumers. Radii
In another noteworthy example of global brand localization, Starbucks has become one of China’s top sellers of mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn holiday. Marketing to China
Condom maker Durex apparently crossed the line in its advertising on Tmall, drawing a fine of approximately $122,000 for content deemed to be “superstitious and vulgar” by authorities. Dao Insights
Chinese sales of secondhand luxury goods are poised to take off: they currently account for just 5% of the overall luxury market, with more than half of purchases made by consumers under 30. Reuters
Also set for major growth is China’s licensing industry, which currently has less than 4% percent of global market share. Shine
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