Trending on TV: Brands Flock to Workplace and Suspense Dramas
Plus: Arc'teryx pivots to China, Miniso's big IPO, and Rihanna jumps on the livestream bandwagon.
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Contemporary, realistic dramas continue to take center stage on TV and video streaming platforms, as historical costume and fantasy content takes a back seat under regulatory pressure. From the female-focused “Nothing But Thirty” (三十而已) and “Twenty Your Life On” (二十不惑) to suspense dramas that speak to human nature such as “The Bad Kids” (隐秘的角落), the hits of summer 2020 drew rave reviews and marked a turning point for new types of content.
White-collar workplace dramas are popular in China, with their aspirational takes on industries from law and real estate to public relations and fashion, and they provide an ideal platform for product placements and other brand integrations that can pair brands with the lifestyles of the upwardly mobile professionals portrayed in such series.
The latest buzzed-about offering in this genre is Dragon TV’s “Ordinary Glory” (平凡的荣耀), which is also airing on Zhejiang Satellite TV and streaming on Youku. A long-awaited remake of South Korean hit “Incomplete Life,” the Chinese version is set in a Shanghai investment firm and teams up a workaholic manager (played by Mark Chao) against an inexperienced newcomer, with conflict eventually turning into cooperation and success. Word-of-mouth has been driving viewership, with the series topping the rankings on various platforms.
Liquor brand Jinjiu has been drawing attention as the drama’s title sponsor thanks to its brand integration, which includes product placement (such as its appearance when characters are seen having meals) along with storylines that refer to the brand. The drama’s focus on the process of how young people adapt to high-stress work environments aligns with Jinjiu’s brand message of promoting health through ingredients that are inspired by traditional Chinese medicine.
Jiyoujia, Alibaba’s home improvement and decor platform, recently partnered with “Ordinary Glory” by appointing cast members as its new brand ambassadors. Actors Bai Jingting, Wei Daxun, and others participated in a livestream broadcast for Jiyoujia and filmed a promotional clip for Jiyoujia for Weibo to boost its exposure.
After some previous setbacks, iQiyi’s suspense-focused “Mist Theater” is back with an all-new suspense drama, “The Long Night” (沉默的真相), which has achieved a Douban score of 9.2 and more than 110,000 reviews, with many fans praising its film-like quality. Both “The Long Night” and Mist Theater’s earlier “The Bad Kids” are based on works by author Zijin Chen.
But although reviews have been strong for the series, which merges three intense storylines, fans have been less keen on the constant product placement and advertisement found within the show. Snack chain Bestore, Hozon Auto, self-heating hot pot brand Mo Xiaoxian, and Anmuxi yogurt are all sponsors for this suspense drama, and the incorporation of their marketing into the content has taken some aback, particularly when branded graphics appear on-screen during climactic scenes, distracting viewers at critical moments.
A report from Ent Data highlights some reasons why suspense dramas have taken off with Chinese audiences:
They tackle contemporary social problems head-on and spark debate on questions of values and beliefs, thereby increasing engagement with the audience.
With a sweet spot of 12 or so episodes per series for the suspense dramas, viewers may be more willing to try them out, as they require far less of a commitment than traditional series that run to 40 episodes or more.
- by Ginger Ooi
Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Arc’teryx, Bestore, Douban, Dragon TV, Fenty Beauty, Hennessy, Hozon Auto, iQiyi, Jinjiu, Kuaishou, Miniso, Peak Performance, Pinduoduo, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Wilson, Xiaohongshu, Yili, Yongpu Coffee, Youku.
Is Outdoor Brand Arc’teryx Quietly Pivoting to a “China First” Strategy?
by Avery Booker (contact)
Less than 18 months after taking over Finland-based Amer Sports, last week China’s Anta Sports announced the replacement of CEO Heikki Takala with Anta executive James Zheng, supported by Michael Hauge Sorensen in a newly created COO role. With a significant portfolio of sporting brands — including Wilson, Salomon, Peak Performance, and Arc’teryx — Amer Sports was acquired for 4.6 billion euros ($5.2 billion) by a consortium led by Anta Sports, with backing from Tencent Holdings, Anamered Investments, and a fund managed by FountainVest Partners.
At the time, the deal was one of the most notable international sporting and outdoor equipment and apparel acquisitions by a Chinese company, and followed on the heels of a burst of international fashion and luxury acquisitions made by Chinese corporations in recent years, such as Lanvin owner Fosun.
With the ascension of an Anta executive as group-wide CEO, the personnel changes highlight the virtual certainty that Amer Sports will now prioritize the Chinese market for growth, particularly for big-ticket portfolio brands such as Arc’teryx. This month, the Canadian brand — known for its trendy $800 shell jackets and serious mountain climbing gear that includes $1,300 avalanche airbags and $1,000 boots — opened its first global flagship (and largest store) in Shanghai.
Read the full article on Content Commerce Insider
Can China’s Miniso Challenge Muji With Its Content-Driven Product Strategy?
by Avery Booker
Since its founding in 2013, the Chinese retail brand Miniso — which has long been called a “Muji copycat” and “Uniqlo knockoff” owing to the similarity of the logo it adopted — has spent the last several years following its breakneck China expansion with a strong international push. Since the first overseas Miniso store opened in Pasadena, California in 2017, its presence has grown to nearly 1,700 outlets in around 80 countries, plus another 2,500 or so stores in China.
Selling everything from noodle bowls to nightlights, Bluetooth speakers and cosmetics, the brand has fueled its huge growth through budget prices, which have enticed consumers worldwide to open their wallets. Last year, Miniso pulled in a reported $2.5 billion in revenue.
But cheap goods alone are not what draws shoppers. Counting Tencent Holdings among its top investors, Miniso has proven savvy at using content-commerce marketing and brand collaborations. Unlike Muji’s more upscale “unbranded brand” of home goods, apparel, and furniture, Miniso stands outs for its target demographic of young consumers by blending the model of dollar stores or “100-yen” retailers with appealing co-branded products created through partnerships with the likes of Marvel, Disney, Sesame Street, and Budding Pop blind boxes that have been rolled out in China as well as Singapore and other overseas markets.
Read the full article on Content Commerce Insider
Brand Film Pick: Yili Says Much About Family Love for Mid-Autumn Festival
by Ginger Ooi
Brands often tap into emotion-laden family themes for Chinese holidays, and the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival is no exception, especially as it is considered to be the second-most important traditional holiday (after the Lunar New Year) with family gatherings as a key focus.
This year, domestic dairy giant Yili showcased intergenerational expressions of love and care with their short film “A Simple Word” (不多, literally, “not much.)
The film opens with a father’s memories of his daughter’s growth as he prepares to give a speech at her wedding. From childhood to adulthood, she frequently complained of his actions as being “too much,” while his steady reply is always simply, “it’s not much.” Once onstage, the father cuts his speech down to one wish, for his daughter’s happiness.
The next scene brings us to the present Mid-Autumn festival, as daughter and husband arrive at her parents’ home, bearing boxes of gifts. Now the roles are reversed, with the mother saying it is “too much,” and the daughter saying, “not much.” As the daughter takes over in the kitchen from her father, she prepares him a glass of Yili Xinhuo, a milk powder formulated for older adults. The film closes with a montage of real-life family photos, highlighting how generations care for each. By showing the unconditional love of parents for their children, the film subtly encourages younger viewers to purchase Yili products to ensure the health of their elders in turn.
News From China
Following in the footsteps of Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham, Rihanna became the latest big overseas celebrity to take to Taobao Live to sell her beauty brand via livestreaming. The singer appeared for about thirty minutes of a longer September 24 Fenty Beauty livestream hosted by fashion blogger Gogoboi and pop idol Wang Ju (dubbed “China’s Beyonce”), who is also a Fenty brand ambassador.
Alongside Rihanna was Priscilla Ono, her longtime makeup artist, and the pair conducted product demos while Rihanna answered questions in English from Gogoboi that were translated back into Chinese by him for viewers.
Around 200,000 viewers tuned in at the start of the broadcast on Taobao Live, while on Weibo the hashtag for “Rihanna livestreams” (#蕾哈娜直播#) has been viewed more than 39 million times.
Fenty Beauty only made its debut on Tmall Global a year ago, and has since set the “gold standard” for celebrity beauty brand marketing in China thanks to its relationships with top-tier local influencers and creative campaigns such as a much-hyped collaboration with trendy beverage chain Hey Tea.
Trending brand spotlight: The upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival on October 1 sees a flurry of mooncake gift box activity from brands, with collaborations that extend beyond the traditional holiday treat proving especially popular. Yongpu Coffee partnered with snack brand Wei Back on the “So Big Mooncake” box with an oversized version that offers four fillings in one cake (taro, pork floss, mochi, and egg yolk), along with a package of Yongpu’s freeze-dried coffee in a peach oolong flavor.
Innovative flavors, highly creative package design, and brand collaborations have helped turn Yongpu into one of China’s fast-rising niche consumer brands. The company was launched in 2014, mainly selling bagged drip coffee, but it really took off after it opened a flagship store on Tmall in 2018 and pivoted to a focus on cold brew coffees.
Its newer line of freeze-dried instant coffees that require no refrigeration has proven especially popular, selling more than 20,000 units during the 2019 Singles’ Day on Tmall.
Yongpu enjoys high repurchase rates among buyers, thanks in part to its new flavors and frequent limited-edition, content-driven collaborations that appeal to Gen Z and millennial consumers, such as with last year’s crucially acclaimed film “Better Days” (少年的你), hit TV show “U Can U Bibi” (奇葩说), and lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu (aka Little Red Book) — altogether it has worked with more than 300 partners to date on co-branded coffee products.
Who is Xiao Zhang? A young man by that name (“little Zhang”) went viral last week after the Zhejiang-based news program “1818 Golden Eye” (1818黄金眼) featured a report in which Zhang alleged that the tempered-glass shower door in his rented apartment exploded, leaving him with several cuts on his arms and a $1,200 medical bill. Since the segment aired on September 21, the Weibo hashtag “Xiao Zhang’s hand was cut by a glass shower door” has been viewed more than 1.7 billion times and drawn more than 200,00 comments, many praising his good looks.
Fans of Xiao Zhang’s were quick to uncover as much as they could about his background, including his day job as an e-commerce livestreamer on Taobao Live who works with fashion brand Peacebird.
Meanwhile, others have raised concerns about the role of “1818 Golden Eye” — while it purports to show news, it is backed by a multi-channel network under Zhejiang Television and Radio, which would appear to give it a strong interest in creating and promoting new celebrities.
Where tech meets art: Baidu is beefing up its involvement in the arts in ways that highlight its prowess in artificial intelligence. The tech giant is the lead AI partner for the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art’s new exhibition, “Immaterial/Re-material,” a wide-ranging journey through the history and future of computer-enabled art with works by more than 30 artists from around the world, including a special unit curated in collaboration with Baidu AI of interactive and immersive pieces that are shaped by the viewer’s presence.
Baidu is also working with UCCA Lab, which focuses on interdisciplinary collaborations with brands and other entities, to launch multimedia entertainment studio Moment Factory’s debut in China. The “Baidu AI Interactive Art Exhibit: Animistic Imagery 2020” puts AI in the role of creator, taking its cues from visitors, who are encouraged to explore the symbiotic relationship between humans and technology.
News in English
TikTok won a temporary reprieve in the United States after a judge blocked a Trump administration ban on new downloads of the app. Reuters
Alibaba is taking on Tencent’s dominance in gaming with the launch of its own cloud-based platform and is promoting its games division into an independent business unit. SCMP
China’s consumer recovery could be unbalanced — and potentially fragile —as it relies heavily on wealthier consumers, with luxury goods, autos, and electronics among the top-selling categories. Bloomberg
Pinduoduo won the rights to be the top sponsor for the world’s most-watched television program, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and will give away loads of cash to viewers during the broadcast as the official “red packet partner.” Pandaily
Kuaishou launched a “Good Product Alliance” to help connect e-commerce livestreamers on its platform to a pool of reputable goods, which may assuage shopper concerns about shoddy items being offered for sale. Caixin
Distrust of new names from Chinese consumers means that most foreign brands have to rely on influencers to vouch for their products. Azoya
Cognac brand Hennessy had a blowout bash for its 150th anniversary that included a massive fireworks show in directed by artist Cai Guo-Qiang from Paris that was livestreamed on global platforms including Facebook, Tencent, and YouTube. Radii
Milk tea blew up China’s social media on the first day of autumn, as a viral campaign spread to encourage the purchase of drinks for friends to celebrate the equinox, with some cynics questioning what brand(s) were behind the sudden push. Caixin
Lingerie brands in the Chinese market are showing increased sensitivity to female consumers relationships with their bodies and more conservative attitudes towards sex. Radii
Western influencers working on Chinese platforms have been posting content that caters to patriotic, pro-Beijing viewpoints, and in some cases, have been approached by government officials about potential collaborations. Coda
Mulan apparently did not do as well in its streaming release via Disney+ as previously reported, marking another major disappointment for the film after its tepid debut in Chinese theaters. The Atlantic
Amazon announced that it will hold two days of Prime Day sales on October 13-14, just before Chinese e-commerce platforms kick off their three-week run-up to the November 11 Singles’ Days shopping frenzy. Wall Street Journal
We’ve Got China Covered
China Film Insider: How Shanghai Summoned the World’s Esports Athletes Amid Covid-19
Jing Daily: Three Critical Steps Luxury Brands Must Take To Rebound From Covid-19
Jing Travel: “Act Fast and Go With the Flow”: How Arts Organizations Can Win on TikTok
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