This information was verified by Southern Metropolis Daily through interviews with the Radio and Television Administration of Yunnan Province. Microdramas will be categorised into three groups—”key, ordinary or other”—based on investment volume and subject matter, with each category requiring a different filing process.

Dao has previously covered microdramas in past articles, which are web series with episodes between under a minute to 15 minutes each. According to the report released by China Internet Network Information Centre, in 2023, the number of microdramas registered reached 3,574, marking a 9% increase compared to the previous year. Additionally, according to the China Microdrama Market Research Report, the market size of microdramas reached 37.39 billion in 2023 and is projected to surpass 50 billion in 2024.

The rapid rise of the microdrama industry has furnished numerous brands with fresh marketing ideas. The 2023 Kuaishou Microdrama Value Report indicates that last year, the platform launched over 90 commercialised microdramas, with more than 35 brands collaborating, primarily in the beauty and skincare, e-commerce, and food and beverage sectors. On Douyin (China’s version of TikTok), the five microdramas released by beauty brand KANS amassed a total view count of 5 billion. The ‘KANS Red Barbarian Waist Gift Box’, featured prominently in these microdramas, and sold 2.9 million sets in the first three quarters of the previous year.

Platforms are also getting in on the hype. On 10 April, Douyin issued a notice regarding the crackdown on illegal microdramas, emphasising the platform’s efforts to combat content that promotes negative values, violates public order and morality, and indulges in inappropriate themes.

The implementation of new microdrama filing regulations may extend to the online production cycle of microdramas, heightening uncertainty regarding return on investment. However, according to microdrama producer Liu Kaiping, the introduction of the new regulations will make it more challenging to produce explosive content, but there will be more boutiques available.

The post Microdramas will be required to undergo filing procedures from June appeared first on Dao Insights.

Chinese New Year, the largest celebration in China, is not only an immense opportunity for Chinese people to gather together for a feast with their loved ones but also a huge chance for brands to authentically integrate Chinese culture into their creative work in order to connect and resonate with their audience.

Every year, brands face creative competition during this crucial time because this is a date that both homegrown and global brands have long marked out in their marketing calendar for their culture-focused Chinese New Year campaigns. Before we dive into the brands’ campaigns, let’s talk about what the new trends are, that marketers should know for the festival. 

Beijing Winter Olympics – The biggest surprise of Chinese New Year

While 1 February marked the first day of Chinese New Year, and with it a two-week-long holiday, the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics was set to begin on 4 February. It is the only time in history where Chinese New Year and the Winter Olympics have coincided.

To make the celebration more joyous, Beijing 2022 will launch a special “Spring Festival” edition of Bing Dwen Dwen, after the chubby panda mascot became a smash hit at the Winter Olympics. Hundreds of people queued for hours in the harsh winter in Beijing to get the plush toy. Restrictions on the number of purchases of the mascot per person were soon introduced amid the buying frenzy, and some have been reselling online for hundreds of dollars, showing a wide craving for the ice-glazed toy.

Apart from celebrating the Winter Olympics, watching the Chinese New Year gala with family on Chinese New Year’s eve is another way to take the festive atmosphere to new heights.

A poetic dance performed during the Chinese New Year gala went viral on social media for its synthesis of an in-depth understanding of Chinese history and stunning visual presentation. The dance was inspired by one of the greatest ancient landscape paintings called “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains”. It has been highly applauded on Weibo with over 430 million views under the hashtag #只此青绿 (the name of the dance).

This year, WeChat turns out to be the biggest winner as over 120 million users tuned in to the gala through WeChat Channels (a short video platform within WeChat), during the first-ever vertical screen livestreaming with more than 350 million online engagements.

With WeChat taking such a stride, the other two leading short video platforms, Douyin and Kuaishou, also joined in on the festivities, introducing interactive games and opportunities to win digital red envelopes, to keep users entertained and engaged throughout.

These features have made the traditional TV show more playful, and therefore, naturally catered to social media savvy users, especially the younger generation. It is reported that more than 50% of those who watched the gala via mobile phones were people under 30.

Now it is time to showcase some of the best-in-class 2022 Chinese New Year campaigns and understand why they were such a huge success.

Apple – A short film “The Comeback”

It has become a tradition for Apple to launch its Chinese New Year short film every year, which is something that the brand pours its heart and soul into. It is an inspiring campaign that gives hope to budding filmmakers who are pursuing their dreams but don’t have the budget to buy professional equipment. All the footage in the short film was shot on iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The story is about a young man who is a stunt double and dreams of being behind the camera. He comes back to celebrate Chinese New Year and helps produce a short film of his hometown – a small village that looks like Mars. The villagers aim to make the village famous via the short film, in order to attract more tourists to see the natural beauty of this place. With everyone putting effort into the filmmaking process, they finally created the short film and also turned the forgotten village into an Internet sensation.  

The video resonates with the Chinese audience because it features hyper-local issues such as urbanisation where young people tend to leave their hometowns and pursue their dreams in big cities in China. It also highlights the value of being together with family – one of the main aspects of Chinese New Year celebrations. 

McDonald’s and Vans – exploring traditional ink painting

McDonald’s one-minute campaign video combines Chinese ink painting with modern fast food, showing the beauty of traditional Chinese culture and also tapping into the Guochao trend, which refers to a new mix of contemporary design and nostalgic cues.

Collaborating with Shanghai Animation Film Studio, McDonald’s campaign evokes old and young generations’ memories of how they celebrate Chinese New Year, with most people going back to their hometowns which is usually located in China’s countryside filled with natural beauty – swallows, plum trees, tadpoles and river shrimps, some of the things depicted in the ink painting animation.

It normally takes a long time to shoot an ink painting animation, with there being only 4 completed ones in China so far, due to its labour-intensive format. This shows McDonald’s determination to strike a chord with local consumers.

Similar to McDonald’s campaign, Vans also featured ink painting design in its Year of Tiger collection. By collaborating with the contemporary Chinese artist Chen Yingjie this year, Vans continued its 10-year tradition of creating Chinese zodiac-related new drops. The brand has gone beyond “packaging its products with tiger motifs” and decided to bring out the spirit that the animal symbolises.

The new series, known as “Hungry Tiger”, is inspired by the artwork titled “Stay Hungry”. Delivering the spirits of being hungry for new challenges, not being afraid to break the stigma, and with the courage carried by a tiger, the campaign has showcased the individuality and a sense of rebellion that the foreign brand withholds.

Oppo and Loewe – tapping into traditional culture

Oppo, a homegrown smartphone maker in China, has captured the Chinese love of red, and draped the colour into its New Year Edition Reno 7, reminding users of the year of the tiger with a small tiger logo etched on the back panel.

However, simple visual changes to the product are far from satisfying the young generation of Chinese consumers. Thus, Oppo created limited edition gift boxes featuring the same red colour. In collaboration with Zhi Yu Ji 织羽集, a Chinese clothing brand specialising in the Han costume, the gift box contains a Han-style outfit in velvet red and a tiger-shaped pillow.

Both items have skilfully tapped into the Guochao trend. The tiger pillow is one of China’s traditional folk handicrafts, carrying good wishes for safety and longevity. The Han costume worn by people in the Han dynasty has been growing in popularity among today’s Chinese Gen Z because of its elegant designs. Not to mention that the Guochao wave undoubtedly fuelled the enthusiasm for this nostalgic costume. This exclusive offer to the Chinese market has borne fruit, with many impressed with the new look. In this trendy campaign, Oppo showcased their knowledge of more than just the festival but the market in general.

Loewe is another brand that pays tribute to China’s traditional culture during Chinese New Year – rich and diverse craft traditions. “Marking an auspicious start to the Year of the Tiger, Loewe presents a festive campaign starring acclaimed pastry chef Mr. Zhu Limi 朱厘米 and actor Leo Wu, who explore the unique art of crafting traditional dumplings for the Lunar New Year holiday,” Loewe wrote on its official Instagram account.

By exploring traditional craftsmanship, the brand showcased the craftsman’s expertise and is also helping the young Chinese audience learn more about their country’s intangible cultural heritage.

Gucci and Prada – raising awareness of tiger protection

Prada and Gucci decided to take its Chinese New Year campaigns one step further with a good cause by raising awareness to protect endangered tigers.

In the name of “Prada’s Action in the Year of Tiger”, the project aims to raise money for the “Walking with Tiger and Leopard” program that was initiated by the China Green Foundation. This has endeared consumers in China, who are also showing growing concern about the environment.

But the financial contribution is not the full story of Prada’s campaign. They have also been involved in part of the project for an artwork competition, in which the brand has invited art students under-30 from universities in China as well as across the globe to enter with their creations under the theme of the tiger.

With the competition bringing young talent together to act for the environment, Prada has got the ecological crisis call across, and moreover, the brand has the opportunity to build up relationships with young people; a consumer segment that many brands are keen to get more engagement with. By taking this internationally they have also managed to include others within the celebration and push their Chinese market-focused product line to a wider audience.

Another leading luxury brand Gucci launched the Year of the Tiger collection, including ready-to-wear and accessories featuring the animal motif in various iterations. Under the theme of “Gucci Tiger”, the brands’ Chinese New Year campaign featured real tigers, which were shot separately from human models. In addition, through the campaign, Gucci emphasised its contribution to supporting wildlife as part of the Lion’s Share Fund, which the brand joined in 2020, committing to protecting endangered species and their habitats.

Prada, Gucci, and Loewe are not alone in their celebration of the Chinese New Year in the luxury industry. Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Dior, Burberry, Balenciaga, and Cartier also dropped their tiger-inspired collections and campaigns. Some of Dior’s 2022 Year of the Tiger Spring Festival Limited Series available on its official website “soon sold out”, including a pair of earrings priced more than 10,000 RMB (£1,170) and a men’s collection zodiac scarf priced nearly 9,000 RMB (£1,050).

Each year brands come up with extraordinary Chinese New Year campaigns which never cease to amaze their audience. Whether it’s Apple’s inspiring short film, McDonald’s and Loewe’s exploration of traditional Chinese culture, or Prada and Gucci’s ecological crisis call, many brands have promoted the universality of the Spring Festival range this year and they were able to strike a chord with their target audience. The secret lies in their respect and expertise in understanding the country’s culture, history, and consumers.  

The post Tremendous 2022: Must-have insights from Chinese New Year appeared first on Dao Insights.

• OSUGA proves that products once thought taboo for the Chinese market, such as sex toys, can see just as big demand as in the West – with the right marketing 
• The Post-80s and 90s generations clamour for goods that reflect a changing society, one characterised by a stronger sense of individualism and prioritisation of one’s needs 
• Subtle but perceptive messaging is key to reaching Chinese consumers in these new, uncharted waters  

You might already know that the ancient Chinese could lay claim to some of humankind’s most important inventions, such as paper-making, gunpowder, and the compass. What you might now know is that they were pioneers in other facets of life as well – namely, sex toys. 

The modern Chinese, however, have been notoriously conservative when it comes to addressing sex and personal pleasure in the public domain.  

But that doesn’t mean it is not addressed in people’s private lives: between 2016 and 2019, the market size of sex toys in China grew from 44 billion yuan to 119 billion. 

This meteoric rise demonstrates how the Post-80s and 90s generations’ desires are shaping the Chinese market – as this netizen-favourite ad by sex toy brand OSUGA shows. 

“Sex, what’s there not to say?” 

OSUGA, loved by netizens for their award-winning designs that combine function with aesthetics, partnered with Taiwanese singer Xu Xidi (known as 小s, or “Little S”, in China) for an ad titled “Sex, what’s there not to say?”.  

In the campaign, a present-day Xu guides her younger self through the highs and lows of sex, from the magical first time up until a more adult Xu starts acknowledging that her physical needs might not be fully met by her partner. Enter: the sex toy. 

“The story of the ad was based on stories from actual customers. Many people cannot accept women using sex toys,” Xu writes in the post announcing her partnership. “It is our right to enjoy physical pleasure. It’s never too late to start.” 

Navigating changing attitudes with subtlety 

Female pleasure especially is a topic that gets nowhere near the same attention as it does in the West. 

Understanding this restricted landscape, OSUGA managed to kickstart a conversation about what effectively is female masturbation in a creative, subtle, and even funny way.  

The measured use of humour to deliver its message speaks to the writers’ empathy and tact, while the female focus of the story vaults women’s sexuality into the spotlight.

A female-driven revolution  

The country’s nascent sex toy market is driven mainly by female and millennial consumers, and OSUGA understood the importance of appealing to them in normalising conversations around sex. 

The brand also understood that subtlety is an important part of Chinese culture. This approach shows through in both their discreet product design as well as the relatability of the campaign, by telling a story that is familiar to all yet rarely given importance in the Chinese media – that of sexual self-discovery. 

Chinese people are… just people 

Unlike other brands, it did not treat the somewhat inexperienced Chinese public with condescension. The company, through the campaign, acknowledged a need that the audience might not even have been aware of, without eliciting shame. In other words – it treated Chinese people as people.  

And netizens have responded – many praised the campaign for tackling the topics of sex and masturbation without being vulgar, while also commending the ad for being open about sex without any undertones of shame.

The world’s biggest consumer market… is even bigger? 

China as a country is evolving, and there is still a chasm of acceptability when it comes to talking about topics that are fairly commonplace in the West. 

But OSUGA has shown that it is possible to tackle such topics and stand out from the pack by being the one to do so elegantly. 

Chinese consumers have gone through a period of westernisation in the past few decades and are now exploring the “guochao” trend. But the growth of sex toys in China shows that as a market, it still holds vast potential – and maybe not in the places one expects.  

Read more:

The post A sex toy ad brings female pleasure to the spotlight in China appeared first on Dao Insights.

In the second quarter, revenues from advertising and value-added services were 1 billion RMB and 1.6 billion RMB respectively, an increase of 201% and 98% respectively from the same period in 2020. The company’s value-added services include Bilibili premium membership program, livestreaming, and more. The increase in advertising revenue was primarily attributed to Bilibili’s positive brand reputation and recognition in China’s online advertising market.

Game revenue remained stagnant compared to last year in the same period, with revenue increasing by only 1.2% to 1.233 billion RMB. The reason for the slow increase could be attributed to the second quarter being an off-season for the gaming market. Bilibili may be setting its sights on developing its own in-house games, similar to Tencent’s Honor of Kings.

Read more:

The post Bilibili released its Q2 financial report: advertising revenue soars appeared first on Dao Insights.

• L’Oréal Group, the world’s largest beauty company, has launched a number of sustainable initiatives and awareness raising campaigns in China as part of its global efforts to halve CO2 emissions by 2030.
• L’Oréal worked with nine well-known brands and beauty KOLs to launch its “Do Make-up for the Planet” campaign and encouraged consumers to engage with related hashtags online.
• The Chinese public are becoming increasingly conscious about sustainability and many young middle-class consumers value brands that highlight their commitment to the environment.

Climate change is becoming an increasingly pressing concern globally as highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report which described the environment’s transformation as a “code red for humanity”. While the Chinese government is taking steps to tackle climate change – it has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2060 – and the public is also becoming increasingly environmentally conscious, responsibility also lies with businesses.

Action by the L’Oréal Group shows how multinational corporations can use their market position to influence consumer habits and environmental practices within the industry.

L’Oréal outlines environmental targets for 2030

The L’Oréal Group, the world’s largest beauty company, has highlighted its commitment to protecting the environment through its “L’Oréal for the Future” program. The company has pledged to halve carbon dioxide emissions per product by 2030 globally and has targets on climate, water, biodiversity and natural resources to reach by that time. These include reducing packaging, using more eco-friendly ingredients, investing in environmental projects, and focussing on carbon-neutral manufacturing.

The project takes into account L’Oréal’s direct impact as well as the:

L’Oréal launches range of sustainable projects in China

The L’Oréal Group has localised its sustainable efforts to China, where it has had a presence since 1997 and is the second-largest market for the company. As part of its drive to make more sites carbon neutral (it had constructed 72 carbon-neutral sites globally by the end of 2020), L’Oréal has created a water wastage treatment facility at its factory in Suzhou.

In 2018, the company partnered with Alibaba to ensure all packaging for its products is sustainable. In addition, Alibaba’s logistics platform Cainiao worked with 13 brands under the L’Oréal Group to form a “Green Brand Alliance” and commit to environmentally friendly pledges. The company has also tried to integrate local natural ingredients, such as tea extracts or traditional Chinese medicine ingredients, into its products.

L’Oréal Group has also sought to engage Chinese consumers in the conversation through campaigns that raise awareness and provoke a conversation. The company first launched its “green consumption initiative” in China in 2017, in which it encouraged the public to consume sustainably by recycling and reducing energy and water usage. In 2020, L’Oréal China held an interactive exhibition “Good Planet, See U” at the K11 Chi Art Museum in Shanghai to inform the public about environmental protection.

9 brands and KOLs join “Do Make-Up for the Planet”

To engage Chinese consumers in its sustainable messaging, L’Oréal teamed up with nine well-known brands to launch its “Do Make-up for the Planet” campaign (为地球上妆)  as part of “L’Oréal for the Future”.  Nine beauty Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were invited to apply L’Oréal’s sustainable cosmetics in nature-inspired styles. One influencer “Ria_大芮” looked to sugar cane, which can be used to produce the sustainable material EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), for her make-up design.

All the brands involved – both domestic and international companies, including McDonald’s, Allbirds, Heinz and e-commerce platform Juhuasuan – have been involved in activities to protect the earth’s biodiversity. For example, AllBirds has used EVA to produce a range of shoes, while Armani launched “Acqua for Life” to provide deprived communities with access to drinking water.

L’Oréal’s campaign highlights to consumers how businesses in different industries have been working towards their sustainable commitments, providing beneficial PR for the brands involved.

Famous ambassadors endorse biodiversity campaign

L’Oréal also teamed up with the non-for-profit organisation China Environmental Protection Foundation, calling for everyone to “protect the earth’s biodiversity” (保护地球生物多样性). L’Oréal Group and its brands (which include Lancôme, Armani Beauty and Shu Uemura) worked with 40 of their famous brand ambassadors to raise awareness. They leveraged the huge fanbases of celebrities such as Ouyang Nana, Wang Linkai, and Hua Chenyu to boost engagement of the campaign.

UGC and prize draw sparks online engagement

The campaign was shared by L’Oréal on Weibo and Xiaohongshu, as well as being promoted by the KOLs and celebrities involved. Lots of make-up artists drew inspiration from the “Do Make-up for the Planet” campaign and posted videos of their own nature-themed creations online.

Consumers were invited to participate in the campaign by engaging with relevant Weibo topics. Those who added the hashtag “#L’Oreal For the Future” and “#Do Make-up for the Planet” to their Weibo post were entered into a prize lottery to win a limited-edition L’Oréal biodiversity gift set. This boosted views of the campaign and resulted in “#L’Oreal For the Future” (#欧莱雅为明天) gaining 1.7 million views on Weibo.

Weibo users praised the campaign for encouraging people to learn about biodiversity and consider their environmental footprint. Netizens commented that the product which used bamboo as inspiration stood out because of its connection with pandas, which were previously endangered but are now growing in numbers due to protection efforts.

The make-up is very artistic.

Love this creative idea to protect the earth’s biodiversity.

Netizens’ comments

Chinese consumers value social responsibility

Through an extensive range of projects and campaigns, the L’Oréal Group and the brands under it have shown their commitment to sustainability globally. “Do Make-up for the Planet” shows how a creative UGC campaign can foster awareness of social issues among the public.

Chinese consumers appreciate brands that highlight their corporate responsibility and address societal issues, as shown by the reaction to brands’ response to the floods in Henan. The L’Oréal Group’s extensive presence in the Chinese market has encouraged brands and KOLs alike to take part in the campaign, gaining more exposure for both sides and boosting their image in the eyes of consumers.

Read more:

The post L’Oréal China tackles biodiversity with “Make-Up for the Planet” campaign appeared first on Dao Insights.

• More and more sport fans are turning to short-video platforms, in part down to their partnerships with high-profile global competitions.
• Kuaishou leveraged the enthusiasm for the Olympics with a unique video showcasing a range of sports through the art of papercutting.
• The video, and the supportive message it sent, gained high traction online.

The Olympics is in full swing and Chinese viewers at home are passionately rooting for their athletes. Since the Opening Ceremony, the Olympics has consistently appeared among the trending topics on Weibo and Douyin (Chinese TikTok) and the latest news and medal information can easily be accessed on all of China’s top social media platforms.

Chinese users turn to social media for Olympic news

Short-form video platforms have become an online community for those interested in sports. According to Su Hua, the CEO of video platform Kuaishou, the platform is home to nearly 50,000 high-quality sports creators and more than 150 million sports lovers. 

Chinese platforms have been fast to leverage the several high-profile sports competitions that have been taking place this summer in order to attract the growing number of online sports fans.

Kuaishou obtained the rights to stream the Copa America to its 417 million monthly active users. The platform signed a deal with China Media Group, the company which owns the country’s main state media outlets, for the broadcast rights to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Social review platform Xiaohongshu has also obtained a partnership with China Media Group. Official sports media accounts and reporters that are part of the group will offer exclusive content about the Tokyo Olympics on the platform. In addition, all members of the Chinese National Women’s Football Team have joined Xiaohongshu to share football-related videos during the Olympics.

Social media platforms have got behind China’s 431-person team of competitors with encouraging messages and campaigns.

Kuaishou highlights athletes’ passion through papercutting video

Athletes have suffered constant setbacks and uncertainty with the pandemic and the Olympics being postponed a year for the first time in history. In these challenging circumstances, Kuaishou aimed to inspire and motivate athletes to help them reach their goals.

The platform created a unique video combining Chinese traditional crafts with enthusiasm for China’s Olympic team. Kuaishou’s advertising studio We Studio worked with 梦幻手绘, a young art student and influencer on the platform, to produce a video campaign made from papercutting. Each scene is delicately crafted through the Chinese folk art, which uses paper to create various images.

The video fuses Chinese culture, such as background music in an ancient style, with that of the Olympic host country. The scenes were inspired by the Japanese art style ‘ukiyo-e’ and include traditional temples and Mount Fuji.

The team produced 480 character drawings, 600 paper cuttings and moved objects 2,214 times. During the 20 days of shooting, 3,500 stop motion animations were captured. The end of the video documents the intricate process of producing the paper cuttings and animations.

Kuaishou highlights its confidence in China’s athletes

The campaign features multiple sports that China is competing in with words of encouragement for the athletes:

Kuaishou highlighted its support and confidence in the national teams, saying:

The video also includes the phrase “奥利给” (aòlìgèi), a popular buzzword among China’s young netizens, which is used to encourage others and means “hooray” or “keep going”.

Video gains high engagement on Weibo and Kuaishou

The hashtag “#Guangdong post-00 uses paper cutting to make an excellent video” (#广东00后用纸剪出大片#) hit 32 million views and the video has 1.1 million views on Weibo. Many netizens were impressed by the quality of work made by such a young artist. The campaign was also posted by We Studio and the artist on Kuaishou and gained over a million views on the platform.

As part of their efforts to pull in users to their Olympic coverage, Kuaishou has also updated their app logo for the competition and has created a special section on the platform for Olympic content.

Kuaishou blends Chinese heritage with Olympic enthusiasm

Although the Olympics is without an audience this year, Kuaishou wanted to show athletes that they nonetheless had a huge support base cheering for them back at home.

The platform appealed to consumers’ interest in traditional Chinese art forms to develop a creative campaign that also integrated elements of Japanese culture. They leveraged the enthusiasm for the Olympics and support for Chinese athletes to gain a wide viewership across social media. By doing so, the platform offered an opportunity for a young talent to gain exposure and recognition from the public.

Brand: Kuaishou

Agency: We Studio Beijing

If you enjoyed this article and want to contribute a piece to Dao, please get in touch with the team at hello@daoinsights.com

Read more:

The post Kuaishou leverages China’s Olympic enthusiasm with papercut video appeared first on Dao Insights.

• Li Ziqi has become popular on video platforms in China and overseas due to her content about life and traditional practices in rural China.
• She seized on the online popularity of the Guangxi speciality snail noodles, making the product a core part of her e-commerce business.
• Partnerships with The People’s Daily and local government have brought her snail noodles to a wider audience and driven sales.

Li Ziqi is one of the few Chinese influencers to make a name for themselves in the west. Her relaxing videos of life in rural China have developed a mass following on YouTube, as well as on Chinese social platforms.

Li Ziqi’s rural lifestyle videos gain her 93m Chinese followers

Li’s videos capture local handicraft styles, agricultural practices, and cooking techniques from her hometown of rural Pingwu in Sichuan province. She began creating short-form videos in 2015, but it was content about Lanzhou Beef Noodles which won her wide attention in 2016 and an award at Weibo’s Super Influential Festival the following year. After that, her viewership, both in China and overseas, expanded rapidly.

Many of her 93 million followers on Chinese social media platforms – she has 55 million fans on Douyin alone – idolise her rural lifestyle. For urban workers pursuing a hectic ‘996’ lifestyle, her peaceful and simple life surrounded by nature seems like a dream.

She has successfully tapped into the guochao trend (literally ‘national wave’) by wearing traditional Chinese clothes and accessories, using kitchen utensils from ancient China, and exploring age-old craft techniques. Many Chinese viewers watch her videos or buy her products to feel more connected with their own culture and heritage.

Fostering awareness about Chinese traditions overseas

With their gentle music backing, natural sounds and little speech, the relaxing nature of her videos have also been praised by international viewers. Li has 3.3 million followers on TikTok and 15.7 million subscribers on YouTube, earning her a Guinness World Record for “The most subscribers for a Chinese language channel on YouTube”.

“I can’t be the only one who wants a life like this. Staying away from all the negativity and living such a calm life is what I’m hoping for.”

“This channel is stunning in every way. .. Thank You for sharing a life we can only dream of!”

Comments from YouTube users

Her videos have played a unique role in fostering greater awareness about traditional Chinese culture and handicrafts in an apolitical way to both domestic and international audiences. As a result, she was selected as one of the “Top Ten Women in 2019” by China Women’s Daily and also received praise from state media China Central Television:  

Li’s business seizes on the online sensation of snail noodles

As well as being a content creator and influencer, Li is also an entrepreneur and seized on the demand for snail noodles (螺蛳粉) to expand her lucrative business.

A literal translation of the Chinese, snail noodles is a dish known for its pungent smell, consisting of rice noodles and bamboo shoots, Guda ears (a type of mushrooms), fried peanuts, tofu, huanghuacai (Hemerocallis Citrina), fresh salad and river snails with a spicy sour sauce.

With the help of e-commerce, it has gone from being a local delicacy in Liuzhou, Guangxi province to a dish commonly eaten across China. During the COVID-19 pandemic, topics related to snail noodles gained more than 1 billion views on Weibo and have been a ‘hot topic’ ten times.

The popularity of the product is also apparent in sales: in the first half of 2020, nearly 5 billion RMB worth of Liuzhou snail noodles flew off shelves. One of China’s top livestreamers, Li Jiaqi, broke records when he sold 26,000 boxes of snail noodles in just two minutes.

Hence, it’s no surprise that Li saw an opportunity to make a killing. Following the launch of her own brand and an online store on Taobao in 2018, she decided to enter the market in 2019 using the popular snail noodle supplier Zhongliu Food 中柳食品.

Collaborations and online promotions drive Li’s snail noodle success

Early to jump onto the snail noodle trend, Li has been effective in using her online channels to popularise the dish. Following the product’s release, she shared a video called “I heard that people who love eating snail noodles are very cute!” which is still her most-viewed video on Bilibili today. On YouTube, a video explaining how to make snail noodles has gained almost 62.5 million views.

Aside from online promotion, Li has worked with one of China’s most-read newspapers, The People’s Daily, a partnership that is certainly not easy to obtain. The two produced a retro poster advertising the strong-smelling dish.

Her snail noodles have even gained governmental support. In August 2020, as part of a cooperation agreement with the Liuzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Li’s brand announced that it would invest and build a factory in Liuzhou, the original home of snail noodles.

These partnerships have helped expand her audience and drive sales. Dolphin Think Tank’s “2021 Most Growing New Consumer Brands in China” placed Li Ziqi brand’s at number 34 as her sales reached 1.6 billion RMB in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 300%.

Li Ziqi wins over Chinese consumers with cultural business model

From a rural town to international fame, Li Ziqi has made her name by authentically displaying Chinese heritage, handicrafts, and other forms of traditional Chinese culture. She has profited off this by appealing to the guochao trend and developing a brand based on her social media fame. Li was quick to seize on the success of the local snail noodles, combining the popularity of the product with her own large following to help transform it from local cuisine to a national food.

Read more:

The post How rural influencer Li Ziqi turned snail noodles into a national dish appeared first on Dao Insights.

The idol group competition show is one of the most popular forms of entertainment on Chinese video streaming platforms. The format, which originated in South Korea, has a straightforward premise: a large group of hopefuls compete to become part of a new band, and viewers participate by voting to keep their favourites from elimination. At the end of each series, a newly minted boy band or girl group is formed for a limited time, typically a year or two, with a ready fan base and brands lined up to support them. 

While the format has proven adaptable, with recent shows focusing on older women (Sisters Who Make Waves) and plus-size men (Produce Pandas), the bread-and-butter talent competitions filled with young performers with mainstream good looks remain the biggest draw. 

This year, Tencent Video’s Chuang 2021 (also known in English as Produce Camp 2021) and iQiyi’s Youth With You went head-to-head to form the next big supergroup, with Chuang 2021’s eleven-member INTO1 emerging as the new celebrity darlings following a tumultuous season that has put the future of the idol competition format into question.

Chuang 2021 aims to create a global Chinese supergroup

In its fourth year, Chuang 2021 brought together 90 would-be idols, with a twist in that it included international entrants from countries such as Japan, Thailand, and Russia, a sign of China’s growing soft power and its potential to export its cultural offerings abroad. As usual, the show was hugely popular, racking up a record-breaking 4.8 billion views on Tencent Video and nearly 2.9 billion engagements for its Weibo hashtag, “#Producecamp2021”. 

INTO1’s final lineup features five non-Chinese citizens from Japan, Thailand, and the United States, a breakthrough for a Chinese pop group. And they have already drawn many endorsement deals as a group, including from Chuang 2021’s title sponsor, Mengniu Dairy, South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster, and the Tencent-backed short video platform Kuaishou, which appointed the group as its ‘Youth Innovation Officers’.

Brands flock to INTO1

Individually, Chinese idol Liu Yu, who emerged as the top vote-getter, has generated the most interest from brands, with beauty labels Perfect Diary, Biotherm, Skinceuticals, and Mistine all signing him up. Liu has also worked with several luxury brands such as Armani and YSL on one-off promotional events and campaigns. Other members of INTO1 have secured endorsement deals with Clarins, Shiseido, Sisley Beauty, and Atelier Cologne, among others. 

Plot twist: the reluctant idol wins over audiences

Yet one of the breakout stars of Chuang 2021 did not make it into the final eleven: the reluctant Russian known as Lelush, who was reportedly roped into appearing on the show and begged fans not to cast ballots for him. Lelush’s sulky demeanour and expressionless performances appealed to young Chinese adherents of ‘depression culture’ who seek to opt out of the relentless pressure to work hard and succeed in contemporary society.

Despite Lelush’s protestations, he was only voted out in the final episode, and he secured nearly as many brand deals as the official winners combined, working on humorous campaigns as an ambassador for Luckin Coffee and pillow maker Tang Dao as well as appearing in promotions for Clarins, MAC Cosmetics, and L’Oréal.

Lelush’s unlikely rise highlighted the continued appetite for more diverse types of idols who might be more relatable to fans, but the future of idol competitions and the expensive model of brand sponsorship that they rely on is in jeopardy following a scandal that came out of competing series Youth With You iQiyi. 

The end of idol competitions as we know them?

INTO1 could well turn out to be the last great idol group formed by a reality competition. Sponsors of the most popular idol shows have long paid hefty sums to appear on screen, betting on the widespread exposure and fan fervour to drive product sales to offset the costs.

In recent years, many sponsors have used a ‘votes with purchase’ strategy that essentially allowed viewers to buy more ballots for their favourite contestants.  But this technique backfired big time this year when Mengniu, which also sponsored Youth With You, offered extra votes via QR codes found inside the caps of flavoured milk drinks.

While the product itself appealed to young consumers, fan groups took it to the next level, engaging in massive coordinated group-buying efforts. But without an actual need for the products, in many cases the milk purchased became trash. Video showing huge quantities of the Mengniu drinks being dumped into a drainage ditch by a group made up mostly of middle-aged women (apparently hired by the fans) went viral on Chinese social media, leading authorities to order a halt to the filming of the show’s highly-anticipated finale and drawing sharp rebukes from across state media. 

Youth With You and Mengniu thus found themselves in the crossfire of two ongoing government campaigns: one against ‘irrational’ fan behaviour, which can result in online bullying and fraud, and another against food waste, which has seen a major crackdown on mukbang-style videos with livestreamers ingesting unbelievable amounts of food for entertainment. Both iQiyi and Mengniu have issued apologies, but the future of the popular reality franchise, and others like it, is up in the air.

The scandal was a major blow to iQiyi’s ability to create and market the next pop supergroup, and the untimely end of the last season of Youth With You was yet another warning for brands to consider carefully how they go about marketing to and engaging with China’s sometimes overly enthusiastic fan communities.

Read more:

The post May Celebrity Spotlight – INTO1 & the future of Chinese idol competition shows appeared first on Dao Insights.

During COVID-19, Pamela Reif became a fitness sensation due to her no-equipment workouts

Imagine becoming a fitness sensation in a market of over ten million people and not even realising. That’s precisely what happened to the German fitness model and influencer, Pamela Reif.

During the COVID-19 pandemic when people were stuck at home, she became a fitness sensation in China, and across the world, due to her accessible no-equipment workout videos.

Pamela embraces her unknown fame in China

Pamela’s journey to entering China began by meeting one of her Chinese fans in Germany who revealed that her workout videos had a huge following there. Upon finding out that her videos were being (illegally) uploaded on Chinese platforms, Pamela realised that the Chinese market offered huge opportunities for her brand. Hence, her entry into China began.

Despite undoubtedly capitalising on the financial potential of the Chinese market, Pamela makes a big effort to engage with her Chinese supporters and has shown an openness to working with domestic brands.

She adopted a Chinese team to manage her social media platforms and partnerships in the country. When she joined Weibo, she was overwhelmed with messages from her Chinese followers:

Even before Pamela had ‘officially’ entered China, she had already been assigned a plethora of nicknames on Chinese social media:

1. Pa Sister – The Chinese translation of Pamela’s name is 帕梅拉 so people often refer to her as Pa Sister (帕姐).
2. Human AI – Pamela has become known as ‘Human AI’ (人形AI ) because she never seems tired or like she is struggling during a workout.
3. Devil Pamela – Her Chinese followers find her workouts so intensive that they have jokingly nicknamed her ‘Devil Pamela’ (魔鬼帕梅拉) because she ‘tortures’ her viewers.

Accessible ‘quick fix’ workouts are a win in China

Pamela has amassed an impressive following on social media in China and globally due to her easy-to-follow workouts and desirable body shape. Her name has spread so widely across China that even celebrities, such as actress Song Zuer, have admitted to using her workout plan.

Perfectly fitting Chinese beauty standards, her body shape – big eyes, blonde hair, small waist, slim legs, six-pack and toned – is the envy of many of her Chinese female followers. Pamela’s positivity and strength have inspired many to regularly follow her workouts in the hope that they too can adopt a similar physique. She has also gained support because her workouts are challenging and have a mixture of exercises that are not constantly repeated, unlike many other fitness influencers.

Moreover, Pamela’s workouts can be done anytime and anywhere. Her short, intense workouts (most videos last 15 to 20 minutes) can easily be fit into Gen-Z and millennial viewers’ hectic lifestyles. Understanding her audience’s desire for a ‘quick fitness fix’, the titles of her videos are eye-catching, targeting the body parts that people most want to work on.

Pamela created her own class schedules so that followers can take part in different workouts from Monday to Friday, and she also has her own cooking app called PAM which shares healthy recipes.

Chinese brands leverage Pamela’s popularity

Pamela has become such a big name in China that fitness and health brands have been rushing to work with her.

Pamela holds her first livestream in China on Keep

Pamela joined fitness app Keep in August 2020 to offer paid customised workout plans for Chinese users. Currently, Keep hosts 11 exclusive paid classes by Pamela and users can also stream free classes from her on the platform. On 20 January, Pamela held her first livestream in China on Keep which attracted 250,000 viewers during the 30 minute live workout. The platform also offered participants the chance to win free gifts with Pamela’s signature.

Puma and Pamela dance to popular TV show

Pamela has been working with Puma for over five years in Europe, so they seamlessly shifted their partnership to China. Getting the fitness influencer on board boosted Puma China’s Tmall sales.

Last year, when the female reality TV show Sisters Who Make Waves was extremely popular in China, Puma invited Pamela to dance to the show’s theme song “Priceless Sister”. The hashtag ‘#Pamela dances to Priceless Sister’ (#帕梅拉跳无价之姐) hit 270 million views on Weibo.

WhollyMoly brings in Pamela as product spokesperson

Pamela hasn’t just worked with sports brands; she has also appealed to Chinese consumers’ growing demand for health foods. She worked with diet food brand WhollyMoly and was brought in as the product spokesperson for their oat bran. Her influence and persona perfectly appealed to the Shanghai-based start-up’s young target audience.

Pamela hasn’t shied away from working with Chinese brands; apart from the aforementioned partnerships, she also collaborated with JD Sports and cosmetic brand Fenty Beauty in 2020.  

Pamela embraces her existing fanbase in China

Pamela Reif’s success in China is in part due to good timing – her popularity came during COVID-19 when consumers expressed a growing interest in health and were looking for accessible ways to exercise at home. Nonetheless, Pamela leveraged these opportunities by developing well-structured class plans, engaging with her Chinese fans, and partnering with popular brands. Pamela’s experience is a success story of how brands can tap into their existing popularity in China and she has gained eleven million followers across Chinese social media channels in just over a year.

Read more:

The post How Pamela became a fitness superstar in China with ‘quick fix’ workouts appeared first on Dao Insights.

Baidu AI has shown that one simple search can transform lives and reunite families

‘The Pandemic’, ‘Face Mask’ and TV show ‘Nothing But Thirty’ were some of Chinese internet users’ top searches on Baidu last year. People turn to search engines every day to find small nuggets of information, but the results do not usually change their life forever. However, Baidu’s artificial intelligence unit has shown that one simple search can transform lives and reunite families.

Baidu AI Xunren (百度AI寻人) is a non-profit service which was launched at the end of 2016 and uses advanced AI technology to find missing people.

Baidu’s cutting-edge facial recognition unites 12,000 families

People with lost family members do not even need to register on Baidu AI Xunren, they simply need to upload photos of their missing relatives on the website to receive help.

The platform uses facial recognition technology to identify the uploaded images and compares them with the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ database of missing person information. To increase the accessibility for users across China, Baidu AI Xunren launched a smart mini-program on Baidu’s app in 2019. As of January 1, 2020, users had initiated more than 390,000 photo comparisons on the platform and had helped more than 12,000 lost people reunite with their families.

Baidu AI Xunren has helped to reform the search for missing people. In the past, it had been extremely difficult to locate children who go missing young because they experience huge changes to their facial features. Baidu AI has greatly improved the efficiency of tracing people and has reached a 99.7% accuracy level for facial recognition by training its smart AI technology with over 200 million sample images. Baidu AI Xunren has sought to create awareness about its services through campaigns that highlight the powerful impact of its work.

Baidu’s CNY campaign resonates with COVID experience

This year, COVID-19 significantly affected many people’s celebrations during Chinese New Year. Baidu AI Xunren seized on the emotional sentiment surrounding this year’s festival to launch a campaign that resonated with Chinese consumers. As many people were unable to return home to spend time with their families, the platform shone a light on families who have had to endure years of not celebrating Chinese New Year together.

Baidu’s ‘A Way to go Home’ (一条回家路) campaign was released prior to Chinese New Year and shared real stories of long-lost family members finding each other. The video focused on Zhu Shaohan who went missing in Guiyang in 1998. He searched for his family members in vain for years until volunteers from Baidu offered to help him in 2020. He uploaded his photo on Baidu AI Xunren which found that a four-year-old boy called He Zhiliang had a 60% match to Zhu Shaohan. The platform helped reunite Zhu with his family members after 23 years of separation.

“For most people, returning home takes minutes or hours, but for me, it took over 10 years.”

Zhu Shaohan

The campaign also explored the story of Gao Feng who went missing when he was five years old and was still looking for his parents after 30 years of searching.

Positive response on social media

By appealing to the most important festival of the Chinese calendar, one centred around spending time with family and friends, the campaign gained high engagement on social media. The related hashtag ‘#No matter how big the world is, I want to go home’ (#世界再大 我想回家) hit 120 million views on Weibo and the campaign video gained 45 million views.

Building a brand image through social responsibility

For people with missing family members, a lifetime of searching is a lifetime of not knowing. Baidu AI Xunren has reformed thousands of lives by enabling them to find their long-lost loved ones.

In addition to showing how technology can be used as a force for good, Baidu has tried to highlight its sense of social responsibility. Baidu’s AI technology has also been used in projects to help control the spread of COVID-19, protect endangered animals and the environment. Brands can earn appreciation and trust from Chinese consumers by using their resources to benefit society and highlighting this social responsibility in campaigns.

Read more about Baidu:

The post Baidu AI Xunren uses power of facial technology to unite families appeared first on Dao Insights.