How Brands Can Earn The Trust Of China’s Affluent Demographic

Some key opinion leaders do have loyal followings, but with so many now on the scene, luxury brands might consider more creative ways to work with those who inspire.

 

KOLs (key opinion leaders) have become a big part of any brand’s checklist when operating in China. If that needs further explanation, then you’re already a few years behind the curve. KOLs represent many aspects of modern society in China; they ride on a concept taken from the West (influencers, in this case) which has been super-charged into massive earnings and income potential.

 

KOLs have more influence on consumption behaviour and social trends than movie stars and singers do. There are Chinese KOLs in every imaginable field – not only in fashion and sports, but also in travel, pets, parks and gardens. With a population as big and as diverse as China’s, there’s something for everyone.

July 4, 2018In Agency NewsBy cma_wp0 Comments

How Brands Can Earn The Trust Of China’s Affluent Demographic

 

Some key opinion leaders do have loyal followings, but with so many now on the scene, luxury brands might consider more creative ways to work with those who inspire.

 

KOLs (key opinion leaders) have become a big part of any brand’s checklist when operating in China. If that needs further explanation, then you’re already a few years behind the curve. KOLs represent many aspects of modern society in China; they ride on a concept taken from the West (influencers, in this case) which has been super-charged into massive earnings and income potential.

 

KOLs have more influence on consumption behaviour and social trends than movie stars and singers do. There are Chinese KOLs in every imaginable field – not only in fashion and sports, but also in travel, pets, parks and gardens. With a population as big and as diverse as China’s, there’s something for everyone.

 

But have we reached a stage of overreliance on KOLs? And are certain China marketing/ business experts guilty of reducing KOL marketing to mere instruments for advertising purposes?

 

This isn’t about hating the influencer industry; it’s a frank attempt to examine what the future might hold for the KOL boom.

 

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While brands of all sorts are still able to capitalise on KOL collaboration – and in 2018, they still should – the world of the KOL is still in boom mode.

 

Some agencies specialising in KOL marketing boast of having over 30,000 KOLs on their books – a number which should sound alarm bells.

 

Others have founded their business model on connecting hopeful brands with alleged KOLs – conjuring an image of brands which are unaware of how society and the digital world function in China going cap-in-hand to an agency which quotes them two figures: a follower number; and a fee for a post on Weibo.

 

Certain KOLs do have ultra-loyal followings, and are household names – at least in millennial households. But there is a limit to the number of KOLs in any particular field that millennials are willing to follow, and to the quantity of commercial posts they can tolerate.

 

For those that do have a loyal following, how can brands work with them other than through a budget-to-view model?

 

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Can you afford to go for the splatter-gun effect?

 

If you are a brand like Nike, then you can afford to splash out on KOLs with big numbers.