Weibo is attempting to catch up in the KOC business. Earlier this month it launched a new hashtag #trynewmakeup (#开新妆) to recruit KOCs to work with makeup brands. Weibo also launched the first event with the Canadian beauty brand Papa Recipe to recruit KOCs to review their new products. At AgencyChina we have always been executing our product seeding campaigns in a similar manner, interested to know what we can do for your brand? Get in touch!

Cross-category marketing, where brands from two different industries team up for a special product or promotion, is a common phenomenon in China. HEYTEA 喜茶 and Perfect Diary, two domestic brands, have used this tactic to great success. But the practice isn’t limited to local brands. Luxury conglomerates LVMH and Kering have also engaged too. Younger consumers enjoy brands that build hype and awareness through exclusive lines and advertise collections or products through surprising or unexpected practices.

China saw around 78.79 million passenger trips during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday that ended on the weekend, according to an estimate from China’s Ministry of Transport (MOT). That figure is a little over half the number of trips made this time last year, which how residual safety concerns and the rise of ‘staycations’ may affect the travel market going forward. Our analysts expect that the government will announce an extended National Holiday to prompt increased domestic tourism.

Data from China’s postal service and e-commerce platforms suggests Chinese consumers’ online purchase habits haven’t fallen, even as brick-and-mortar businesses have been back in action since March. Most interesting is the shift of necessity purchases online, such as food and medication. A recent Nielsen survey found 67% of consumers in China said they had bought daily necessities and fresh foods more than twice a week during the pandemic, and 89% said they would be more willing to buy these online in the future. FMCG brands, how are you responding to this channel shift?

We have said it many times, the younger generation in China is proud of its country and its heritage. Some clever beauty brands have already been able to tap that cultural heritage to appeal to young consumers. And this ability has only become more important now that COVID-19 has strengetend the desire of young Chinese consumers to relate to their heritage and traditions.This article outlines some great tips on how you as an International brand can use local cultural trends in order to localise your image.

Imagine if Netflix took all the costume and time-code data that it has for every one of its original productions and connected it with shopping functionality. It would mean that at any given time, a viewer could find out precisely what the person on screen was wearing—or what types of pans were used in an episode of Chef’s Table, for example—and then with a click, the viewer could buy it. Well, no need to imagine anymore, these functionalities already up and running, in China! Streaming reality shows with seamless shoppability have snowballed over the past six months. Read on to learn more about the players and the platforms that are going head to head in this competitive environment.

Fashion brands have long been struggling with the use of Chinese characters, or Hanzi. From luxury labels to streetwear brands, the fashion industry in the West has a long history of disappointing Chinese communities with the representation of Hanzi on their products. Even the fonts are an issue. The choice of fonts represents an important element in building the image, identity and visual currency of brands. But there is hope, some brands really do have the hang of it. Read on to learn who!

Have you considered Kuaishou yet for livestreaming in China? Now might be the time! Kuaishou 快手 announced on Wednesday it will invest 3 billion yuan ($424 million) to build a livestreaming e-commerce base in the western Chinese city of Chengdu. The facility will serve as a hub for brands, influencers, and the agencies that act as go-betweens. The announcement comes a month after Kuaishou signed a deal with JD.com to let its users directly buy products from the e-commerce platform within the Kuaishou app. That agreement also enabled Kuaishou’s “key opinion leaders” (KOLs) to choose and promote JD.com products to their audiences through livestreams during this month’s “618” sales promotion.