News
Jenny Chan 陳詠欣
Aug 12, 2016

'Celebrity' versus 'Cewebrity': KOL definitions emerge from Top 1000 China briefing

The selection and utilisation of KOLs (key opinion leaders) in branding led to a healthy discussion and perhaps the coining of a new term at Thursday's Top 1000 Brands Breakfast Briefing in China.

image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading
image.Heading

SHANGHAI - China has experienced a surge in the use of KOLs in recent years, not always to good effect. For example, mega-vloggers like Papi Jiang know how to ride on new trends, but a US$3.4 million (RMB 22 million) auction price for a single endorsement by her is said to be way too expensive.

Some brands speaking at yesterday's event have determined their own methods of evaluating ROI from using KOLs.

Kelly Xing, head of digital at Mondelez China, told the crowd at yesterday's Top 1000 Breakfast Briefing in Shanghai, that the company uses "different layers" of KOLs: "real celebrities who are mainstream stars with a big voice in the market like Liu Wen (刘雯) and 'cewebrities' who are people only famous on social media, such as 艾克里里".

See our exclusive ranking of the top 100 brands in China

"Celebrities are good for brand fame, and 'cewebrities' are good for brand engagement," Xing said, suggesting that other brands to treat KOL relationships like the ones with their agencies.

"Build a long-term relationship with him/her, and not just one-off," she advised.

From the measurement perspective, Calvin Chan, chief operating officer at AdMaster, vouched for  'cewebrities'.
 
"If we want to know the qualitative aspect of a KOL, the 'cewebrities' are the ones actually going to drive more conversions," he stated.
 
Indeed, echoed Rene Co (pictured below), head of communications for Procter & Gamble China. "Do not look at the obvious KOLs," he advised, critical of celebrities who "have sold every part of their body to every brand imaginable".
 
 
Citing Pampers as an example, Co said the diaper brand's traditional 'KOL map' included mothers and paediatricians, but a lot of other babycare brands are getting into these circles as well. 
 
"We risked being like everyone else. Then we had a big a-ha moment. More Chinese new moms want to hear from other dads, as they find it very sexy to hear men speak about babies. So we developed a KOL group called the 'super dads’ to conduct Pampers superiority demos for us. One of which is Cui Yutao (崔玉涛)."
 
Campaign will be hosting another Top 1000 Breakfast Briefing in Singapore on 18 August. For complete coverage of both briefings, please look out for the September issue of Campaign Asia-Pacific. 

 

Source:
Campaign Asia

Follow us

Top news, insights and analysis every weekday

Sign up for Campaign Bulletins

Most Read

Labubu, the art toy craze and why grown-ups can’t get enough

1 Labubu, the art toy craze and why grown-ups can’t get enough

Cannes Lions 2025: APAC winners

2 Cannes Lions 2025: APAC winners

Mars to switch $1.7 billion media account out of WPP

3 Mars to switch $1.7 billion media account out of WPP

PR Awards Asia-Pacific 2025: Winners announced

4 PR Awards Asia-Pacific 2025: Winners announced

What headwinds? Why Jane Lin-Baden doesn’t fear tariffs, competitors, overextension or the commoditisation of creativity

5 What headwinds? Why Jane Lin-Baden doesn’t fear tariffs, competitors, overextension or the commoditisation of creativity

Cannes Lions 2025: See all of the Grand Prix winning work this year

6 Cannes Lions 2025: See all of the Grand Prix winning work this year

WPP Media changes regional structure across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa

7 WPP Media changes regional structure across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa

John Wren on his vision for a bigger, better Omnicom

8 John Wren on his vision for a bigger, better Omnicom

WPP never seized control of its destiny under Mark Read’s leadership

9 WPP never seized control of its destiny under Mark Read’s leadership

Did the strategic planner just kill the advertising agency?

10 Did the strategic planner just kill the advertising agency?

Related Articles

Mainland China brands ascendant in Asia's Top 1000 Brands
Jul 19, 2021
Minnie Wang

Mainland China brands ascendant in Asia's Top 1000 ...

Asia's Top 1000 Brands 2021
Jul 19, 2021
Staff Reporters

Asia's Top 1000 Brands 2021

Leaps and dives: The biggest brand moves in Asia's Top 1000 Brands
Jul 19, 2021
Matthew Miller

Leaps and dives: The biggest brand moves in Asia's ...

Dolce & Gabbana falls 140 places in Asia's Top 1000 Brand ranking
Jun 11, 2019
Olivia Parker

Dolce & Gabbana falls 140 places in Asia's Top 1000 ...

Just Published

Japan FTC hits Dentsu, others with 3.3 billion yen penalty over Tokyo Olympics bid-rigging
1 hour ago
Staff Reporters

Japan FTC hits Dentsu, others with 3.3 billion yen ...

Citing violations of the Antimonopoly Act, Japan's Fair Trade Commission fined Dentsu and six other firms ¥3.3 billion (US$22.8 mil) for bid-rigging tied to the Tokyo Olympics. Dentsu is contesting the 'discrepancies'.

From loud and proud to lost and quiet? The 'confused adolescence' of Pride 2025
1 hour ago
Matthew Keegan

From loud and proud to lost and quiet? The ...

As rainbow logos vanish and corporate sponsorships dwindle, Pride 2025 reveals a new era of caution and introspection for brands navigating political pressure and demands for authenticity.

Microsoft AI CEO: Bigger organisations are ‘starting to feel the pressure’ from AI
2 hours ago
Lucy Shelley

Microsoft AI CEO: Bigger organisations are ...

Mustafa Suleyman was joined on the stage at Cannes by Colleen DeCourcy to discuss how AI will democratise creativity and the importance of ‘friction’.

Agency Report Card 2024: TBWA
The Information
1 day ago
Staff Reporters

Agency Report Card 2024: TBWA

With bold campaigns, record-breaking new business wins, and a near-perfect client retention rate, the agency proved it could lead from the front. Yet, challenges in China and the pressures of rapid growth loom large—testing whether its ‘disruption’ can stand the test of time.