Text | Wang Xin
Editor | Si Wen
In the crowded live broadcast track, a new top streamer has emerged.
On December 19, Xiang Tai Chen Lan, known as the talkative person in the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles, started his first live broadcast on Douyin. According to Cicada Mama data, Xiangtai’s live broadcast sales on this day reached 250 million to 500 million yuan. During Xiangtai’s live broadcast, the broadcaster announced that sales had exceeded 300 million yuan.
Many celebrities helped Xiangtai live broadcast
"Sister Chen Lan, I heard that you are going to live broadcast, right? If it is true, I will move a small bench and sit there every day to watch your live broadcast." In the video, celebrity Gong Li transformed into a little fan girl and said that she would stay at Chen Lan's live broadcast.
Jet Li , Donnie Yen, Rosamund Kwan and Huang Xiaoming and other celebrities appeared on Xiangtai's Douyin account, cheering for Xiangtai's Douyin premiere, and the queue was full. Many netizens also ridiculed in the comment area: "The products in Xiangtai's live broadcast room are absolutely not fake, and suppliers dare not deceive Xiangtai."
Chen Lan is not the first to switch from the big screen to the small screen, and he will not be the last.
In the cold winter of film and television, celebrities and artists have also begun to "sink" to survive. Live streaming can not only increase exposure, but also is the fastest and most efficient way to monetize traffic. Cecilia Cheung , Wang Zulan, Jia Nailiang and other celebrities have entered the live broadcast track, holding similar "scripts" and struggling to sell goods. Even talk show actors like Li Dan have started live broadcasts on Taobao to sell goods, transforming their identities into anchors.
With the participation of many celebrities and the entry of professional institutions, the "celebrities bringing goods" that had been mired in public opinion has gradually got on the right track in the past two years. The entry of Xiangtai, which has its own traffic, is not only aimed at live streaming to bring goods, but also the entire live streaming e-commerce industry with a broader "money scene" behind the live streaming to bring goods.
"Shouting to Mai" live broadcast, bringing over 300 million yuan in goods
On Douyin, the likes of Jet Li, Gong Li and Carina Lau's videos supporting Xiangtai reached 590,000, 710,000 and 280,000 respectively. The support of many superstars attracted a lot of traffic to Xiangtai.
Xiang Taihe started broadcasting welfare
on December 19 at 11:04. Xiang Taihe started broadcasting 4 minutes later than the preview time. She was wearing a pink plush jacket with a smile on her face. She started with real money and money to promote welfare, giving away an iPhone in one minute, and randomly selected a few lucky viewers to be "koi" from time to time to give out more gifts. With multiple benefits as hooks, the online audience quickly reached 100,000+.
A group of assistant broadcasters introduced the welfare products in the live broadcast room by shouting to the rhythm along with the rhythm, while Xiang Tai himself said the final welfare price along with the music.
Assistant broadcaster: "Classic milk cookies, six boxes are not worth thirty-five?"
Xiangtai: "9 yuan 9."
Assistant broadcaster: "Upload the link!"
has no brand introduction, efficacy description and usage experience, only simple and exciting shout-outs and benefit prices. It only takes ten seconds for a benefit product to be put on the shelf, which is faster than the live broadcast rooms of Li Jiaqi, "Oriental Selection" and "Make a Friend". However, during the process of reporting the benefit price, Xiang Tai looked to one side from time to time, and many netizens speculated that he did not remember the price and secretly looked at the teleprompter.
However, "E-commerce Online" found through observation that many products that are said to be welfare products do not actually have discounts: Xiang Tai said, "I will buy a few later." The Laneige lip mask is priced at 8.8 yuan in the live broadcast room. Although the link has been sold out, the same product can be found in the same store, and the daily price is also 8.8 yuan.
The "welfare model" is also the daily price
After quickly finishing the "welfare", Xiangtai began to introduce the goods, but compared to other anchors, Xiangtai is more like a "tool person". The assistant anchors hold up the entire live broadcast room, and there is also a slight "acting" element when introducing the goods. When
introduced the super laundry detergent, the broadcasters performed quick cleaning of stains in the live broadcast room. Xiang Tai watched with a smile on his face, and occasionally exclaimed "Wow". The brand said that 18 pounds of laundry detergent is priced at 120 yuan, and Xiang Tai directly said "98." Many people said. The assistant also shouted for the link, and then Xiang Tai said domineeringly in the live broadcast room, "I don't care if she agrees or not, the worst thing is that I (spend money) to post it!" Most of the products after
are introduced and performed by the assistant and the brand in the live broadcast room, and Xiang Tai only adds a few words from time to time. When promoting mattresses, Xiang Tai also teased the Wang Xiaofei mattress incident some time ago, saying, "I can buy it as a gift to anyone. Don't take it back if you get divorced. Be more generous!"
Xiang Tai said on December 19 The number of SKUs carried during the six live broadcasts reached 129, and they followed a full-category route: daily necessities such as laundry detergent and tissue paper, as well as beauty and skin care products such as facial masks, powder, , etc., followed by various food and beverages, health products and small household appliances.
Xiangtai’s live broadcast room category proportion, data source: Cicada Mama
Although the role is more like a "tool man", the popularity of Xiangtai's first live broadcast has far exceeded that of most people. On December 19, Xiangtai broadcast a total of 6 live broadcasts, and the combined time of all the sessions reached nine and a half hours. In the middle of the live broadcast, Xiangtai's assistant will announce good news every time the sales exceed 100 million. By the end of the live broadcast, Xiangtai's assistant said that sales have reached 300 million yuan. Data from Cicada Mama shows that the conversion rate of Xiangtai’s live broadcast room is as high as 4.9%.
In contrast, the frequently discussed "Oriental Selection" and "Make a Friend" live broadcast rooms have sales of 10 million to 25 million yuan and 5 million to 7.5 million yuan respectively. The conversion rates of the two live broadcast rooms are only 3.31% and 2.19%.
Xiangtai Live Broadcast, "self-produced and self-sold"
In the past two years, many celebrities have devoted themselves to live broadcasting to bring goods, moving from the big screen to the small screen.
Celebrities such as Cecilia Cheung, Wong Cho Lam, Jia Nailiang, etc. are already doing a great job in live-streaming sales. Netizens once complained that celebrities’ live-streaming sales are “lowering their social status.” Nowadays, many people are using live-streaming sales to rejuvenate their careers.
Cecilia Cheung and Wang Cho La’s live broadcast
From many aspects, Xiang Tai The reasons for live streaming to bring goods are similar to those of many celebrities who enter live broadcast rooms, but they are different:
First, in the cold winter of film and television in recent years, celebrity artists have also begun to "sink" to survive. Live broadcasts and short videos can increase exposure, and live streaming to bring goods is the fastest and most efficient way to monetize traffic.
Although Xiang Tai himself is not a star artist in the traditional sense, he is certified by Douyin as the vice chairman of Hong Kong China Star. In the 2022 interim financial report of China Star Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Star), Chen Mingying (former name of Xiang Tai Chen Lan) also appeared as an executive director and remuneration committee member.
China Star is a listed group founded by Xiang Huaqiang. Its main business was film and television production, distribution and artist management in Hong Kong. It created films such as "Slimming Man and Woman" and " Big Guy Has Great Wisdom ". This also allowed Xiang Huaqiang and Xiang Tai to have strong connections in the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles.
Later, after many transformations, China Star’s current main business layout is in real estate, catering and other investments. The film business only occupies a small part, but it still cannot be ignored.
In the 2019 annual report, China Star stated that the group was preparing a new movie "Dream Chasers" and a TV series of about 6 episodes. However, in the 2022 interim financial report, China Star revealed that it has not started to produce any new movies or TV series since the epidemic in 2020. The revenue from the film part mainly comes from previously released movies and film and television dramas.
China Star’s 2021 financial report showed a loss of HK$156 million
At the same time, due to the epidemic, many tourism and catering-related industries of China Star’s layout in Hong Kong and Macau have also been affected. In 2021, China Star suffered a loss of HK$156 million, an increase of 42% from 2020.
Under the continuous losses, Xiang Tai, as the vice chairman of China Star, also had to go into battle personally. Previously, he had started to appear on variety shows with his son Xiang Zuo and husband Xiang Huaqiang. This time, he went directly to the live broadcast to bring goods to "make money to support the family."
Second, live e-commerce has become a way for individuals to participate in e-commerce with the lowest threshold for monetization. According to data from the Internet Economic Society, the GMV of live streaming e-commerce in 2021 is 2.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 83.77% compared with 2020, which is much higher than the overall growth rate of e-commerce. In the fast-growing and huge live broadcast e-commerce market, there is no leading anchor in celebrity live broadcast delivery.
Xiangtai Live has already planned to bring goods, and his target is not just his own live broadcast, but the entire field of live broadcast.
As early as 2017, China Star had cooperated with Zhou Hongyi’s Huajiao Live Broadcast , and held a competition to select anchors. The volume was not large, but Xiangtai was exposed to the traffic wealth code brought by the live broadcast. Xiangtai joined Douyin in October this year. His first video was to leave Taipei for the mainland, and then came to Hangzhou on October 22.
Xiangtai’s MCN organization in Douyin is Huotui Culture. Behind this MCN organization is Hangzhou Huotui Culture Media Co., Ltd., which was established on October 24 this year.
Xiang Tai said in the video that his new company is MCN
Qichacha shows that the major shareholder and actual controller of Hangzhou Huotui Culture Media Co., Ltd. is Wang Yuezhen, and the shareholding shows that it has nothing to do with Xiang Tai, Xiang Huaqiang and others. However, in a video released by Xiangtai on December 12, he talked about his three entrepreneurial ventures. The first was movies, the second was real estate, and the third was the recently founded MCN agency. “Nowadays, young people are all shopping or showing themselves online. It is actually no different from making movies. Setting up a company As a company, I can help some ordinary amateurs or some Hong Kong and Taiwan artists live broadcast and bring goods.”
In the BOSS direct recruitment, Hangzhou Huotui Culture Co., Ltd. has also recently recruited star anchors, assistant broadcasters, copywriters, and product selection specialists.
From this point of view, Xiangtai, who has strong celebrity resources and connections in the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles, is actually trying to bring goods through live broadcasts to the broader live broadcast market. My first live broadcast is more like a good start and influence for the company, and at the same time it lays the foundation for recruiting anchors in the future. It can also attract brand cooperation through the strong ability of the first broadcast to bring goods.
Celebrities bring goods to the deep water area
Compared with the previous criticism, the model of celebrities bringing goods is running more and more smoothly, gradually moving from the barbaric period to the deep water area.
Taobao Live ’s Jijie and Ye Yiqian
Many well-known veteran celebrities and popular traffic niches have entered the live broadcast room. Some have started live broadcasts to bring goods, and some have appeared in the live broadcast room as guests or brand promotions. During the Double Eleven that just passed, celebrities such as Cecilia Cheung, Ye Yiqian and Ji Jie personally carried goods on Taobao Live. Many celebrities also appeared in the live broadcast rooms of many brands.
The reason behind this is that the infrastructure of the live streaming e-commerce industry has gradually matured and consumers have developed habits, but the biggest reason may be the professional MCNs behind many celebrities - professional organizations have stronger live broadcast operation capabilities and powerful supply chains, and can maximize the influence and traffic of celebrities.
The MCN behind Cecilia Cheung and Wong Cho Lam is Yuan Wang, and Ji Jie’s MCN is Mengguo Organization.
In an interview with 36Kr, Xie Rudong, chairman of Hangzhou Yuanwang Network Technology Co., Ltd., once revealed that Yuanwang has relatively "strict" requirements for celebrities. It will explore the personal advantages of stars, give each star different operating strategies, and create personalized delivery plans. At the same time, Yuanwang Technology will also stipulate information such as broadcast time and training sessions in the agreement signed with the star.
Professional MCN organizations will bring strong support to celebrities’ live broadcasts, but from the current point of view, the MCN organization founded by Xiang Tai is far behind the MCN organizations that have been operating for a long time in the industry.
The remarks about carrying mattresses were criticized as "not good"
The first is the live broadcast performance problem. During the
live broadcast, Xiang Tai was basically a "tool person". Most of the product explanations were handed over to the assistants, and the presentation was also "acting" to reduce prices. When introducing some products, the assistants invited Xiang Tai to try or taste them, but Xiang Tai also refused many of them. So much so that netizens commented that Xiang Tai was "selling a bunch of things he doesn't like to people he doesn't like." At the same time, the "generous" statement made by Xiangtai's mattress delivery was also considered by netizens to contain the connotations of Wang Xiaofei and Zhang Lan , which seemed "bad".
At the same time, among the six live broadcasts on December 19, three were interrupted due to black screens or sudden disconnections. The MCN organization behind Xiang Taihe may not be fully prepared in terms of equipment and basic settings in the live broadcast room.
The second problem is the supply chain.
Although Xiangtai has come up with a lot of welfare products, as observed in the previous article "E-commerce Online", the welfare prices of these live broadcast products are no different from the same products in other live broadcast rooms or even in stores. Many netizens also said that they have never heard of many brands. Xiangtai, who just started live broadcasting and chose to create his own MCN, may not have established a complete supply chain, nor established contact with brands to obtain greater discounts.
Netizens commented on Xiangtai’s live broadcast, and Xiangtai closed the comment area.
Poor live broadcast performance and an incomplete supply chain caused Xiangtai’s live broadcast to cause controversy after a good start. On December 20, Xiangtai closed the Douyin comment area. Hangzhou Huotui Media Co., Ltd., which had previously posted multiple recruitment posts, was temporarily unsearchable, and then returned to normal. A large part of the reason for
's move towards Taihe Company is the criticism and complaints from many netizens. Celebrities' live broadcasts are inherently controversial: in addition to being criticized for "lowering themselves", many celebrities have adopted the introduction of shouting Mai in recent live broadcasts, which is considered by netizens as "cutting leeks" and "incomprehensible". Jia Nailiang's previous cooperation with Qudian was also considered by netizens as a failure to select partners for cooperation and failure to assume 's social responsibilities.
Under the public opinion, Xiangtai, who should have started the second live broadcast in full swing, did not reveal his arrangements for the next live broadcast on Douyin. Whether Xiangtai's live broadcast is a marketing move or a long-term live broadcast preparation has not yet been determined.
The live streaming market is welcoming more and more celebrities and MCN organizations. In the field of celebrity live broadcasts that are heading into the deep water area, how the new entrants Xiangtai and MCN will develop depends on their subsequent operations. They may be a catfish, or they may be just a flash in the pan.
