Chinese Stars Spending Tens Of Millions Of Dollars To Sell Products At An Alarming Rate Can Not Guarantee Conversion Rate.

A heavy morning in front of the Gucci spring and summer fashion show in 2020, crowds of Chinese young people queued up in the Boulevard outside the brand headquarters. Many people came from other cities in Europe and even farther away, and rushed to the scene several hours in advance to catch a glimpse of Chinese fans, men's members and actors Xiao war.

Xiao Zhan is dedicated to the brand platform. As of this weekend, Gucci's 7 Posts attracted 1 million 300 thousand forwarding and 1 million 100 thousand compliment. There are more than 720 million readings on the topic of "Xiao Xiao", "Fashion Week" and "Fashion Week". It is two times that of the Gucci official fashion show #GucciSS20#, which has only 310 million readings.

Although Gucci did not respond to BoF's request for comment, he was surprised to see that he had an astonishing 18 million 600 thousand fans and a lot of passers-by he had won because of the big heat net drama. Chen's performance in China was over Gucci. However, what is even more surprising is that many luxury brands do not seem to mind the popularity of celebrities.

Stars have always been the regular customers of fashion shows, but in China, the Kol strategy has its own vitality. It is estimated that in China, 90 of young consumers spend more money on luxury goods every year than their parents do.

In many ways, Gucci's move has been a great success. But behind the scenes, more and more industry leaders suggest that brands need to be cautious now. During the fashion week, inviting stars to participate in promotional activities can indeed create miracles for brand exposure, but this ubiquitous exposure strategy is also accompanied by risks.

　 Fanatical star culture and fans economy

Teri Agins, in her book Hijacking the Runway, records how stars take over the fashion industry. She wrote that as early as 1993, the balance of power in fashion week has changed. At that time, photographers did not shoot around T, but were stationed in a place where they could clearly see the row of heads.

"Since then, the head has become a part of the fashion show and has become a tool for celebrities," Agins quoted Fern Mallis, former executive director of the CFDA. Mallis is considered to be the one who changed the fashion week.

Social media has exacerbated this shift, and China is one of the most obvious changes in the market, which has led celebrity celebrities to take the lead in branding products and information during fashion week. Some people worry that as time goes on, some luxury brands' DNA may be eroded.

However, because stars have no value in marketing, many people can not see any viable alternatives now. Globally, look at the final appearance of Jennifer Lopez in Versace. According to Launchmetrics data, in the first 48 hours, Versace created a $9 million 400 thousand media impact value.

"From audience experience to sales and marketing, social media has radically changed the fashion show," said Cui Dan, the founder of the GQ Style and the founder of brand consultancy Caius. "This change will not stop soon."

China has more than 855 million digital consumers, and it is estimated that these consumers spend 44% of their time on social media applications. This explains to a certain extent the craze of celebrity culture and fans economy in mainland China, which has been regarded as the core of fashion week strategy by luxury companies. Nowadays, from Prada Cai Xukun to Dior's Angelababy and Zhang Xueying, the people watching show can always see the Chinese stars sitting around the front row full of photographers.

"Fashion week is equivalent to stars for Chinese consumers," said Mao Jie Mao, deputy editor in chief and fashion director of the Chinese version of Grazia red show. "Netizens want to know what stars are doing during the fashion week. For brands, their goal is to make a handbag or pair of shoes on the Internet become explosive and sold and empty," said Maggie.

As we all know, Chinese stars sell products at an amazing speed, whether they are sitting in the front row, at the airport, or in social media applications such as Xiao He and Xiao Hong. When brands invite stars to fly over the world to participate in their fashion shows, it is said that their attendance costs sometimes reach millions of dollars, so they must be worth the money. But no matter what the problem is, the excessive saturation of social media, especially the active time like fashion month, or among young fans, in today's digital environment, stars do not guarantee the conversion rate.

"Now, Chinese consumers are no longer so concerned about the stars' clothes, and no longer connect them with the brands they wear," Mao said. "Sometimes, the status of idols will make the brand lose its color."

　　 Localization and loss of original intention

Elijah Whaley, a consultant at ParkLu, China Internet marketing organization, believes that the above situation is only part of a broader problem. "In China's social media, no one cares about how brands tell their stories. They care about celebrities or net red. Brands can't attract people's attention as they used to.

Whaley thinks this is a battle between "what is vs suited to the market and what is the traditional practice of brand". As a result, "children on the Internet have more control over transnational brands than they did hundreds of years ago."

But whether it is fashion month or other aspects, celebrity stars will always be an important part of brand marketing strategy. Usually, a young idol's fans will pay more attention to him or her instead of the old daddy's shoes in the photo frame. "It's inevitable and can't get rid of it. Most people only care about the stars," Mao said. "The good part is that their fascination will often affect the brand."

The success of Gucci's social media strategy is partly due to its strong brand and aesthetics. No matter how the stars are dressed, products can be recognized instantly. However, not every brand can do this, allowing China's changing idols to dominate the brand's own topic, which can bring instant satisfaction, but it is difficult to bring long-term benefits.

"We are in an information age, and it is not important for a brand to say that oneself is not important," Whaley said. "This is a problem with many brands, especially those that try to show some image of luxury brands."

Cui Dan believes that only a few brands of fashion week strategy is sustainable. Of course, there are exceptions. He said that Thom Browne "always considers how to communicate in every detail to provide a complete display experience", while Chanel despite its luxurious budget, its show skills are extravagant.

　　 Brand supremacy

Not all luxury brands choose to build cruise ships or rockets, but Chanel's strategy offers other options. Despite the fact that its global ambassadors are not short, the brand is famous for its selection of ambassadors. This is a severe test that many brands have been facing for many years. In October 1st, on the 2020 spring and summer fashion show of the brand, Chinese actress Xin Zhilei, Japan's Komatsu Nana and Blackpink Jennie Kim of the Korean women's team sat in the front row.

"It has nothing to do with whether they are the most popular celebrities," Bruno Pavlovsky, chief executive of the company's boutique department, said in an interview with BoF earlier. More is the interaction and mutual understanding between them and brands. " In fact, some of the company's most popular faces, such as French actress Marine Vacth, do not use social media at all.

Since then, the strategy of Chanel has not changed. When a new ambassador is appointed, such as Chinese actress or model, they will become regular customers in fashion shows and advertisements, rather than seasonal appearances. For example, he rarely wears other brands of dress to go to the red carpet.

By maintaining continuity, the $10 billion monster did not hand over control to the public. "We will not change our brand strategy for the younger generation... What we need to do is let them feel the consistency of our brand," Pavlovsky added.

Some mature brands choose to withdraw completely from the net red line. The product policy, not the image policy, put forward by Axel Dumas, chief executive of Herm s, has shifted the marketing focus of the brand from celebrity stars. Interbrand global chief learning and culture officer Rebecca Robins said: "they are incompatible with celebrities and the net red world, or at least keep their distance."

Maybe this is not what all brands can do, but it is worth noting that not many brands have tried this method. "This has a strong and lasting impact on the brand value of the luxury goods industry, which is almost unique in the luxury industry," Robins added. "The strategy of star priority can be very effective, but the greatest celebrity celebrity ecology will never become the elixir of poor products."

Ultimately, Cui Dan said, Chinese consumers are covetous of European luxury goods because their prestige and tradition, even the most striking trick, will not last long. "There is no need for the brand to overuse itself from the very beginning."

"The brand should be integrated into the Chinese market to suit the needs of the Chinese market, but we must also recognize the true value of our brand," he said.