The following is an excerpt from “#
Big in China: Brand Collaboration,”#
the Jing guide to brand collaborations in China. Packed with revenue-generating strategies and interviews with leading designers, artists, and luxury decision-makers, this report is a must-read for anyone interested in leveraging one of China’s most influential marketing and retail trends. Download your copy today on our Reports page.#
Collaborating with celebrities and key opinion leaders (KOLs) is a popular way for Chinese and global brands to leverage vast fan bases, reach new audiences, and ultimately spur revenue. This is particularly true when a brand taps a celebrity or KOL who is associated with a specific niche — be it sports, wellness, cosmetics, or fragrances. “Fan-focused” collaborations are a tried-and-tested approach in China. While brands have signed Chinese brand ambassadors and spokespeople for decades, collaborations in which the celebrity takes a more active role akin to a co-creative director and essentially “co-brands” a product or collection have only gained ground over the past several years.
Typically, in this type of collaboration, the brand produces a run of one or more items employing a tweaked design or colorway chosen by the KOL or a customized range of products created with his or her input, released in limited quantities to fuel urgency and demand among fan bases.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f8lauh0h/production/f1dc0b8276bc496900fb107e1eaac9c170e63dd6-3033x375.png?q=95&fit=max&auto=format)
One example of this approach is Givenchy’s 2019 collaboration with the popular Chinese handbag blogger Mr. Bags (Tao Liang) on a limited-edition pink Mini Horizon purse. Priced at 15,000 yuan ($2,243), the collection sold out in just 12 minutes. Another international brand that took this KOL-led approach is Milan-based Palm Angels, which launched a collaboration in July 2021 with Team Wang, the aforementioned streetwear brand founded in 2020 by Hong Kong designer and performer Jackson Wang 王 嘉爾. The eight-piece, unisex capsule collection included a track jacket and pants, souvenir jacket, sweatshirt, bowling shirt, long sleeve tee, short sleeve tee, and cropped women’s T-shirt.
Domestic Chinese brands are arguably using this strategy to the greatest effect, riding the wave of brand nationalism that has swept the country in recent years and leveraging big-name collaborations to stand out in a cut-throat retail market.
One domestic brand that has made KOL collaborations a cornerstone of its marketing efforts is Perfect Diary. Founded in 2016, the Yatsen Holding-owned Chinese beauty brand rapidly conquered China’s local cosmetics market through affordable pricing, slick marketing tactics and product design, and a deep understanding of what makes young consumers, quite literally, click.
![Perfect Diary employs idols Zhu Zhengting (left) and Liu Ye to star in its campaigns. Photo: Perfect Diary's Weibo](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f8lauh0h/production/ed69d177c398b392fd5413a6989aa21c4ecc8c5f-857x720.jpg?q=95&fit=max&auto=format)
While Perfect Diary has seen success in B2B collaborations — partnering with cultural institutions like the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as household names like Oreo and the Discovery Channel – it is the brand’s KOL collaborations that have seen the most reliable and sustained buzz. A few short years after its founding, Perfect Diary proved adept at fostering relationships with Chinese beauty KOLs, largely those with sizable followings on the lifestyle-focused platform Xiaohongshu. Within one year of its debut, Perfect Diary surpassed global brands like Tom Ford, L’Oréal, and Estée Lauder to become the top-mentioned beauty brand on Xiaohongshu.
Another Chinese brand that has successfully leveraged KOL collaborations is the lingerie and lifestyle brand NEIWAI. In April 2022, NEIWAI announced a partnership with the Chinese fashion KOL @SavisLook on its Weibo account with the launch of a vacation capsule collection featuring dresses, lingerie, and accessories. The 15-second campaign teaser video released by NEIWAI, along with a longer edition posted on @SavisLook’s Weibo, respectively racked up 14,700 and 61,000 views within one day.
![NEIWAI partnered with fashion KOL @SavisLook on a vacation capsule collection in April 2022. Photo: Neiwai](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f8lauh0h/production/66cc02c3640670c93bc7e3104c6707faca009a96-1024x576.jpg?q=95&fit=max&auto=format)
The brand has also launched loungewear collaborations with singer Faye Wong 王菲 since announcing the 52-year-old pop legend as its global brand ambassador in 2020, and developed a positive reputation among consumers in China for its inclusive sizing and casting of models of all ages and shapes in nationwide marketing campaigns.