Will Perfect Diary's Celebrity Endorsement Approach Pay Off?

The Social Edition is our weekly series which deep dives into luxury initiatives in China’s social media landscape. Every week, we highlight brand campaigns distributed on Chinese digital platforms — WeChat, Weibo, Tmall, Douyin, and beyond. Our coverage spotlights global luxury brands, global beauty brands, and local Chinese brands. The latter gives insight into some of China’s most successful campaigns, which often come from local players, and are outside of the beauty and fashion space. In this week’s roundup, we look at three campaigns: from NEIWAI’s collaboration with XU ZHI to Perfect Diary's new brand ambassador Troye Sivan. Will Li Jiaqi’s Puppy Collaboration With Fresh Fetch Any Sales? BRAND Fresh CATEGORY Beauty PLATFORMS WeChat, Weibo, Tmall MEDIUM Imagery FEATURED TALENTS Never’s Family (392k Weibo Followers) OVERVIEW Natural-beauty brand Fresh, which is under the umbrella of the LVMH Group, launched a Double-11 limited edition gift box called Never’s Family. The release is a collaboration with top livestreamer Li Jiaqi’s puppy, which is named — you guessed it — Never. The set includes three mask products: Rose Face Mask, Instant Perfecting Mask, and Firming Overnight Mask and features packaging emblazoned with animated drawings of the playful pooch. The products, though, are exactly the same as previous versions. The official launch will be on November 8, while the presale will be available on November 3. NETIZEN REACTION Over 1,000 netizens showed interest in the launch via the purchase link attached to Fresh’s social announcement on Weibo. Meanwhile, the brand’s Double-11 campaign hashtag #Fresh Double-11Tactics” has received over 65.84 million views. However, netizens’ reactions have been divided about the collaboration. Some fans of Never’s Family contend that the crossover makes no sense, as the only difference is the cardboard box with prints. VERDICT While Li Jiaqi’s puppies do have a cult following (they often appear on Li’s livestreams), his fan base is not willing to pay extra for packaging with puppy sketches on it. Consumers can tell the difference between this offer by Fresh and C-beauty powerhouse Perfect Diary’s puppy product — an eyeshadow palette that featured drawings of Li’s puppy — which debuted in April. Veteran local players are fully aware of how to leverage social media through crossover marketing. Therefore, major international brands need to showcase their creativity and sincerity when tapping into local opportunities. NEIWAI x XU ZHI Collaboration Explores Intimate Relationships BRAND NEIWAI CATEGORY Lifestyle PLATFORMS WeChat, Weibo, Tmall MEDIUM Short Video, Imagery OVERVIEW Homegrown lifestyle brand NEIWAI launched its third edition collaboration with the designer brand XU ZHI on October 23. The campaign “Shapes Intimate” features a five-minute film produced by the digital video channel NOWNESS and explores various perspectives on intimate relationships through five couples, individuals, and LGBTQ cast members. NETIZEN REACTION The film has received over 146,000 views on Weibo while the campaign post on WeChat has garnered over 21,000 views. Netizens have shown appreciation for the brand’s efforts to give a platform for the LGBTQ community. “This is the first time that I saw a local brand featuring LGBT identities in their campaign,” WeChat user @Jin Shang You commented below the post, with WeChat user @Shi Yi adding “The film explores the diversity of intimate relationships.” VERDICT From NEIWAI’s blockbuster International Women’s Day campaign in March titled “No Body Is Nobody” to the brand’s collaboration with Faye Wong, which was announced in August, the brand has seen progressive growth in terms of brand awareness and equity. While lingerie is a tricky category in China’s sociocultural context, NEIWAI maps out a broader picture to communicate with customers, through opening up conversations on topics such as body positivity, culture diversity, and self-acceptance. Perfect Diary Announced New Brand Ambassador Troye Sivan BRAND Perfect Diary CATEGORY Beauty PLATFORMS WeChat, Weibo, Tmall MEDIUM Short Video, Imagery FEATURED TALENTS Troye Sivan (1M Weibo Followers) OVERVIEW C-beauty unicorn brand Perfect Diary revealed its latest brand ambassador, Troye Sivan, on October 27, after the recent appointment of Zhou Xun as its global brand ambassador. Sivan quickly shared the news of the appointment with his Chinese followers on Weibo. The brand features the musician wearing its signature animal eye palette in its campaign and has also been giving out complimentary autographed photos of Sivan to improve social engagement. NETIZEN REACTION The 45-second campaign video, which was produced by Vogue China and photographed by Grammy award-winner Dave Meyers, has received over 1.7 million views on Weibo thus far. Meanwhile, Sivan’s post about the collaboration has garnered 3,600 comments and 54,400 likes within two days. Netizens have been impressed by the superstar’s endorsement of Perfect Diary. And since Sivan owns a cult following in China, the brand’s interactive initiatives have been highly supported via fan screenshots of order confirmations. VERDICT Troye Sivan’s endorsement is helping Perfect Diary further improve its brand equity and awareness, both in domestic and international markets. In China’s social marketing arena, leveraging celebrity power is still the golden ticket for brands wanting to resonate with young digital natives. However, brands must walk a fine line when they choose to collaborate with foreign faces, given the rising geopolitical tensions and the Sino-centric worldviews of Chinese netizens. But Perfect Diary plays it somewhat safe by casting Sivan, who is from the friendly neighboring country of Australia and has a sizable Chinese fanbase on Weibo.

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Will Perfect Diary's Celebrity Endorsement Approach Pay Off?