Global vs. local: Which beauty brands are winning 2024 so far?

Subscribe to our Jing Beauty newsletter to get the latest news on China's world of beauty and wellness. Jing Daily’s monthly Beauty Leaderboards tracker analyzes the media value and social media buzz of beauty brands across Chinese social media platforms. Data provided by analytics company WeArisma can help brands measure and optimize their earned media and influencer marketing ROI. From January 1 to 22, international brands Guerlain, Dior Beauty, and Hourglass topped WeArisma’s Beauty Leaderboards tracker, earning $1.2 million (86 million RMB), $810,000 (5.8 million RMB), and $725,400 (5.2 million RMB) in media value, respectively. Lancôme and SK-II claimed the fourth and fifth positions. Among local beauty brands, Aupres, Proya, and Florasis secured the top three spots, respectively garnering $1 million (7 million RMB), $717,000 (5.1 million RMB), and $543,700 (3.9 million RMB) in media value. Pechoin and Flower Knows followed closely behind. Below, WeArisma analyzes the six best-performing brands on Chinese social media and what activations they have done to boost their share of voice. Guerlain (Media Value: $1.2 million) Guerlain’s global ambassador Yang Yang alone helped the French beauty label to generate a media value of $873,400 (6.26 million RMB) and 3.5 million engagements across Chinese social media platforms, including Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin. The 32-year-old actor, also known as “little fresh meat 小鲜肉” for his youthful appearance, posted two pieces of content on Weibo. The first featured Guerlain’s brand event at the Sanya International Duty Free City in China, and the second was a video campaign. Both showcased Guerlain's newly introduced Orchidée Impériale Gold Nobile skincare collection. The success of Guerlain’s social campaign reflects the powerful influence celebrities command in China, helping brands boost both their media value and share of voice. Yang boasts an impressive following of 56.7 million followers on Weibo. Dior Beauty (Media Value: $810,000) Dior Beauty is another beauty brand harnessing celebrity clout. The Parisian house featured actress and Dior global face Dilraba Dilmurat (80.3 million followers on Weibo) in its Dior Beauty Rouge lipstick campaign. The campaign centered around Dior’s creative workshop, offering a glimpse into the making of Dior dresses. In the ad, the Chinese actress wore a Dior red dress while showcasing Dior Beauty’s Rouge lipstick. The video was reshared by Dilmurat on Weibo, helping the beauty brand to generate a media value of $631,100 (4.5 million RMB) and an engagement rate of 4 percent (the percentage of engagements out of the total number of followers). Dior commands 10.5 million followers on Weibo. Hourglass (Media Value: $725,400 ) Unlike the aforementioned big names, California-based makeup brand Hourglass secured third position on the Beauty Leaderboards by teaming up with Chinese beauty KOL @豆豆_Babe, who has 13.1 million followers on Douyin. On the short video platform, the influencer made a video testing the various shades of Hourglass lipsticks. The video received a total of 120,000 likes, 58,000 comments, generating a media value of $371,000 (2.7 million RMB). Collaborating with small and medium-sized influencers, who typically enjoy dedicated followings, can significantly enhance a brand’s impact and visibility. Chinese lifestyle influencer @Thurman猫一杯, who boasts a total of 16.7 million followers on Douyin, posted a snappy yet entertaining short video on the platform featuring Aupres’ newest product, the Long Lasting Skin Repairing Essence. The video generated a media value of $476,300 (3.4 million RMB) and an engagement of 519,000. A tailored strategy is key to success in China’s dynamic market. On social media platforms like Douyin, where users have short attention spans, fun and snappy videos have the potential to significantly boost brands’ share of voice. The difference between global and local brands is in marketing: international brands lean heavily on celebrity influence to help achieve significant exposure and traffic, while homegrown brands instead rely on quickly adapting to the dynamic local market, enlisting innovative marketing strategies, and responding much quicker to trends and ever-changing consumer demands. We can see this in the following examples. Homegrown brands are much more active than their counterparts on Douyin. Aupres 欧泊莱 (Media Value: $1 million) Chinese lifestyle influencer @Thurman猫一杯, who boasts a total of 16.7 million followers on Doyin, posted a snappy yet entertaining short video on the platform featuring Aupres’ newest product — ‘The Long Lasting Skin Repairing Essence.’ The video generated a media value of $476,300 (3.4 million RMB) and an engagement of 519,000. A tailored strategy is key to succeed in China’s dynamic. For entertaining social media platforms like Douyin, whose users’ have short attention spans, fun and snappy videos have the potential to significantly boost brands’ share of voice. Proya 珀莱雅 (Media Value: $717K) This month, Chinese beauty label Proya was mentioned in 64 posts across Chinese social media, generating a total engagement of 59 million and contributing $717,000 (5.1 million RMB) to the brand’s overall media value. Chinese actress Zhang Ruonan, counting 12.2 million followers on Weibo, posted a video on the microblogging site featuring Proya’s Ruby Essence 3.0 as well as announcing that she will be joining a Prota livestream event on January 3. The post generated a media value of $88,100 (632,000 RMB). WeArisma explains, “Livestreaming content has the unique ability to engage communities as viewers experience a more personal connection with the influencer, fostering a sense of interaction and closeness.” Florasis 花西子 (Media Value: $543.7K) Chinese lifestyle KOL @言真inky, who has a total of 5.7 million followers on Douyin, created two videos on the platform featuring Florasis’ Jade Cushion Foundation and Jade Breathable Powder. The two videos generated a combined media value of $318,800 (2.28 million RMB), contributing substantially to Florasis’ overall media value. Douyin's vast user base and creative content format make it a key platform for brands to boost their awareness and potentially go viral.

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Global vs. local: Which beauty brands are winning 2024 so far?