Celebrity marketing dips in China

Recent data suggests that celebrity-based marketing is dipping in China, as KOL (key opinion leader) campaigns develop and the ongoing effects of the pandemic cause brands to adapt.

Why it matters

An important source of clicks and likes for brands, celebrity-driven campaigns have been a fast track to buzz. But between shifting regulations and a crackdown on celebrity speech, the direct celebrity campaign is now vying with other, often safer, forms of promotion.

What’s going on?

Figures from Shiqu Insight Engine, reported by Jing Daily, suggest celebrity marketing events held in March 2022 were down 50.9% year-on-year.

In its place, other forms of promotion are growing:

• Sports marketing grew 560%.
• Co-branded marketing (collaborations between large global brands and local brands) is up 91.3% year-on-year.
• New product marketing is up 57.6%.

It’s important to note the effect of the Winter Olympics, which saw Chinese athletes thrust into the limelight with gold-winner Eileen Gu working with Tiffany, or Yang Shuyu and Gong Lijiao working with Prada.

Sourced from Jing Daily, WARC