SHANGHAI - China has experienced a surge in the use of KOLs in recent years, not always to good effect. For example, mega-vloggers like Papi Jiang know how to ride on new trends, but a US$3.4 million (RMB 22 million) auction price for a single endorsement by her is said to be way too expensive.
Some brands speaking at yesterday's event have determined their own methods of evaluating ROI from using KOLs.
Kelly Xing, head of digital at Mondelez China, told the crowd at yesterday's Top 1000 Breakfast Briefing in Shanghai, that the company uses "different layers" of KOLs: "real celebrities who are mainstream stars with a big voice in the market like Liu Wen (刘雯) and 'cewebrities' who are people only famous on social media, such as 艾克里里".
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"Celebrities are good for brand fame, and 'cewebrities' are good for brand engagement," Xing said, suggesting that other brands to treat KOL relationships like the ones with their agencies.
"Build a long-term relationship with him/her, and not just one-off," she advised.