Top KOL Mr. Kira shared more about the China influencer landscape and new collaboration opportunities with luxury brands in this dialogue session at the Luxury Society Keynote in Shanghai.
EVENTS
[Video] LS Keynote Shanghai 2020: Translating Content into Conversions
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Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
Top KOL Mr. Kira shared more about the China influencer landscape and new collaboration opportunities with luxury brands in this dialogue session at the Luxury Society Keynote in Shanghai.
Given the impact of COVID-19 on the retail climate, luxury brands have been stepping up the pace of their digital acceleration on all fronts – from e-commerce to social media. Social media has long been one of the most fundamental forms of digital presence in China, and brands have constantly been exploring new methods and means to engage with audiences on this fast-evolving stage. Alexander Wei, Editor at Luxury Society picked the brains of Mr. Kira, a top Chinese KOL, on this topic at the Luxury Society Keynote held in Shanghai. How luxury brands can find new marketing opportunities in the Chinese digital ecosystem through leveraging KOL collaborations?
As China's social platforms grow multi-faceted, brand content is no longer simply about building consumer aspirations but about driving real conversions as well. Of late, livestreaming has probably been the most talked about method of achieving both exposure and sales for brands. However, some luxury brands are still hesitant to tap into livestreaming – and particularly selling via livestreaming – because of concerns about the medium’s impact on brand image and positioning. But Mr. Kira begged to differ: “To young people, livestreaming is something very common. And because everyone is doing it, viewers don’t question whether it’s impacting the brand value or if it is premium or not; they will only focus on whether the content is good enough.” He also expressed that while the first luxury brand to stand out and try livestreaming might be challenged, once more and more brands start to do the same, livestreaming will no longer be questioned as a strategy but seen as something completely normal.
Mr. Kira also shared his thoughts on the shifting online landscape in China and how brands can cater to younger generations. The first step, he noted, would be to understand the target user group, before tailoring a content strategy accordingly. Using video platform Bilibili as an example, he analysed how brands can enhance the communication effectiveness of their content by pinpointing user preferences and behaviours on the platform.
As platforms grow more diverse, KOLs that produce content on these platforms naturally become increasingly segmented. This presents an opportunity for luxury brands to think outside the box and work with a wider range of KOLs that specialise in different content types and topics for added exposure. Mr. Kira cited the example of Gucci: As part its Ouverture Of Something That Never Ended collection launch, it released a series of short films, and hence chose to work with a film KOL, Dushe Movies, on promotional content. “Not only did fashion enthusiasts read his article, film lovers who are less fashion savvy would read this as well, and may become interested in a pair of shoes or a bag, thus becoming part of Gucci's audience,” he said. “It's a very interesting thing.”
Watch the video below for the full session.
Editor, Luxury Society
Before joining Luxury Society, Alexander was a business journalist covering M&A, finance, technology and marketing strategy at Women’s Wear Daily. He contributed articles to Financial Times, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, WSJ. Magazine and other media regularly as well. Alexander is also Research Director at DLG China.
