Before promoting a product, a brand ambassador is the face and voice of the brand. While the ability to influence is considered to be one of the most desired traits of the person in this role, an overall image that represents the brand’s value and delivers it to targeted audience could be a more effective marketing strategy for brands. And the collaboration between Florasis and Zhou Shen might provide an example of that.
Florasis, or Hua Xizi in Chinese, is a Chinese cosmetic brand that stands out from the rest of the beauty industry for featuring ancient Chinese identity and heritage. Pechoin, or Bai Queling, is a Chinese skincare brand that also has a long history of promoting oriental herbal skincare recipes.
Both brands have been partnering with the two current brand ambassadors (Zhou Shen and Wang Yibo respectively) for roughly a year.
While Florasis sees an average SOV (Shares of Voices) at 30.5% in the past year, the figure at Pechoin is 16.4% according to data recorded on Vfluencer platform. With more than 588,000 followers – almost twice as much as that of Florasis’ – content led by Pechoin receives only one fifth of engagement achieved at Florasis.
Graphic: Florasis (Green); Pechoin (Yellow). Source: Vfluencer platform.
Florasis’s brand ambassador Zhou Shen is a singer specialising in Chinese-style song. Although not one of the top ranked celebrities on mainland star list as his counterpart Wang Yibo who is a rapper and dancer, Zhou has defended the second place on the music chart since May 2021 and has been much involved in promoting traditional Chinese culture.
Comparison of KOLs' influence. Source: Vfluencer platform.
Zhou’s style is deemed to be compatible with Florasis’s image, where Chinese culture is at the heart of the brand. Although having less than 20% of followers owned by Wang, Zhou does not seem to be less influential, showing almost the same ability as Wang to lead online engagement. Hashtag of Florasis’s brand ambassador announcement was engaged nearly twice as much as that of Pechoin’s.
The shared cultural agency has also provided additional solution to marketing for Florasis. While promotion video made by Pechoin brings no difference to any other beauty product adverts, upon becoming a brand ambassador for Florasis, Zhou released a new single under the same name of the brand, which was voted as one of the top 3 Annual Brand Collaboration Songs in 2020.
The tie-up between Florasis and Zhou turns out to be more effective despite both having a smaller follower base. By leveraging the common ground shared with its brand ambassador, Florasis has successfully enhanced its brand image and allowed its core value to reach a wider audience.
The different results also suggest that although a KOL’s own popularity is an important factor to consider when choosing a brand ambassador, whether the image of that influencer embodies the brand’s value could also be a crucial element for brand marketing.
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