The Power of the KOL
IMGAGE: Bags via Weibo
If you pay as much attention to China’s fashion and luxury markets as I do there is a good chance you would have come across the term Key Opinion Leader also referred to as KOL. A KOL is China’s answer to a fashion influencer but with much more influence and power than their western counterparts. Utilizing popular social media platforms Weibo and WeChat KOL’s are quickly shaping china’s fashion and luxury landscapes with their millions of fans literally following their every purchase and promotion.
IMAGE: FEIWEI
In my option the biggest differences between a KOL and a regular (non celebrity) influencer in the West is the number of followers a KOL has and their actual influence over these followers. I’ve always said that I find a majority of influencers in the West ( except for Nicole Warne, Chiara Ferragni and a few others) not influential at all. Western influencers promote a lifestyle on their social media pages that their followers aspire to have regardless of whether or not that lifestyle is lived in their real day to day lives, making them more aspirational figures rather than influential. KOL’s on the other hand have proven to be extremely influential for both domestic and Western luxury brands hoping to make an impact in the Chinese market.
Mr Bags (a.k.a Tao Liang) and Becky Li are arguably two of the most popular, influential and successful KOL’s to date.
IMAGE: Bags via Weibo
Mr Bags has helped many luxury western brands including TOD’s and Givenchy secure their place in the hearts of Chinese shoppers. His 3.5 million Weibo readers and 850,000 WeChat followers trust his opinion on what’s hot in the world of bag buying. According to Business of Fashion, Mr Bags was not only able to sell 300 bags from his collaboration collection with Tods in just one hour he was also able to sell over $420,000 worth of the brand’s handbags in a mere six minutes. If this is not impressive enough, the successful was said to have sold 80 bags from his Valentine's Day collaboration with Givenchy in just twelve minutes.
Becky Li was dubbed “goddess of shopping” on Chinese social media when she shocked netizens with her ability to sell 100 Mini coopers within five minutes when promoting them on her WeChat page. Becky’s other collaborations with premium luxury brands have lead to their products selling out in less than a day.
IMAGE: Instagram Becky Li
Although there are now many KOL’s in China who lead conversations on fashion some may be wondering who the original KOL is that paved the way for Mr Bags, Becky Li and other successful digital influencers in China, his name is Ye Si, known by the screen name Gogoboi. As Gogoboi, Ye SI established himself has China’s top KOL with his unique and often funny comments on outfits worn by celebrities. With his enormous popularity and countless endorsement deals with top luxury brands Ye established his own management company named Missionary that represents himself along with other famous Chinese KOLs.
IMAGE: Gogoboi via Instagram
As China continues to dominate luxury shopping it is no surprise that more and more brands from across the rest of Asia and the West continue to collaborate with KOL’s in order to familiarize themselves with Chinese consumers. It has yet to be seen how the recent COVID-19 crisis has affected the work of China’s KOLs but something tells me that their powerful presences will be around for a long time to come.
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Written by: Jourdie