Beauty and cosmetics are widely recognized as a fiercely competitive industry, with numerous brands, fragmented distribution channels, and scattered consumer attention. Brands need to step out of the shadow and resonate with the market.
Simultaneously, with the rise of a new generation of young consumers who are social media enthusiasts, value “interests,” enjoy exploring, and dislike being preached to, it is crucial to tap into their points of interest and engage with them to discover diverse communication paths and reach a wider audience. This approach enables the deep conveyance of brand stories and brand philosophies.
So, as brand marketing enters a new era, how can beauty brands penetrate the inner world of the new generation of consumers from different perspectives, channels, and points of interest? How can they gain more love and resonance? Additionally, what channels should they choose for effective content marketing? CHAILEEDO has selected three major Chinese beauty brands, namely Proya, HBN, and Perfect Diary, to thoroughly analyze their marketing case studies from this year. This analysis explores how these established Chinese brands and emerging forces break the boundaries of “imagination.”
Customized Variety Show: Strengthening Consumer Awareness through Scientific Communication
From the current market perspective, skincare brands face a challenge in both product marketing and brand philosophy: how to convince consumers who cannot immediately experience the effects to invest in the product’s efficacy.
On one hand, Chinese brands that emphasize technological strength, research and development, and powerful efficacy need to enhance their consumer recognition in the skincare market. On the other hand, growing consumers require brands to provide sufficient scientific communication frameworks and content vehicles to replace the outdated preaching-style communication. It can be said that all brands are exploring new ways to deeply embed their brand labels into consumers’ awareness.
In anticipation of Chinese Double 11 Shopping Festival this year, to further solidify their brand image and amplify their presence during the shopping festival, HBN teamed up with Tencent Video for an unprecedented attempt.
Previously, HBN initiated efficacy testing activities with a hundred ordinary individuals and a hundred beauty bloggers. This time, HBN directly brought product testing to the variety show stage. In October of this year, just before Double 11, the first customized micro-variety show in the beauty industry, titled “Revealing the Anti-Aging Truth with a Hundred Influencers,” was launched on Tencent Video. It was also the first observational reality show in China that focused on the “scientific anti-aging skincare set’s efficacy testing.”
The show adopted a “dual-line narrative” approach. On one side, there was the observation room in the studio where actress Yi Nengjing, debater Chen Ming, and medical blogger K provided professional skincare knowledge, integrating HBN’s scientific communication content and brand’s research and development capabilities into a relaxed and humorous variety show environment. On the other side, six experts from different fan bases, including beauty, skincare, lifestyle, and science, shared their daily skincare experiences and conducted a 28-day product testing of the HBN series. This naturally showcased the actual efficacy of HBN products and established the perception of HBN’s “scientific anti-aging” in consumers’ minds through reliable and professional testing conducted by SGS.
In simple terms, HBN’s collaboration with Tencent Video in this attempt involved integrating the brand’s research-level efficacy skincare and scientific anti-aging positioning into professional beauty ingredients and scientific skincare knowledge. This was done through an entertaining variety show format, leveraging the influence of celebrities and experts to reach various circles and attract a large number of fans to participate in discussions on anti-aging topics. This invisibly increased the multidimensional exposure of the HBN brand.
Of course, the variety show is merely the carrier of creativity. For the brand, the most important aspect lies in the flow channels and communication resources that the content dissemination carrier can provide. In this case, HBN’s creative communication relied on Tencent Video and the Tencent ecosystem behind it.
Before the show officially aired, Tencent Fashion and Tencent Video’s official Weibo account released teaser trailers and behind-the-scenes photos of HBN, highlighting the “gimmick” of a mysterious guest participating in the 28-day anti-aging challenge. At this point, the creation of an exclusive variety show IP had already begun.
In terms of content, the main visual, memorable quotes from guests, characters, and behind-the-scenes posters were gradually released through teasers, highlights, and essential clips. In terms of channels, Tencent Video conducted focused promotion on the five major platforms on the PC side, with interactive click-through rates exceeding 470,000. Tencent Fashion and Tencent Video’s video accounts conducted in-depth content dissemination, with a total video exposure of 230 million across the entire network. Tencent’s official Weibo account regularly released program content and related discussion topics, sparking consumer discussions on scientific anti-aging and brand philosophy, with related topic readings reaching 240 million and interactions reaching 468,000. It can be said that with the help of Tencent Video’s comprehensive resources, HBN successfully achieved multi-channel promotion on platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, and video websites.
Of course, for HBN, this content operation is not limited to the variety show alone. All the sliced materials from the show can be used as high-quality promotional materials for secondary distribution by experts or social media channels, achieving long-term exposure effects and completing the flow acquisition and conversion, truly realizing the integration of brand and effectiveness.
Online and Offline Integration, Creating Infinite Possibilities for Music
To establish an emotional connection between brands and consumers, in addition to informative scientific communication, it is essential to build emotional identification and strengthen emotional resonance from a cultural perspective. This can also help consumers develop a sense of brand identity on an emotional level.
As an art form that evokes emotions, music not only enables faster emotional resonance with consumers in emotional marketing but also serves as an important medium for conveying emotions. It can communicate a brand’s long-term values through sound content.
Not long ago, Proya launched the “Echo Plan” for 2023, focusing on the mental health of young people. In collaboration with TME (Tencent Music Entertainment), Proya conducted a comprehensive charity marketing campaign targeting young people experiencing emotional stress. The campaign encouraged them to say, “It’s okay, I’m also going through it,” and helped them find emotional relief.
It is understood that this is the third year of Proya’s “Echo Plan,” and this charity event using music as a carrier demonstrates unique advantages in channel diffusion and emotional resonance.
Firstly, relying on Tencent Music, a leading music platform in the industry, and its accumulated artist resources, Proya collaborated with young singer Chen Zhuoxuan to release a charity single called “Echo.” They also organized a “Let Emotions Speak” campus charity concert with Chen Zhuoxuan, Boyuan, Jiang Chi, and other musicians. Through the combination of artists, online singles, and offline concerts, the brand created a marketing closed-loop for the “Echo Plan” that covered multiple centers, channels, and audiences.
The single “Echo” reached the hot search list on Weibo on the day it was released on QQ Music, and it received over 100,000 comments on the QQ Music platform. The charity concert featuring renowned musicians achieved all-around online and offline engagement, with over 1,000 offline exposures and over 15 million online viewers through Tencent Music, Kugou, Kuwo, and Quanmin K Ge.
At the same time, Proya and Tencent Music extended the impact of the campaign through 30 campus flash mobs, four charity lectures, and customized billboard playlists. Alongside the single and concert, they created a complete charity plan that deeply integrated into the lives of young people both online and offline. This conveyed Proya’s commitment to social responsibility.
For Proya, one of the key focuses of this campaign was to comprehensively cover Generation Z, the target group of the “Echo Plan,” and bridge the gap between online and offline to convey the brand’s philosophy. Tencent Music’s youthful positioning, wide coverage of target audiences, rich music resources, and effective dissemination capabilities became important pillars for Proya in creating this charity and music experience. As Tencent’s Vice President, Lu Nana, said, “TME originates from young people, goes back to young people, and leverages Tencent’s comprehensive operational capabilities to help brands extend their reach continuously.”
Similarly, in July of this year, HR Helena launched an exclusive player skin for the Helena Green Bottle on QQ Music. In collaboration with TME and 2023 EDC CHINA, they also created an “offline flash charging station” to convey the innovative technological power of their products to consumers.
It can be said that with Tencent Music’s all-around advantages within the Tencent ecosystem, they can help brands leverage different channels and target groups. By building music marketing elements around “people, products, and venues,” they continuously produce fresh and exciting content that satisfies the evolving marketing demands of beauty brands.
Social Channel Driven, Creating a Complete Closed Loop for New Product Marketing
For brands, whether it is customized variety shows or music marketing, they are all means of marketing to convey brand concepts and values, ultimately achieving growth. In this process, direct marketing on the product side also becomes crucial.
Take the recently launched Perfect Diary’s new product “Biomimetic Film” Essence Lipstick, which quickly became the No. 1 bestseller on Tmall’s lipstick ranking. In addition to spreading information about the new product on major platforms, Perfect Diary also collaborated with Tencent Advertising to create a grand event for the new product using the resources of the WeChat ecosystem.
Firstly, in the WeChat Moments, which is closest to the private domain, Perfect Diary utilized full-screen card ads and collaborated with a product TVC to directly reach individual users in their circles. This approach attracted user comments, likes, and interactions, with an overall engagement rate nearly four times higher than the industry average. At the same time, Perfect Diary incorporated the new product launch into video accounts and showcased real-time live footage through Moments ads, further increasing the exposure of the new product. The overall viewership reached nearly 700,000, rapidly driving the growth of product visibility and achieving full coverage across WeChat Moments.
Furthermore, Perfect Diary utilized the brand zone in WeChat search to capture user-initiated search traffic, further enhancing the exposure of the new product. The zone achieved a Click-Through Rate (CTR) of 28%. Through traffic and platform empowerment, Perfect Diary established connections with top KOLs in the WeChat ecosystem’s beauty and makeup field to create in-depth content and build product reputation, laying the foundation for the long-term development potential of the product and the brand’s long-term vision.
It can be seen that leveraging the Tencent ecosystem, Perfect Diary has created a complete closed-loop marketing chain that includes Moments ads, video accounts live streaming, brand search zone, WeChat KOL support, and traffic boost. This has set a new paradigm for local beauty brands in new product marketing.
It is worth mentioning that Perfect Diary also collaborated with Tencent Video and Warner Bros. to create a professional makeup competition variety show called “Beauty Master.” Eight makeup artist contestants will convey their own definition of beauty and showcase their creative ideas through multiple rounds of industry assessments, creative brainstorming, and elimination challenges. Renowned makeup stylists Li Dongtian and Xin Miao (Chen Qixin) serve as professional judges. The show also invites actress Zhao Lusi, singer G.E.M., special effects makeup artist Xiao Jin, fashion designer Lan Yu, and others as guest judges and participants for discussions. Undoubtedly, this will be another platform for Perfect Diary to demonstrate its product strength.
Within the entire Tencent ecosystem, the three aforementioned brand cases are just the tip of the iceberg. The breadth and depth of the Tencent ecosystem enable it to support opportunities for brands and businesses in terms of traffic, channels, and product selection, encompassing “people, goods, and venues.” This allows more beauty brands to be seen by Tencent’s user base and further expand their brand influence beyond the ecosystem.
Firstly, Tencent’s social platforms represented by WeChat, music platforms represented by QQ Music, and video platforms represented by Tencent Video have formed rich traffic scenes, covering multiple industries including video, music, shopping, news, games, and entertainment. With its diverse traffic touchpoints, Tencent provides an important venue for brands and merchants to expand their reach, explore untapped opportunities, and continuously unleash new growth.
Secondly, brands and merchants can fully leverage the traffic advantages of different platforms within Tencent to find more suitable business models. Moreover, the comprehensive coverage of the Tencent ecosystem, both within and outside its domain, helps brands enrich their transactional channels and meet the demands of holistic operations.
Furthermore, Tencent’s current deployment in various content fields allows brands to explore more possibilities for innovative marketing. Its strong customization capabilities enable flexible adjustment of marketing strategies based on brand characteristics. This includes co-creating content, influencer marketing, and live streaming collaborations, among other aspects, to create more novel content IPs.
In summary, whether it is platform content innovation and artist integration based on variety shows, comprehensive coverage across multiple domains facilitated by music collaborations, or platform traffic resources required for new product marketing, the Tencent ecosystem demonstrates its unique resources and platform advantages. Regardless of the medium needed, Tencent can help brands achieve the goal of “marketing + operations” in a one-stop manner, making it the optimal solution for beauty brand marketing.
