Li’s videos—which she initially produced by herself and now makes with a small team—emphasize the beautiful countryside and ancient Chinese tradition. With a soundtrack of tranquil music, one clip malaysia number shows Li crafting her own furniture out of bamboo and dying her clothing with fruit skins. The meals she creates are often elaborate demonstrations of how many delicious things can be done with a particular seasonal ingredient, like ginger or green plums.
While the videos have a cinematic quality, it’s her deep understanding of food, nature, and Chinese culture that impresses viewers. “She is literally teaching us something we don’t even know about China.” one fan commented.
As her popularity grew, Li registered her name as a trademark and opened an online shop on Tmall through which fans can purchase items she is using in her videos. We counted the top ten sold items, which as of the middle of last month, have sold 16.7 million units and have totalled over $93.63 million in the first half of 2020. Compared to 2019’s overall figure of $31.4 million, the shop has made three times as much in half the amount of time.
What Can We Learn From The Marketing Perspective
UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
Where there’s praise, there’s opposition. People keep questioning if Li Ziqi is misleading the public by downplaying the harshness of the rural lifestyle. After scanning through hundreds of comments left by her viewers, I believe her critics simply misunderstood the intentions behind her videos, as well as the reasons why they are so popular with her fans.
Li’s fans don’t click on her videos looking for the realities of rural Chinese life. What they truly want is an escape, and Li offers something practically tailor-made for today’s overworked, overcrowded, and burned-out urban middle class.
“In today’s society, many people feel stressed,” Li said in an interview. “So when they watch my videos at the end of a busy day, I want them to relax and experience something nice, to take away some of their anxiety and stress.”
Again, this reminds us that to meet the needs of the customers; brands must find out who their audience really are.
OFFER SOMETHING UNIQUE
Li uploaded her first video in 2016. Originally, she started with cooking tutorials showing how farmers used fresh, organic ingredients to prepare everything from dinner to holiday treats. Of course, she’s certainly not as good as a professional, but her videos often give a more complete picture of the process.
The video, Brewing a pot of handmade soy sauce from soybeans, shows the traditional lifestyle with authenticity, and is designed and filmed in a way that has not been seen before.
“A teacher friend once told me about some students who thought rice grew on trees. So I want kids in the city to know where their food comes from.” Li says.
TELL THE RIGHT STORY
One thing that Li and Amu have in common is their constant love for life and resilience in the face of adversity—values that are becoming rare in today’s society.
Coca-Cola speaks of happiness, Apple speaks of independent thinking, and Huawei speaks of hard work and dedication. Overall, none of these successful brands send out hollow or negative messages.