Short Essay 2 Chen Yijie (1155225510)

 Navigating the Future: The Impact of GenAI on Information Access and Media Careers

On November 19, we were fortunate to have George Chen as a guest speaker, discussing how GenAI impacts the way we access information. He began by illustrating the progress of journalism over the past few decades, comparing the month-long delay in news of Lincoln's assassination reaching the entire U.S. to how news is now delivered in real-time. He divided the revolution of the internet into three phases: Directory, represented by Yahoo; Search, represented by Google; and Discovery, represented by Facebook. He then introduced ChatGPT as the fourth phase in the Q&A stage.

I believe that these phases don't replace one another, but rather coexist, with the earlier stages gradually fading. For instance, news platforms or forum sites like Yahoo are less popular among younger people today. Similarly, Google’s search engine won’t be replaced by Facebook’s social media, and while ChatGPT is unlikely to replace search engines in the short term, it does show signs of gradually doing so. Social media, unlike other stages, seems irreplaceable by current technologies.

During the discussion on whether generative AI might replace media professionals, George Chen quoted Bill Gates: “Context is king.” As long as we can create high-quality content, we will always be needed in the industry. We don’t need to be scientists in generative AI, but we must learn how to use it. George also suggested that data analysis-related jobs, including marketing and research, could be promising career paths for us.

Regarding the future of technology, George noted two major ideological clashes: Elon Musk’s focus on robots and Mark Zuckerberg’s focus on wearable devices. I believe that due to challenges like limited battery advancements and the difficulty of making transparent electronic components, wearable devices won’t see revolutionary progress in the near future. However, robots equipped with generative AI show clear potential for development.

George introduced a concept for AI development in three stages: ANI (Artificial Narrow Intelligence), AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), and ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence). We are currently in the AGI stage, and within 30 to 40 years, we may reach ASI.

He also touched on the issue of whether generative AI should be open-source. Meta leads in open-source AI, while OpenAI is closed-source. He discussed the pros and cons of each approach: openness brings transparency but also more risk, as it's unclear who is behind the technology. It's a double-edged sword.

Finally, George shared insights on the acceptance of generative AI in education. At The Chinese University of Hong Kong, strict regulations are in place for its use, and the school doesn't provide these tools to students. However, other institutions like The University of Hong Kong offer more access. He believes that, in general, new technologies should be open for use, and I agree with his view.

Reflecting on the lecture, I gained valuable insights into the ongoing evolution of the internet and the increasing role of AI. It made me think about how we, as future professionals, need to adapt to these changes by developing new skills and staying open to emerging technologies. I'm particularly inspired to explore how AI can complement our work rather than replace it, and the importance of learning how to leverage these tools effectively.

Short Essay 2_Wang Ziling(1155222157)

How does Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (永夜星河) as a TV series create a long-tail effect?

    When we talk about the long-tail effect, we often imagine the scenario of a product after it earned considerable income, but in fact, a TV series can also be considered a product in terms of its long-tail effect. Back in the early days, Chinese TV dramas already had a long-tail effect. The fairy tale TV series of Hua Qian Gu is an example. After Hua Qian Gu was broadcasted, it produced many derivatives as a famous IP, such as dolls and mobile games, so its long-tail effect is quite powerful. However, since it was produced and released quite a long time ago, I chose the recently released Love Game in Eastern Fantasy to analyze the long-tail effect of the TV series.

Compared to Hua Qian Gu, the long-tail effect of Love Game in Eastern Fantasy actually had been prepared during the broadcast period. When it was launched on Tencent Video, the producers of the TV series set up a card collection campaign for it on DouYin in order to promote it to more audiences. DouYin users will not only increase the popularity of the drama's official account through liking and commenting on the relevant activities but also expand the awareness of the drama through the spontaneous output of promotional videos. As a result, Love Game in Eastern Fantasy gained a lot of popularity during the broadcast period and earned a lot of membership recharge fees for Tencent Video.

    After the broadcast of Love Game in Eastern Fantasy, producers of drama responded to the demand of viewers for the physicalisation of electronic mini-cards and produced physical cards for sale; moreover, derivatives of key props products and sold them to viewers through Tencent Video. Additionally, many companies have collaborated with the TV series IP to produce many related products during the broadcasting period. For example, Molly Tea produced related milk tea cup sets, postcards, and stickers to sell along with the milk tea; Chinese dress brand Thirteen Yu also collaborated with Love Game in Eastern Fantasy during the broadcast period and produced three sets of costumes of the main heroine for sale for a limited time. Although the price of co-branded products is more expensive than other products, many consumers still pay for the sake of sentiment.

    The long-tail effect of Eternal Night of Stars has not only brought considerable gains for Tencent Video and the show's producers but has also raised the profile of four of its lead actors. Among them, the male protagonist, Ding Yuxi, received the highest attention; not only had his fans on DouYin and Weibo each grown by a million, but his Weibo superlatives were ranked the third-grade diamond a week ago. To be clear, Level 3 Diamond Super Talk has always been difficult to achieve, and only the most popular celebrities have ever set such a record.

    Overall, Love Game in Eastern Fantasy has gained a large number of drama fans after broadcast, and based on this large fan base, its long-tail effect brings considerable positive impact for the producer, broadcast platform (Tencent Video), and the actors.

Short Essay 1_Wang Ziling(1155222157)

 Blue Ocean Strategy of Love and Deep Ocean(恋与深空）

With the gradual awakening of women's consciousness in recent times, more and more excellent female-oriented games have come into the public's view in the game market. Otome games are one of the most popular and popular female-oriented games. Otome game refers to the general term for romance video games with female protagonists (players). Players usually get a lot of emotional value from games and build deep emotional links with the male protagonists in the games. Chinese Otome game market develops rapidly, and the most developed of them, ‘Love and Maker’, ‘Light and Night Love’, ‘Time and Space Painted Traveller’ and ‘Undecided Event Book’ are known as the four major national Otome games, which can be used as a benchmark for Otome games.

As more and more well-made Otome games enter the market, each game company becomes less and less competitive in this market. At this time, PaperGames company stood out from the crowd of competitors with its new Otome game ‘Love and Deep Space’. This is mainly due to the blue ocean strategy.

 

I created a comparison chart between other Otome games and Love and Deep Space based on five characteristics. As the first Chinese Otome game with 3D modelling, Love and Deep Space breaks the barrier of 2D technology that was widely used. However, the technical maturity of Deep Space and Love is much lower than that of other games which are already very sophisticated in 2D technology. But otherwise, the 3D modeling of protagonists and the construction of the scene make the player's sense of immersion significantly improved. Moreover, each player can customize their own modeling images and voices when creating account, allowing each player's virtual character to more closely resemble themselves, thus enhancing the game experience and the realism of interacting with the male protagonists. In addition, while other Otome games usually focus on art and plot, with gameplay favouring card turn-based numerical gameplay, Love and Deep Space is paired with more hardcore action gameplay, which enhances the playability for the players when passing the game.

Next I will discuss the ERRC to further analyze the blue ocean strategy of Love and Deep Space. The competitive factors that should be eliminated from the Otome game market are technical barriers (basically based on Live2D technology) and repetitive over-the-top mechanics. The factors that should be raised are the personalization features for the master players themselves, such as customized appearance and voice lines. On the contrary, what should be reduced is shaping irrelevant branches that may affect player’s overall game experience. Instead, more forms of Otome games should be created to integrate with the new technologies of the times (e.g. VR's AR), one successful example of this is Love and Deep Space. As far as I know, Love and Deep Space announced soon after its release that it would develop a version that could be experienced through VR gaming glasses, which gives it more potential for development afterwards than other Otome games that still rely on Live2D technology.

 

 

 

Short Essay 2_Ye Yijia(1155222164)

 P&G: The Enduring Legend of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Industry 

When we talk about corporate image and branding in class, P&G is the first to come to mind as a leader in the industry. We think about its pluralistic identity and its flanker brand strategy. We also consider its status an enduring legend in the FMCG sector. I want to seize this opportunity to utilize the analytical methods we've learned in class to explore why P&G has managed to maintain its robust momentum over the years.

Branded Identity: Creating a High-Quality Brand Matrix

P&G is a pioneer in multi-brand management. For instance, in laundry detergents, they have brands like Tide and Ariel; in shampoos, they have Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Rejoice, and Vidal Sassoon. The multi-brand strategy can encircle competitors externally, thereby capturing a larger market share. 

How does P&G handle the competition among multiple internal brands and avoid internal damage?

P&G's brands are developed based on different needs, take shampoo products for example: Head & Shoulders is for dandruff control, Rejoice focuses on smoothness, Pantene is for repairing damage, Herbal Essences is known for its fragrance, and Vidal Sassoon represents salon products. Meanwhile, Pantene is the anchor brand, and the other brands are the flanker brands. Through this strategy, P&G can reach a wider group of consumers while protecting its anchor brands from erosion by other competing brands. Each brand has its own unique market positioning and consumer base, which together form P&G's brand portfolio in the shampoo market.

Product in 4P Theory: The Secret Behind Continuous Hit Products

In the 4P marketing theory, the Product takes the leading role. P&G's consistent ability to cultivate hit products is largely attributed to its investment in technological R&D, along with a keen focus on localization strategies.

P&G has a global network of six R&D centers, with more than 7,200 R&D professionals, and is teaming up with startup incubators and investors to create entirely new businesses and categories. Time and again, when P&G encounters development obstacles and a lack of momentum, it's technological R&D that has steered the company towards new engines of growth.

P&G has also innovated in product localization. When Olay entered China in 1989, its primary function was to moisturize the skin. However, market research revealed that Chinese female consumers desired fairer skin. Consequently, in 1997, Olay successfully launched its first whitening product tailored for Chinese women, which led to a rapid increase in Olay's sales. Starting from 2000, P&G observed that Chinese women were becoming more independent and confident, seeking balance in both family and career. In response, Olay introduced the "Her Century" strategy, communicating to Chinese women that they are the masters of their own lives, and launched a series of advertisements with the theme "Fearless of Age, I Have a Story."

The Chinese market is vast, complex, and in transition, requiring products and marketing strategies to be adaptable and dynamically adjusted in response to the psychological shifts of consumer groups.

Big Brand Plus Big Media: Accelerating Consumer Decision

P&G's marketing approach is famously based on the "HBG Theory" (How Brands Grow), which involves building big brands, utilizing large media platforms, and using extensive distribution channels. Firstly, to become a major brand with a large user base is essential to increase penetration rates. Secondly, by saturating the market with advertising through major media platforms and conducting an all-around 'attack' on consumers' minds, the brand becomes top-of-mind when they have a need, sparking the desire to purchase. Lastly, establishing barriers in major distribution channels ensures that once consumers make their decision, they can conveniently proceed with the purchase. This strategy ensures that consumers can "remember" the brand and "find it readily available" whenever they need it. It can be summarized as a formula: Brand Growth = Penetration × Mindfulness × Availability.

That is why P&G is one of the world's largest advertisers. According to its financial report for FY2021, P&G spent a staggering $11.5 billion on marketing, surpassing Amazon's $10.9 billion in advertising expenses for the same period and ranking it number one globally. P&G's business empire is largely built on the foundation of its substantial investment in advertising and marketing expenses.

Discussion

Despite its past glories and established position as a market leader, P&G has recently faced issues such as slowing business growth. The main changes and challenges P&G is facing include the rapid evolution of the Chinese market, the diversification of consumer demands, fierce competition from local brands, and the rise of e-commerce channels that have weakened the advantages of traditional distribution channels. Whether it's a new or established brand, a large corporation, or a startup, everlasting development requires a willingness to observe the consumer trends of the era, truly understand the evolving demands of consumers, and be agile in change.

 

Short Essay 2 HUANG Ziyun(1155217222)

999 x Bananain: the crossover in health marketing

The 999 & Bananain co-branding campaign is one of the most creative co-branding in health marketing in China. 999 is a cold medicine brand, while Bananain is a thermal underwear brand facing young generation. In 2024, two brands collaborated to release a "no catching-cold gift box" and organized a series of following promotion campaigns.

Why could they collaborate?

The mean slogan of the co-branding campaign, "no catching-cold", also means not interested in or not recognize some concept or fashion in Chinese. From this slogan, we can somehow see the brand image that the two brands hoped to build.

• Bananain has always been recognized as a trendy brand for the youth, so the slogan is fitted in their original brand style. By co-branding with 999, what Bananain wanted to show may be its functionality. As 999 is known as an effective cold medicine, the collaboration itself, but not the slogan, increased brand expertise for Bananain.
• On the other hand, 999 is a brand facing customers of all ages, especially elder people and mothers. By using youthful slogan, 999 tried to improve its brand identity in youth, stressing that it is a brand "caring young people".

How did they collaborated?

The co-branding is mainly in form of complementary branding. 

• The two brands designed a gift box which contained Bananain's yoga wear, 999's masks and co-branded stickers. All of the contents are original products of two brands with the co-branded logo added.

• While selling the co-branding gift box, two brands also posted campaign posters on various social media platforms. Posters are text-based, with contents reflecting the rebellion attitude against a range of social phenomena and popular culture, from dieting, marriage to overtime working.

Is it a successful co-branding?

Sadly, the co-branding doesn't seem to be widely discussed or spread. While the health marketing industry sees this as an excellent example of health co-branding, the average consumer doesn't seem to recognize it as such. What makes this happen?

• Non-product-related marketing campaign. Although using "no catching-cold" to relate two brands that aim to keep people warm and healthy is a creative idea, relating the slogan to popular culture seems confusing. When consumers see the textual content, it's hard to associate the advertisement with these brands, which weakened the effectiveness of brand image communication.
• Limited channels. The co-branding campaign set its place mainly on social media since 999 doesn't have offline stores while Bananain only owned a few stores. However, online infomercials are also limited in scope.
• Mismatch between desired effect and marketing mode. The co-branded gift box wasn't created to boost sales, but more to do branding. To increase consumers' awareness, brand ads should buy more open screen and banner space for ads rather than infomercials and increase the frequency of reveal.

Short Essay 2_CHU Man Yin (1155219826)

 Xiaomi's Audience Analysis in the High-Performance EV Sector

Xiaomi's founder, Lei Jun, possesses a unique entrepreneurial mindset, breaking the public's stereotype that affordable domestic products equate to low quality. With high cost-performance products and innovative internet marketing models, coupled with the ultimate creation of "fan culture," Xiaomi has gradually transformed its image. It is well-known that Xiaomi Group's technological smartphone kingdom and smart home ecosystem have always been its trump cards. However, earlier this year, Xiaomi Group launched its first electric vehicle Xiaomi SU7. Entering the already fiercely competitive new energy vehicle track may seem to have little to do with Xiaomi's core business, but why does Xiaomi Group insist on doing so? I would like to analyze Xiaomi Group's motivation from the perspective of audience segmentation.

In the chapter "The Target Audience & Consumer Psychology," it was mentioned that understanding the target audience is crucial before deciding whether to enter a market. It not only affects the most intuitive product profitability but is also closely related to the sustainable development of the enterprise.

 

Firstly, the SU7 aims to create a high-profile "national brand," taking China as its base and gradually moving towards globalization, while tailoring to the domestic market's needs and preferences. The SU7 primarily targets urban users, especially those in first-tier and new first-tier cities. Cities indeed offer more comprehensive electric vehicle (EV) supporting facilities compared to rural areas, which is a significant advantage for the adoption and management of electric vehicles. From a demographic segmentation perspective, highly educated male groups are the main targets of the SU7. According to the 2023 China Car Consumer Survey and Business Insight Trend Report, men pay more attention to car hardware, including performance parameters, mechanical configuration, driving experience, and vehicle control. However, the selling point that Xiaomi SU7 vigorously promotes is its hardware system equipped with dual NVIDIA Orin chips, with a computing power of up to 508 TOPS for the autonomous driving system, as well as three millimeter-wave radars and twelve ultrasonic radars, which have been emphasized on multiple occasions such as press conferences. Indeed, Xiaomi Group has not given up on the female consumer market but has gradually started to value it. According to the "China Women's Car Consumption Trend Report (2024)," the average purchase price of cars by women is higher than that of men. Women prefer new energy vehicles and focus their discussions on independent, luxury, and new force brands, paying more attention to the car's exterior design, interior texture, comfort, and intelligent configuration. The SU7, in terms of both appearance and interior, references the luxury design of the famous car brand "Porsche," fully meeting the needs of female consumers in terms of style. From a results-oriented perspective, Lei Jun once said in his annual speech live broadcast: "Today, all orders for the SU7, the proportion of female car owners has exceeded 40%, and I believe the actual proportion of female car owners may be close to 50%."Winner takes all” , the market may become a new trend for Xiaomi to quickly occupy the market.

 

In addition, from a psychographic segmentation perspective, the positioning of the SU7 very much hopes to continue the momentum of the previous "fan culture," attracting a group of technology enthusiasts and becoming the brand's most loyal promoter. The concept of combining Xiaomi's ecosystem with the car-making philosophy is very smart, using existing resources to expand the ecosystem, including seamless connection with Xiaomi smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices. Users can use Xiaomi smartphones and other smart devices to remotely control the car, exchange information, and share services, achieving a close connection between smart homes and smart cars. In terms of technology network construction, it is far superior to similar brands and is bound to attract this group of enthusiastic loyal enthusiasts. With the changes of the times, whether the fan culture can generate positive word-of-mouth like Xiaomi smartphones in the past and pave the way for Xiaomi cars in the new energy track, we are all looking forward to it.

Short Essay 1_CHU Man Yin (1155219826)

The Trust Imperative: Airbnb's Business Model Canvas for Navigating the New Travel Landscape

In the post-pandemic era, the travel industry is experiencing a revival, with businesses like Airbnb leading the charge. Central to Airbnb’s success is its robust business model, which hinges on the core value of trust—a crucial element in the sharing economy that sets it apart from traditional accommodation services. Beyond the impetus of the global economy, Airbnb’s ability to foster trust among its users has been instrumental in its success.

Trust is one of Airbnb’s most important value propositions. Its co-founder, Joe Gebbia, explained in a TED Talk that the core value of Airbnb is “trust”. This trust forms a network of relationships between the primary partners—hosts and consumers—allowing both parties to establish a positive relationship in terms of supply (an easy way to monetize unused space) and demand (access to a wide variety of accommodations). On this foundation, other added values such as lower prices and offer variety, with the added benefit of local experiences, are effectively driven.

 

Trust is established through positive experiences and is maintained by various methods. When individuals have better accommodation experiences, they naturally develop greater trust in the hosts and the services provided on the platform. To foster a trustworthy environment, Airbnb offers a transparent review system, enabling hosts and guests to leave honest feedback for each other. This transparency not only holds users accountable but also builds a reputation system that influences future bookings. Complementing this, the platform’s requirement for user identity verification mitigates the risk of fraud and enhances user confidence by ensuring that all participants are who they claim to be.

 

Furthermore, Airbnb creates a mutually beneficial situation for both hosts and customers. In Joe Gebbia’s vision, hosts not only receive financial rewards but also form social connections through the rental process, such as discovering tour guide services and building friendships, which are invaluable. On the other hand, consumers benefit from rental services while also experiencing local culture and hospitality, adding a personal touch. Ultimately, a community built on trust allows both hosts and guests to enjoy a pleasant and enriching experience.

 

Airbnb’s revenue streams and cost structure are intricately linked to its business model and the trust it fosters among users. The company primarily generates revenue through service fees charged to both hosts and guests. Hosts pay a commission fee for each booking, which incentivizes them to maintain high standards and positive reviews, thereby reinforcing the trust mechanism. Guests are also charged a service fee, contributing to Airbnb’s revenue while ensuring the platform can invest in maintaining and enhancing its trust and safety features. On the cost side, Airbnb incurs significant expenses in technology development, customer support, expanding the trust network and ensuring the platform’s growth and sustainability.

 

Regulations within the travel agency sector in various countries pose significant limitations to Airbnb. Many cities have stringent rules regarding short-term rentals, which can restrict Airbnb’s operations. For instance, in New York City, laws prohibit landlords from renting out entire apartments or houses to guests for less than 30 days, even if the landlord owns or resides in the building. Short-term rentals are only permitted if the landlord and guest share the same unit or apartment, and the guest count does not exceed two. Similarly, in Berlin, Germany, all short-term rental properties must obtain a permit from the city government and can be rented for a maximum of 90 days per year. The Japanese government mandates that all Airbnb listings must be registered with the government, and in 2021, nearly 80% of Airbnb listings were removed from the platform.

 

These restrictions inevitably impact consumer experience, leading to a decline in Airbnb’s market competitiveness. Regulatory constraints increase compliance costs and operational difficulties for hosts, potentially deterring prospective hosts and reducing the number of available listings. Additionally, these restrictions may drive up listing prices as hosts seek to offset compliance costs, which is unfavorable for consumers seeking affordable accommodations. Furthermore, these limitations can affect Airbnb’s brand image and user trust. When consumers find it challenging to locate suitable listings in certain cities or face more complex booking processes, they may turn to other competing platforms or traditional hotels. This presents a significant challenge for Airbnb, as one of its core values is to provide convenient and diverse accommodation options.

 

Trust is an extremely abstract concept. Beyond the trust connections established between hosts, consumers, and the platform, the trust between the government and the platform is equally important. Looking ahead, Airbnb could explore advanced technologies such as blockchain for more secure transactions or AI-driven analytics to predict and mitigate trust issues. Additionally, fostering stronger partnerships with local governments could help in creating more favorable regulatory environments. By continuously innovating and adapting, Airbnb can enhance its trust mechanisms and ensure long-term sustainability.

Short Essay 2_WANG You (1155227259)

Co-branding, a strategic partnership between two or more brands, aims to leverage each other's strengths to create mutual benefits. In the gaming sector, co-branding has become a powerful tool to expand brand reach, enhance consumer engagement, and create unique experiences. Cross-border co-branding, where brands from entirely different industries collaborate, is particularly interesting because it allows both parties to connect with new audiences in creative ways. In the increasingly homogenized FMCG and food and catering industries, brands are increasingly connecting with younger consumer groups through co-branded game IPs. 

The Case of "Light and Night" x Holiland: A Positive Example

The collaboration between Light and Night and Holiland is an example of successful co-branding. The partnership combined the romantic, artistic themes of the game with Holiland's high-end desserts to create a tailored co-branded experience that resonated deeply with their target audiences. 

Holiland released a limited-edition dessert collection inspired by the characters and themes of Light and Night. Each dessert was carefully designed to reflect the personalities and aesthetics of the game characters, reinforcing the emotional bond between players and the game. In addition to the customized desserts, they also created custom Polaroid cards and packaging copy for each character.

Audience Overlap:

Both brands target a similar demographic: young, urban women who value luxury, aesthetics, and storytelling. This overlap made the collaboration highly relevant. Fans of the game were drawn to Holiland’s desserts, while Holiland customers were introduced to the game, creating a win-win situation for both parties.

Innovative Marketing and New Media:

The campaign used a multi-channel approach, leveraging social media platforms like Weibo, Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), and TikTok to create buzz around the collaboration. This included:

1. Posting behind-the-scenes content of how the desserts were created.

2. Encouraging user-generated content through hashtag campaigns like #LightAndNightDesserts.

3. Offering in-game rewards for players who purchased the desserts, creating a seamless connection between the physical and virtual worlds.

Experiential Branding:

Special events were held in Holiland stores, where customers could experience themed decorations, exclusive merchandise. This experiential approach strengthened emotional engagement and created lasting memories for consumers.

Impact of the Collaboration

Boosted Brand Visibility: The partnership increased awareness for both brands. Increased Sales and Engagement: The limited-edition desserts sold out quickly, and Light and Night saw a surge in downloads and active players during the campaign.

Enhanced Brand Equity: Both brands reinforced their premium and artistic positioning, creating a halo effect that strengthened their overall image.

While the Light and Night x Holiland collaboration showcases the benefits of strategic co-branding, not all partnerships achieve such success. Poorly executed co-branding can lead to brand dilution, customer confusion, and even backlash. 

For example, during the preheating period of the collaboration with Light and Night, Auntea Jenny (Bubble Tea Brand) was found to have employees leaking materials, selling collaboration gifts, and store employees insulting players and game characters, and the co-branding event was subsequently cancelled. This shows that the co-branding also challenges the brand's marketing strategy and public relations capabilities. Once handled improperly, it may lead to damage to the brand's reputation.

Take "Genshin Impact" as an another example. This well-known game has cooperated with many brands in many fields and did get huge success once. At first, fans spent a lot of time and money to collect these limited edition merchandise. But with the frequent co-branding, some consumers began to feel tired. The high-priced merchandise plummeted in value in the second-hand market, which also reduced fans' enthusiasm for co-branding things. Thus, frequent co-branding leads to aesthetic fatigue among consumers. When the market is flooded with various co-branded products, it is difficult for consumers to be interested in a single co-branded product. Secondly, frequent co-branding also leads to the dilution of brand value. When a brand frequently co-brands with other brands, its original brand value and personality may be weakened.

(Just some insights for ACCN related co-branding: With co-branded products as the connection point, and through the linkage between online and offline and different dimensions, the brand can gradually achieve efficient reach to users. Connecting virtual games with the real world effectively builds an emotional communication bridge among young consumer groups, which becomes an opportunity to achieve a deep connection between products and users.)

Short Essay 1_WANG You (1155227259)

 

Case study: ALO is replacing lululemon by relying on digital marketing and seamless service

In 2024, the fashion landscape of LA has been redrawn by an emerging force - Alo, a brand that once worked silently in the field of yoga, is now the hottest sports fashion icon, replacing lululemon, which has long occupied the market leading position. In 2023, Alo's revenue soared from only 1/22 of Lululemon to 1/5, directly becoming its biggest competitor.

The rise of Alo is not only a major change in the sports apparel industry, but also an example of the successful combination of brand innovation, market insight and globalization strategy.Alo has leveraged the influence of social media platforms (e.g., Instagram) to build a strong brand community and word-of-mouth effect through KOL collaboration, content marketing, and user-generated content (UGC). I will use the framework of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) to analyze Alo Yoga’s strategy and compare it with its main competitors such as Lululemon.

Integrated marketing communication (IMC)

IMC refers to the coordination of various marketing tools and strategies to deliver a consistent brand message, ensuring a seamless experience across all touchpoints. Alo Yoga's IMC strategy is well-rounded, leveraging digital, social, and experiential marketing while maintaining a consistent brand voice.

Paid, owned, earned media 

Social Media Strategy

1. Owned Media: Use the brand's own account to complete brand promotion. The important use of the official account is to actively release information to the outside world. The purpose of this information can be used to promote brand values, promote new product lines, and conduct public relations. In short, every brand needs to carefully manage its official social media account, and Alo Yoga does a very good job in this regard.

2. Shared Media: Create a highly engaged user community. The official account is just a way for Alo Yoga to show its image. Only the user community can truly show the user's evaluation of the brand. To this end, Alo Yoga has carefully created a community that allows all users, whether ordinary people or celebrities, to participate and further strengthen the brand's positive image.

3. Paid Media: Cooperate with top celebrities to increase visibility. In addition to connecting with professionals and ordinary users, AloYoga also knows that cooperating with celebrities and even other brands is a great help for its promotion. Multi-stage drainage can continuously strengthen the brand's image among users, and multiple batches of releases can cooperate with the promotion of new products.

In the early days, Alo was based on Facebook, which was mainly responsible for event planning and content publishing, while Twitter was mainly responsible for forwarding this information. Alo mainly used two types of posts to encourage ordinary users to interact with the brand at that time: 1. Launch fashion challenges to encourage users to upload photos of their outfits, and the winners can get Alo new products as rewards. The brand will launch a challenge almost every time the season changes, and will use different words to prompt users to participate or vote again during the challenge. 2. Encourage users to choose their favorite items. Every time a new product is launched, Alo will upload a list of new products and encourage users to vote and choose their favorite items. On the one hand, it can understand user preferences from the side, and on the other hand, it can encourage users to browse new products.

Now, Instagram is the main front. Just browse the Instagram accounts of Lululemon and Alo, and you can immediately feel the fashion differences between the two.

lululemon has only one official account, and most of the content in it is athletes wearing Lululemon clothing and doing various sports in different scenes, which looks more like a professional sports brand account.

Alo has multiple accounts, each with its own function. @alo yoga focuses on sharing how people perform various difficult yoga poses while wearing Alo; @alomoves shares yoga training courses; and @alo is like a fashion account, with only fashionable street shots of tight-bodied "small-size hotties" wearing Alo.

Content-Centric Strategy

Alo Yoga integrates its marketing with content that adds value to customers. Through platforms like Alo Moves (their subscription-based yoga and fitness app), they go beyond selling products to offering a holistic experience. This approach ensures customer engagement and loyalty. Competitors like Lululemon have similar initiatives, such as in-store yoga classes, but Alo’s digital-first approach gives it an edge in reaching global audiences.

Omni-Channel Communication

Alo maintains seamless communication across channels. Their website, social media, physical stores, and advertisements all reflect a consistent tone of voice: wellness-oriented, minimalist, and premium. Alo has successfully fostered a community around yoga and mindfulness. Their hashtag campaigns like #AloYoga encourage user-generated content, helping them build a strong community of loyal customers.

Summary

Alo’s digital-savviness and focus on younger, social-media-oriented demographics distinguish its approach from other competitors. By leveraging influencer marketing, creating valuable content, and maintaining a premium product offering, Alo has positioned itself as a leader in the wellness and lifestyle space. When compared to Lululemon, Alo’s emphasis on digital-first strategies, fashion-forward designs, and mindfulness-oriented branding allows it to carve out a unique identity in the competitive activewear market.

Essay2 XIANG Lushan（1155219824）: Xiaohongshu 2.0——A Closed-Loop Ecosystem

     In recent years, the rise of social commerce has completely transformed the way consumers interact with brands and make purchasing decisions. Xiaohongshu has successfully created a seamless closed-loop ecosystem that tightly integrates content sharing with e-commerce, converting social interactions into commercial outcomes. Currently, this ecosystem has evolved into its 2.0 version.

Firstly, Xiaohongshu seamlessly combines content seeding (product recommendations through user-generated content or KOL posts in text or video formats) with live-streaming sales. By integrating content and live-streaming platforms, it enables transactions across multiple domains, forming an integrated process from "seeding" to "conversion." Xiaohongshu has invited many celebrities to become brand owners or product endorsers. Through their fan base and influence, these celebrities endorse brands and directly drive sales through live-streaming interactions. For example, Dong Jie's live-streaming session achieved a GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) of 60 million RMB through pre-event promotions and embedded product links during the broadcast. The subsequent secondary dissemination of content on social media further amplified its impact. This model combines the long-term influence of celebrity seeding with the immediacy of live-streaming sales, achieving both content promotion and sales conversion. Celebrities, as Key Opinion Sellers (KOS), are not only product endorsers but also conveyors of brand value. Their personal charisma and professional taste become key factors in attracting users, turning their fan base into brand consumers.

Secondly, Xiaohongshu has fully implemented the KBFS integrated marketing strategy, with high-quality content at its core. Through scientific traffic distribution and advertising strategies, it helps brands efficiently achieve closed-loop seeding and conversion goals. The strategy includes four core modules: KOL, Brand Advertising, Feeds, and Search. Through influencer-driven content seeding (KOL), precise brand promotion (Brand Advertising), interest-targeted traffic engagement (Feeds), and search optimization (Search), it comprehensively covers the user's Awareness, Interest, Purchase, and Loyalty (AIPL) journey. Over 10,000 influencers create curated content to engage audiences. For example, the PMPM skincare campaign stood out in a competitive market through detailed product reviews and lifestyle storytelling. In this model, Xiaohongshu's full-link marketing resources and strategies have also built a powerful mechanism for event-driven traffic and momentum, including event topic pages, event splash screens, information flow ads, hot topic campaigns, and surprise boxes. These methods, combined with big data analysis, professional generated content (PGC), multi-dimensional influencer seeding, and task-based strategies, help brands accurately reach their target users, enhancing event exposure and engagement.

At the same time, Xiaohongshu has integrated with Alibaba to create a complete closed-loop conversion pathway using tools such as “Xiaohongxing,” “Pugongying,” and “Databank.” This integration enables full-process visualization and management from seeding to purchase. By tracking consumers' paths from Xiaohongshu to Taobao purchases, brands can evaluate the effectiveness and costs of each step, optimizing their strategies accordingly. With the help of Alibaba's “Star Tasks” and Xiaohongshu's “Pugongying” backend, ad performance and cost efficiency are monitored in real-time, with dynamic adjustments to ad content, timing, and audience targeting based on Taobao’s store conversion results (such as add-to-cart and checkout). Xiaohongshu's DMP platform collects and analyzes user behavior data, generating precise user profiles that help brands better understand consumer preferences. Through Alibaba's Databank, brands can leverage this conversion data for precise remarketing, attracting similar potential consumers and improving purchase conversion. Key nodes in the conversion process, such as KOL and UGC content seeding, SPU product links, and user actions like following and adding to the cart, all play critical roles in driving conversions. Overall, this data-driven closed-loop marketing model not only enhances conversion rates but also provides long-term marketing value for brands, achieving the synergistic effect of "content + e-commerce."

    With multi-faceted efforts, Xiaohongshu, through this closed-loop business model from seeding to purchase, has driven the platform's new ecosystem upgrade and successfully led the new direction of social commerce developm

Short Essay 1 HUANG Ziyun(1155217222)

Personal artwork commissioning market: products and attempts

Before it appears
Artwork commissioning is an urgent need both in commercial sceneries and for personal proposes. Games need painters to create characters, publishers need pictures for their book cover, and ordinary people also hope to present their faces in a different way, or to visualize their imaginary characters. The former usually go through introductions between painters and formal contracts, while the latter seems more ambiguous.
Before there was any platform for personal artwork commissioning, painters posted their price lists on different social media with specific hashtags. Consumers added painters as SNS friends after seeing the price lists, paid them before or after they finished their creation. Accidents always happened, because nothing ensured the painters would finish the painting or the consumers would pay. Also, painters distributed on different platforms, so consumers needed to go through Weibo, Tieba, Qzone, Xianyu and even more apps to find a painter they would like to collaborate with.
Mihuashi: from commercial to long-tail
Mihuashi, a platform launched in 2014, focuses on connecting painters and consumers. For the first several years, it was a commercial platform with a user scale of about 30,000, mostly enterprise users; however, at about 2018, a bunch of personal users discovered and moved to the platform, because it offers secure transactions and high-quality painters(since most painters on the platform were commercial artists at that time ).
Mihuashi realized the long tail market behind personal users' behaviors. In response, they added the "display window" function in the APP. Earlier, all the commissions were offered by users in the "commission" function, where users could present their requirements and invite artists to quote the price. In the display window function, painters show their price list and sell acceptance slots like merchandise. This converts a buyer's market into a seller's market, which is more in line with the needs of individual buyers, because usually they don't know what exactly they want until getting an example.
In recent years, Mihuashi is the uncontroversial biggest artwork commissioning platform in China, relying on its first-mover advantage and care for individual users.
Bilibili workshop: blue ocean and fan economy
In 2022, a point in time that Mihuashi already has a large and stable user base, Bilibili released workshop, a sub-function relied on the famous video APP. When first released, workshop was highly similar with Mihuashi, where the only difference was the audit standards of painters, which means cheap but low-quality painters could undertake commissions from users.
Later, Bilibili workshop started to develop a series of different functions. It first extended its business scope to all virtual products, including paintings, articles, pay for knowledge contents and high-resolution photos, and offered a user-friendly system which allows every content creator to manage their items. Compared with Mihuashi, this further fitted different users' needs: some of them only need a picture as avatar, don't care about if it's unique or not; some wish for different vectors, not only paintings. Later, even physical goods are also available through Bilibili workshop, and a correlated logistic enquiry system was launched. By "being different" with Mihuashi, Bilibili workshop developed a group of loyal users.
Another strategy of Bilibili workshop is to bind items with content creators deeply. Actually, there's no direct entry to workshop, all entries to particular item are embedded in video uploaders' homepage and video pages. By this way, the workshop have deeply integrated with the fan economy, creators now can easily sell fan merchandise with this function.

 Short Essay 2 LI Yuwei（1155228261）

AI, SEO and algorithm auditing

In the context of today's exponential development of digital technology, artificial intelligence and search engine optimization (SEO) is occurring in the depth of intertwined and collision, this convergence of dynamics in the reshaping of the industry ecology at the same time, but also bring a number of pros and cons worthy of detailed examination.

Currently, the algorithmic bias that exists in search engines may be technical or social. Search engines serve advertisers in two ways, the first is the paid performancemodel, and the second is paid inclusion model.

AI has achieved a leap in efficiency and accuracy for SEO. According to my previous work experience in the agency, in the search engine keyword management, the traditional SEO keyword research work is complicated and arduous, the optimizer needs to spend a lot of energy, in the massive amount of data manual screening, screening. The process is long and tedious, and easy to miss the key information due to human negligence, the effect of data processing is not satisfactory. AI tools streamline the investment in manpower and time costs. More critically, the keywords screened by AI fit the semantic understanding model of the search engine, and provide a precise anchor direction for subsequent page optimization, laying the foundation for the whole process of SEO from the beginning.

In terms of content creation and analysis, content quality is always the core focus of SEO work. Now, although there is still controversy around the compliance of AI-generated content, the development of auxiliary creation tools based on large models such as GPT-4 has already demonstrated its unique value in the content production process. Creators can use AI to efficiently stimulate creative inspiration, build content frameworks, and help polish high-quality content that fits the theme and user needs. At the same time, AI can also quantitatively assess existing content, accurately analyze the quality level, and point out the optimization path, so that the content can better fit the search engine algorithms' preferences, and thus effectively enhance the ranking potential of the website.

In terms of traffic and ranking monitoring, traditional monitoring tools such as Google Analytics can provide a huge amount of detailed data resources, but there are drawbacks of complex and time-consuming data interpretation, and it is often difficult for optimizers to pay attention to the key information of website traffic trends and ranking fluctuations in a timely manner. AI-driven monitoring tools, such as SEO Vendor's ‘Eye In the Sky’ and ‘Rankings Analyzer’, can accurately capture abnormal rankings fluctuations and instantly output corrective suggestions.

However, the integration of AI and SEO has also given rise to a series of negative issues. Firstly, over-reliance on AI tools can lead to a slippage in the professionalism of optimizers. Secondly, at the algorithm level, although AI helps companies keep up with the rhythm of algorithm updates and effectively avoid the risk of violations, it also leads to new violations of the hidden dangers. Improper operation will seriously disrupt the normal search order, erode the ecology of fair competition, resulting in damage to the interests of other enterprises and users.

Thirdly, the copyright attribution of AI-generated content is fuzzy, and the content is seriously homogenized. A large number of AI-assisted content output style convergence, a single point of view, seriously diluted the diversity and richness of the Internet content ecosystem. Fourth, AI-based SEO optimization tools are overly dependent on algorithms for data interpretation.

Therefore, algorithm auditing is very necessary. Algorithm auditing is a direct or indirect review of the operation logic of the algorithm. It can effectively avoid the black box effect and increase the transparency of the algorithm. By conducting algorithm auditing on search engines, it can effectively stop them from abandoning the reliability of the content for the sake of economic interests, so that the algorithm application can be developed in a positive direction.