The Beijing News reporter interviewed the person in charge of live broadcasting, performing arts brokers, and related business practitioners to reveal the secrets and rewards behind the industry's cross-border
From disgusting to grabbing, the star live broadcast brought great changes in a year
A year ago, the female star Liu Yan was on the hot search because of the live broadcast. The three-hour live broadcast sales exceeded 10 million and the results were impressive. What attracted her was only the evaluation of "overdose", "off-price", and "too little money". A year later, star live streaming has become a trend. Performing celebrities such as Liu Tao, Chen He, Wang Han and others have opened their own live broadcast rooms. On the upcoming June 18th, the e-commerce platform has even opened a star live broadcast feast. The list almost includes the traffic stars of the entertainment circle, and the degree of gorgeousness is directly catching up with the Spring Festival Gala.
In only one year, the live broadcast of celebrities completed a big change from LOW to tide. What caused this change? How far can this form go? The Beijing News reporter interviewed Xinchuan, the head of Taobao Live MCN, as well as a number of acting brokers and related business practitioners. In their view, the change in the trend of star live-streaming goods is closely related to changes in the general environment, but not all acting stars are suitable for live-streaming goods. If the operation is not careful, it will have a negative impact on the main business of performing arts.
A "Not receiving an invitation means you are not red"
After the May Day holiday this year, there was a phenomenal event on the live streaming of stars-May 14th, Liu Tao's first show on Taobao live streaming, the total value of the four-hour transaction exceeded 148 million, and the cumulative number of viewers was 21 million; May On the 16th, Chen He and the host Zhu Zhen delivered live goods on Douyin. The total sales of the goods reached 82.693 million yuan, and the cumulative number of viewers exceeded 50 million. On May 17, Wang Han opened the live broadcast program "Going to the Beautiful" on Taobao. , To help the development of domestic products, more than 20 million views. The star team posted live reports on live sales and topical levels on social platforms, and fans enthusiastically forwarded to help spread the word. At this time, it was less than a year since Liu Yan's "Shouting for the Old Iron" live-streaming goods was mocked on June 30, 2019.
During this year, the attitude of all parties to the live broadcast of the stars has changed, and Xinchuan feels personally. He recalled that in 2019, inviting celebrities to do live broadcasting requires a long period of communication and persuasion. "The general environment at that time was different. To put it bluntly, some celebrity entertainers and friends would think it was very cheap and very low. We need to popularize the e-commerce live broadcast to them. It is not what everyone thinks is very low. Things. Persuading the first star to spend a lot of time and energy.” By the end of this year, news that more than 300 celebrities lived on Taobao on June 18 was announced, and they actively sought out celebrities who wanted to participate. The call of the Xinchuan team He was beaten up and was often too busy to eat lunch.
The star team also felt the change of market and public opinion. Mu Ping (pseudonym) of the artist studio said that the number of business invitations related to live broadcasts received this year has increased significantly, and even traditional brand endorsements will often have additional live broadcast requirements. "Last year we basically didn't do live broadcast delivery, this year's situation is different. The characteristic of the entertainment circle is to catch up with the trend, star live broadcast delivery has become a trend, you don't participate, you are OUT." Mu Ping said, especially 6.18 Most celebrities in the circle have participated in the event, who is absent who is embarrassed. "Frankly speaking, it's kind of like a New Year's Eve party or a cat party. Artist fans will compare with each other-'If you didn't receive an invitation, it means that you are not popular?' The filming is not a good reason, of course, but how much has it been opened this year. Everyone knows the drama well, this reason is not easy to use. Artists between red and not red will try their best to appear on the list."
B Major environmental impact, artists and platforms each need
It took less than a year for the star to bring goods live from LOW to tide. What caused the rapid change of wind direction? Xinchuan believes that major environmental changes have played a big role. "After more than a year of vigorous development of e-commerce live broadcasts, more and more backbones from all walks of life, and even the "top stream" of society have participated in live broadcasts, such as many government officials such as mayors and county heads. And a lot of well-known entrepreneurs. Today, the public no longer thinks that live streaming is a very low price thing, and it also accepts the form of live streaming. Star artists will see such changes, everyone The psychological burden is not so heavy." He also pointed out that this year's epidemic also has an impact on this. Performing arts activities are closed and artists are actively looking for ways to do something positive.
The platform's competition for traffic and users is another big reason. A senior artist broker told the Beijing News that major platforms have invited celebrities to settle in and set up personal live broadcast rooms. In fact, they use the celebrity as a bridge to expand traffic, that is, compete for users. The live broadcast of celebrities is a choice that can be mutually beneficial for the platform and the artists, and each can take what they need. "Many platforms will give celebrities in the live broadcast room, especially the stars of the live show's first promotional resources, such as opening screen exposure, topic customization, official drainage, etc.. They are not more interested in how much the star can sell in a live broadcast. Goods, but how many users can the stars bring to the platform through live broadcast selling."
From the perspective of a star artist, live streaming is also a new way to maintain fan relationships. Xinchuan mentioned in an interview with the Beijing News that the main position for many celebrities to interact with fans is still on Weibo, but the pictures and texts are far from being live and vivid. The live broadcast room is more like a social chat tool that is usually used. The stars really appear in front of the camera to interact with the fans, and they can also narrow the distance with the fans infinitely.
C "Pit fee" is more cost-effective than the endorsement fee
Since the winter of this year, the industry has overlapped with the epidemic situation, a large number of entertainment projects have stalled, and the personal income of artists has decreased, but online consumption has shown a growing trend. According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, the national physical goods online retail sales during the "May Day" holiday this year The year-on-year growth was 36.3%, and live streaming has become a new hotspot. The number of e-commerce live broadcasts and the number of live broadcast commodities have doubled and 4.7 times respectively. The upsurge of live streaming of celebrities can be regarded as a result of the situation. In this way, celebrity artists and brands have gained revenue.
"The producers have always tried to lower their film rewards. Under the current circumstances, if they are not top-rated entertainers, starring in film and television dramas or participating in variety shows can not get too much remuneration, more to establish a good personal brand and maintain exposure. , Making money still depends on business. And live streaming, especially the live streaming with the brand, is not difficult for artists, and the income is not low and the time is not long. Why not take it?" Take the waist artist as an example. The income from a brand live broadcast is generally 6 digits, which is higher than the remuneration for participating in the recording of a variety show. It can also obtain the corresponding promotional resources and achieve two benefits in one fell swoop.
Brands are also more willing to spend big money on big things this year. Tina, who is engaged in brand business, revealed to the Beijing News that the brand’s request for traffic stars to endorse a year costs as little as several million to more than tens of millions. Many local small and medium-sized brands can’t afford it. The more popular way is to buy "Bit fee" + sales commission, let the star "endorsement" for their products in the live broadcast. "Pit fee" refers to the fee that the brand needs to pay to the anchor in order to obtain the promotion qualification in the live broadcast. The "pit fees" for star live broadcasts are usually less than one-tenth of their full-year speech fees. The brand can also use the short video of the star's live broadcast of its products to promote its e-commerce store within a limited time according to the agreement. "For many small and medium-sized brands, it is a more economical and efficient way to promote star live streaming."
D How far can the star live broadcast go? Will it affect the main business?
The rapid development of the Internet economy has made Li Jiaqi, Wei Ya and other anchors with goods, becoming a star with national recognition. At the end of last year, Li Jiaqi was also invited to participate in "Tucao Conference 4" as a master coffee, and treated the same as Zhen Zidan, Zheng Jun and Xu Zheng. Since the beginning of this year, it has become a trend for celebrities to participate in live broadcast sales, and there have been hundreds of acting star accounts settled in Taobao Live. What is the difference between star live broadcast and selling goods, and amateur carrying anchors? Will they be born with an anchor with super ability to bring goods?
How to bring the goods?
Two main ways, the first show is the most valuable
The Beijing News reporter learned through interviews with many industry insiders that there are currently two main ways for performing stars to participate in live streaming. One is to open an exclusive star personal live broadcast room on the e-commerce platform to bring goods. During the live broadcast, a variety of products were put on the shelves, and the main source of income was the "pit fee" + sales commission. According to the comprehensive evaluation of data such as the popularity of stars, the number of fans, and the purchasing power of fans, the "pit fee" for live broadcasts of stars in the market ranges from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of RMB. Floating between 20%-30%.
The second is to cooperate with a brand for live broadcast and bring goods. During the live broadcast, the star only pushes the products of that brand. In this way, many times it is part of the endorsement contract between the brand and the star, and the compensation is not calculated separately. For example, when brand A seeks celebrity endorsements, it is stipulated in the contract, and a live broadcast will be cooperated during the endorsement. If you are looking for a star to cooperate with this type of live broadcast, it has nothing to do with the endorsement. According to different stars, the price ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions. This method does not involve sales commission.
Star live streaming brings goods, especially the first way, its first show is the most "value". Regardless of the number of viewers, sales and sales, or exposure, the peak will be reached in the first show, and then the number of live broadcasts with goods, these data will decline. Tina said that the sales of the star's first live show can reach 2-4 times that of the non-first show period, so the competition for the "show" of the first show is fierce, and the price will be higher, because everyone knows that this game will make money. And the platform is willing to spend resources to fight for the "first show", but in turn, the star will also choose the platform for their live broadcast first show.
Who can bring the goods?
Consistent with the star style, carefully select products
Compared with the amateur anchors, the stars have their own fans and attention, on the surface, they should have more advantages. In fact, the case of star live broadcasts with goods can not be sold. What kind of star is more suitable for live streaming? Xinchuan believes that although there is no quantitative standard, it is basically related to the characteristics of the star, the operation of the team behind it and the attributes of the fan group. "Can you bring goods with live broadcasts? No, there are a lot of knowledge and attention."
Xinchuan said frankly that some celebrity artists thought it too easy to bring live broadcasts at first. They felt that if they sat for three or four hours in the live broadcast room, sales would go up. E-commerce live streaming is actually very hard. If a live broadcast sells about 40 products, the anchor usually has to try more than 200 models. "You have to experience it before you have the confidence to convince the fans in front of the camera. Why do you recommend it. Not all stars are suitable for live streaming. , I am optimistic about the stars who are serious about their fans and devote themselves to doing e-commerce live broadcasts."
It is equally important to choose the product that matches the style of the star. The star live-broadcasting project that Tina has facilitated, the majority of the cooperation with a single brand. In her view, this is more like an online commercial brand platform. For most entertainer teams, celebrities open their own live broadcast rooms to sell goods, and the human energy and professionalism required to select products are difficult to satisfy. To engage in an online desktop event with the brand, you only need to measure whether the brand and the artist's style settings conflict, and the price schedule is appropriate. "It is easier to measure the suitability of a certain brand than to evaluate hundreds of models. The quality of the brand is usually guaranteed, and this kind of activity will not be tied to the sales volume.
Are there risks?
Damaged main business, shaping characters to play
Stars are constantly throwing themselves into live streaming to bring goods. Netizens questioned that they will put a lot of energy into the sideline business. Can the performing arts business be good? There have been many examples before. Actors participated in variety shows too frequently, and then went back to film and television dramas and found that they could not bring the audience into the drama. Mu Ping said, "Variety shows are still broadcast in a certain period of time. If the stars are serious about live broadcasts, they will meet with the audience every week or even every day. Will they still be able to act at that time? The actors are maintaining mystery and exposure. Need to be carefully measured."
Xinchuan said that the celebrity's opening of the live broadcast room to bring the goods is indeed different from the full-time leading anchor. First of all, celebrities can't start broadcasting every day like Taobao anchors, so they can't really maintain mystery. Second, they should maintain a certain frequency of live broadcasting. “For example, Liu Tao’s live broadcast of Taobao’s 40 games is close to 50, and Wang Han’s is close to 30. The star live broadcast has become more like a micro variety show with a fixed frequency. The audience will remember who’s “program” on which day of the week.
In addition, live broadcasting has its own advantages and disadvantages. The star artist livestreaming has indeed shortened the distance with the fans, but there is no post-editing and no chance to return, it is easy to show the most real and possibly the ugliest side. The biggest worry for the brokerage company is that the artist made a big mistake in the live broadcast, ruining his personal career, and also caused huge losses to the company. Tina said that after the Tongzhuo incident (Tongzhuo exposed in the live broadcast that it used some means to change the status of "previous student" to "new student" and admitted to the school), it was obvious when talking with the artist brokerage company about the brand cooperation of the live broadcast with the goods. I feel they are more cautious.
Writer/Reporter Yang Lianjie from Beijing News