In today’s post, I will talk about branded content through the Chinese short drama You Are My Sunshine created by the Chinese beauty brand KANS.
This short drama was released in 2023 alongside four other short dramas as part of an advertising campaign for KANS. These dramas follow traditional romance plots with a focus on CEO love stories. Despite being quite stereotyped, the stories are somehow addicting. For instance, in You Are My Sunshine, the story focuses on the romance of Jiang Shi Qi, a fish salesperson and Mr. Li, the CEO of the Yida Group.
The success story of the short drama industry in China
Short dramas are web series with episodes being less than ten minutes long available on video platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou or WeChat. They began to become popular in more recent years with the massive digitalisation of the country. In early 2024, 76.4 percent (1.09 billion) of its population use the internet and the country counts 1.06 billion social media users (not individuals as the same person can have multiple accounts). Thus, social media spreading short videos has allowed the development of the short drama industry. Indeed, the Chinese short drama industry is a rising and flourishing industry.
But why would a beauty brand create short dramas?
With the shift of the country towards digital platforms, many brands redesigned their marketing strategy and the forms of advertising to satisfy consumers and achieve better economic outcomes. Indeed, mere product placement in movies or dramas does not work anymore. Thus, cosmetic brands are now focusing on producing their own short dramas that integrate their products in the story but also entertain Chinese consumers.
This boosts KANS’s engagement on social media but also the brand exposure and consequently, its sales. This strategy seems to work for the Chinese audience as KANS was first on the 2023 Beauty Brands Annual Ranking and the 2023 Mass/Local Skincare Brands Ranking.
The choice of the actress and her representation
The choice of the actress is not random, the female lead is Jiang Shi Qi (she did not change her name in the drama), a famous influencer with more than 37 million followers on Douyin. She has been in the short drama industry since 2020. She features in three of the ten trendiest short dramas on Douyin having more than hundreds of million views on each. Thus, her large fanbase ensures visibility and a good reputation for the brand.
KANS also places great importance on the main characters and their personalities. In You Are My Sunshine, the female character is in her twenties, from the middle class representing the target audience. She is also a confident woman believing in fairness and ready to avenge others if necessary. This also may inspire the audience as the female character represents women’s empowerment.
Issues of this type of branded content
The line between branded content and entertainment content is thin as the product is so well included in the story that we don’t feel that we are getting targeted by an ad. For instance, in this drama, as the story is addicting and intriguing, we continue watching like any other drama without thinking that we are watching an ad for skincare products.
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