Brand-run Livestream Case Study: Yanzhiwu Birds’ Nest

There are three kinds of e-commerce livestreams: KOL (Austin Li and Viya), brand-run livestream, and celebrity livestreams.

Last year we talked a lot about celebrity livestreams. It seemed like there was a new celebrity trying out live streaming every day. But due to many articles reporting poor results from celebrity livestreams, this trend seems to have slowed down a bit. After all, celebrities are not professional live streamers, and brands were just placing them there to attract new viewers and potential customers.

This year, the format that is growing well is brand-run livestreams. While they tend to be less exciting and attract smaller viewer numbers, they are authentic and more targeted. Compared with buying a product from a small live streamer, livestreams run by a brand’s sales associates appear to be more trustworthy. Those who watch a brand’s livestream are also people interested in the brand and more likely to buy something.

A good example of brand-run livestreams is Yanzhiwu’s livestream. Yanzhiwu (燕之屋) is a birds’ nest brand. This supplement has gained growing popularity among Chinese consumers, and the brand is grasping this opportunity, together with the help from its brand-run livestream to grow sales.

Yanzhiwu’s brand-run livestream for Taobao’s Spoil Fans Festival

On Taobao’s “Spoil Fans Festival” (March 21- March 26), Yanzhiwu’s brand-run livestream lasted for more than 16 hours.

In total, the livestream had 150k viewers, and the number of new registered members, new followers all reached the peak of that month. GMV generated from the livestream grew 990.4% compared with the same time last year and the number was 199.8% more than the brand’s performance the month prior.

What did Yanzhiwu do to prepare for the livestream?

Preheat of the brand-run livestream

Before the Spoil Fan Festival on March 21, Yanzhiwu posted on Weibo introducing related activities and products for the day. It grabbed followers’ attention and prepared it fan base for the festival.

Yanzhiwu also joined Taobao’s Livestream Ranking Competition (淘宝直播排位赛) since March 18. It is based on sales and ranking top in the campaign would guide public traffic to its store. It is like giving virtual gifts to live streamers and ranking top, so that you can get others’ attention to follow you. This is a commonly used tactic for small live streamers who want to grow their fan base. This mindset is also applied in brand-run livestreams.

To create more buzz for its big livestream on March 21, Yanzhiwu seeked collaboration with KOLs. On March 20, Yanzhiwu’s products appeared on top live streamer Cherie’s (雪梨) livestream room. Cherie introduced the product for more than 5 minutes. This built brand’s awareness among consumers and drove traffic for the brand’s livestream in the next two days.

Other than public traffic, Yanzhiwu was building its fan base through private traffic. It sent messages to its members, informing them with related information about the event such as how to claim coupons and bonus gifts.

Customize different product sets for consumers during livestream

Yanzhiwu classifies its livestream viewers into several categories: new guests, registered customers (members), loyal customers with high-repurchasing rate and it created special offers targeted at each of these groups.

For registered customers, if they spend 3,000 RMB at Yanzhiwu, they can use the amount as 3,050 RMB. For customers with high-repurchasing rate, Yanzhiwu’s live streamers recommended them to buy the monthly set with 28 bottles, as those customers often have the habit of drinking one bottle every day.  And for new guests, live streamers suggested them to buy a gift set with 5 bottles in to, since its price is lower than other products, and it is suitable for those want to have a try either of birds’ nest or of the brand.

There was also a gift set packaged in sakura pattern (March is a sakura blossom season). It was very girly and was designed for young girls who also want to have a try.

Other Ways to Drive Traffic to Brand-run Livestreams

In order to drive more traffic, brands can collaborate with other brands that have similar target customers. They can also livestream in a special location, which adds a bit of novelty and makes it more interesting than their regular livestreams.

Livestream with other brands

Besides categorizing customers based on their place in the customer lifecycle, Yanzhiwu also has created other target customer personas. Most of its customers are females so the brand has them divided into females with high educational background, young mothers, fashionable women and confident women.

To target these groups, Yanzhiwo livestreamed with other brands that target those groups such as MARCHON, an eyewear brand, and Simpcare, a skincare brand. By livestreaming together, those brands were able to guide traffic for each other.

Livestream at factories

Instead of having livestream at the usual livestream rooms, Yanzhiwu’s sales associates took viewers to the brand’s factories to show them the manufacturing process. This also helps educate consumers about the product and help establish trust in the quality of the product, which is a common issue with bird’s nest.

Our Take on brand-run livestream

This year, the buzz about livestreaming has indeed decreased on social media. But that doesn’t mean the medium isn’t effective, it only means livestreaming has stepped into a mature and steady growth period.

Collaborating with influencers and celebrities all the time may help drive sales, but it is also extremely costly, resulting in low ROI. Brand-run livestreams are a key way to leverage this sales channel while keeping costs low. It is also a great way to develop a direct relationship with your customer base.

However, brand run streams can get boring, so it is important for brands to be constantly thinking of new ways to liven them up and keep viewers coming back.

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