In today's Internet era, KOL (opinion leaders, i.e. Internet celebrities) and MCN (Internet celebrity agency) have become hot topics. This time, we follow Li Ziran’s perspective and have an in-depth discussion of his way of thinking and business logic.
Recently, a series of KOLs have accused their previous companies or MCN organizations of exploiting them in a wrongful and weak manner. But we must also clearly realize that when ordinary people are wronged, no one pays attention at all, and they don’t even have the opportunity to express their pain to gain sympathy. But KOL is different. By presenting themselves as victims, they can gain a lot of attention and even a wave of fans. Therefore, KOL is not a truly vulnerable group.
To gain a full understanding of the situation, it is fair to hear position statements from both sides. But in reality, when KOLs confront non-KOLs (whether companies or individuals), we often only hear the KOLs’ voices. KOLs should be aware of their influence and speak responsibly. Although bad companies and industry cancers are despised, adults should also look for the reasons within themselves, enhance their awareness of fraud prevention, and refrain from signing contracts or transferring money casually. At the same time, the public loves hyperbole and conspiracy theory content. For example, MCN is often called the capital behind Internet celebrities. However, the threshold for MCN is low, and many of them are small companies. They are not favored in capital markets. Such remarks are suspected of being sensational.
In 2019, an organization called "Make a Studio" emerged in the United States to jointly operate some Youtube channels. Disney bought the company for $500 million in 2014, when another company even offered $1.1 billion. This company became the originator of the MCN industry, and many MCN organizations still use it to tell stories today, looking forward to the bright future of being acquired by Disney. However, after the acquisition, the company's development was average and its scale shrank significantly, so this story is not very convincing.
In China, MCN is developing rapidly. The number has doubled every year for the past few years, and now numbers at least several thousand. The concept of MCN is relatively vague. Most of the former Internet celebrity incubation companies, Internet celebrity academies, Internet celebrity intermediaries, video account operating companies, live broadcast guilds, etc. have now been renamed MCN.
Among the many money-making models, live streaming is the most profitable. There are two core points for live streaming of goods: First, whether you can get the lowest price for the goods. Top influencers usually sign a three-month price guarantee agreement with the supply chain to ensure that their sales price is the lowest on the entire network, but it is difficult for influencers below the top to achieve this. Secondly, Internet celebrities have the ability to create a shopping atmosphere and take the lead in the live broadcast room. Create a sense of rhythm and let the audience have the mentality of missing this wave and waiting for the next wave. Under the influence of these two core capabilities, live broadcast resources are increasingly concentrated upward. The sales volume of the first and third places are often not of the same order of magnitude. Even if a celebrity like Mr. Luo takes action personally, he may not be successful.
The topics of KOL and MCN contain complex business logic and social phenomena, which deserve our continued attention and in-depth thinking. Everyone is welcome to share your views in the comment area and explore this interesting field together.
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