NHK World Prime S2019E22 - Chinese Internet Celebrities: Influencing the Huge Online Market

In China, many ordinary members of the public have successfully become internet celebrities known as "wanghong." There are 3.5 million people active on social media trying to achieve celebrity status. With content focused on youth culture, including music and fashion, they have amassed a total online following on 600 million people. Some companies are now trying to harness the influence of "wanghong" to make money in the Chinese e-commerce market, the world's largest. Some "wanghong" use stealth marketing to promote traffic to e-commerce websites. Other "wanghong" even run their own online shops. The most successful "wanghong" pockets an incredible $14 million a year. One reason behind the growing influence of "wanghong" is the Chinese government restrictions on Internet content, which makes it difficult for people to access overseas information. Our program follows a company pioneering the business to strategically employing "wanghong" and their young hopefuls searching for online success.