©️Original by Shen Xiang · Author | Zu Yang
As the longest and largest schedule in the year, the summer schedule has always been a battleground for military strategists. Naturally, long video platforms will not let go of this golden period, and have come up with top content and resources to compete here to gain traffic and reputation. Among all content products of
, variety shows are more "immediate" and can quickly capture popular hot spots and provide feedback. The content themes involved are also more diverse and can cover audience groups with different consumer preferences. In terms of expanding the commercial value of the brand It is of great significance, so variety shows have become the focus of the summer schedule of various video platforms.
From a category perspective, riding on the Olympic craze, sports variety shows have ushered in a small explosion in terms of volume, covering basketball, boxing, swimming and other vertical tracks. When fast pace and involution become the mainstream voice in society, comedy variety shows return in the summer, using diverse presentation forms to deconstruct anxiety and provide happiness. As the basic foundation of the variety show market, competition music variety shows continue to innovate in terms of themes and gameplay.
It can be clearly seen that in response to the trend of stratification of mass content consumption, variety show genres are now more segmented and diverse. This also means to a certain extent that “popular sales” will become increasingly rare. In view of this, long video platforms must actively change their strategies, actively break away from the path of "seeking big hits", and embark on a new path to create more business opportunities.
Create differentiated "new variety shows" to bring more freshness
Whether it is the platform or the audience, the desire for new variety shows is getting higher and higher.
The "new" here refers to opening up a new variety show IP beyond the variety n generation. Although new variety shows are more difficult to start than the n-generation variety shows that have been proven by the market and require time and energy, they have unlimited and unknown potential. Last year, "Farming" stood out among the N-generation variety shows, which made many variety show creators realize that new variety shows can win loyal audiences as long as they have real social experience and humanistic care.
On the other hand, "new" refers to innovation in details such as theme and form. It is undeniable that there is a certain type solidification problem in the current variety show market. According to Yunhe Data's online variety list for the first half of 2024, music variety, travel variety, mystery, and love variety have been "four-quarters of the world" for a long time. When all variety shows are surrounded by Without these themes and types, the audience will inevitably become aesthetically tired.
But this summer, "Shen Xiang" observed that iQiyi's new variety show has indeed jumped out of the inherent genre, which is eye-catching.
Looking at it specifically, these new variety shows are all brand-new IPs, and the themes and perspectives are also new - is either a deep integration of multiple themes, or it is segmented around popular themes to explore more vertical opportunities.
Before the start of the Paris Olympics, "I Played Basketball in Hengdian" was launched accordingly. Different from the common competitive variety shows before, this variety show combines basketball and celebrity reality shows. The filming location is set in Hengdian Film and Television City. It focuses on the court life of artists and actors after "off duty", and has the competitive feeling of watching sports games. , it also adds entertainment highlights, and the audience base is expanded invisibly.
"I Play Basketball in Hengdian"
The survival variety show "Return to Reality Ten Days Later" has attracted widespread attention before it was broadcast. The program adopts the new model of "drama-style" variety show, turning the reality show into a complete and coherent story. The 39 passers-by lived in isolation from the outside world for 10 days. During these 10 days, a non-standard elimination system was adopted, which was more open. There is no discussion of celebrity gossip in the entire program, and the fancy post-production calligraphy and hand-painted elements are removed, focusing on the story itself. This new attempt subtly guides the audience to follow the main line of the plot and immerse themselves in the level-breaking experience.
's latest "King of Comedy Stand-up Season" has been a hit on social media due to its lineup and themes as soon as it aired. Nowadays, there are various types of comedy variety shows, including traditional cross talk and sketches, as well as new sketches and comics. There are benchmark cases in the market.This time, "King of Comedy Stand-up Season" narrows the scope, focuses on stand-up comedy, and spends most of its efforts on casting, selecting from thousands of actors in a club, giving newcomers a chance to appear, and providing opportunities for the comedy industry Deliver fresh power.
There is also the upcoming labor documentary interactive reality show "Burning Moon", which is also iQiyi's in-depth exploration of "documentary variety shows". This program focuses on the vast grassland and invites 12 women of different professions and ages to contract 10,000 acres of pasture. It will be recorded for six months and broadcast for six months. The entire cycle will record their entire process of grazing, feeding, management, and life. Feel the power of life and nature. In terms of
production, the scene space design of these variety shows is also very new - they all break away from the inherent ideas of studio shooting and outdoor mobile shooting, and mainly use real scenes to increase immersion.
Real-life construction has always been an important factor in making variety shows high-quality. There have been variety shows that have tried to renovate apartments and contract parks before, but "Return to Reality Ten Days Later" is even more "ambitious" and directly set aside three special projects in Qingdao, including Qingdao Liuting Airport, the cruise home port and the Blue Valley Development Zone. Including the area, a real city with a total area of more than 20 million square meters is used as a closed shooting location. The realistic and atmospheric scene layout allows guests and audiences to immerse themselves in it.
Creating new variety shows for the platform, whether it is anticipating audience preferences, leading new trends in content, or improving production standards, actually demonstrates the vitality of the industry and indicates promising business prospects.
"Return to Reality in Ten Days"
The commercial potential of new variety shows is worthy of trust
Audiences inherently like popular culture and themes full of unknowns and freshness. The value of innovation in variety shows from a content perspective is undoubted. But from a business perspective, what most advertisers are actually afraid of is “new”.
At present, when it comes to marketing, advertisers attach great importance to "integration of product and effect", while the content quality and market performance of new variety shows are unknown. There is no historical viewing data to predict the delivery effect. For advertisers, the unknown means risk and uncertainty.
Moreover, advertisers have limited marketing budgets, so they naturally want to put their money in more certain places. After years of layout and attempts, Variety N Generation has accumulated a group of loyal fan audiences, and its visibility and influence are guaranteed. However, it is also unknown whether the new variety show can show competitiveness beyond Variety N Generation.
In addition, when advertisers invest in variety shows, the criterion is whether the content of the program matches the brand image and values, and whether the program can provide more creative marketing methods and display space. In fact, this also puts forward higher requirements for new variety shows.
The main reason why many new variety shows are "naked" is due to the above concerns. Because of uncertainty and unknownness, the commercial value of many variety shows is actually underestimated.
But in this summer season, we found that iQiyi’s new variety show investment performance was very good: "I Play Basketball in Hengdian" won the awards of Rehydration La, Voltaren, Royal Mesojiaer, kopiko (comparable) , Xtep, etc. Advertising sponsorship, "Return to Reality in Ten Days" received Huawei Hongmeng full-scenario product placement and advertising sponsorships such as Xilinmen and Qingtea Suntory. On the whole, it is favored by big brands, and the categories offered are rich enough. Moreover, the brand and variety shows have in-depth cooperation, which is not a simple exposure.
"I Play Basketball in Hengdian" Advertising Sponsorship
Behind such breakthroughs, the essence is that the platform adheres to the high-quality content production strategy based on innovation.
First of all, innovation does not come out of thin air. iQIYI's variety shows are innovative based on insights into current entertainment consumption trends and new trends in emotional life, so that the content is more in line with audience preferences and aesthetics, which directly increases the commercial competitiveness of "new variety shows".
Faced with rising life and psychological pressure, people crave simple, direct, and unburdened happiness to relieve worries and anxieties at different levels. Comedy is undoubtedly the most suitable content type.The "King of Comedy Stand-up Season" launched by iQiyi has an insight into the audience's demand for positive emotional value, and presents vivid and humorous stories of life from the perspective of small characters.
At the same time, in the past two years, content such as "Life is a wilderness, not a track" and "Brave people enjoy the world first" have always been popular on social platforms. "Wilderness" is seen as an exit from the current life. "Burning Moon" fits the theme of "wilderness". The camera focuses on the vast world and vast grasslands. It not only satisfies urbanites' yearning for beautiful grasslands, but also presents the most authentic life of herders from the perspective of tourists.
In addition to innovating variety show themes around social emotions, the "narrative person" has also changed. Audiences are tired of high-ranking, glamorous characters, and are more eager to see real and vivid content and images that are “related to me.” "I Play Basketball in Hengdian" focuses on the daily life after work, truly showing the state of star actors playing basketball after get off work; "Return to Reality After Ten Days" invited 39 guests, covering actors, students, up hosts, TV series The combination of stars, athletes, hosts and other positions also brought unexpected sparks, attracting more people to watch, and the brand exposure was also amplified.
Secondly, thanks to the continuous high-quality content production, the platform can always maintain the overall "high water level" of content and users, which can significantly reduce uncertainty and advertisers will have more confidence when placing ads.
According to the "2024 Spring China Mobile Internet Strength and Value List" released by questmobile, iQiyi has an average MAU of 420 million, ranking first among online video platforms. The huge number of users includes audiences of all ages, circles, and preferences, which means that brands can choose their own target groups to maximize adaptation and reach.
In addition to the "breadth", the number of iQiyi members represents the "depth" of user value. At present, the number of iQiyi members is stable at around 100 million. As high-potential paying users, they have strong willingness to consume and are sticky and loyal to the platform and its good content. Brands can carry high-quality content to reach these high-value groups on a large scale and achieve brand and business goals more efficiently.
In fact, how the brand and content fit together and whether the marketing gameplay can be innovative are still testing the platform's marketing strategy and capabilities. At present, iQiyi has accumulated experience and can already provide advertisers with more reference.
For example, the sports-themed "I Play Basketball in Hengdian" itself is fertile ground for content in categories such as sports drinks, sports shoes and clothing, so the platform does not deliberately implant it, and can give brands in sports-related categories sufficient content. Storytelling space. "King of Comedy Stand-up Season" has found the real need of users, "laughing and protecting the throat" as the core promotion point, cleverly integrated the brand concept into golden sentences, and turned the product selling point into fun and funny points. Move users with humorous emotions. "Return to Reality After Ten Days" adopts reverse thinking. In a fully enclosed space where the Internet is disconnected, smart technology products are "contrast-style" implanted, which naturally shows the advantages of strong product signals and good ecological synergy capabilities.
Exploring the commercial space of new variety shows, integrating reach and conversion
In content marketing, "native" is always the first priority. The above innovative and flexible marketing ideas of iQiyi have actually laid the foundation for upgrading marketing methods when subsequent strategies are implemented, covering everything from integrated marketing, content co-creation to social fission. In new variety shows such as "I Played Basketball in Hengdian" and "Back to Reality in Ten Days", some specific marketing methods have given us reference answers.
In detail, when the spiritual core of the variety show IP matches the deep values of the brand, advertising can be used as a "communication element" to quickly stimulate the audience's resonance and recognition.
The traditional drama marketing logic is simple and direct - to increase exposure and drive conversions, but in fact there is a key link in the middle which is to touch consumers and make them truly demand the brand and products.This link is often overlooked and is difficult to do. In the current consumer field, it is often said that the traffic method will stop working when investment is stopped. This is the underlying reason.
And if the underlying values of the brand itself and the content are consistent, the emotional resonance generated by the audience due to the content will also be attached to the brand and become a long-term asset of the brand. Professor Xu Jing from the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University once shared with us: "In addition to the cost-effectiveness of the product itself, the user's consumption logic is to like it. This like comes from emotion. Watching this makes me happy, it's really fun, and my emotions rise. This kind of state will naturally empathize with the brand and develop a good impression of the brand. "
"I Play Basketball in Hengdian" has produced many famous scenes since its broadcast. Star athletes refused to admit defeat and were energetic on the court. Many viewers were deeply touched by the hard work, and the brands that appeared at the right time naturally won the audience's favor and gained a better understanding of the brand spirit. In addition, in addition to the exclusive title "Hydration", the program also specially gives different anthropomorphic titles based on the categories of implants: the body pain management brand Voltaren is the sports guardian, the milk powder brand Royal Meisujiaer is the growth guardian, kopiko (comparable (Can) is the inspiration for coffee bombs, narrowing the emotional distance between the brand and the audience.
Although the cooperation between the fully closed "Return to Reality in Ten Days" and Huawei's Hongmeng full-scenario products is extremely contrasting, if you watch it more, you will find that the spiritual core of each other is consistent. Behind each game level, the spiritual core that the program wants to convey " Life is like passing through a barrier, and each hurdle is less than the next." This echoes Huawei's values of overcoming difficulties and upgrading products.
"Return to Reality After Ten Days" brand exposure
In terms of implantation methods, iQiyi has also jumped out of simple advertising implantation and upgraded to an innovative strategy of content co-creation, allowing the brand to enter real life and become a part of the story. The main "role" attracts attention with natural scene marketing.
It is not difficult to understand that "hard implantation" will naturally cause viewing interference. The audience may block or skip it, and may even have negative emotions. Therefore, advertisers are "rewardless". In fact, good placement cannot be removed in post-editing. It cleverly integrates content and advertising, has appropriate integration cuts, and also has scenes that allow the brand to clearly convey "who I am", and unconsciously effectively inspires users to have a deeper understanding of the brand and products. will.
In "I Play Basketball in Hengdian", the brand Hydration is presented in various ways such as event props and team clothing. It is closely tied to the game scene and the audience will naturally accept it. The brand Voltaren will also appear together with its spokesperson and program guest Liu Genghong. Liu Genghong combines his physical condition with clever benefits, which is more convincing and strengthens the brand image.
"I Play Basketball in Hengdian" brand exposure
On the communication channel, the emotional extension of the variety show is fully released. Exposure inside the site and interaction outside the site. This integrated approach can make the marketing effect longer-tailed.
Compared with simple naming placement, integrated marketing is a more mature and systematic marketing strategy, but the prerequisite for doing it well is that there must be sufficient content materials that can be used diversified and flexibly. Compared with other content forms, variety shows contain richer stories and topics that can be discussed. The highlights broadcast on the site can be used as "material" for derivative interactions outside the site. Brands can capture the emotional points that match them for promotion, and design interesting activities to stimulate the audience's desire for interaction. In this way, the commercial value of variety shows is amplified, and the brand's variety show marketing has completely jumped out of the single scenario of long videos, achieving multi-channel coverage and long-term communication.
After the broadcast of "Back to Reality in Ten Days", the sponsoring brand Huawei launched the #Who is the Strongest King of Hongmeng challenge on Weibo. Driven by the program's celebrity guests, more and more tap water took the initiative to participate and posted on Weibo Showing off one's own Huawei products has caused the topic's popularity to continue to rise, reaching 290 million+ views and 500,000+ discussions."I Play Basketball in Hengdian" promotes the brand of BUSHULA on multiple social platforms. Netizens posted highlight clips captured by themselves on Xiaohongshu and Weibo, allowing BOSHUILA to be exposed across multiple platforms. Initially, Penetrate the audience's understanding. On this basis, the official blog of the program also launched an interactive voting in conjunction with the official blog of the brand, driving the audience to participate more actively and plant grass.
Overall, this summer, iQiyi has used a series of new variety shows to further expand the possibilities of variety show marketing. With new content, new creativity, and in-depth collaboration, it has presented advertisers with a new approach worthy of in-depth exploration and application. road.
And innovation continues. Looking at the platform's future variety show reserves, whether it is the stand-up comedy "The King of Comedy Stand-Up Season" or the all-female variety show "Burning Moon", they are representatives of high-quality content recognized by the platform, and their commercial value and potential are worthy of being trusted and explored.
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