Elijah Whaley | KOLs & The Influencer Marketing Industry Of China

<p><strong>Topics Discussed and Key Points:</strong></p><p>●      How Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) have evolved over the past five years</p><p>●      Co-founding one of China’s top-ranking beauty KOLs, Melilim Fu</p><p>●      The team behind Melilim Fu, and how KOLs are typically managed</p><p>●      KOLs versus Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) versus micro-influencers</p><p>●      Launchmetrics and the problems they aim to solve in today’s marketplace</p><p>●      Scaling a startup in China as a C-suite executive</p><p>●      The dramatic rise of influencers in China</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Elijah Whaley, VP of Marketing APAC at Launchmetrics, the leading Brand Performance Cloud used by Fashion, Luxury and Beauty (FLB) executives to connect with the modern consumer in a constantly changing landscape.</p><p>Elijah is also the host of the PARKLU China Influencer Marketing Podcast, a bi-monthly show which features guests who share their unique insights and perspectives on industry developments.</p><p>Elijah speaks on the development of Key Opinion Leaders, or “KOLs”, in China over the past five years. Before turning into a huge industry in China’s eCommerce space, the impetus for KOLs began with passionate fans of certain products who shared their purchase experiences with a small online community via blogging and live streaming. Elijah speaks specifically on co-founding one of China’s top-ranking beauty KOLs, Melilim Fu.</p><p>The greatest and most inexpensive approach to customer acquisition is <em>retention</em>. Elijah believes that there is too little focus being placed on customer retention, especially since the real power of retention lies in a brand’s ability to leverage these loyal customers as communication or marketing channels—Key Opinion Consumers, or “KOCs”.</p><p>            Finally, Elijah discusses the dramatic rise of influencer marketing in China—a natural evolution in consumer culture due to the country’s i