Singer Liu Genghong has emerged as the new face of China’s fitness livestreaming trend, with 64 million followers on Douyin and a collaboration with Fila.
What Happened: The pandemic has unexpectedly made a hit livestreamer of singer and actor Liu Genghong. On Douyin, Liu and his wife Vivi Wang have sparked a fitness revolution: they gained more than 64 million followers within a single month (for perspective, the fitness app Keep took seven years to accumulate 34 million monthly active users) and their livestreams have been viewed roughly 100 million times. Chinese musician Jay Chou’s songs are often used by the influencer as his background music, and his song “Herbalist’s Manual” (本草纲目) went viral thanks to the workout classes. The interactions between Liu and his wife during the workouts have been credited as a prime reason for the duo’s popularity.
The Jing Take: According to the keep prospectus, China’s online fitness market increased from 35.6 percent in 2019 to 44 percent in 2020, and is expected to climb to 60.6 percent in 2026. The lockdown is helping to accelerate this growth. Given this vast potential, brands have been tapping sports stars as ambassadors and KOLs. Now, sports companies can also incubate their own influencers on social media such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Kuaishou. With any luck, they hope to emulate the success of the mainland’s latest livestreaming crush: Liu Genghong. Continue to read the full article here
