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The Rise of Chinese internet celebrity Papi Jiang
If you’re aren’t active on the Chinese web， it’s likely you haven’t ever heard of Papi Jiang. She’s one of the most popular online celebrities in China， known for her fast-talking satirical videos that mock everyday life， relationships， movies and social issues.
In China， such fame doesn’t go unnoticed by authorities， however， and last month she was the target of the country’s Internet censors， who took down some of her videos from Youku， China’s most popular video platform.
Behind the Papi Jiang avatar is 29-year-old Jiang Yi Lei， who graduated from China’s Central Academy of Drama. Her videos， in which she delivers comedic monologues or imitates high-profile figures or celebrities in her trademark high-pitch， rapid-fire voice， have earned her 11 million followers on social media site Sina Weibo.
Papi Jiang started posting videos in October 2015， and within months she became a top online celebrity. She proudly identifies herself as “leftover woman” （sheng nu）， a derogatory term used to describe single women who are over the age of 30. Many of her popular videos center on the frustrations of young urban women in their careers， family and romantic relationships. She often curses and uses vulgar language in her performances.
Below is a typical video from Papi Jiang， this one uploaded to YouTube. The one-and-a-half-minute video is a satirical monologue titled “You have no idea the pain of being a beauty”：
The foul language in her videos is officially the reason why China’s State Administration of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television（SAPRFT） took down most of her videos from Youku last month. The censors said if she removed her use of expletives， her videos could go back up.
Just one month before her videos were taken down， she received RMB 12 million yuan （about US $1.83 million） from a number of venture capital firms that invest in social media products. While some thought the SAPRFT’s actions would hamper Papi Jiang’s career， she still managed a few days after she was censored to sell advertising spaceon her weekly videos on April 21 for RMB 22 million yuan （approximately US $3.5 million） in an auction run by Ali Auction， an affiliate of the e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Since then， most of her videos have been restored online with the vulgar language edited out.
China not only has the world’s largest Internet user population， but also the largest online video user base. According to Internet giant Tencent， the country’s online video users reached 461 million by June 2015， and the video market accounted for RMB 11.53 billion yuan （US $1.9 billion dollar） in the third quarter of 2015.
That figure will continue to rise as the Internet population keeps growing. The China Internet Network Information Center’s latest report shows that China had 688 million Internet user by end of 2015， and the penetration rate has reached 50.3 percent. A total of 90 percent of the users access the Internet via mobile phones， a device that favors the consumption of information through visual and audio means.
In the US， Internet content providers such as Netflix， Amazon and Hulu have been producing their own programs in order to lower the costs on copyright licensing. A similar trend is happening in China. Internet content providers are now competing directly with state-owned television producers. Yet smaller scale firms find it difficult to make a profit due to the high costs of production， bandwidth and copyright licensing， so more and more production teams have started using Youku and Tudou’s video ad space to boost revenue. Papi Jiang is one of the most vivid examples of this model in action.
A Year of Wanghong Economy Boosts
The year of 2016 is an outbreak year of China’s Wanghong（网红）economy. Investors go after it with great passion， which draws capital market’s unprecedented attention to Wanghong and Wanghong economy. Instant online celebrities and Wanghong economy has created an miracle of new media. As many insiders said， Wanghong economy is cutting the edge.
On June 16th， Super Celebrity Summit Forum of 2016 was jointly held by Weibo and Rongyao in Shanghai. Dozens of brokers， investing organizations and Wanghong practitioners in the industries of video， fashion and live show participated in the forum. The topic was centered on the status and future of Wanghong economy.
The White Paper of Wanghong Ecosystem of 2016（hereinafter referred as White Paper） jointly released by iResearch Consulting Group and Weibo is the first to summary and analyze the current situation of Wanghong Industry and the future developing trend of Wanghong economy. The White Paper points out， Wanghong has grown to an economic industry more than a simple phenomenon. The Wanghong economy featured as short videos， live shows and E-business has drawn unprecedented interest of investors. The developing history of China Wanghong is part of the developing history of China’s social contact.
In the “Ten most popular terms of 2015”released by Quibble magazine，Wanghong was interpreted as Online Celebrities， referring to celebrities made by netizens. Actually， Online Celebrities is not a new thing rose in recent years.
Early in the year of 2004， China has seen so-called Wanghong phenomenon already.An online blog released a photo of Furong sister and spread it to SMTH bbs and PKU Weiming and Mop.com. Her unique pose in the photo， and her overconfidence all became strong contrast to the popular aesthetic culture. A large number of netizens became onlookers of her， thus making Furong sister an online celebrity. Many netizens regard Furong sister as the founder of Wanghong.
Apart from Furong sister， Luo Yufeng （called as Feng sister by most people） was also once a widely known online celebrity. She claimed that she had been read extensively since 9， at her peak in 20， and with a rather high IQ that people in the past 300 years and the coming 300 years could never go beyond her. Her shocking remarks made her widely known online in a short time. Besides，Mu Zimei and Xiao Yueyue has also been famous for their treating ugliness as beauty.
At the same time， online writers such as Pizicai and Ning Caishen also grew famous online. Hou She Boys and Hu Ge then attract large audiences online by imitating， spoofing movie stars. Nowadays， a new generation of online celebrities attract fans by taking pretty pictures of themselves. They shall have both good-looking faces and special talents.
As is summarized by insiders， online celebrities have to rely on internet marketers to become famous in Web 1.0. Whether being forced or willing to ， people want to draw attention have to build their images or taking campaigns. What netizens are expecting is the contrast found on online celebrities. However， from the perspective of economy， the generation of Wanghong represented by Feng Sister， Furong Sister and Xi Li Bro made few commercial value. Thus， it was not an economic phenomenon that time.
The popularization of internet speeds up the updating of Wanghong industry. It enters a development period led by content IP， industrialization and multi-media. With the popularization of social network， mobile payment， Ebusiness and other internet basic service equipment， citizens’ innovation and business operation ability is activated online， which directly promotes Wanghong to an industry worth investing more than a simple phenomenon. Wanghong in its Web 2.0
As popular term online， Wanghong keeps changing together with the production and development of the internet. Wanghong in new era holds more opportunities and capital. As the founder of Sequoia Capital， Shen Nanpeng， said， capital can change a lot of things. More and more investing giants are putting their business into Wanghong in new era.
Since Aug， 2015， sending complaining and sarcastic short videos on Weibo， Papi Jiang has claimed she owns beauty and talents， which attracts many attention. Her video and remarks are often among the heated searching content in Weibo.
So far， Papi Jiang owns 4 million fans online. Her heated videos have over 10，000 forwards. Her fans on Miao Pai APP are over 2 million. Her Wei Xin public account easily gets 100，000 views. She is truly a Wanghong now. Recently， Papi Jiang has got investments of 12 million RMB from Logical Thinking， Zhenfund， Lighthouse Capital and Xingtu Capital. This has drawn the society’s large attention. Even China’s state news media Xinhua News Agency published an article named： Can Making Complaints and Jokes be Productive？ It turns out the answer is Yes.
Other grassroot celebrities in Miao Pai APP include Aikelili and Mu Yalan. They make teasing videos of daily life and narrate in grassroot way. Withing the videos of several minutes， they show many complaints widely accepted among youngsters. The videos are widely spread in social platform. These once grassroot netizens become online celebrities in a short time. Many experienced reporters said， Wanghong often attract young people who are active online. Some characteristics reflected by these Wanghong meet fans’ value.
Nowadays， Wanghong can be classified into self-media Wanghong， Taobao Wanghong and anchor Wanghong. Media professional Li Gang said， Wanghong in the early time focus more on talents. After all， an internet world mostly worked by texts seldom see faces. However， nowadays， one of Wanghong’s competitiveness is good-looking face.
Some insiders get the conclusion that the new generation of Wanghong represented by Papi Jiang is rather different from the past generation represented by Furong Sister. Although both of them rely on a large number of fans to become Wanghong， the fans of the past generation are fragmented and in guerilla type. The fans of this new generation are energetic， transparent. The scale of fans is easily calculated. On March， 21st， Logical Thinking announced that it will make advertisements with Papi Jiang. The advertising clients can show their faces in the short videos. This investment case is regarded as the first one to turn Wanghong into cashes.
When explaining the investment given to Papi Jiang， Logical Thinking executive Luo Zhenyu said， the hundreds people of his own group get 6 million fans withing three years， but Papi Jiang attracts over 10 million fans within four months. Although Luo spoke it out indirectly， all people are well aware that a Wanghong means much commercial potential to business. Once one gets mass fans， cashes find he or she.
An insider who help do business cooperation for Wanghong said， Wanghong economy is an output of internet. The most heated Wanghong include online fashion talent， guests of video programs， hosts of gaming live platform. As the first one to get investing， Papi Jiang proves that this mode can be turned into cashes.
Some people say， on the social platform， people who can make creative videos are the potential stock in the future period. Compared with Wanghong made by opening Taobao online shops， Papi Jiang bears much higher commercial value.
According to people familiar with this issue， Wanghong mainly include two categories： one rely on making creative contents， such as self-media， opinion leader， video host. Papi Jiang belongs to this category. There is no special channel to turn them to cashes. Another rely on selling staff， such as makeup talents， dressing talents. They have their own channels to turn themselves into cashes. We can say they create contents to sell out their staff. As is investigated， a single advertisement taken by a talker with more than 5 million fans on Weibo is over 100，000 RMB.
Taking advertisement is just one of the way to turn Wanghong into cashes. With a computer， a microphone and a room， online hosts can open their own live show. As long as they catch fans’ eyes， to earn 1 million RMB within one month is not just a fantasy.
Some insiders said， investors in the past had to keep seeking for good startup projects and groups， to fulfill their dream of becoming next Apple or Tencent. Howver， in the beginning of 2015， a large number of investors started to look for Wanghong. A Wanghong is active in some vertical areas， he or she may attract more favour from investors.
In Aug， 2015， Taobao held a Wanghong communication meeting in Shanghai. It released several official data： up to the current month， Taobao has over 1000 Wanghong shops. The transaction value of some of these shops’ new arrivals can be over 10 million RMB. Tabao data shows that about 1000 Wanghong shops own a monthly saling value over 1 million RMB under the current Taobao women’s dress category. Besides， a marketer doing Wanghong supply chain revealed， Wanghong charge high advertising fee nowadays. Taking one advertisement can get 100， 000 RMB. The mass internet platform provides opportunity to many grassroots to become Wanghong， earning both fame and profits. Wanghong business model has become new trend in the new era’s internet economy. It is not just simple E-business transition behind rate of flow， it is a whole internet economy new mode of making stars.
In the second internet summit last year， Alibaba’s CEO Zhangyong said， what we’ve been talking about over the past time is internet economy and fan economy. However， over the changes happened in 2015， there is new group growing： Wanghong created by Taobao platform. This shows the whole new economy power.
Each group has its own Wanghong. Wang Sicong’s girlfriend Xue Li is a Taobao Wanghong. Her online shop is valued 100 million RMB. Miss， hostess of electronic competition， earns 30 million RMB each year. Insiders also warn that some Wanghong violate law to gain personal profits.
Not all Wanghong can easily gain great economic prof-its. “Although Wanghong economy has become a new phenomenon， celebrities getting fame by violating ethics will be rejected by the society’s mainstream value， which leads to little economic profit” ，said Ren Zhaoping， deputy director of consuming economy at research institute at Ministry of Commerce.
How do Wanghong Win Fans？
Who is the top Wanghong in China？ According to the list， Wang Sicong is the top Weibo Wanghong now. Born in a rich family， Wang Sicong owns 20 million fans on Weibo. What he does always attract people’ attention. His sarcastic remarks build an image of national husband praised by female fans. He directly criticized Lei Jun， director of Xiaomi， was bad in English， movie star Fan Bingbing is only star on red carpet. Whenever he criticize some celebrities， his fans grow.
Wanghong’s success is due to complex reasons. Many normal people become famous overnight with one unique skill. According to the data， until the end of last year. The number of Wanghong in China has reached over 1 million， which is nearly equivalent to a whole population of a normal prefecture-level city.
Although social network is rather developed now， the surging of short and mobile video live show platforms give many grassroots chances to become famous， however， this does not mean everyone can success easily. According to the insiders of this industry， actually there are three elements leading to these talents’ success and fame. First of all， he or she shall have a masterpiece in unique style. Lu Qiang， professor of Drama， Film Institute at Zhejiang Institute of Media， said he enjoyed watching Papi Jiang’s videos too because they are far more professional than normal self-edited videos. Maybe this is because Papi Jiang is graduated from directing major. As a graduate of directing major， she can always catch the heated topics in people’s daily life and put it in video designing. The imitating of fans chasing after their idols and dealing with annoying relatives when going back to hometown during Spring Festival are all typical examples.
Secondly， there shall be frequent interaction with fans. Actually， online celebrities can only keep famous by being friends with their fans， just like all stars good at communicating with fans. Keep interacted with fans not only make fans more loyal to them but also help celebrities find new creation inspiration. Take Wanghong喵大仙带你停药带你菲 as an example， she now owns 2.088 million fans on Meipai social platform. Besides being attracted by her good-looking face and talents， fans are also attracted by her close interaction with them. She will make small fan meetings and make close friends with some of her fans.
Last but not the least， talents and Wanghong cannot leave the special nature of the platform and active guidance. A good platform give grass root stars chances to show their talents and attract fans. Being pursued by thousands of fans， these online celebrities feel satisfied being others’ icon.
Wanghong Economy Relies on Fame Marketing
Wanghong economy grows with rising of Wanghong. As defined by Quibble magazine， Wanghong refers to online celebrities chased after by netizens. Wanghong economy turns popularity and attention into productivity， purchasing power and profits.
As is commented by People’s Daily， no matter you are fashion talents or opinion leaders， if you can find someone to cover your bills， you have been on the bus of Wanghong economy. What’s more important， Wanghong in Web 2.0 has built a significant new economic power.
The priority of Wanghong economy is creating Wanghong. As is pointed out in White Paper， different from the past extensive Wanghong development mode， groups well organized， professionalized and commercialized are easier to stand out in mobile internet era.
People with the ability to create celebrities have the chance to get the first cash. Creating online celebrities is the defining element of Wanghong economy. Cyber personalities become prized brands， mint millions， launch businesses，turbocharge online fashion shopping across China
She is neither a movie superstar nor a television personality， but e-commerce sensation ZhangDayi， 28， is a bigger celebrity with the Midas touch.
Not only do her product endorsements send sales soaring-5，000 garments in two seconds， equivalent to annual sales of a small bricks-and-mortar store-but she laughs all the way to the bank.
Building her way from a fashion magazine model，Zhang works her magic in China’s cyberspace.She posts her photos online. She offers a range of feminine advice on makeup， hairdos，wardrobes， you name it.
Her fan base on Sina Weibo， the Chinese version of Twitter， exceeds 4 million.
Zhang is one of a growing group of influential cyber celebrities who are called Wanghong inChinese. They target a large， growing segment of Internet users， and are famous.
As more and more people trawl the Internet using their smartphones and other handheld devices，Wanghong， in addition to clinching lucrative product endorsements， are able to ride their fame toestablish a new type of money-spinning businesses of their own.
A report from the China Internet Network Information Center showed that in 2015， Chinesepeople spent 3.75 hours online every day on average.
In May 2014， Zhang set up Wuhuanxide Yichu， or “The Wardrobe I Like” in English， her ownonline store on Taobao.com， Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s online marketplace， home to morethan 8 million hyper-competitive vendors.
Wuhuanxide Yichu sells clothing designed and made by Zhang’s team. It has become one of thebestselling female clothes stores on Taobao.com. Monthly sales clocked millions of yuan withinthe first year of its launch-inconceivable， fantasy-like for many other vendors.
But Zhang’s Wuhuanxide Yichu is certainly not an exception.
Statistics from Taobao showed five out of its top 10 female clothes stores by sales in 2015 wereowned and led by Internet celebrities.
“These path-breaking stores never advertise nor participate in sales events. Instead， they turntheir customers into fans and offer enhanced shopping experience by getting Wanghong tointeract with them online. They monetize Wanghong’s influence on fans. The so-called Wanghongeconomy is set for explosive growth，” said Wen Zhong， director of Mobile Taobao. InternetSector Likely to See Boom in Entrepreneurship
The Internet sector might see a boom in entrepreneurship in the second half of this year despite the economic slowdown， said Kaifu Lee， the former head of Google China， who now runs a technology incubator Innovation Works.
“It is not easy to receive financing and high valuation when the winter capital comes， however， it is a good time for venture capitals to see who is a real entrepreneur，” said Lee before an “angel dinner” held by vc.cn， an Internet entrepreneurship service platform connecting early-stage entrepreneurs and angel investors.
During this year’s two sessions， China has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 to 7 percent for this year. Lee said“Not all industries have slowed down as the emerging area such as Internet could see double-digit growth， but the traditional industry might witness negative growth. The hitech sector is growing pretty well.”
Lee also said his company will mainly focus on and invest culture and entertainment， including mobile games， intelligent hardware and artificial intelligence， Internet education and finance， Online-to-Offline （O2O） and business to business （B2B） fields， enterprise-class services and cloud computing.
“I am bullish on cyber celebrities who are called Wanghong in Chinese that target the post-95 generation， which is also we care for.”
PapiJiang， an online celebrity well-known for making humorous videos， got 12 million yuan investment from Xu Xiaoping， founder of Zhen Fund and Luo Zhenyu， who started his Luogic Show.
Li Xiaoning， founder of vc.cn， said this year is going to be a good time for startups from the current policy orientation and market environment.
“With the increasing demand for specialized service of entrepreneurship and investment， the professional service platforms will usher in rapid development，” Li added.
Launched in 2012， this year’s “angel dinner” selects six excellent projects from 3，372 candidates covering virtual reality， Internet finance， sports and online education.
Trading on celebrity
Internet stars are now using their brands to rake in the cash from online shoppers
Zhang Dayi isn’t a movie star， nor does she appear on TV. Her celebrity has grown purely online， yet an endorsement from her can send sales of a product soaring.
The former fashion magazine model， 28， has won millions of fans online by regularly posting selfies across social media and offering style advice - and now she is cashing in. In May 2014， she opened Wuhuanxide Yichu （The Wardrobe I Like）， a store on online marketplace Taobao that sells women’s clothes designed and made by her team. Thanks to her massive social media fan base， the shop has been a roaring success.
Zhang is among a growing number of cyberstars -known as wanghong in Mandarin- who are capitalizing on their celebrity to build thriving businesses that target China’s army of Internet users.
According to data from Taobao， Web celebrities owned half of the 10 biggest selling womenswear stores last year.
“These stores don’t advertise or take part in sales events，” says Wen Zhong， director of Taobao’s mobile Internet division. “Instead， they turn their customers into fans and offer enhanced shopping experiences by getting the celebrity to interact with them online. They monetize that celebrity influence.”
Qi Ting， for example， follows several Internet celebrities. The 25-year-old says the style guidance saves her time，“as I don’t have to search endlessly online for clothes or bags”， and that prices are often lower than products highlighted in fashion magazines.
Wen predicts the so-called wanghong economy could explode， as cyberstars appeal to a diverse range of shoppers.
A report by Guotai Junan Securities Co appears to agree. It says the sector has “great potential” and estimates that the clothing sector alone is already worth more than 100 billion yuan （$15.3 billion； 13.8 billion euros）. It adds that Web celebrities are now branching out into online gaming， travel and baby products.
Ge Wei， vice-president of Youku Tudou Inc， which runs several video-streaming websites， says more cyberstars are also publicizing themselves through online videos.
“There are plenty of business opportunities out there as long as you build up a clear image，” she says. “We have a travel program made by a Chinese father in Japan. It’s basically about taking his two children out to eat and play， to generally have a good time. But every time he uploads a new video， sales on his Taobao shop go up.”
Having an online store isn’t essential， however. Some people merely use product placement in their videos， or add a link to a partner company’s websites when they post on social media.
“Internet celebrities are not like （traditional） superstars who need to maintain some kind of image，” Ge says. “They are more linked to the grassroots and are not afraid of being themselves， so their programs are more entertaining and better meet the tastes of young Internet users.” In fact， online stars are not only helping boost sales， but also changing the way products are being designed and sold.
Taobao’s Wen says traditional clothing brands usually choose a product design based on sales projections， then produce their clothes in large quantities.
“But Internet celebrities like Zhang post photos of themselves wearing many different designs and can know instantly what potential buyers feel about them. Then they decide which one to go with，” he says.
This allows greater flexibility to alter products to suit customers based on feedback from fans， giving them a more bespoke feel.
Of course， being a cyberstar means more than just posting selfies online； fan engagement is a major ingredient of the wanghong economy.
“Some girls send me messages online not only to exchange ideas on how to dress， but to share their experiences of job interviews or finding loved ones，” Zhang said in an earlier interview. “I’m truly happy to hear about these things.”
If you’re aren’t active on the Chinese web， it’s likely you haven’t ever heard of Papi Jiang. She’s one of the most popular online celebrities in China， known for her fast-talking satirical videos that mock everyday life， relationships， movies and social issues.
In China， such fame doesn’t go unnoticed by authorities， however， and last month she was the target of the country’s Internet censors， who took down some of her videos from Youku， China’s most popular video platform.
Behind the Papi Jiang avatar is 29-year-old Jiang Yi Lei， who graduated from China’s Central Academy of Drama. Her videos， in which she delivers comedic monologues or imitates high-profile figures or celebrities in her trademark high-pitch， rapid-fire voice， have earned her 11 million followers on social media site Sina Weibo.
Papi Jiang started posting videos in October 2015， and within months she became a top online celebrity. She proudly identifies herself as “leftover woman” （sheng nu）， a derogatory term used to describe single women who are over the age of 30. Many of her popular videos center on the frustrations of young urban women in their careers， family and romantic relationships. She often curses and uses vulgar language in her performances.
Below is a typical video from Papi Jiang， this one uploaded to YouTube. The one-and-a-half-minute video is a satirical monologue titled “You have no idea the pain of being a beauty”：
The foul language in her videos is officially the reason why China’s State Administration of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television（SAPRFT） took down most of her videos from Youku last month. The censors said if she removed her use of expletives， her videos could go back up.
Just one month before her videos were taken down， she received RMB 12 million yuan （about US $1.83 million） from a number of venture capital firms that invest in social media products. While some thought the SAPRFT’s actions would hamper Papi Jiang’s career， she still managed a few days after she was censored to sell advertising spaceon her weekly videos on April 21 for RMB 22 million yuan （approximately US $3.5 million） in an auction run by Ali Auction， an affiliate of the e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Since then， most of her videos have been restored online with the vulgar language edited out.
China not only has the world’s largest Internet user population， but also the largest online video user base. According to Internet giant Tencent， the country’s online video users reached 461 million by June 2015， and the video market accounted for RMB 11.53 billion yuan （US $1.9 billion dollar） in the third quarter of 2015.
That figure will continue to rise as the Internet population keeps growing. The China Internet Network Information Center’s latest report shows that China had 688 million Internet user by end of 2015， and the penetration rate has reached 50.3 percent. A total of 90 percent of the users access the Internet via mobile phones， a device that favors the consumption of information through visual and audio means.
In the US， Internet content providers such as Netflix， Amazon and Hulu have been producing their own programs in order to lower the costs on copyright licensing. A similar trend is happening in China. Internet content providers are now competing directly with state-owned television producers. Yet smaller scale firms find it difficult to make a profit due to the high costs of production， bandwidth and copyright licensing， so more and more production teams have started using Youku and Tudou’s video ad space to boost revenue. Papi Jiang is one of the most vivid examples of this model in action.
A Year of Wanghong Economy Boosts
The year of 2016 is an outbreak year of China’s Wanghong（网红）economy. Investors go after it with great passion， which draws capital market’s unprecedented attention to Wanghong and Wanghong economy. Instant online celebrities and Wanghong economy has created an miracle of new media. As many insiders said， Wanghong economy is cutting the edge.
On June 16th， Super Celebrity Summit Forum of 2016 was jointly held by Weibo and Rongyao in Shanghai. Dozens of brokers， investing organizations and Wanghong practitioners in the industries of video， fashion and live show participated in the forum. The topic was centered on the status and future of Wanghong economy.
The White Paper of Wanghong Ecosystem of 2016（hereinafter referred as White Paper） jointly released by iResearch Consulting Group and Weibo is the first to summary and analyze the current situation of Wanghong Industry and the future developing trend of Wanghong economy. The White Paper points out， Wanghong has grown to an economic industry more than a simple phenomenon. The Wanghong economy featured as short videos， live shows and E-business has drawn unprecedented interest of investors. The developing history of China Wanghong is part of the developing history of China’s social contact.
In the “Ten most popular terms of 2015”released by Quibble magazine，Wanghong was interpreted as Online Celebrities， referring to celebrities made by netizens. Actually， Online Celebrities is not a new thing rose in recent years.
Early in the year of 2004， China has seen so-called Wanghong phenomenon already.An online blog released a photo of Furong sister and spread it to SMTH bbs and PKU Weiming and Mop.com. Her unique pose in the photo， and her overconfidence all became strong contrast to the popular aesthetic culture. A large number of netizens became onlookers of her， thus making Furong sister an online celebrity. Many netizens regard Furong sister as the founder of Wanghong.
Apart from Furong sister， Luo Yufeng （called as Feng sister by most people） was also once a widely known online celebrity. She claimed that she had been read extensively since 9， at her peak in 20， and with a rather high IQ that people in the past 300 years and the coming 300 years could never go beyond her. Her shocking remarks made her widely known online in a short time. Besides，Mu Zimei and Xiao Yueyue has also been famous for their treating ugliness as beauty.
At the same time， online writers such as Pizicai and Ning Caishen also grew famous online. Hou She Boys and Hu Ge then attract large audiences online by imitating， spoofing movie stars. Nowadays， a new generation of online celebrities attract fans by taking pretty pictures of themselves. They shall have both good-looking faces and special talents.
As is summarized by insiders， online celebrities have to rely on internet marketers to become famous in Web 1.0. Whether being forced or willing to ， people want to draw attention have to build their images or taking campaigns. What netizens are expecting is the contrast found on online celebrities. However， from the perspective of economy， the generation of Wanghong represented by Feng Sister， Furong Sister and Xi Li Bro made few commercial value. Thus， it was not an economic phenomenon that time.
The popularization of internet speeds up the updating of Wanghong industry. It enters a development period led by content IP， industrialization and multi-media. With the popularization of social network， mobile payment， Ebusiness and other internet basic service equipment， citizens’ innovation and business operation ability is activated online， which directly promotes Wanghong to an industry worth investing more than a simple phenomenon. Wanghong in its Web 2.0
As popular term online， Wanghong keeps changing together with the production and development of the internet. Wanghong in new era holds more opportunities and capital. As the founder of Sequoia Capital， Shen Nanpeng， said， capital can change a lot of things. More and more investing giants are putting their business into Wanghong in new era.
Since Aug， 2015， sending complaining and sarcastic short videos on Weibo， Papi Jiang has claimed she owns beauty and talents， which attracts many attention. Her video and remarks are often among the heated searching content in Weibo.
So far， Papi Jiang owns 4 million fans online. Her heated videos have over 10，000 forwards. Her fans on Miao Pai APP are over 2 million. Her Wei Xin public account easily gets 100，000 views. She is truly a Wanghong now. Recently， Papi Jiang has got investments of 12 million RMB from Logical Thinking， Zhenfund， Lighthouse Capital and Xingtu Capital. This has drawn the society’s large attention. Even China’s state news media Xinhua News Agency published an article named： Can Making Complaints and Jokes be Productive？ It turns out the answer is Yes.
Other grassroot celebrities in Miao Pai APP include Aikelili and Mu Yalan. They make teasing videos of daily life and narrate in grassroot way. Withing the videos of several minutes， they show many complaints widely accepted among youngsters. The videos are widely spread in social platform. These once grassroot netizens become online celebrities in a short time. Many experienced reporters said， Wanghong often attract young people who are active online. Some characteristics reflected by these Wanghong meet fans’ value.
Nowadays， Wanghong can be classified into self-media Wanghong， Taobao Wanghong and anchor Wanghong. Media professional Li Gang said， Wanghong in the early time focus more on talents. After all， an internet world mostly worked by texts seldom see faces. However， nowadays， one of Wanghong’s competitiveness is good-looking face.
Some insiders get the conclusion that the new generation of Wanghong represented by Papi Jiang is rather different from the past generation represented by Furong Sister. Although both of them rely on a large number of fans to become Wanghong， the fans of the past generation are fragmented and in guerilla type. The fans of this new generation are energetic， transparent. The scale of fans is easily calculated. On March， 21st， Logical Thinking announced that it will make advertisements with Papi Jiang. The advertising clients can show their faces in the short videos. This investment case is regarded as the first one to turn Wanghong into cashes.
When explaining the investment given to Papi Jiang， Logical Thinking executive Luo Zhenyu said， the hundreds people of his own group get 6 million fans withing three years， but Papi Jiang attracts over 10 million fans within four months. Although Luo spoke it out indirectly， all people are well aware that a Wanghong means much commercial potential to business. Once one gets mass fans， cashes find he or she.
An insider who help do business cooperation for Wanghong said， Wanghong economy is an output of internet. The most heated Wanghong include online fashion talent， guests of video programs， hosts of gaming live platform. As the first one to get investing， Papi Jiang proves that this mode can be turned into cashes.
Some people say， on the social platform， people who can make creative videos are the potential stock in the future period. Compared with Wanghong made by opening Taobao online shops， Papi Jiang bears much higher commercial value.
According to people familiar with this issue， Wanghong mainly include two categories： one rely on making creative contents， such as self-media， opinion leader， video host. Papi Jiang belongs to this category. There is no special channel to turn them to cashes. Another rely on selling staff， such as makeup talents， dressing talents. They have their own channels to turn themselves into cashes. We can say they create contents to sell out their staff. As is investigated， a single advertisement taken by a talker with more than 5 million fans on Weibo is over 100，000 RMB.
Taking advertisement is just one of the way to turn Wanghong into cashes. With a computer， a microphone and a room， online hosts can open their own live show. As long as they catch fans’ eyes， to earn 1 million RMB within one month is not just a fantasy.
Some insiders said， investors in the past had to keep seeking for good startup projects and groups， to fulfill their dream of becoming next Apple or Tencent. Howver， in the beginning of 2015， a large number of investors started to look for Wanghong. A Wanghong is active in some vertical areas， he or she may attract more favour from investors.
In Aug， 2015， Taobao held a Wanghong communication meeting in Shanghai. It released several official data： up to the current month， Taobao has over 1000 Wanghong shops. The transaction value of some of these shops’ new arrivals can be over 10 million RMB. Tabao data shows that about 1000 Wanghong shops own a monthly saling value over 1 million RMB under the current Taobao women’s dress category. Besides， a marketer doing Wanghong supply chain revealed， Wanghong charge high advertising fee nowadays. Taking one advertisement can get 100， 000 RMB. The mass internet platform provides opportunity to many grassroots to become Wanghong， earning both fame and profits. Wanghong business model has become new trend in the new era’s internet economy. It is not just simple E-business transition behind rate of flow， it is a whole internet economy new mode of making stars.
In the second internet summit last year， Alibaba’s CEO Zhangyong said， what we’ve been talking about over the past time is internet economy and fan economy. However， over the changes happened in 2015， there is new group growing： Wanghong created by Taobao platform. This shows the whole new economy power.
Each group has its own Wanghong. Wang Sicong’s girlfriend Xue Li is a Taobao Wanghong. Her online shop is valued 100 million RMB. Miss， hostess of electronic competition， earns 30 million RMB each year. Insiders also warn that some Wanghong violate law to gain personal profits.
Not all Wanghong can easily gain great economic prof-its. “Although Wanghong economy has become a new phenomenon， celebrities getting fame by violating ethics will be rejected by the society’s mainstream value， which leads to little economic profit” ，said Ren Zhaoping， deputy director of consuming economy at research institute at Ministry of Commerce.
How do Wanghong Win Fans？
Who is the top Wanghong in China？ According to the list， Wang Sicong is the top Weibo Wanghong now. Born in a rich family， Wang Sicong owns 20 million fans on Weibo. What he does always attract people’ attention. His sarcastic remarks build an image of national husband praised by female fans. He directly criticized Lei Jun， director of Xiaomi， was bad in English， movie star Fan Bingbing is only star on red carpet. Whenever he criticize some celebrities， his fans grow.
Wanghong’s success is due to complex reasons. Many normal people become famous overnight with one unique skill. According to the data， until the end of last year. The number of Wanghong in China has reached over 1 million， which is nearly equivalent to a whole population of a normal prefecture-level city.
Although social network is rather developed now， the surging of short and mobile video live show platforms give many grassroots chances to become famous， however， this does not mean everyone can success easily. According to the insiders of this industry， actually there are three elements leading to these talents’ success and fame. First of all， he or she shall have a masterpiece in unique style. Lu Qiang， professor of Drama， Film Institute at Zhejiang Institute of Media， said he enjoyed watching Papi Jiang’s videos too because they are far more professional than normal self-edited videos. Maybe this is because Papi Jiang is graduated from directing major. As a graduate of directing major， she can always catch the heated topics in people’s daily life and put it in video designing. The imitating of fans chasing after their idols and dealing with annoying relatives when going back to hometown during Spring Festival are all typical examples.
Secondly， there shall be frequent interaction with fans. Actually， online celebrities can only keep famous by being friends with their fans， just like all stars good at communicating with fans. Keep interacted with fans not only make fans more loyal to them but also help celebrities find new creation inspiration. Take Wanghong喵大仙带你停药带你菲 as an example， she now owns 2.088 million fans on Meipai social platform. Besides being attracted by her good-looking face and talents， fans are also attracted by her close interaction with them. She will make small fan meetings and make close friends with some of her fans.
Last but not the least， talents and Wanghong cannot leave the special nature of the platform and active guidance. A good platform give grass root stars chances to show their talents and attract fans. Being pursued by thousands of fans， these online celebrities feel satisfied being others’ icon.
Wanghong Economy Relies on Fame Marketing
Wanghong economy grows with rising of Wanghong. As defined by Quibble magazine， Wanghong refers to online celebrities chased after by netizens. Wanghong economy turns popularity and attention into productivity， purchasing power and profits.
As is commented by People’s Daily， no matter you are fashion talents or opinion leaders， if you can find someone to cover your bills， you have been on the bus of Wanghong economy. What’s more important， Wanghong in Web 2.0 has built a significant new economic power.
The priority of Wanghong economy is creating Wanghong. As is pointed out in White Paper， different from the past extensive Wanghong development mode， groups well organized， professionalized and commercialized are easier to stand out in mobile internet era.
People with the ability to create celebrities have the chance to get the first cash. Creating online celebrities is the defining element of Wanghong economy. Cyber personalities become prized brands， mint millions， launch businesses，turbocharge online fashion shopping across China
She is neither a movie superstar nor a television personality， but e-commerce sensation ZhangDayi， 28， is a bigger celebrity with the Midas touch.
Not only do her product endorsements send sales soaring-5，000 garments in two seconds， equivalent to annual sales of a small bricks-and-mortar store-but she laughs all the way to the bank.
Building her way from a fashion magazine model，Zhang works her magic in China’s cyberspace.She posts her photos online. She offers a range of feminine advice on makeup， hairdos，wardrobes， you name it.
Her fan base on Sina Weibo， the Chinese version of Twitter， exceeds 4 million.
Zhang is one of a growing group of influential cyber celebrities who are called Wanghong inChinese. They target a large， growing segment of Internet users， and are famous.
As more and more people trawl the Internet using their smartphones and other handheld devices，Wanghong， in addition to clinching lucrative product endorsements， are able to ride their fame toestablish a new type of money-spinning businesses of their own.
A report from the China Internet Network Information Center showed that in 2015， Chinesepeople spent 3.75 hours online every day on average.
In May 2014， Zhang set up Wuhuanxide Yichu， or “The Wardrobe I Like” in English， her ownonline store on Taobao.com， Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s online marketplace， home to morethan 8 million hyper-competitive vendors.
Wuhuanxide Yichu sells clothing designed and made by Zhang’s team. It has become one of thebestselling female clothes stores on Taobao.com. Monthly sales clocked millions of yuan withinthe first year of its launch-inconceivable， fantasy-like for many other vendors.
But Zhang’s Wuhuanxide Yichu is certainly not an exception.
Statistics from Taobao showed five out of its top 10 female clothes stores by sales in 2015 wereowned and led by Internet celebrities.
“These path-breaking stores never advertise nor participate in sales events. Instead， they turntheir customers into fans and offer enhanced shopping experience by getting Wanghong tointeract with them online. They monetize Wanghong’s influence on fans. The so-called Wanghongeconomy is set for explosive growth，” said Wen Zhong， director of Mobile Taobao. InternetSector Likely to See Boom in Entrepreneurship
The Internet sector might see a boom in entrepreneurship in the second half of this year despite the economic slowdown， said Kaifu Lee， the former head of Google China， who now runs a technology incubator Innovation Works.
“It is not easy to receive financing and high valuation when the winter capital comes， however， it is a good time for venture capitals to see who is a real entrepreneur，” said Lee before an “angel dinner” held by vc.cn， an Internet entrepreneurship service platform connecting early-stage entrepreneurs and angel investors.
During this year’s two sessions， China has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 to 7 percent for this year. Lee said“Not all industries have slowed down as the emerging area such as Internet could see double-digit growth， but the traditional industry might witness negative growth. The hitech sector is growing pretty well.”
Lee also said his company will mainly focus on and invest culture and entertainment， including mobile games， intelligent hardware and artificial intelligence， Internet education and finance， Online-to-Offline （O2O） and business to business （B2B） fields， enterprise-class services and cloud computing.
“I am bullish on cyber celebrities who are called Wanghong in Chinese that target the post-95 generation， which is also we care for.”
PapiJiang， an online celebrity well-known for making humorous videos， got 12 million yuan investment from Xu Xiaoping， founder of Zhen Fund and Luo Zhenyu， who started his Luogic Show.
Li Xiaoning， founder of vc.cn， said this year is going to be a good time for startups from the current policy orientation and market environment.
“With the increasing demand for specialized service of entrepreneurship and investment， the professional service platforms will usher in rapid development，” Li added.
Launched in 2012， this year’s “angel dinner” selects six excellent projects from 3，372 candidates covering virtual reality， Internet finance， sports and online education.
Trading on celebrity
Internet stars are now using their brands to rake in the cash from online shoppers
Zhang Dayi isn’t a movie star， nor does she appear on TV. Her celebrity has grown purely online， yet an endorsement from her can send sales of a product soaring.
The former fashion magazine model， 28， has won millions of fans online by regularly posting selfies across social media and offering style advice - and now she is cashing in. In May 2014， she opened Wuhuanxide Yichu （The Wardrobe I Like）， a store on online marketplace Taobao that sells women’s clothes designed and made by her team. Thanks to her massive social media fan base， the shop has been a roaring success.
Zhang is among a growing number of cyberstars -known as wanghong in Mandarin- who are capitalizing on their celebrity to build thriving businesses that target China’s army of Internet users.
According to data from Taobao， Web celebrities owned half of the 10 biggest selling womenswear stores last year.
“These stores don’t advertise or take part in sales events，” says Wen Zhong， director of Taobao’s mobile Internet division. “Instead， they turn their customers into fans and offer enhanced shopping experiences by getting the celebrity to interact with them online. They monetize that celebrity influence.”
Qi Ting， for example， follows several Internet celebrities. The 25-year-old says the style guidance saves her time，“as I don’t have to search endlessly online for clothes or bags”， and that prices are often lower than products highlighted in fashion magazines.
Wen predicts the so-called wanghong economy could explode， as cyberstars appeal to a diverse range of shoppers.
A report by Guotai Junan Securities Co appears to agree. It says the sector has “great potential” and estimates that the clothing sector alone is already worth more than 100 billion yuan （$15.3 billion； 13.8 billion euros）. It adds that Web celebrities are now branching out into online gaming， travel and baby products.
Ge Wei， vice-president of Youku Tudou Inc， which runs several video-streaming websites， says more cyberstars are also publicizing themselves through online videos.
“There are plenty of business opportunities out there as long as you build up a clear image，” she says. “We have a travel program made by a Chinese father in Japan. It’s basically about taking his two children out to eat and play， to generally have a good time. But every time he uploads a new video， sales on his Taobao shop go up.”
Having an online store isn’t essential， however. Some people merely use product placement in their videos， or add a link to a partner company’s websites when they post on social media.
“Internet celebrities are not like （traditional） superstars who need to maintain some kind of image，” Ge says. “They are more linked to the grassroots and are not afraid of being themselves， so their programs are more entertaining and better meet the tastes of young Internet users.” In fact， online stars are not only helping boost sales， but also changing the way products are being designed and sold.
Taobao’s Wen says traditional clothing brands usually choose a product design based on sales projections， then produce their clothes in large quantities.
“But Internet celebrities like Zhang post photos of themselves wearing many different designs and can know instantly what potential buyers feel about them. Then they decide which one to go with，” he says.
This allows greater flexibility to alter products to suit customers based on feedback from fans， giving them a more bespoke feel.
Of course， being a cyberstar means more than just posting selfies online； fan engagement is a major ingredient of the wanghong economy.
“Some girls send me messages online not only to exchange ideas on how to dress， but to share their experiences of job interviews or finding loved ones，” Zhang said in an earlier interview. “I’m truly happy to hear about these things.”