Zhou Longqing’s earlier career work · Not a current SimpleMkt client project
Kiehl’s: Turning Audience Insights into Livestream Growth
View original slides in Chinese ↓The brief
Creator videos had helped Kiehl's build a large audience interested in the brand, described as A3 in the platform's audience framework. However, growth in that group did not consistently translate into growth in A4, the purchasing audience.
The project explored how audience insights could improve the whole livestream conversion journey. Zhou Longqing led the strategy. The case was entered in the fourth Ocean Engine brand-asset management case competition.
Three connected areas of improvement
Ad targeting
The team reviewed the historical contribution of A3 audiences and used their characteristics to refine Qianchuan advertising, Douyin's commerce advertising system.
The approach combined targeting of existing A3 audiences with a logistic-regression model for the transition from A3 to A4. The source describes a 1:3 ratio of positive to negative samples and reports an AUC of 0.77 and a KS score of 0.41.
Livestream presentation
The livestream experience shifted toward a more scientific, polished setting. Visible information boards supported the hosts' explanations, with more detailed discussion of repair, moisture and product authenticity.
The goal was to increase viewing time by making product information more useful to the audience already interested in the brand.
Short-form creative
Audience preferences informed concrete creative choices. Different groups responded to skincare routines, value, product texture and beginner-friendly explanations. Those insights shaped video openings, product demonstrations, voiceovers and promotional information.
Testing and reported results
The work defined changes and evaluation criteria, tested the livestream and short videos, then compared results with historical performance.
The case reports livestream GMV growth of 51.4%, ad-attributed GMV growth of 57.9% and livestream ROI growth of 12.8%. Viewing time increased by 2–5 times, and new A4 audiences grew by 57.7%. Qianchuan creative click-through rate rose by more than 60%, while CPM decreased by 60%.
Original project slides
These slides are from the original Chinese presentation. The English overview above explains the brief, approach and project figures.
