As a leading China marketing agency, TONG was engaged by global FMCG giant Unilever to rapidly build brand credibility and market share for two of its beauty brands among a younger generation of Chinese consumers on Douyin, the leading short video social media platform in China.

The brief called for a holistic influencer marketing strategy and delivery, from KOL (Key Opinion Leader) sourcing to content strategy to paid social amplification. With Chinese skincare consumers being some of the most discerning in the global beauty market, one of the keys to success was in identifying the right voices of authority and influence that would win consumers over.

TONG’s influencer marketing team conducted an extensive research and interview process across 30 potential KOL candidates before curating a final list of 18 leading skincare influencers and dermatologists for the Douyin campaign, exceeding the original brief by three creators to maximise reach and credibility. The selected lineup spanned influential dermatologists, cosmetic chemists, and formulation experts, representing a combined following of over 26 million engaged Chinese skincare consumers.

To ensure brand consistency across such a large-scale KOL campaign, TONG’s China marketing professionals developed a detailed influencer brief distilling Unilever’s brand positioning, product USPs, and dermatological credentials, before individually briefing each creator to align on tone, message, and campaign objectives. As content moved through to production, TONG’s team closely tracked organic performance on the Chinese social media platform in real time, using these insights to identify top-performing posts for paid media amplification and maximise visibility.

The China influencer marketing campaign delivered outstanding results for Unilever in the China market, reaching over 77.5 million Douyin users and generating close to 1 million engagements, with the overwhelming majority of audience sentiment positive. The campaign stands as a benchmark for how data-led KOL strategy, credible voices, and platform-native content can build brand trust and drive engagement for global brands entering China’s fast-moving social commerce landscape.