Foreigners ride China's e-celebrity wave

"A natural curiosity as well as a connection will propel a large group of Chinese users to follow the digital content that foreign wanghong create," said Yang, who is now pursuing a PhD in journalism and communication at the Renmin University of China in Beijing.

Two biggest hits of Bart Baker are the English version of a Chinese song and Huawei's ad jingle in Chinese. In his videos, Afu speaks fluently in a Shanghai dialect and focuses on unique Chinese achievements, like digital payments.

The foreign wanghong's distinct and different perspectives on life in China appeal to the younger generation as such content happens to be in line with China's mainstream youth culture, Yang said. It's the same culture that can quickly create a large user base in a short time.

For instance, the way Thomas fakes a smile resonates with local audiences because they can relate to uncomfortable situations in real life wherein they, too, force themselves to smile, to be polite.

Galor became popular in late 2017 when he started to make a video series called The Foreigners Research Institute. Each episode is no longer than five minutes, and features on-street interviews with expatriates in China on cultural quirks and the latest trends.

Galor attributed the success of his videos to the fact that they coincide with the advent of "foreigner 2.0", a term he uses to describe the younger generation of expats now in China.

"This group of people are open to contemporary Chinese society, can speak Mandarin and understand the subtleties of Chinese humor," he said.

So, younger audiences are more open-minded about foreign internet celebrities in China. Given the size of such audiences, even a kid such as Thomas could earn 10 million yuan ($1.43 million) annually.

For the record: he has already cooperated with e-commerce companies in selling products like mobile phones, mugs and shells.

Jerry Kowal, an American with a popular video channel in China, is estimated by some local platforms to earn 600,000 yuan to 1 million yuan annually from just one short video platform.

Baker belongs to this league. Two weeks after he moved to Shanghai, he bagged an ad for which he reportedly received over 800,000 yuan－much higher than his takings over a 10-month period prior to this move to China.

In a sense, the wanghong economy is riding piggyback on a wave created by China's own internet celebrities who rewrite the rules of marketing, branding and e-commerce, experts said.

Technologies like live streaming have created thousands of broadcasters on e-commerce and short-video platforms that cater to a large group of consumers, especially the young.

A 10-minute sponsored broadcast featuring Li Jiaqi, dubbed Taobao's king of lipstick, on Taobao's livestreaming platform could set back an advertiser (say, a lipstick-maker) by 100,000 yuan. Li apparently charges 60,000 yuan for other cosmetics or personal care products and 30,000 for food products.

"In China, internet celebrities attract a lot of attention, which can easily translate into cash through online advertising and e-commerce," said Ding Chenling, founder of Redbang, a consulting company in Beijing.

Sun Jiashan, a researcher with the Chinese National Academy of Arts, said: "The thriving scene is also a sign of consumption upgrade in China, where an increasing number of people have the wherewithal to spend on experiences."

According to a report from Taobao, over 100 billion yuan worth of goods were sold via live-streaming by wanghong in 2018, up 400 percent year-on-year. More than 60,000 daily live-streaming sessions were broadcast on the platform with the number of performers rising 180 percent year-on-year.

"The business success of domestic net celebrities seemed to have inspired foreigners. Like the key opinion leaders or KOLs in the traditional internet area, foreign wanghong have created a new communications and consumption story in the mobile internet age in China," said Yang Qiguang from Renmin University of China.

"Consumers' curiosity and sense of immersion have helped increase the frequency of interactions with celebrities and thus the possibility of buying things that the latter promote," Yang said.

Shen Yi, a professor with Fudan University in Shanghai, cautioned that the sudden boom could entail some problems like improper content getting online.

"The wanghong economy is like a newborn in the era of mobile internet development. There are no timely regulations yet. More effective supervision would help regulate the sector."

Sun from the Chinese National Academy of Arts said fame can be short-lived unless the celebrities concerned associate themselves with top-quality products and services.