Oriental Selection, which has been caught up in a public opinion storm, seems to have found a "new idea"?

As part of the Global Shared Development Action Forum, this is not only an important node in the digital economy's exchanges between China and foreign countries; for Oriental Selection, this is also the first step for its live broadcast content to "go global", and an important milestone for the further diversification and internationalization of its live broadcast content.

Since the outbreak of the "Small Composition Incident", Oriental Selection has never been off the hot search list. Even if it is described as "the fire of public opinion is almost burning it out", it may not be an exaggeration.

Complex emotions, repeated apologies, and the inextricable bond between Oriental Selection and its anchors. Whether it is directed at individual employees or the original sin of corporate management, the discussion about "Has Oriental Selection changed?" is hot and intensifying.

Amid the storm of public opinion, Oriental Selection urgently needs a new transformation to save itself. However, in its performance at a recent international exchange event, this live streaming e-commerce company seems to have found some new feelings.

1. The Belt and Road Initiative in the Live Broadcast Room

From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 12, guests from "Belt and Road" countries such as Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Thailand, Cape Verde, Belarus, Malawi, Fiji, etc. appeared in the Oriental Selection live broadcast room and started the "English call" mode with the anchors of Oriental Selection.

In addition to being foreign friends, they are also delegates to the Second Global Forum on Shared Development Action. To quote the official statement, this forum is a major measure for my country to implement global development initiatives, promote common development and progress among countries in the world, and build a community with a shared future for mankind - in plain language, it is actually about making friends.

You can make friends at the national level through officially organized forums; if you want to make friends on a broader level, live streaming platforms powered by short videos are undoubtedly a better choice.

In addition to the interviews, the good things from various countries were also put on the live broadcast room with the arrival of foreign guests, so that netizens could appreciate the rich global product culture without leaving home. In a sense, this is also a direct reflection of the interconnection and common development of global trade in the digital age.

Compared with the previous composite e-commerce live broadcast + self-operated product model, this live interview with foreign guests has obviously raised the "richness" and specifications of the live broadcast content of Dongfang Zhenxuan by more than one level. If you think about it carefully, apart from Dongfang Zhenxuan, few other live broadcast rooms can rashly accept such "overwhelming wealth" of an external nature.

First of all, from single-point highlighting to collective expedition, a large number of excellent English anchors cultivated by Oriental Selection over the years naturally took on the task of this international exchange. Whether it is Yoyo, Qiqi, Lele, or Beibei, Jingwen and other anchors, netizens also gave their performance the evaluation of "smooth communication".

Second, in addition to business capabilities, Dongfang Zhenxuan has always been a company with an international vision. Previously, the relevant person in charge of the company said: "In the future, Dongfang Zhenxuan's products can not only introduce many imported products, but also promote domestic products. Our unique advantages make many customers more fond of our brand than foreign brands. Because we (Dongfang Zhenxuan) can be said to be a brand rooted in China, but also with an international vision."

Third, from products to anchors to brand value, Dongfang Zhenxuan has long been branded as a "cultural live broadcast" in the minds of the public, unlike other live broadcast rooms. Feeling the difference from other live broadcast rooms and witnessing its growth process is also the unique brand tone of Dongfang Zhenxuan.

With all these advantages, it is obvious why Oriental Selection chose to undertake the bilingual live broadcast for foreign guests.

2. “Value-added Experience” Constructed by Two Aces

This seamless bilingual live broadcast with foreign guests is just one aspect of the complexity of Oriental Selection’s live broadcast content.

To break it down, Oriental Selection has begun to gradually develop its complex content capabilities and self-operated product supply chain capabilities at least since last year. After a year and a half, its complex live broadcast capabilities and large-scale supply chain system have begun to take shape.

What is the complex live broadcast capability? Perhaps we should start with the development of live broadcast e-commerce in the past decade.

Since the development of live streaming in 2014, the "first year of live streaming", it has not only profoundly rewritten the operating rules of the e-commerce world, but has also undergone multiple rounds of changes and shifts in focus in the past decade.

On the one hand, there is a highly developed live broadcast ecosystem, with the rapid rise of countless anchors and merchant store broadcasts; on the other hand, in addition to the early inherent cognitions such as rhetoric, hawking, and noise, there have also been deviations such as the Oriental Selection model, which constantly show another look of live broadcast e-commerce and explore another possibility.

This possibility is ultimately defined as “complexification”, which is also the core advantage of Oriental Selection in the “market”.

There are no fancy backgrounds, no compact selling, only one or two hosts sitting under the studio lights and telling stories. With this clear stream, Oriental Selection quickly became popular in June 2022.

In the live broadcast room, viewers can not only purchase high-quality agricultural products from around the world, but also learn about the local customs and cultural background behind the products, as well as the behind-the-scenes stories.

Based on the basic principle of "knowledge-driven sales", Dongfang Zhenxuan has gradually developed into a compound capability of "live broadcast + knowledge + X". Netizens have discovered that in addition to product knowledge and anchor talent, the live broadcast room also adds cultural and tourism factors. Shopping here is not only shopping, but also a life experience.

Self-operation has become the next "spring mountain" that Oriental Selection wants to climb.

In fact, as early as two or three years ago, industry insiders put forward such a view: from the perspective of the entire chain from the source of the industrial belt to the consumer terminal, an integrated retail-supply relationship with smooth information flow and clear division of roles, rather than a model where a certain platform takes care of everything, may be the common evolutionary direction of the retail and e-commerce industries.

Dongfang Zhenxuan is indeed constantly working on its own business. As of now, the total number of Dongfang Zhenxuan's own business products has exceeded 400, of which 80% are agricultural products. During the same period, there were more than 260 self-operated products on sale, and more than 100 products ranked in the top three of Douyin's category hot list. The overall praise rate of self-operated products exceeded 95%, the total number of self-operated users exceeded 25 million, the number of repeat purchase users exceeded 14.7 million, and the product repurchase rate reached 59%.

With its complex live broadcasting capabilities and in-depth development of its own products, Oriental Selection has gradually developed its own model and differentiated itself from other live broadcasting rooms.

3. Open up more possibilities

Back to this bilingual interview, this is not only a testimony to the strength of Oriental Selection, but also opens up more possibilities for the future of Oriental Selection.

From the previous "144-hour visa-free" event, we can see that foreign consumers have a considerable demand for Chinese culture and customs. Objectively, they need a platform to promote it overseas and to provide them with initial "awareness" at the content level.

As mentioned above, platforms that have both international content capabilities and corresponding product supply capabilities are still scarce to a large extent, even with the existence of Oriental Selection. On the other hand, this also gives Oriental Selection a rare window of opportunity.

Regarding Oriental Selection’s contact with foreign dignitaries, some speculated that it might be related to its plan to “go overseas”.

In recent years, more and more Chinese companies have positioned "going global" as their next strategic focus, and have achieved very impressive results: Tiktok's global sweep has made Facebook feel the competitive pressure; the launch of Genshin Impact has conquered the picky European and American players; Shein and TEMU have broken Amazon's years of dominance with their low-price model...

Although "going overseas" is a very broad concept, the business maturity and market size of different regions such as Europe, America, Africa, and Southeast Asia vary greatly. However, in terms of attention and achievable economic benefits, the neighboring countries with the Belt and Road Initiative as the main axis may be one of the preferred choices for the East to select as the first stop for going overseas.

This is naturally the key to the market's speculation that "Dongfang Selection intends to 'go overseas'".

In particular, if Oriental Selection really goes overseas in the future, of course not only to the countries along the Belt and Road, but also to developed European and American countries, emerging African countries, etc., it will naturally bring dividends to various companies in the overseas industrial chain, such as advertisers, live broadcast operation service providers, production and logistics service companies, etc., all of which will have the opportunity to leverage this to make money.

However, it should be noted that the overseas expansion of live e-commerce is by no means a simple replication of the model. After all, the localized infrastructure, cultural taboos, acceptance of new species, and even payment methods in different regions are all very different. Going to the world with wisdom, diligence, and tolerance is also a new mission that Oriental Selection needs to undertake in the new narrative context.

It is not difficult to see that Oriental Selection Culture and Tourism, which is in its infancy, with its systematic merchandising business and its looming overseas strategy, is expected to usher in a new round of market reassessment.

Author: Qiao Yin

Source: WeChat official account: "Lujiu Business Review (ID: liujiucaijing69)"