Without big Vs or shouting orders, Apple held a "cold live broadcast" on Taobao

Recently, Apple's first livestreaming on Taobao, launched by the Tmall Apple Store official flagship store, has attracted widespread attention. This article will explore the format and market feedback of Apple's livestreaming and discuss the development direction of brand livestreaming rooms. It is recommended for consumers, electronics industry practitioners, and brand livestreaming operators who are interested in livestreaming.

Recently, Apple's first global live broadcast on Taobao, launched by the Tmall Apple Store official flagship store, attracted a lot of attention. According to data disclosed by Taobao, nearly 1.3 million people watched the live broadcast, and the live broadcast room also attracted 300,000 likes within an hour.

However, judging from the market feedback, this live broadcast did not seem to meet the expectations of netizens. "Did you treat the live broadcast as a product launch?" and "It felt like a recorded broadcast" were common comments.

Is Apple's live streaming this time "not adapting to the local environment" or is it unwilling to follow the trend? What is the reason for entering the field of live streaming for the first time? In what mode should the brand live streaming room be presented to users?

01 A live debut without any surprises

Apple's live broadcast was relatively low-key. Apart from a preview on the homepage of its Tmall flagship store, it did not make any publicity on social platforms such as Weibo and WeChat official accounts, and the official website did not report on it. However, with its brand market influence, this live broadcast attracted the attention of many users. Within six minutes of the broadcast, the number of viewers in the live broadcast room had reached 100,000.

From the perspective of form, this live broadcast is very consistent with Apple's usual minimalist style. There were no big Vs present, and the Apple CEO, who the audience was looking forward to, did not appear in the live broadcast room. Only four Apple employees wearing Apple blue short-sleeved work clothes and jeans and Apple Watches appeared in front of the camera as the "anchors" of this live broadcast. The background of the live broadcast room also had only a simple brand logo.

In terms of live broadcast content, this live broadcast room is also unique. There is no sense of urgency of "3, 2, 1, go to the link", nor is there a welfare link of "9.9 free shipping". The four anchors focus on product explanations.

Focusing on the topic of "How to use iPhone to shoot good-looking videos", they told the audience in the live broadcast room how to use iPhone's movie effect mode, handheld anti-shake shooting, macro shooting, etc. On the topic of "How to use the various functions of Apple Watch", the anchors explained to users how to measure blood sugar with Apple Watch, how to link with iPhone to take photos, etc. The overall feeling given to people is that the service model of offline stores has been moved online.

The live broadcast started at 19:00 that evening. Near 19:30, the hosts took a group photo and told the audience that they could click on the product link to receive the 618 coupons, and then it ended. After that, the content of the previous half hour was replayed, and the live broadcast room was closed at around 20:00.

Judging from market feedback, netizens do not seem to be used to this live broadcast mode that focuses on product explanations. Some netizens said, "What's the point of treating the live broadcast as a product launch conference?" and "Is Apple Live just playing around?" Moreover, during the live broadcast, the hosts hardly interacted with the audience, which was considered by many netizens to be a fully recorded broadcast.

Image source: Taobao screenshot

From the "price reduction" barrage that keeps flooding the screen, we can see that most netizens who come to the live broadcast room expect greater discounts, but throughout the live broadcast, the anchors rarely mentioned product prices and discounts, and there were no live broadcast room-exclusive discounts as netizens expected.

02 Apple wants to do a different kind of live streaming

Apple's entry into live streaming may be partly due to a decline in performance. Earlier, Apple's second-quarter financial report as of April 1 showed that Apple's sales for the quarter fell 2.5% to $94.8 billion, and net income was $24.16 billion, down 3.4% from the same period last year. iPhone sales increased 1.5% to $51.3 billion, but iPad and Mac computer revenues fell 13% and 31%, respectively. At the same time, sales of Apple's business in China during the reporting period were $17.81 billion, slightly lower than $18.34 billion in the same period last year.

Although Apple's performance is under pressure, in order to maintain its brand tone, Apple did not cater to consumers' demands for exclusive discounts in the live broadcast room during the live broadcast, but kept consistent with the discount strength of the store. Overall, this live broadcast without mentioning "bringing goods" is more like an attempt by Apple to attract traffic to the store during the 618 period.

In fact, before Apple's Tmall flagship store started live streaming, two Apple official authorized accounts, @Apple Authorized Store and @Apple Product Qingcheng Digital Flagship Store, had already adopted live streaming to sell products. From the perspective of form, the style of these two live streaming rooms is highly consistent with Apple's first live streaming on Taobao. Both have simple and clean backgrounds, and the anchors explain the product functions, which is quite unique among the live streaming rooms.

Image source: Tik Tok screenshot

Some netizens even posted that "The live broadcast of the Apple authorized store is really a breath of fresh air, it is very comfortable to watch, and the male and female anchors are very good-looking." Others commented that "it looks very simple and clean, and it feels like a high-quality live broadcast room at first glance."

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

As for the price, which users are very concerned about, the anchor said that there will be a price protection mechanism during the 618 period, which will last until June 18. If there is a price reduction, consumers can apply for a refund of the price difference. It can be seen that Apple only uses live streaming as a way to expand sales channels and has not destroyed the brand's pricing system.

It is worth mentioning that the works published by these two official authorized accounts also focus more on product functions, which is consistent with the content of the live broadcast room. For example, the Easy Play series of @Apple Authorized Store includes videos such as "How to use iPhone to shoot street photos" and "How to use iPhone to shoot Children's Day blockbusters". The works of @Apple Product Qingcheng Digital Flagship Store are divided into series such as "Apple New Product Release", "iPhone Photography Skills", and "iPhone Usage Tips".

In fact, Apple's product-focused live broadcast format is not unique. Nowadays, many brands' live broadcast rooms do not have big Vs, and do not use welfare to attract traffic, but they still attract viewers. For example, some netizens commented that the live broadcast of Huawei's Tmall flagship store is fresh and refined, and said, "I am fascinated by the anchor's clear and melodious voice. I am used to seeing other anchors' exaggerated sales performances, and this one gives me a refreshing feeling." The anchor's online answering of users' questions is also a manifestation of improving service quality.

Image source: Taobao Xiaohongshu screenshot

As livestreaming sales have developed to this day, it may be time to change the stereotype that livestreaming rooms are synonymous with low-priced goods. Livestreaming rooms can not only be a place to achieve explosive transactions through promotions and other means, but also a channel to better convey brand concepts and improve service quality, which has already been reflected in brand livestreaming rooms.

03 Where should brand live streaming go?

Before Apple started live streaming, many domestic mobile phone brands had already joined the wave of live streaming sales. Brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO not only opened their own live broadcasts, but also appeared in the live broadcast rooms of top anchors such as Li Jiaqi, and have already developed their own way of playing live streaming sales.

For example, Xiaomi regards store live broadcast as an important venue. Xiaomi not only enhances brand voice through live broadcast, but also closely ties the rhythm of live broadcast room release with new product launch nodes.

During the 618 promotion last year, Xiaomi's live broadcast room released new product information in line with the promotion rhythm, and promoted the brand. At the same time, it screened high-conversion groups for secondary marketing guidance in Taobao, and the ROI reached more than 100 during peak days, eventually becoming the TOP1 store live broadcast room with sales exceeding 400 million. During the L12 new product launch conference, Xiaomi's live broadcast room also opened super live broadcast diversion, achieving an ultra-low viewing cost of 0.2. The above achievements are enough to show the potential of brand live broadcasting to bring goods.

Although there were many complaints about Apple's live broadcast on Tmall flagship store, the market estimated that the sales were very impressive. According to media reports, the sales of Apple's first live broadcast on Taobao were expected to exceed 100 million yuan. Some netizens commented that "the most Buddhist live broadcast sold the most goods. In the face of absolute strength, all skills are nothing." This also indirectly reflects the netizens' acceptance of this live broadcast.

However, for high-priced goods such as electronic products, price is still the main consideration for consumers when making decisions. Before Apple launched its official live broadcast debut, Apple products also appeared in Li Jiaqi's live broadcast room. Although the supply was not from the official flagship store, but shipped from the Miaosuda Electric Appliances official flagship store, the lower-than-official price and Li Jiaqi's trust endorsement still attracted many users to stay in the live broadcast room. This can also be seen from the "price reduction" barrage that kept swiping the screen during Apple's live broadcast debut.

The price factor also affected users' consumption experience in Xiaomi's live broadcast room. Some netizens expressed dissatisfaction because the same mobile phone in the live broadcast rooms of different platforms had different discounts.

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

In fact, it is not just the mobile phone brands with high customer unit price. For all brands’ live broadcast rooms, how to use the live broadcast room as an efficient transaction and conversion channel while conveying the brand concept to users and maintaining the brand tone? This is a question that all brands should think about.

Author: Aries

Source: WeChat public account "TopKlout (ID: TopKlout)"