How Gengmei Won the Brand Battle: Insights from Zheng Shuang's Live Streaming Debut on Gengmei APP
On the evening of December 23, popular Chinese actress Zheng Shuang appeared as a guest on the Gengmei App’s live stream, where she and Gengmei CEO Liu Di discussed the current state and future development of the medical aesthetics industry.It is reported that this marks Zheng Shuang’s first foray into live-streaming for medical aesthetics. Within just one hour, the broadcast attracted over 1.2 million viewers and generated nearly 10,000 comments, demonstrating strong market-driving potential. Beyond the Gengmei platform, the live stream gained significant traction across various youth-oriented social media channels, including Weibo, Zhihu, and Douyin. Notably, three related topics trended on Weibo’s Hot Search list, ranking third, eighteenth, and forty-second respectively, with cumulative views exceeding 100 million.
Amid the pandemic, offline consumption has suffered unprecedented shocks, with many medical aesthetics institutions facing bankruptcy or operating at a loss. Live-streaming e-commerce, as a novel marketing approach, has provided these institutions with a new breakthrough, serving as a “lifeline” for them to return to normal market operations.According to the report “Live-Streaming E-Commerce: Marching Toward a Trillion-Yuan Market,” released by KPMG and Alibaba Research Institute in 2020, the overall scale of live-streaming e-commerce is projected to reach RMB 1.05 trillion in 2020, with this rapidly emerging new economic format set to enter the trillion-yuan era this year.
The vast market size has ushered in development opportunities for the entire medical aesthetics industry. However, the ability to achieve precise positioning and identify target audiences amidst the vast online population directly determines whether medical aesthetics institutions can seize the first-mover advantage and fully capitalize on the dividends of the industry’s explosive growth period.
Source: iResearch, “2020 White Paper on Insights into China’s Medical Aesthetics Industry”
According to the "2020 White Paper on Insights into China's Medical Aesthetics Industry," among all individuals seeking aesthetic treatments, those born after 1995—known as "Generation Z"—accounted for more than one-third of the total survey respondents.They are a generation that has grown up alongside the medical aesthetics industry. In their pursuit of self-improvement, post-95s beauty seekers have come to view medical aesthetic procedures as the most appealing new option, following trends such as “retail therapy after a breakup” and “dyeing hair upon landing a new job.” Consequently, “capturing” this demographic has become a key strategic focus for medical aesthetics institutions in their market planning.
On this path of market exploration, filled with immense opportunities and infinite challenges, the professional medical aesthetics platform Gengmei APP has taken a leading position in the industry.
Setting aside numerous external factors, the youthful and trendy brand DNA endows the Gengmei app with a unique appeal that naturally attracts young users.
In core businessThe Gengmei app offers consumer healthcare services, including plastic surgery, minimally invasive procedures, dentistry, ophthalmology, and anti-aging treatments. It has also successively launched innovative features such as Gengmei Shopping, Gengmei AI, and live streaming. Committed to helping aesthetic seekers more efficiently match with professional physicians, the platform reduces costs while mitigating consumption risks, thereby providing a solid guarantee for younger users to better experience medical aesthetic services.
According to the data, the top ten most popular medical aesthetic categories on the Gengmei App during this year’s Double 11 shopping festival were: botulinum toxin injections for facial slimming, Thermage, hyaluronic acid fillers, intense pulsed light (IPL) skin rejuvenation, mesotherapy injections, double eyelid surgery, hair removal, rhinoplasty, oxygen-infused skin revitalization, and fruit acid peels. This ranking clearly indicates that young consumers remain the primary driving force in spending. Guided by this market trend, Gengmei App has focused its category selection on the medical aesthetic products most favored and in highest demand among younger users.
In terms of service model, Gengmei App is fully committed to building the safest medical aesthetics e-commerce platform. It has onboarded thousands of licensed medical aesthetics institutions and over 10,000 practicing physicians, with services covering more than 300 cities globally as well as five overseas countries and regions. Meanwhile, by establishing the most authentic consumer community for medical aesthetics and aggregating millions of real-life cosmetic surgery cases, the platform leverages shared experiences as its data foundation to gradually build a “think tank” for medical aesthetics. This initiative guides young users to quickly acquire relevant knowledge on medical aesthetics care, helping them avoid common pitfalls on their journey to enhanced beauty, thereby maximizing the platform’s value.
By combining e-commerce operational models that keep pace with the times with a highly interactive sharing and communication service mechanism, the Gengmei APP can rapidly and precisely reach young consumers. This approach not only meets their personalized needs but also guides young users to view “medical aesthetics” from a positive perspective, exerting significant influence on the industry’s rapid development.
In terms of promotional formatsGengmei App has established a new media matrix with over 100 million in traffic, primarily leveraging frontier platforms such as WeChat Official Accounts, short-video channels, Weibo, and Zhihu. Its WeChat Official Accounts have consistently ranked among the top 60 on Newrank, while its short-video content has achieved annual views exceeding 1.2 billion. In terms of content, Gengmei App focuses on current trending topics, conducts popular science education on medical aesthetics centered around industry knowledge, and promotes positive aesthetic values, thereby comprehensively correcting societal misconceptions about the medical aesthetics industry.
Gengmei App New Media Matrix
With the times evolving, the media industry has undergone rapid iteration and renewal. New media formats dominated by short videos and flash news have become the primary channels through which young people access external information. For the medical aesthetics industry, which has long been prone to negative publicity, the term “medical aesthetics” was once viewed as a pejorative. As a professional medical aesthetics platform, Gengmei App has made substantial efforts in its promotional strategies and content creation. By delivering medical aesthetics knowledge aligned with the interests of younger audiences, it has helped dispel misunderstandings about the industry across various sectors, thereby progressively demonstrating the platform’s value and further enhancing user stickiness.
In recent years, cutting-edge technologies such as AI, 5G, and cloud services have been gradually integrating into multiple sectors, yielding substantial benefits in practical applications and shaping the future direction of various industries. For the medical aesthetics industry, which is in urgent need of transformation, these emerging technologies will provide the impetus for aesthetic clinics to rapidly capture market share.
As a leading professional medical aesthetics platform in China, the Gengmei App recognized the necessity of aesthetic transformation early on and officially launched the “Gengmei AI Brain” in 2019, announcing that the medical aesthetics industry had transitioned from the 2.0 era characterized by the “Internet + Medical Aesthetics” model to the 3.0 era dominated by “5G + AI.”
Gengmei AI Feature Showcase
“Gengmei AI” leverages the vast trove of facial image data from the Gengmei app, extensive imagery data on medical aesthetic and plastic surgery procedures, as well as specialized aesthetic knowledge and expertise accumulated through deep engagement in the medical aesthetics industry, to comprehensively build the Gengmei AI Brain. This represents Gengmei’s upgraded launch of an all-scenario AI-driven facial attractiveness perception and aesthetic analysis tool, following its industry-first introduction of a plastic surgery simulator in 2017.
Currently, the Gengmei app has launched AI-powered features for facial attractiveness assessment, skin quality analysis, facial origin tracing, and simulated plastic surgery. These features help users analyze their facial characteristics and feature proportions, and identify suitable plastic surgery templates. Combining entertainment value with practical utility, they not only assist medical aesthetics users in intelligently customizing treatment plans but also serve as a key tool for Gengmei to attract beauty-conscious users. In the future, Gengmei will continue to develop new functionalities leveraging “5G + AI” technologies, thereby accelerating the rapid development of the “Medical Aesthetics 3.0” era.
In addition to focusing on AI technology, medical aesthetics live streaming has become a “signpost” for Gengmei App’s marketization journey.
With the deep integration of live streaming and the medical aesthetics industry, the rapidly growing sector of medical aesthetics live streaming is emerging as a new growth frontier. Representatives from various stakeholders in the industry ecosystem—including live streaming platforms, MCN agencies, and leading medical aesthetics institutions across China—are committed to establishing demonstration bases for medical aesthetics live streaming. By training and certifying professional medical aesthetics streamers, they aim to promote the diversified development of the medical aesthetics live streaming industry.
During this year’s Double 11 shopping festival, the official Gengmei app hosted live-streamed sessions on medical aesthetics, sparking a buying frenzy for treatments such as Thermage, facial slimming injections, and intense pulsed light (IPL) skin rejuvenation. On that day, orders for Thermage surged by 281% compared to the previous year. The live streams featured premium gifts from major brands, along with multiple promotions including free Thermage and liposuction treatments. Additionally, the platform offered subsidies in the form of coupons and discount vouchers, benefiting beauty seekers and saving consumers over RMB 10 million in total. According to the rankings, Gengmei’s official Double 11 live streams attracted more than 10,000 new users, with order volume increasing by 349%, private message inquiries rising by 211%, and average viewing duration growing by 135%.
On December 7, Luo Yonghao of “Make Friends” partnered with Zhu Xiaomu to host the official live stream on the Gengmei APP, successfully replicating their e-commerce livestreaming expertise in the medical aesthetics industry and achieving remarkable results. Statistics showed that the live stream attracted a cumulative total of 220,000 online viewers, with transaction volume doubling, average watch time increasing by 272%, and private message inquiries from users rising by 340%. This event further solidified Gengmei APP’s position in the minds of medical aesthetics consumers.
On December 23, popular Chinese actress Zheng Shuang appeared as a guest on the Gengmei APP live-streaming channel. During the one-hour broadcast, the cumulative number of online viewers reached 1.2 million, the average viewing duration increased by 800%, and the number of users sending private messages rose by 517%. Leveraging the “halo effect” of top-tier celebrities, Gengmei APP has further expanded its presence in the medical aesthetics live-streaming market. Moving forward, Gengmei APP plans to invite more celebrities to engage with users through live streams, thereby continuing to strengthen its market advantage and establish a scalable operational model.
“Deep Integration of AI Technology” + “Star-Studded Live Streams with Hundreds of Millions of Views”: Gengmei App has been continuously experimenting with and exploring new strategies, proactively embracing change to swiftly navigate market transformation. By focusing primarily on engaging younger demographics, it has rapidly secured a dominant position in the medical aesthetics industry.
Guided by user interest trends, the Gengmei app has concentrated its marketing efforts primarily on the pan-entertainment sector. By sponsoring hit dramas and variety shows, as well as inviting celebrities to endorse the platform, it has leveraged billions of impressions to build nationwide brand awareness and rapidly acquire potential new users.
In 2020, the Gengmei app placed advertisements in nearly ten nationally popular TV dramas and variety shows, including *Legend of Fei*, *The Romance of Tiger and Rose*, *The Bad Kids*, *We Are All Alone*, *Sisters Who Make Waves*, *Nothing But Thirty*, and *The Long Night*. Leveraging trending topics as a foundation, it collaborated on fan engagement activities to broaden its reach and precisely target beauty-conscious users through multi-scenario approaches.
On the other hand, by leveraging the short-video platform “Face-to-Face with Celebrities” and enlisting high-profile stars such as Zhao Lusi, Han Dongjun, Chen Yao, Ding Yuxi, Ren Jialun, and Li Yitong to endorse the brand, Gengmei APP achieved exponential growth in exposure and further expanded its user base, capitalizing on their unique fan bases and tiered traffic influence.
In terms of market deployment, Gengmei APP has achieved comprehensive user coverage by leveraging the operational model of “Film and Variety Show IPs + Celebrity Collaborations,” rapidly enhancing its platform influence and reach while maximizing the returns on its marketing investments.
Driven by emerging technologies and shifting market dynamics, a new era of medical aesthetics has arrived. What began as a niche service for marginal groups has gradually evolved into a “fast-moving consumer good” accessible to the mass market. Meanwhile, as demand for aesthetic enhancement intensifies and the market environment becomes increasingly mature and regulated, Generation Z (those born after 1995) has emerged as the primary consumer base. Consequently, China’s medical aesthetics industry is poised for substantial market growth over the next three to ten years.
First movers undoubtedly seize the initiative and gain a competitive edge. As a leading professional medical aesthetics platform in China, Gengmei App has taken the industry lead in user acquisition through innovative strategies and precise market positioning. Looking ahead, while continuously optimizing its platform, Gengmei App will further explore market opportunities to precisely reach target audiences, enabling more individuals to access high-quality, highly safe medical aesthetic services.