A day in the life of a livestreaming host like Zhang can include more than six hours of talking almost non-stop to camera, time spent on hair, make-up, and on post-broadcast debriefs.
I can pick up my phone and I'm livestreaming," Zhang said.
The livestreaming industry employed 1.23 million hosts as of 2020, according to iResearch, and a pandemic era boom in livestream sales helped the industry to generate $480 billion in business in China last year.
To facilitate an increasingly professional and competitive livestreaming landscape, agencies have sprung up to train stables of young hosts and connect suitable anchors with brands.
Indeed, the way brands approach livestreaming in China has also quickly evolved.
Persons:
Zhang Jinyu, Zhang, Bytedance's, Shining Li, Shi Jianing, Hugo Boss, Casey Hall, Robert Birsel
Organizations:
Romomo, Thomson
Locations:
SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai