Lei Jun and Zhou Hongyi are going out of their way to become internet celebrities: middle-aged CEOs striving to become popular online.

At the beginning of this year, Zhou Hongyi, the founder of 360 company, called for "if possible, I think entrepreneurs should become internet celebrities". Now it seems that he is also doing so, and plans to become even more popular.

These days, the hot searches on major platforms have been dominated by two people, one is Zhou Hongyi, and the other is Lei Jun.

On April 25th, at the Beijing Auto Show, the "new internet celebrity" in the car circle, Zhou Hongyi, not only climbed onto the roof of a car to become the only car model at the event, but also "interrupted" an interview activity of Li Bin, the founder of NIO. Xiaomi Chairman and CEO Lei Jun also appeared at the auto show and stated, "Our competitors have implemented various policies to intercept our orders, but our lock-in orders still reached 75,723 units," grabbing the spotlight with strength.

The automotive industry, the technology industry, and the internet industry haven't been this lively for a long time. After a long silence, many CEOs have taken the initiative to become internet celebrities.

Some of them are doing it to promote products, such as Lei Jun personally opening the car door for Xiaomi car users; some are doing it to boost the company's market value, such as Zhou Hongyi and Fu Sheng, Chairman and CEO of Cheetah Mobile, frequently making AI-related statements, strongly linking the company with AI concept stocks; and some are doing it to clarify certain information to the public, such as Dong Mingzhu, the chairman of Gree Electric Appliances, who has made multiple comments related to the departure of the former "successor" Meng Yutong.

Of course, CEOs becoming internet celebrities is not a new phenomenon, from Zhang Chaoyang, who sang "Dear, That's Not Love" on variety shows, to Li Guoqing, who gained fame by snatching a company seal and smashing a cup, and to Luo Yonghao and Yu Minhong, who became popular again through live streaming to promote products.

As early as 2016, Xu Xiaoping, the founder of ZhenFund, said that every entrepreneur should become an internet celebrity. In December 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also expressed on social media that he was "considering resigning and becoming a full-time internet celebrity."

The business world has never lacked internet celebrity CEOs, but some CEOs become popular and then disappear, while others not only lead their companies to success but also become "cool male leads" in their own right.

Why do CEOs all want to become internet celebrities? What factors determine whether they become popular or not? Why are the older generation of internet celebrity CEOs still active in the spotlight today?

Internet celebrity CEOs, each with their own unique abilities

On the development path of China's internet, there is no shortage of internet celebrity CEOs. And now, it seems that the older generation of entrepreneurs are still active in the spotlight, providing various types of internet celebrity examples, which can be roughly categorized into four types.

The most common storyline for internet celebrity CEOs is the counterattack. The first to play out this storyline was a nearly forgotten entrepreneur, Chen Ou, the founder of Jumei.com. In 2012, his advertisement was quite "inspiring": "Even if covered in scars, I will live beautifully. I am Chen Ou, and I endorse myself." In 2014, Jumei.com went public, and 31-year-old Chen Ou became the youngest CEO of a listed company on the NYSE.

However, due to the company's poor management, Chen Ou's counterattack script did not last long.

Recently, the title of "counterattack cool text" male lead, has to be Lei Jun. Although he personally denied "there is no 4 billion in the card" and "not the top scorer in the college entrance examination", some still evaluate him as "Lei Jun is the peak that ordinary people can achieve in this era by diligence".

Lei Jun's internet celebrity journey began in 2015, when his phrase "Are you OK" at a press conference was spontaneously turned into a parody video by netizens, and this CEO broke through since then. His past experiences have solidified his image as a counterattack, down-to-earth, and hardworking individual.

After graduating from university at the age of 22, Lei Jun was brought into Kingsoft by the developer of WPS, Qiu Bojun. Over the next 16 years, he fought several difficult battles - battling against Microsoft Office and leading Kingsoft and its subsidiaries to go public. When he founded Xiaomi, Lei Jun was already 40 years old. After the company went public in Hong Kong, he started a car-making plan at the age of 51.

Unlike Lei Jun, Zhou Hongyi follows the "dueling script". He voluntarily became an internet celebrity - wherever people called him "Red Robe Master", he would wear a red robe; and if people called him "Zhou Cannon", he would "duel" with others wherever he went.

Just this year, Zhou Hongyi has dueled with many people. He dueled with entrepreneur Cheng Qian, and then started his own live streaming lectures. He dueled with his peer, Robin Li, stating "Some celebrities talk nonsense, who says open source is not as good as closed source". He also dueled with invested companies, guiding the CEO of NIO, Zhang Yong, on how to name and market the car.

If there were ranks for dueling, Dong Mingzhu could be considered the top female entrepreneur. Known as "Miss Dong", her path to internet celebrity began with a "10 billion bet" with Lei Jun in 2013. That night, Dong Mingzhu said, "If Xiaomi can surpass Gree within 5 years, I will pay you 1 billion RMB".

Dong Mingzhu has also dueled with her peers, publicly reporting on AUX, and has had multiple verbal disputes with competitors such as Midea and Haier. She also dueled with distribution channels, cutting ties with the founder of Gome, Huang Guangyu, and engaging in verbal battles with the founder of Suning, Zhang Jindong.

In a country that advocates humility and low-key wealth accumulation, the straightforward and outspoken nature of Zhou Hongyi and Dong Mingzhu has made them highly recognizable, and their personal influence has at times surpassed that of their companies.

Among these internet celebrity CEOs, many have mentioned and expressed inspiration from one person, referring to him as the godfather of Chinese internet celebrity CEOs - he is Zhang Chaoyang.

The story of Zhang Chaoyang's "youthful success" is well known. In 2000, the company he founded, Sohu, went public on the NASDAQ in the United States. After the company went public, he actively pursued his three hobbies - running, yoga, and mountain climbing, and organized numerous mountain climbing activities, making headlines in the media.

He enjoys the celebrity effect, is adept at creating events and topics, and does not shy away from it. However, excessive exposure to the spotlight and prolonged fatigue led to him suffering from depression. Upon his return, the industry underwent a change, and the era of the "three major portal websites" passed, with BAT rising to prominence.

In recent years, Zhang Chaoyang has found a way to combine his hobbies and business in the most comfortable way: live streaming to teach physics. In terms of "doing things based on interest", the founder of NetEase, Ding Lei, and Zhang Chaoyang have a similar script.

In 2003, Ding Lei became the richest man in China with a net worth of 7.5 billion RMB. He led NetEase to develop a series of cross-border businesses - pig farming, cross-border e-commerce, strict selection, dictionaries, public courses, and cloud music. He once said, "Making money is just a byproduct".

In the past two years, there have been many internet celebrity CEOs who have turned their fortunes around, such as Yu Minhong, Luo Yonghao, and Liang Jianzhang. They seized the opportunity of live streaming, started from scratch to learn live streaming, and turned the tide for their companies by becoming internet celebrities.

Yu Minhong and Luo Yonghao's first profession was as teachers at New Oriental. Both of them have a rationalistic side, and their entry into live streaming and sales was out of necessity, but they both "unintentionally" succeeded - Luo Yonghao completed the "True Wireless" through live streaming and ventured into the AR field; Yu Minhong withstood the blow of the education and training industry's transformation through Dongfang Zhenxuan and Dong Yuhui, and entered the cultural and tourism industry.

Similarly, Liang Jianzhang retired from Ctrip and went to Stanford University in the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in economics, researching population issues, and has since spoken out on related issues. However, in 2020, Liang Jianzhang returned to Ctrip and held 27 BOSS live streaming sessions, cosplaying as different characters to promote travel and hotel consumption.

On the path of internet celebrity, these CEOs have never stopped. Although the image of internet celebrity CEOs is artificially created, it is because the CEOs themselves possess similar qualities and experiences that they can persist for a long time.

CEOs becoming internet celebrities is a savvy move for business people.

CEOs of different types of companies becoming internet celebrities have different scripts and naturally different purposes. However, the commonality lies in approaching it from the perspective of a business person - saving costs, promoting sales, and increasing stock prices.

In the second year of the "10 billion bet", Dong Mingzhu replaced Jackie Chan with herself in the Gree advertisements. Later, Gree launched a self-developed mobile phone, and Dong Mingzhu was featured on the startup screen. After becoming an internet celebrity, Miss Dong saved a large amount of marketing expenses for Gree. According to some media estimates, this saved several hundred million RMB annually.

Every time Lei Jun uses a popular phrase, it is tied to his personal brand before and after product launches. His personal brand is linked to the Xiaomi brand, converting "Lei fans" into "Mi fans", and traffic into sales. After the launch of the Xiaomi SU7, Lei Jun announced on Weibo that the pre-orders for the SU7 had exceeded 88,898 units within 24 hours.

For ToC companies, the CEO becoming an internet celebrity and building a personal brand through social media content output serves not only to attract traffic but also to win people's hearts. The image of an internet celebrity CEO is useful both in "pre-sales" and "after-sales", one is the offensive line, and the other is the defensive line.

Zhang Dadou, the founder of Leopard IP, told "Ding Jiao" that from a pre-sales perspective, the CEO's personal brand sets the standard and attitude for how they conduct themselves, giving consumer brands a personalized endorsement. For example, when Lei Jun opens the car door for users, it creates a positive brand impression, gradually leading to preference, and ultimately increasing the reasons for purchase.

From an after-sales perspective, if users are dissatisfied with their purchase, the CEO's accumulated personal brand can create brand warmth, easing negative emotions. For example, when Lei Jun says he hopes everyone will be kind in their criticism, and that they will definitely make improvements based on feedback, "this is an attitude, and it is also to garner more goodwill for the company," said Zhang Dadou.

The advantages are also reflected in the transformation process of Yu Minhong. As a popular CEO, he first cultivated the anchors of Dongfang Zhenxuan, successfully breaking through in sales, and then took the initiative to apologize and admit responsibility in the "Xiao Zuowen" incident involving Dong Yuhui, playing the role of mediator, mentor, and patriarch, successfully resolving a crisis.

Although many people believe that companies doing ToB should keep a low profile, Zhou Hongyi's experience has proven that if the boss has the ability to be a popular CEO, it can at least bring attention to the company and influence the stock price in the secondary market.

In terms of performance and stock price, 360's revenue and net profit have long been lagging behind in the era of mobile internet. 360 has subsequently attempted businesses such as mobile phones and the metaverse, but none have achieved significant scale. The company has experienced consecutive losses and declining revenue. According to the company's 2023 annual report, the revenue was 9.055 billion yuan, with a net loss of 492 million yuan, and the most profitable business is still advertising.

In November 2017, 360 went public through a reverse merger, with a market value once approaching 500 billion yuan. Now it has fallen to 57.7 billion yuan, and the stock price has dropped from the highest 66.29 yuan to 6.19 yuan. In the first half of 2023, stimulated by the concept of AI, the stock price briefly rebounded to 20.85 yuan, and now it is maintained at around 10 yuan.

Leveraging AI, Zhou Hongyi frequently appears to maintain his popularity. In January of this year, he and Fu Sheng discussed AI topics together, marking their first joint appearance in 16 years. In April, he once again made headlines by shaking hands with Ma Huateng.

In addition to the AI circle, he also holds sway in the automotive circle. Recently, he created a buzz by claiming to sell his own Mercedes-Maybach 600, and organized a small "car exhibition" in the 360 campus, gathering new energy vehicle brands such as NIO, Xpeng, and WM Motor, igniting another peak of the emerging car industry.

Today, users see many new brands and companies every day and actively search for the content they want to see. It can be imagined that if companies and brands do not make a splash for several months and the CEO remains silent, they may quickly lose attention due to lack of exposure and topics.

One trend is that in 2024, CEOs will no longer be low-key and cannot afford to be low-key anymore. Xu Hao, a senior brand PR professional, believes that in the current general downturn of Chinese concept stocks, corporate CEOs are seeking new growth points. They enjoy the spotlight and have the ability to create topics. Inspired by leaders like Lei Jun, the big shots have formed a new tacit understanding in becoming internet celebrities and driving industry trends.

CEOs are vying to become internet celebrities because the way companies interact with users has changed, and the initiative is no longer in the hands of the companies and entrepreneurs. When traffic and attention are deeply influenced by short videos and live streaming, living people have replaced shelves as the new entry point for attention and consumption. Previously, users waited for entrepreneurs to come out and promote themselves, but now entrepreneurs need to take the initiative to stand out and strive for a good position, finding ways to communicate with users and establish a favorable image for the company and themselves.

In the era of consumer sovereignty, it is important for companies to maintain a sense of interaction and dialogue with users. Zhang Dadou believes that future communication will be more flattened, with the media in the hands of users. The smart approach for companies is for the CEO to personally engage in dialogue and to create a sense of sincerity, goodwill, and daily companionship with the public in an equal manner.

What kind of CEO can stay in the limelight?

For an internet celebrity, the most difficult and fundamental question is how to stay in the limelight, and the same applies to internet celebrity CEOs. In the current situation, not all CEOs who come out to "perform" are accepted by users.

The former CEO of Dangdang.com, Li Guoqing, and Zhang Lan, the former chairman of South Beauty, and her son Wang Xiaofei, who have long been doing live streaming to sell products, often attract attention with hot topics, but the richness of their products and the frequency of their broadcasts cannot keep up, and their popularity is gradually declining, leading to a situation where people watch but do not buy.

According to the latest Douyin data, in the past 30 days, Zhang Lan has done 17 live streaming sales sessions, with estimated sales of 2.5-5 million yuan, a decrease of 81% compared to the previous period. "Everyone has a gossiping heart, but if you keep consuming the same gossip, the audience will get tired. The prices and SKU are not very competitive, making it difficult to make a purchase," said a user who has placed an order in Zhang Lan's live streaming room.

"Failure to grasp the right measure" is a common challenge for many CEOs when becoming internet celebrities, such as improper words and deeds, or the exposure of past "accidents" or "black marks" in corporate management, or excessive riding on the popularity of peers, which easily consumes the goodwill accumulated in the past.

Some internet celebrity CEOs have sparked controversy, and Zhang Dadou believes this is not a bad thing. The essence of an IP is to find similar people, and recognizability is also an important feature of an IP. "In this world, there will always be half of the people who like you, while the other half firmly oppose you. No IP can always be praised. Everything has its cycle. It is the IP that can traverse the cycle of ups and downs that has vitality."

Another major challenge for CEOs when becoming internet celebrities is being too "high and mighty" and unable to change their bossy demeanor.

Liu Tao, co-CEO of Zhiji Auto, apologized to Xiaomi for incorrectly labeling the data at a press conference. At the same time, his speech content, such as "for the sake of starting a business in the automotive industry, employees missed the birth of their children and persisted in their work for four consecutive sunny days," was criticized by netizens as "glorifying hardship."

Meanwhile, Zhang Yong, CEO of Nezha Auto, posted on Weibo after a live broadcast, saying, "Due to back problems at work, I leaned back on the chair with my legs crossed. Just for this, a group of bootlickers made various comparisons." "Let me act, I can't do it," possibly realizing that the expression was inappropriate, he later deleted the post. Some netizens commented, "Everyone is already suffering enough in their work and life. No one wants to see 'authoritarian' leaders when they go online."

To resonate with young people, CEOs need to constantly adjust their attitudes and actively adapt to the changing topics of the present. The topics popular among young people in the past were about counterattacking, then it shifted to internal competition and striving, and now the topic has shifted to mutual respect, self-consistency, and reconciliation.

CEOs who can achieve long-lasting popularity are increasingly returning to the essence of "people." "A brand will eventually become personalized, and a person will eventually become branded. A brand should become more and more like a person, and a person should become more and more like a brand. The two are integrated," said Zhang Dadou.

Zhang Chaoyang is an example. In the past, people lamented his ups and downs, but now they see his vulnerable side and his persistence in live physical and English classes for nearly six years. It is precisely this "human" trait that has caused people to turn around and start to like his casual, natural, and candid demeanor, believing that he has his own pursuits. From this perspective, Zhang Chaoyang's personal image has surpassed the enterprise.

However, Xu Hao pointed out that an internet celebrity CEO is, first and foremost, a CEO. Every CEO must first ensure that the company survives in the competition. Being an internet celebrity is a means, not the main business. "If a CEO only focuses on the traffic of being an internet celebrity and disregards the development of the company, it is equivalent to using tactical diligence to cover up strategic laziness."

In the end, for a CEO to become an internet celebrity, they still need to serve the company's business. While being an internet celebrity in the spotlight attracts attention, the backend of the company's products and services must be able to capture the traffic. Zhang Dadou said that an IP is the soft asset of a company, increasing its premium capacity, but the performance of products, services, and business results is the hard asset of a company, which is the core of a CEO's long-lasting popularity.

However, figures like Lei Jun have set a good example. The development of social platforms has changed the "balance" of communication between users and brands. For small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, the next step is definitely the era of CEOs building personal brands, applying the power of personality to the business process.

Business is a battlefield of "people influencing people," and no one understands this better than CEOs. Thirty years have passed, and these trendsetters are still the same group of people. Perhaps, becoming an internet celebrity is not only a choice for CEOs, but also a call from the market. Hopefully, in the future, there will be more internet celebrity CEOs stepping onto the stage, leading the younger generation to participate in the competition of the business world with a new attitude.