KOC Booking: Do Not Ask “Who Is Better?” — Ask “Who Is Better Suited to You?”
Author: Height Media Consulting Director | Topic: Category Strategy
During consultation sessions with Height Entertainment, the question “Should I hire a review channel or an entertainment channel?” is always answered with another question: “What are you selling?”.
Each product category has its own characteristics. Some need fun and visual appeal; others need seriousness and science. Mechanically applying someone else's formula to your business is the fastest route to failure.
Below is a suitability analysis for each specific product category.
1. Fashion & Accessories
Characteristics: Buying with the eyes (Visual). Customers need to see whether the model looks good wearing it and how outfits are combined (Mix match).
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Recommendation: Favour Entertainment / Lifestyle Channels (70/30 ratio).
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Why: You need TikTokers with an attractive figure, good taste and the ability to film transformation videos or café photoshoots (entertainment channels). Customers buy because they want to look “as good as the model”.
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Review channels: Only play a supporting role (reviewing fabric quality and stitching) to convert demanding customers.
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2. Cosmetics & Pharmaceuticals (Beauty & Health)
Characteristics: Buying through trust. Products are applied to the face or consumed, so customers are extremely careful and fear being misled.
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Recommendation: Favour Review / Expert Channels (80/20 ratio).
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Why: A funny entertainment video cannot persuade customers to buy acne cream. They need Beauty Bloggers or dermatologists examining skin and analysing ingredients.
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Entertainment channels: Almost ineffective, and may even cause offence if medicine/dietary supplement advertising is excessive.
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3. Household Goods & Technology (Home & Tech)
Characteristics: Buying based on function. Customers need to see how the machine works and whether it is durable.
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Recommendation: Balanced (50/50 ratio).
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Entertainment channels (family/couple vlogs): Show products being used in happy everyday settings (for example: a husband buying his wife a robot vacuum). $\rightarrow$ Spark demand.
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Review channels: Test suction power and noise levels, and compare specifications. $\rightarrow$ Appeal to reason.
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4. F&B (Food & Beverages)
Characteristics: Buying through cravings and curiosity.
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Recommendation: Favour Entertainment / Mukbang Channels (60/40 ratio).
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Why: Videos of enjoyable eating and expressive reactions (entertainment) stimulate appetites more effectively than sitting down to analyse nutritional ingredients (reviews). However, reviewers are still needed to confirm a restaurant's cleanliness and reasonable prices.
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The Budget Question
Beyond product categories, budget also shapes the approach:
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Budget < 50 million VND: Focus 100% on Micro-Reviewer. Do not chase large entertainment channels because booking costs will consume all your profit. The goal at this point is survival.
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Budget of 100 - 300 million VND: Apply a mixed approach. Use 1-2 mid-sized entertainment channels to attract traffic, and 20-30 review channels to capture it.
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Budget > 500 million VND: You have the resources to hire an A-list celebrity/entertainment KOL as an ambassador, supported by a dense network of reviewers.
Conclusion
“Use people according to their strengths.” Entertainment and review channels are both powerful tools if you use them for the right purpose.
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Want Visibility, find someone who entertains.
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For Trust, find someone knowledgeable.
And if you want to win, combine both wisely.
