In China, targeting segments of interest through key opinion leaders (KOLs) as an influential marketing platform can get to be rather expensive. One firm, Robin8, successfully launched a platform to solve such a pricy concern for B2C companies. With big data, AI technology and social media marketing, Robin8 CEO Miranda Tan developed China’s top intelligent influencer platform. Students across Computer Science, International Business and Interactive Media Arts, to name a few, attended the Gallatin Business Club and Undergraduate Business Association co-hosted Miranda Tan talk on Tuesday, Nov. 17 to learn about how the KOL data engine works for such B2C firms such as Starbucks, Porsche and more. “The discussion we had with Miranda Tan was insightful and interesting. It shed a lot of light on the climate of the Chinese markets, how Chinese companies react to new ideas and how they adapt to it,” said NYU Abu Dhabi Computer Engineering Sophomore Ikenna Anigbogu. “In general, the talk highlighted the power of Chinese KOLs. There’s a lot of promise for this startup in the future.”By developing a database of KOLs, Robin8 enables businesses to purchase advertising spaces on leading KOL social media sites. Though it seems that the Robin8 platform could make it easier to clutter netizens with advertisements, Tan expanded on its nature to actually offer more customized, relevant marketing channels for both businesses and consumers. “If we closely think about it, we already live in this media landscape. Facebook, Twitter and Weibo all alike can learn our preferences and suggest content that we might be interested in. Before social media, about a half of all advertising materials produced was useless because it was so hard to predict consumer behavior,” said Interactive Media Arts Sophomore Konrad Krawcyzk. “With Robin8, we can get more interesting content, and companies can generate less information buzz. This strategy can certainly make ads more appropriate, and more personal.”Robin8 has been recognized as Number 1 by Chinaccelerator during Demo Day, Number 1 in the Starcom Mediavest Demo Competition and Number 1 in Mobile Shanghai Monday. With such a model in China’s marketing landscape, students across NYU’s global sites predicted the company’s following going forward. “There’s no doubt Robin8 is creating the marketing tool of the future, making advertisements more efficient and creating new opportunities for social media users,” said student Gabor Csapo. This article was written by Momachi Pabrai. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: 创业邦