Perceiving Emotions

Locating the Source of Human Connection

We aim to provide brands with a clear "Map of Contemporary Mainstream Emotions." We not only track how emotions grow and spread organically and powerfully on core social platforms, but more importantly, we deconstruct those leading brands that have already broken through the noise. These brands do not blindly follow emotions; instead, like top surfers, they possess the ability to understand the underlying dynamics and patterns of emotions. We will reveal how true leaders transform the waves of emotion on platforms into sustained momentum for their own brand growth.

Attributing Emotions

Precisely Capturing the "Emotional Trigger Points"

How can we turn emotions into definable, testable, and iterable "decision variables," making "why it resonates" something that can be traced and systematically approached?

How can we use AI and digital marketing technologies to pinpoint the core "emotional trigger points" that drive consumer behavior?

Managing Emotions

Bridging the Leap from Impulse to Intellect

The essence of "Emotion-First" is a shift in business model. In an age of fragmented attention, the biggest waste for a brand is not the loss of advertising spend, but every emotional touchpoint that fails to solidify into lasting equity. We believe brands should treat each emotional interaction as a long-term investment, with the goal of systematically accumulating emotional mindshare, relational emotional capital, and behavioral emotional premium. This requires a transition from a "project-based" mindset chasing viral moments to an "operation-based" mindset focused on building continuous emotional experiences—completing the strategic leap from creating "emotional spikes" to managing "emotional steadiness." Internalizing Emotions

Internalizing Emotions

Advancing Toward an "Emotion-Driven" Strategy

"Emotion-First" ultimately tests an organization's underlying operating system.

"Emotion-First" cannot be achieved by the marketing department alone. It requires enterprise-wide alignment across product development, user experience, customer service, and even organizational culture. It is a top-down strategic transformation driven by the CEO.

"Emotion-First" in 2026 means it is no longer just a marketing topic—it is an enterprise-level growth strategy and core competency.

Gen Z

Niche Cultures Believers

ENFP

Seek high-intensity belonging and identity in subcultural circles such as anime, guofeng (Chinese traditional style), and esports. Consumption serves as a "passport" to enter the circle and "fuel" to maintain that identity—they are willing to "pay for their beliefs."

"Small Happiness" Office Workers

ENFP

In high-pressure workplaces, they excel at creating fragments of joy through small, instant purchases (like a cup of coffee or a blind box) to achieve brief escape and healing. Consumption acts as an "emotional first-aid kit" by their desk

Outdoor Explorers

ISFP

They delight in unearthing deep urban experiences and hidden suburban gems, embracing activities such as city walking, camping, and hiking as both a lifestyle and a source of content. For them, travel and the outdoors are not about conquering distant horizons, but rather about gaining unique, shareable perspectives and collecting cherished vignettes of life.

Rational Fans

ISTP

Organized and strategic supporters who contribute directly to their idol’s commercial value and influence through data and consumption. They derive satisfaction from participating in the "growth process" and collective campaigns.

Urban New Elite

ENFJ

Emerging high-spending consumers who use consumption as a tool to quickly establish social distinction. Drawn to conspicuous design and trend labels, they gain social capital and circle access through their purchases.

Fashion Pioneers

ESFP

Expressive and individualistic, they treat fashion as a stage for self-performance. They showcase unique aesthetics and identity through external symbols (brands, trend elements), pursuing novelty and social attention.

Mind & Body Growers

INTJ

Invest systematically to achieve physical and mental balance as well as holistic development. Consumption expands from mere fitness to comprehensive wellness investment (physical, cognitive, emotional), pursuing quantifiable self-improvement.

Hardcore Tech Enthusiasts

ISTP

Devotees of technology who pursue and eagerly try the latest tech products. They regard digital products and services as core tools for extending capabilities, optimizing workflows, and defining identity—happy to act as "tech evangelists."

Pet Economy 

Pet Circle Socializers

ESFP

Active members who build offline social circles through pet ownership. Pets serve as "social currency" for meeting like-minded people and integrating into communities. Consumption revolves heavily around "offline activities" and "circle identity," with high value placed on experiential engagement and a sense of belonging.

Scientific Pet Care Specialists

INTP/INFJ

Adherents of science-based pet care—the "ingredient-focused" and "prevention-first" advocates. Rational and cautious, they rely heavily on data and professional endorsements in decision-making. Core scenarios include "daily health monitoring" and "precision dietary management" for their pets.

Exotic Pet Explorers

ISFP

"Explorers of pet diversity" beyond mainstream cats and dogs (primarily post-90s/Gen Z). Keeping reptiles, birds, and other unusual pets satisfies needs for "self-expression," "community belonging," and "low-pressure companionship." They seek unique care experiences grounded in specialized knowledge.

Exotic Pet Explorers

ISFP

"Explorers of pet diversity" beyond mainstream cats and dogs (primarily post-90s/Gen Z). Keeping reptiles, birds, and other unusual pets satisfies needs for "self-expression," "community belonging," and "low-pressure companionship." They seek unique care experiences grounded in specialized knowledge.

Her Economy

All-Round Household Managers

ISTJ

Aged 28-40, mostly in the stage of family establishment or child-rearing. She is the "CEO" and "Procurement Director" of the household. Consumption aims to operate a safe, orderly, efficient, and loving beautiful life system. Decisions are rational with a focus on long-term value.

Workplace Aesthetics Advocates

ESTJ

Aged 25-35, backbone professionals in Tier 1 / New Tier 1 cities. Pursue "visible growth" and "controllable sophistication." Consumption is a strategic investment in self-appreciation, valuing efficiency, professionalism, and ROI highly, while rejecting the "figurehead" label.

Refined Lifestyle Aesthetes

ENFJ

Possessing certain life experience, beginning to seek depth and aesthetics inwardly. Consumption is a means to nourish the spirit, construct inner order, and express unique taste. Focus on inner peace, self-awareness, and a sustainable life philosophy.

Joyful Life Sharers

ESFP

Explorers of joyful living and "stars" on social media. Consumption aims to obtain instant pleasure, enrich life experiences, and complete social sharing. Pay for emotional value, aesthetic appeal, and limited-edition experiences. They are key nodes for "planting seeds" and "being influenced."

Small-Town Affluent Women

ESFJ

Aged 28-45, living in economically developed county-level cities/towns with affluent and leisurely family lives. Consumption serves as "identity confirmation within the region" and "social currency within acquaintance circles," pursuing visible luxury and leading lifestyle quality.

Urban New Wave Women

ENFP

Aged 18-25, undergraduate students or workplace newcomers. Purchasing power is limited but activity level is high. The core is to use urban resources to experience and construct "ideal life samples" with low cost and high density. Willing to pay for interests, health, and social joy, resistant to brand premium.

Emotional Micro-Moment

Accurately capture high-intensity emotional events

The deep connection between brands and consumers often occurs during moments of peak emotional intensity. High-concentration social and public emotional events present a golden window for brands to achieve efficient emotional penetration, moving from "mass resonance" to "mindshare." We have summarized the year's numerous hot topics into five universally emotional "social emotional moments"—joyful gatherings, warmth, passion, intimacy, and trending topics. These moments naturally aggregate public attention and emotional fluctuations, providing brands with a super emotional field that they don't need to create themselves, but simply need to subtly integrate into.

AI Penetration in Emotion

Scientific enhancement of emotional penetration ability

When "emotion" becomes a core variable for brand growth, how can we ensure that every emotional penetration is accurate, efficient, and measurable? We will systematically deconstruct how to deeply integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the four core links of modern marketing—AI + data insights, AI + personalized experience, AI + content generation, and AI + media communication—thereby upgrading emotional penetration from an "art" that relies on inspiration to a "science" that is predictable, optimizable, and replicable.

Emotional Micro-Cultures

Anchoring Brand Roles in Cultural Hubs

Emotions are transient—they come and go, and you rarely stay in the same emotional state for long. Yet the relationship between a brand and its consumers needs to transcend the spark of any single moment.

When a brand is still small, it can quickly build connections through a precise emotional entry point. But when it aims to reach a broader audience, a single emotional label becomes insufficient—consumers' feelings toward a brand are far more complex than just "happy," "healing," or "excited." What a brand needs is a cultural coordinate it can stand on—a Micro Culture—and within it, play a distinct role.

This is precisely the collective shift happening in global brand marketing: moving from an Emotional Platform to a Cultural Platform. The recent discussions at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, as well as the cutting-edge conversations in Western markets over the past two years, all point in the same direction—brands need a sustainable cultural foothold, giving consumers a reason to stay with the brand even after the emotions have faded.

Emotions address resonance in the moment; culture addresses identification over the long term.

Offline Retail Certainty‑Driven Growth Training Camp

The traditional logic of offline growth is losing its effectiveness.

In the past, chain growth relied primarily on brand equity, natural foot traffic in commercial districts, and rapid store expansion. But today, these conditions are eroding: foot traffic in commercial districts is no longer stable, customer acquisition costs are rising, consumer choices are becoming more fragmented, and performance discrepancies between stores continue to widen — growth in store count no longer equates to business growth.

Chain enterprises are now facing three layers of deep uncertainty: Where to open — high foot traffic doesn't guarantee high value, and a popular commercial district may not be the right fit for your brand; Whether it will be profitable — it's difficult to predict the future profitability of a new store before signing and investing; How to operate once opened — insufficient foot traffic, low entry rates, and low conversion rates are often mixed together and hard to attribute. When a business expands from a few stores to dozens, hundreds, or even thousands, site selection cannot rely on a handful of experts, past success cannot be replicated across regions, and the organization may not even be able to explain why some stores perform well while others don't.

The real challenge in offline retail is no longer whether stores can still be opened — it's whether the business can consistently open profitable stores.

Emotional e-commerce

Emotional e-commerce is not a new type of closed-loop e-commerce chain, but rather a way to stimulate purchases by using emotions as an entry point and adding personalized experiences at key consumer decision-making stages within the current mainstream e-commerce landscape.

Instant Retail

E-commerce competition has evolved from a simple "product-find-people" efficiency logic to a value resonance based on "emotional connection." We will analyze how brands can build a sustainable "emotional energy field" by examining the three key aspects that mainstream e-commerce platforms influence consumer decisions: content, scenario, and product.