KOS: The Brand's Lever for Deep Circle Cultivation in Omni-Channel Marketing

Introduction: The Shift from Media to People

The article opens with a vivid scene: a beauty advisor (BA) live-streaming at 9:30 PM from home, demonstrating products on her own skin, answering questions without scripts, and converting viewers into repeat buyers. This illustrates the core thesis: in the era of user sovereignty, the connection point between brand and consumer is moving from media placements to trusted individuals who are already embedded in consumers' daily circles.

Defining the Three Roles: KOL, KOC, KOS

KOL – Key Opinion Leader

High‑profile influencers paid for one‑off exposure. Brands buy reach (millions of views) but the relationship stays transactional; the influencer’s persona and audience belong to them, not the brand. Example: a top beauty blogger charging tens of thousands per video, with no deep binding to the brand.

KOC – Key Opinion Consumer

Everyday consumers who spontaneously share experiences. Their trust stems from authenticity—they spend their own money, show real usage, and earn no commission. Brands reward them lightly (free samples, membership perks) but cannot demand guaranteed sales actions.

KOS – Key Opinion Sales

Brand‑recruited personnel who directly recommend products to consumers and earn concrete commissions or task bonuses. This includes counter BAs, store sales staff, field reps, and brand‑organized demonstration farmers. Their recommendations are contractual, measurable, and tied to sales outcomes.

Pyramid Structure: Volume vs. Authenticity

The article visualizes a four‑layer pyramid:

Base: massive ordinary consumers (brand knows them only via scan records).

Layer 2: KOCs – spontaneous sharers, rewarded with light rights (samples, status).

Layer 3: KOS – recruited, paid real commissions, accountable for specific conversions.

Apex: KOLs – high‑cost, one‑off voice buys, no deep binding.

As you go down, headcount increases and the rewards become more tangible. Each layer serves a distinct purpose; mixing budgets across layers causes structural confusion.

Three Criteria to Identify a KOS

Recruited or organized by the brand.

Directly faces consumers to recommend and convert.

Earnings come from the brand (commissions, task rewards).

Job title doesn’t matter. A contracted counter salesperson with a few hundred followers is a KOS; a 100k‑follower beauty blogger with no brand agreement is not even a KOC for that brand.

Distinguishing KOS from Channel Partners

Distributors and store owners operate on buy‑sell margins; they push whichever brand yields higher profit. They become KOS only when the brand separately recruits them, pays for content/recommendations, and ties rewards to specific promotional acts.

Evolution Path: KOC → KOS

High‑performing KOCs (most active, knowledgeable, influential in their circle) can be formally recruited, turning organic passion into contractual sales actions. Brands lower recruitment risk by selecting from their own member pools.

Historical Precedents

L’Oréal “BA Net‑Red” Project (2016): Trained counter BAs as Taobao livestreamers; Li Jiaqi emerged from this program.

Douyin × MAC KOS101 Selection (2021): 10,000+ applicants, 500M exposure, 101 finalists, finale livestream generated ~¥6M GMV. The winner, a former Sephora counter staffer, gained 300k+ followers during the event.

Since then, platforms have built ecosystems for sales‑type creators across beauty, liquor, maternal‑child, and home appliances.

Case Study: Wuliangye’s 3K Operating System (2025)

In July 2025, Wuliangye’s Strong‑Aroma division launched the 3K system, embedding KOL/KOC/KOS into channel language with Kotler’s consulting team. Each role gets defined tasks, fees, and real‑time settlement via the “Nongwu Wine House” mini‑program (22M registered members).

2026 Spring Festival Results

Cumulative bottle scans: 2.51M (+29% YoY)

Unique openers: 1.38M (+24%)

Banquet openings: 20k (+152%)

Content produced: KOL 4,800+, KOC 4,800+, KOS 4,800+ (≈10k total)

Interactions: 14M+; Exposures: 600M+; KOS content accounted for half.

Content was created by channel personnel themselves—real store scenes, real banquet tables—yielding higher credibility. Budget allocation was split: KOC → consumer promotion fees, KOS → channel promotion fees, KOL → advertising fees. Digital, real‑time payouts eliminated layered deductions and aligned incentives with actions (e.g., helping consumers open bottles, scan codes, host banquets).

Operational Requirements for KOS Success

Recruitment: Select based on natural authority in the circle (top salesperson, trusted group member, active KOC), not follower count.

Content Enablement: Provide a “central kitchen” of product knowledge, FAQs, scenario scripts; let KOS adapt to their circle’s tone.

Incentive Clarity: Commissions must be calculable, visible, and paid fast; opaque accounting kills motivation.

Organizational Shift: Supervisors become coaches—teaching content creation, giving feedback—rather than just checking planograms.

Pilot‑then‑Scale: Start with 1‑2 circles, prove the recruit‑content‑incentive loop, then replicate. Example: an apparel brand onboarded 3,000+ sales staff, gained hundreds of thousands of followers in three months.

From Fee‑Based to Operational: Circle Cultivation

Traditional accounting treats frontline staff costs as one‑off expenses (broadcast slot fees, per‑referral commissions). Operational thinking treats the relationship as an asset: the BA’s livestream room accumulates loyal viewers; the demonstration farmer’s annual field day builds recurring trust. The brand moves from buying attention repeatedly to owning a reusable connection inside each circle.

Trust inside circles (beauty communities, banquet tables, mom groups, planting villages) cannot be purchased via ads; it must be spoken by insiders. KOS are those insiders, organized and recorded by the brand.

Infrastructure for Sustained Operation

Recruitment contracts must be enforceable, earnings transparent and deliverable, recommendation actions logged, contributions attributable. Modern digital tools (CDP, channel incentive platforms) now enable direct‑to‑terminal fund flow, action recording, and profit sharing—making the structural shift executable.

Conclusion

Counters, shelves, and field ridges each connect to a concrete circle. Circle members trust people, not ads. What was once treated as a soft “relationship cost” can now be booked, incentivized, and compounded. The next phase of brand user‑operations happens inside these circles, through the recruited, recorded, and rewarded individuals who already live there.