Wen Xiaowei, a seasoned technical expert from Bühler’s Grinding and Dispersing department, became the first Bühler Master on TikTok. When it came to selecting the initial topic, it was a real head-scratcher. 

But then came the challenge of scriptwriting. Wen Xiaowei confessed: “At first, we brainstormed what seemed like brilliant ideas, but when it came to filming, we quickly realized the ideal was far from the reality.” Staring at the teleprompter, the script he had written felt like a foreign language – memorizing it was a struggle. Even with the prompter’s help, slip-ups were frequent, whether it was forgetting lines or stumbling over words.

In this series, the on-screen stars are Bühler’s own technical experts, who write their own scripts. This ensures both accuracy and adherence to confidentiality. Gao Lei, a technical maestro from the Die Casting division, knows the filming struggles all too well. Translating technical jargon into plain language felt like bridging a massive gap. Facing both familiar clients and strangers through the lens, the script had to be meticulously crafted – professional enough for the veterans yet engaging for the newcomers. 

From Leybold Optics, Wang Jianyi is a natural-born storyteller. His innate Northeast Chinese humor and relaxed demeanor made him a natural in front of the camera, often nailing scenes in one take. Yet, his experience was not without its own jitters. “How could I not be nervous?” Wang Jianyi admits. “Even if I appeared relaxed, I was still anxious inside.” After all, facing a camera is different from facing a customer. 

Chen Qian, the driving force and director behind the Bühler Master Talks Machinery series, has been crafting content since October 2021. Back then, the team was still finding its footing in the world of new media, navigating uncharted waters with a mix of uncertainty and excitement. Initially, they enlisted the help of external suppliers, but problems quickly surfaced. The suppliers had only a superficial understanding of Bühler’s messaging, resulting in high communication costs and an inability to meet the fast-paced demands of new media. The team had no choice but to pivot, shifting the responsibility to internal staff.

Talking about the creation of Bühler's TikTok “Bühler Master” series, Rikki Guo, Head of Marketing of Bühler Greater China, shared the team’s initial intention: “As a marketer in the B2B machinery manufacturing industry, how can we continue to create well-positioned and attractive content in the face of increasingly involutional competition under the wave of digitization? How can we present professional knowledge and industry experience to the audience in a more understandable way? How can we unite experts from business sectors to work together to create a wide range of effective communication on social media platforms using short videos?” At the end of 2021, the team decided to make a bold attempt to launch the channel on the Chinese TikTok platform. 

As the series grew, so did the challenges in terms of manpower and time. Becky Bi, in charge of Bühler’s digital marketing team, explains that in an ideal scenario, one person could handle everything from drafting content to publishing. However, producing four videos per week stretched the team’s resources to the limit. Filming was time-consuming and labor-intensive, with every detail requiring meticulous attention, making it difficult to further boost efficiency. It was at this point that digital avatar technology caught the team’s attention.

By 2024, with the advancement of AI and smart technologies, virtual digital avatars became the team’s new frontier for enhancing production efficiency and innovation. Gao Lei, with his sharp features, served as the “blueprint” for the digital avatar. During the recording process, he initially expected the digital avatar to be a hyper-realistic 3D model, but was surprised to find it was a flat, screen-based presenter. Technical glitches with audio equipment forced the team to turn off the air conditioning to ensure clear sound, enduring the sweltering conditions. The first attempt failed due to equipment issues, the second ended after 20 minutes when Gao’s voice gave out, but he persevered and completed the third take.

However, technology wasn’t without its flaws. Repetitive movements and cyclical responses became apparent, prompting the team to address these issues. By leveraging technology to synchronize lip movements with input text, they significantly reduced the need for live recordings, boosting efficiency. For instance, high-quality content from Bühler’s Zhihu account (a Chinese Quora-type question-and-answer site) was transformed into digital avatar videos, yielding impressive results.

As the original Bühler Master, Wen Xiaowei admits that the series has brought him countless surprises. “As the series evolved, our team has become increasingly focused on content accumulation,” he shared. “Moving forward, we’ll continue to produce high-quality videos to build a strong brand image, enhance visibility, and earn greater recognition.”

Wang Jianyi has his own vision for the future of Bühler Master. He suggests tackling topics that spark widespread discussions, such as “Are blue light blocking glasses a scam?” In an era of information overload, he knows that controversial topics act like magnets, drawing in viewers and sparking debates. Inspiring young people to think critically is the value he hopes to bring to the audience through the series.

Looking ahead, Bühler Master has plenty of exciting plans in store. The team aims to dive deeper into Bühler’s applications across various industries, presenting these stories to viewers as captivating novels to help audiences better understand Bühler’s technologies and values. Rikki Guo shares that the team will continue to innovate and expand the boundaries of Bühler Master to make it even smarter and more vivid, and explore the application in virtual showroom explanation, online training, news broadcasting, enterprise live broadcasting, intelligent customer service, and other scenarios.

Meanwhile, they’ll keep a close eye on emerging technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), envisioning scenarios where viewers can virtually step into factory floors through VR or use AR to explore product structures and functions, enhancing the quality and impact of their videos.

Becky Bi says: “2025 is a pivotal year for the series’ brand-building. Our digital team will focus on strengthening the Bühler Master brand identity through promotional videos, themed campaigns, and more, enhancing its reputation and integrating Bühler’s corporate culture into the brand image, allowing viewers to truly experience the charm of Bühler.”