What kind of marketing tactics does Okamoto’s Double Eleven contain?

It’s Double Eleven again this year, and the transaction volume is breaking records every year. The figure of 168.2 billion on Tmall’s Double Eleven is amazing. Of course, this will be nothing by next year! More than 1.58 million pairs of long johns were sold during the Double 11 shopping festival, and Ali Health sold 50 million condoms (data as of 12:00 on the day of Double 11)...

In addition to the five major purchasing categories of clothing, daily necessities, home appliances, cosmetics, and furniture, condoms also delivered an extraordinary answer. The top three in the category are Durex , Okamoto, and Jissbon . Among them, the sales of Okamoto 003 Platinum in just one hour on Double Eleven exceeded the sales of the whole day last year. High-quality products are favored by customers. Under the trend of consumption upgrading, Okamoto, which has always been known for its Japanese, literary, simple, and slightly technological style in the sex toy industry, forms a sharp contrast with the pornographic and violent topics of other brands.

How to make marketing profound and interesting, and stay away from those low-level and bad tastes. In such a category where everything seems to be able to arouse interest, brands actually need to put in some thought. Consumption upgrades are not only reflected in products and services, but marketing methods also need to be upgraded.

I have sorted out Okamoto's marketing tactics during Double Eleven, and found four key points: promoting new products, defining propositions, focusing on communication, and engaging in e-commerce !

1. New product launch: Okamoto 003 upgrade

In the 2017 Tmall e-commerce Double Eleven battle, Okamoto launched its flagship new product after six years - Okamoto 003 Super Lubrication. This product is currently the strongest product in the Chinese condom market (upgraded based on the ultra-thin 003 flagship series to add the selling point of double lubrication). The product is developed and created based on women's needs for lubrication and moisturizing during sexual experience.

Okamoto is one of the earliest condom manufacturers in the world. It was founded in 1934. Its current series of products including condoms, tapes, gloves, quick-warming patches (warm packs) are loved by users all over the world. As early as 1969, Okamoto developed an ultra-thin condom that was 0.03 mm thick, which was a breakthrough from 0.05 mm. This is the embodiment of perfection and craftsmanship. Okamoto currently has a dominant market share of 65% in Japan. Its market share in China is about 30%, and it holds a leading position in the high-end market.

Based on the needs of female users , not only has 003 been upgraded to be super lubricating, but the packaging has also been upgraded, with customized gift boxes and flash cards with marine elements that incorporate the product's communication characteristics.

2. The main idea: caring for women

Okamoto, as always, focuses on "love", which is different from its competitors who talk a lot about sex. Not only in terms of products, but also in terms of communication, Okamoto is conveying a brand's "love" for users and a product's "care" for users. As the inventor of the warm baby, Okamoto has embodied care for women since birth. This is by no means just the theme of a Double Eleven event, but the proposition of a brand.

When talking about the experience of using condoms, it is inevitable to feel a little shy. Is it from a male perspective or a female perspective? Men like it to be ultra-thin or even as thin as a piece of cloth, while women like it to be lubricated. How to take both into account and ensure safety? Based on this, 003 Super Lubricated was born, focusing on "caring for women" in terms of communication perspective, and launched the marketing theme "Awakening of the power of thinness, one slide into the soul".

With the perspective of caring for women, the content is also centered on this. On October 22, " The Rap of China " debater Jiang Sida published an article about the UGC topic collection of "I'm-OK Pill" for [school violence, domestic violence, gender violence]: "I found that not all things need to be solved by being strong. I can't forget... I didn't seek care from others, but I did, always looking forward to it... I am a ( )-year-old girl. In this matter, I don't want to relieve the pain alone. I envy those who are cared for." In the same reply format, we see touching stories one after another!

These contents are true individual expressions, speaking out about one's own suffering and dissatisfaction, expressing attitudes, choosing to be strong, and gaining more care. Okamoto 003, as a caring gift, appears at the end of the article, conveying the theme of the new product's care for women.

On October 25, Xin Shi Xiang also pushed an article titled "There are 1,000 kinds of pain in love, is it okay if I don't want to experience any of it?" ”, expressing that “the language of love is to care for each other sincerely... every girl deserves a love that is more comfortable and more in line with her heart.”

In highlighting the brand proposition of "caring for women", Okamoto has put a lot of thought into it, from products to soft implantation in communication, touching the hearts of users, initiating discussions through emotional topics of well-known opinion leaders, and getting users involved. The delivery of this kind of brand proposition is less abrupt and more natural.

3. Focus on communication: KOL + short video + precise targeting

The brand proposition of "Caring for Women" was determined, and the product marketing theme was "Awakening with thin power, one slide into the soul". In addition to the UGC solicitation initiated by the big V Jiang Sida and the cooperation with Xin Shixiang just mentioned, Okamoto also used social integration to promote the Double Eleven battlefield this Double Eleven.

First, KOL line

Jiang Sida, Gossip, New World, Douban Movies

Second, the content line

Jiang Sida UGC content collection, TVC creative advertising

This advertising video does require a certain level of artistic appreciation. In the advertisement, male and female dancers express the four stages of sexual experience: "clouds, rain, undercurrents, and climax". They express the mutual care and harmony between men and women through dance. Did you notice it? Such videos would only be interesting if accompanied by commentary or interactive discussions on social platforms, but the filming technique is really good. The one-shot approach was incorporated into the video, coupled with 3D projection technology, makes it a very innovative work. No wonder netizens exclaimed that it beats Durex in seconds!

Third, precise targeting

Moments ads (Since WeChat and Taobao are not interoperable, the impact of Moments ads on Tmall Double 11 conversions can be ignored. Of course, Okamoto also participated in JD Global Goods Festival on Double 11…)

4. Playing e-commerce: one shot to the end

In addition to the one-shot Okamoto TVC advertising video, Okamoto planned an event called "Come to Okamoto to See the Sea" before Double Eleven. In fact, it was centered around the super-smooth characteristics of the 003 product, and the Okamoto Tmall flagship store was changed into a one-shot long picture.

On October 20, Pechoin's official Weibo account posted a meaningful post, which read, "During the day, I am an elegant oriental beauty, and at night, choose Okamoto. Okamoto 0.003 is super lubricated, double lubricated, and now on the market..."

Later on the evening of October 28, Okamoto’s Tmall flagship store changed its look.

The long picture is too long, you can go to my self-media and reply "Okamoto one shot" to view it.

After Pechoin started using the one-shot long picture method on WeChat Moments, many companies followed suit. Okamoto was the first to use the one-shot long picture method from the video to the Tmall store homepage.

As the warm-up stage for Double Eleven, "Come to Okamoto's Tmall store to see the sea" has an eye-catching effect. The topic is also combined with the super-lubricating properties of Okamoto's new product 003. Of course, many people have complained before that Pechoin's long pictures in the circle of friends did not convert well. This time Okamoto put the long pictures on the homepage of the Tmall store, and detonated the warm-up stage of Double Eleven through social topics. With the integration of Taobao purchase traffic + social topic traffic, Okamoto's Double Eleven sales in 2017 increased by 67% compared with last year.

If you look at Okamoto's marketing, it is always emotional, interesting, useful and classy:

• Love: The message of "caring for women" and the collection of "strong pills" were moving, and the topic of love discussed resonated with people;
• Fun: In the preheating phase, the topic of "Come to Tmall to see the sea" was ignited, targeting the creative one-shot long picture of Okamoto's Tmall flagship store, and promoting new products and Double Eleven activities in an interesting way;
• Use: There are two points in the aspect of "usefulness". The first is "easy to use and useful" with the product as the core, which can of course be perceived from its ingenuity and ultimate design. The second is conversion and the practicality of marketing. In Tmall's Double Eleven marketing, the final battlefield of this battle is to complete the e-commerce conversion. It can be seen that Okamoto's marketing is diverting traffic to the Tmall store everywhere. At the same time, the creative long pictures planned are derived from the store homepage. When the social media explodes, it will attract more curious people to search and open the Okamoto Tmall flagship store...
• Quality: The quality and taste of the content to be disseminated should be considered, from TVC advertising videos to long pictures.

After reviewing Okamoto’s marketing strategies during Double Eleven, what insights can we draw for other brands?

(1) Create hot-selling products from the user’s perspective

During the R&D process of each category of products, is it production thinking, market thinking, or user thinking? The traditional production model of traditional enterprises is to produce whatever products I have equipment, which leads to the disconnection between product launch and user demand. Many products are even the self-righteousness of the developers.

However, even if we move towards user thinking, some people still cannot tell who the users are?

To grasp user needs, deep insight is needed. For example, Okamoto's products, used by men and from a female perspective, 003 Super Lubrication has become a hot-selling product.

What are the characteristics of a hot-selling product?

1. Solve core needs: Taking condom products as an example, what is the core demand? Some brands have launched personalized condoms with customized outer packaging. Is this the core demand of users? If you show off your customized condoms to others, you would definitely get beaten. There is also the concept of one-hand tearing, which is a gimmick that can create topics, but most users want ultra-thinness and lubrication, which is the core pain point.
2. Establish emotional connection: The product is good, but why don’t users buy your product? This requires impressing users, rather than persuading or deceiving them. To trigger emotional resonance, the brand needs to be placed in the user's shoes, such as "Okamoto x Jiang Sida" and "Okamoto x New World".
3. Connect social e-commerce: From social topics to e-commerce platforms, a coherent channel needs to be established so that the conversion can be rapid. Of course, e-commerce operations must also keep up.

(2) Build a brand through social media

Brand socialization is already very common. If a brand does not have its own position, label, or recognition on social media, then your brand will be out of date. However, what you need to pay attention to when launching social media is the language, content, and opinion leaders (KOLs) you use, as these determine the user's associated perception of your brand.

In social networks, information can be spread through interesting and emotional content, and through marketing methods such as topic interaction and advertising.

1. Social topic interaction: such as Okamoto’s “Come to Tmall to see the sea” and “Strong pills”;
2. Social precision advertising: Moments advertising
3. Social opinion leaders: Big V interaction

(3) Using creative content to do e-commerce

The core of e-commerce is still transactions, but as more and more brands enter the e-commerce market and add various new retail methods, creative and good content and interesting brands will stand out in the e-commerce market. Now many pictures on Tmall have been turned into videos, and Tmall is also vigorously promoting the integration of its "big entertainment" and e-commerce ecology.

Let’s take a look at this year’s Double Eleven, where Okamoto used TVC creativity to showcase new products, and the one-shot long picture homepage sparked discussion.

In addition to shopping, products that are fun, useful and inexpensive are becoming a popular purchasing choice for more and more young people.

This is the Double Eleven of a condom brand. Sometimes we dismantle other people’s routines. No matter what combination of tactics we use, the important thing is to do it with our heart: make good products, good content, and good operations! Marketing will naturally win applause.