Why does ofo invest in advertising while Mobike does public relations?

To date, ofo and Mobike have been fighting for nearly half a year, and it is still difficult to say who will win in the end. Ofo has a better voice on social platforms, and its market share was also greater than Mobike in 2016:

(Social platform data source: FooAds)

(Market share data source: Bida Consulting)

The data from Mobike App is even better than that from ofo App:

(App data source: Libra)

They all have their own financial backers, and each has its own strengths, so it’s hard to say which one is better or worse… (Ofo has Xiaomi and Didi behind it, and Mobike has Tencent and Meituan behind it)

However, judging from the marketing content of the two, there are big differences: ofo is more inclined to naked advertising, while Mobike is more engaged in public relations:

(ofo has placed advertisements in subway stations and video websites, etc.)

(Mobike CEO Hu Weiwei : If we fail, let’s just do it for charity!)

What’s even more interesting is that if you search the following four keywords on FooAds:

1. Hu Weiwei (CEO of Mobike)

2. Mobike

3. Dai Wei (CEO of ofo)

4. ofo

You will find a very interesting phenomenon. On social platforms (mainly WeChat , Weibo and Zhihu), the comparison of the number of times these keywords appear is:

Hu Weiwei's data results are more impressive than Mobike's;

However, Dai Wei's data results are far inferior to those of ofo.

(Social platform data source: FooAds)

This also fully illustrates:

Ofo pays more attention to the dissemination of information about the product itself, such as advertising. Mobike focuses more on public relations, such as CEO telling stories.

(As for why ofo’s data is so much better than Mobike’s, this is also related to the brand’s marketing activities during this period.)

So why does this happen? Why does ofo choose to invest in advertising while Mobike relies mainly on public relations?

We can analyze it from the following three perspectives:

1. CEO Background

2. The product & brand itself

3. Business Model

1. CEO’s Background

This is very simple. Mobike's CEO (Hu Weiwei) is a journalist herself. She graduated from the Journalism Department of Zhejiang University City College, and then worked as a technology reporter for "Daily Economic News", "Beijing News", "Business Value" and Geek Park. Therefore, whether it is their own professional skills or their network of contacts, they prefer to use the media for public relations and storytelling.

On the other hand, ofo's CEO (Dai Wei) graduated from Peking University's Guanghua School of Management and is a cycling enthusiast. The media's evaluation of him is: calm and steady.

So let’s work hard to “make products” and “start a business ”…

2. Product & Brand Factors

In fact, the main reason why they choose completely different promotional methods is the factors of the products and brands themselves.

1. Product "performance" comparison

If your product is inherently more popular than your competitors, just advertise it!

The emergence of shared bicycles is to solve the transportation problem of the "last mile". Although it seems to be only "one kilometer", people generally pay more attention to its riding experience. Ofo has an advantage in this regard because it is very light. Although Mobike has made great improvements later, it is still not as "comfortable" as ofo.

We can also see some clues about this from the gender ratio of the two app users:

(App data source: Libra)

The proportion of girls using Mobike is significantly lower than that ofo. After all, girls are more fragile and delicate, so of course they prefer the labor-saving ofo! 2333

Ofo's advantage is obvious. It can convince citizens to choose "the yellow one" through advertisements with very simple content. However, Mobike's own advantages (various new technologies and feelings, etc.) cannot be explained through two or three slogans, so it depends on the CEO to personally tell the story and do public relations by writing articles, making videos, and giving speeches. This can also shift users' attention from the product to the company's mission and the CEO's feelings, so that they will not care so much about Mobike being difficult to ride...

(PS, although Mobike has many "new" technologies, such as self-generation, hidden brake lines and solid tires, these technologies have nothing to do with performance. They are more to solve the company's own problems, such as maintenance costs and anti-theft issues, rather than to make users more comfortable. This kind of product based on its own needs may not be popular with users.)

2. Media attributes of the product

"The mediatization of products" is a phrase that has been on the lips of countless Internet people in recent years. From the apple-style Weilong spicy strips to Jiang Xiaobai's customized bottles, these products are no longer satisfied with basic functional requirements, but have more media attributes.

Once a product has "media attributes", it can attract public attention and trigger dissemination and discussion. In a word - let consumers promote your products.

Obviously, Mobike does better than ofo in this regard. From the "abnormal frame", solid tires, GPS positioning, self-generation, 6,000 yuan cost, and big data analysis of the first generation of Mobike, to the hollow tires of Mobike Lite, these are features that ordinary bicycles do not have, and this contrast and novelty can easily attract the attention of the public and trigger dissemination.

(Data map of Mobike in Guangzhou)

What is public relations? It’s just cheaper advertising! As long as you say something, countless media and " self-media " will follow you, such as those knowledgeable little experts in the office:

"Hey! Did you know? The cost of a Mobike is 6,000 yuan!"

In contrast, ofo has no obvious features compared to ordinary bicycles except for its more eye-catching color. Therefore, its “self-propagation” property is relatively weak, and it must be spread through the hard method of advertising. (Of course, Mobike’s previous promotional activities successfully established the public’s awareness of “shared bicycles”, which paved the way for ofo.)

3. Brand tone and image

What do you feel when you see Mobike?

Doesn’t it feel very artistic?

Not only are the photos very artistic, but Mobike's overall design is also very poetic. This minimalist design can easily distinguish it from traditional bicycles, giving a feeling of "enjoying solitude and expressing individuality".

Maybe it sounds a bit empty to say this... However, compared with ofo, Mobike is indeed not a "vulgar thing". If it advertises, it will damage the image of the brand to a certain extent. This is also why many luxury goods do not advertise everywhere. In our words, "It's too cheap to do so."

On the other hand, public relations can help the public to have more recognition and favorable impression of Mobike.

Mobike was the first shared bike to successfully enter the urban market, while ofo was more like a follower, which gives Mobike an advantage in terms of morality and emotion. Hu Weiwei's words "If you fail, just treat it as charity" can arouse people's support for her (who would oppose a good person doing charity?) and even sympathy. Because apart from the riding experience, Mobike has great disadvantages compared to ofo in many aspects, especially the cost and the slow promotion caused by the cost.

It has to be said that the sentiments and dreams mentioned by Hu Weiwei are not only shaping her own image, but also "putting a hat" on the public: people who ride Mobike are more artistic and more supportive of charity...

(Maybe I shouldn't have used pictures of dogs...)

Anyway, she did play the "emotional card" and "dream card" beautifully. After all, she is a professional media person, and those self-media also exposed her a lot:

(Data source: FooAds)

As for ofo, since it is suspected of "following the trend" and the story of the product and the CEO itself is not that strong, it is more effective to directly focus on the functional demands of the product. (ps, ofo is actually a shared bike that appeared earlier than Mobike, but it has been lurking in the campus market before...)

3. Business Model

Compared with ofo, Mobike’s deposit is much higher (99 yuan vs 299 yuan). If one bike can attract 50 users, it is equivalent to “exchanging” 50×299≈15,000 yuan for a cost of 6,000 yuan (the cost of the first batch of Mobike production may really be 6,000 yuan). And this money can be immediately thrown into the capital market and put into operation quickly (double digit). Therefore, the deposit is very important to Mobike and may even be the main source of assets. If the riding experience is not advantageous, public relations should be done well. Otherwise, if a "bank run" occurs (a financial term meaning "withdrawing money and leaving"), it will be painful...

Ofo doesn't care. Although the deposit is low, the riding experience is good (you can ride it or not), and they don't care much about their public relations image. They can even make money by taking advertisements:

(ofo cooperates with Xiaomi, Meituan and Dingdang Express Pharmacy)

To sum up, by comparing the marketing strategies of ofo and Mobike, we can (temporarily) draw the following conclusions:

1. If the CEO is good at telling stories and selling emotions, then he should do public relations, such as Jack Ma ’s entrepreneurial story; if he is not good at it, then he should just focus on management and product development.

2. If the product itself does not have obvious advantages, public relations can be used to divert users' attention from the product to the CEO and the company, similar to the fan economy ; if the product performance advantages are obvious, direct advertising is harmless.

3. If the product itself has media attributes, you can choose a marketing method based on public relations to reduce marketing costs, similar to word-of-mouth communication; if it does not have media attributes, then work hard on advertising yourself.

4. For products that are easy to be recognized in terms of morality, emotion, etc., you can do public relations to get public support, similar to moral kidnapping; if there is nothing to identify with, then make functional demands and be practical.

In a nutshell: play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses!

Mobile application product promotion service: APP promotion service Qinggua Media advertising

The author of this article is @品牌圈圈 and it is compiled and published by (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting! Site Map