Jack Ma is so awesome, why do we still need TV stations for Singles’ Day?

1. The show begins

On the evening of November 10, 2016, Tmall’s Double Eleven Carnival Night opened on time again.

Last year, the first show of Tmall Double Eleven Gala was hosted by Hunan Satellite TV, and this year the organizer returned to the provincial satellite TV station. It seems that it has gradually become a standard for Alibaba to attract traffic from various platforms and then ignite the carnival with satellite TV evening parties on the eve of Double Eleven.

2. The sky is about to change

On November 10, Jack Ma was interviewed by CCTV Finance. When asked about whether e-commerce has reached its ceiling, Jack Ma responded that e-commerce only accounts for 10% of China's retail sales so far, and there is still a lot of room for growth in the future, but pure e-commerce or pure offline operations will not be sustainable.

Alibaba Group's second quarter financial report for fiscal year 2017 (July 1 to September 30, 2016) released on the evening of November 2 showed that the core e-commerce business revenue increased by 41% year-on-year, far less than the 130% growth rate of Alibaba Cloud. "E-commerce will continue to develop rapidly in the next few years. However, pure e-commerce will not last long without offline cooperation; and offline businesses will not go far if they do not embrace the Internet."

Jack Ma once again emphasized the concept of new retail: pure e-commerce no longer exists, but e-commerce continues to develop. "What is e-commerce? It means that we have mastered the technology, thinking and operation methods of the Internet and created a new business model. I believe that a new retail form will be born in the future, which will be a perfect combination of online, offline, logistics, technology and data." The impact of new retail has also expanded from online to broader areas. Finally, Ma Yun concluded: "I must remind everyone that the world is changing very quickly."

3. TV people should not exaggerate their own importance

The cooperation between Internet giants and TV stations may once again inspire the self-confidence of traditional media: it turns out that we are still so valuable! In fact, this kind of story of being used to show off one's presence is not the first time that has happened, and it certainly won't be the last.

Why did Tencent and Alibaba both choose to use television stations to launch their business in the Internet+ era? Ma Huateng cooperated with CCTV to launch WeChat Pay during the Spring Festival, and Jack Ma cooperated with Hunan Satellite TV on Double Eleven in 2015, and also grabbed the Shake app during the Spring Festival Gala in 2016. Is this a comparison or a coincidence? Do great minds think alike, or do they all have no choice? Since the WeChat Shake function started during the Spring Festival Gala, media professionals have been discussing whether this phenomenon is worthwhile or not. The gains outweigh the losses, or is it a case of losing the big for the small? Now, with the Double Eleven Carnival being performed again, some people may say, will this become another Spring Festival Gala? Another Christmas Eve?

On this point, I think traditional media people are a bit too narcissistic. Although the satellite TV carnival was launched on the eve of Double Eleven, Alibaba was attracting traffic in various fields and channels before that. From various versions of browsers , when you open a word document, open various apps, you can see the sound and shadow of Alibaba's Double Eleven traffic-generating advertisements. Not only the popular satellite TV stations got a share here, but also various big names in different industries. It all depends on whether you can really become a traffic entrance. Alibaba is using the strategy of full traffic entrance. You think that television traffic contributes greatly to this, simply because you are a television person.

In fact, whether you are there or not, whether you come or not, the Internet bigwigs are there. For TV station bigwigs that have become traffic portals, cooperation is certainly a more profitable thing. Because his existence is irresistible, and since it cannot be changed, we might as well enjoy it happily.

At the same time, some people will question the traffic bottleneck of Internet companies, and some people will suspect that Alibaba has run out of tricks and has reached the end of its rope... Faced with traffic bottlenecks and competitive difficulties, is this the last glittering moment? Before, Jack Ma did not spend tens of millions or even hundreds of millions to attract traffic to his platform, but he started doing so last year. His smile was genuine, but still very awkward!

I think he would feel sorry for the money he spent, after all, it was so much. However, his biggest purpose in doing so was to maintain his leadership position and business structure and to build a very high firewall. For a large international company, this is both a compulsion and a necessity.

4. It is not important to care about the number or whether it is true or false.

There will definitely be people paying attention to Tmall’s Double Eleven sales and whether the sales are inflated. Someone will definitely pay attention to the issues of fake orders, returns, and logistics...

When I wrote the article, Double Eleven had not yet started, but I can say with certainty that Tmall's overall sales this year will exceed that of last year, and a portion of the sales must be inflated.

Taobao's ranking algorithm will force some merchants to research black technology. There will definitely be merchants who will inflate orders for the sake of ranking. The temptation of Double Eleven is really too great. Even if they face the risk of subsequent store closures, there will definitely be people who will do this.

Long before Double Eleven, some companies had already introduced black searches and techniques for explosive order-brushing in the early hours of Double Eleven. In fact, these people were challenging the strength of Alibaba's anti-cheating system. For a company like Alibaba that has a large number of algorithmic technology experts, the power of its system cannot be underestimated. What is important is the time difference and when to settle accounts, as well as the severity of the punishment for false orders that Alibaba will impose for the sake of its own stock price and other interests. In order to comply with the ranking rules, merchants must have sales, and Alibaba must also have sales in order to be accountable to the stock market. So this may be an interesting game and a relatively rational choice for both parties. Therefore, the traffic refreshed that night must be inflated.

However, all this will pass and it really doesn’t matter. What is important is the new business model and the new normal.

5. Alibaba is pursuing a new normal

Build a tall firewall for competitors, and at the same time, the new normal is what everyone is pursuing.

Alibaba operates this project at such a high cost, in fact, it is more about maintaining brand gap. Raise the threshold for others to enter the Double Eleven marketing . What Alibaba wants is influence and overall traffic, but it does not require a very high profit margin. As long as it can strangle its opponents and prevent others from entering easily, it will win.

Go ask those who stayed up all night during last year’s Tmall Shopping Carnival if they will do the same this year. You will find that many people actually no longer keep the watch. So why does Alibaba still do this?

Those who no longer keep watch at night may have developed consumer habits and have become regular online shoppers. For them, online shopping is just a new habit that makes life more convenient. They know that the prices in wholesale markets are cheap, but in order to get the goods more conveniently and worry-free, they still hope to have them delivered to their door by express delivery. In addition, Taobao and various online shopping websites with discounts can provide many discount opportunities on normal days. Knowledgeable consumers are no longer particularly interested in the discounts on Double Eleven, and online shopping experts do not necessarily have to wait until Double Eleven to go shopping, because online shopping is a normal part of their lives.

For those who have formed the habit of online shopping, the weakening significance of Double Eleven is also good news for merchants, because they will not have too much of a sales gap due to the warehouse explosion on Double Eleven and the cold sales on other days. In fact, for the sake of traffic, small and medium-sized sellers usually work very hard. There are many traffic-generating platforms that sell at a loss, and the cost of this kind of traffic is huge.

Such traffic patterns are actually good news for Alibaba and the entire e-commerce industry.

Those who are sensitive to price will be attracted by this network and may become new regular online shoppers. It is this kind of traffic that Alibaba spends huge costs to purchase.

In an era when e-commerce is no longer uncommon, and when the difference between the e-commerce industry and physical stores is getting smaller and smaller, Alibaba's carnival and shopping festivals in physical stores are actually becoming more and more similar , which is a good thing for the media industry and the real economy. There's nothing special about it. Is there no one-yuan purchase in the promotional activities of physical stores?

As business becomes more and more community- based and socialized , there is actually not much difference between online stores, physical stores and community micro-markets, because transactions will only take place among the group of people in your circle, and the importance of Double Eleven has become very weak.

For Alibaba, the practical effect of the Double Eleven event will become increasingly weak, while the brand value and symbolic significance will become greater and greater. The bigger it becomes, the deeper the barrier and firewall it will become to block competitors, making it difficult for competitors to surpass it quickly.

6. For TV stations, the rules of the game are: Become the first, become the traffic entrance, and then you will have the ticket to cooperate with the strongest.

1. Being the best in your field does not mean you are good in all fields! Therefore, the strong love competition, but are more willing to cooperate

Why are everyone so shrewd, but this is the most suitable decision for both parties? Why does Jack Ma need a satellite TV station that is at least ranked in the top five? Because in the world of the Internet, Alibaba can be called big, but this world is not just about the Internet. Only by cooperating with a communication channel that dominates another field can we better detonate the Internet.

Last year, Alibaba and Hunan TV benefited from their cooperation. Alibaba has increased the sense of participation, and the cost of acquiring each user is only 0.5 yuan.

From the perspective of Hunan Satellite TV, it is not a loss. Through this incident, Hunan Satellite TV not only earned Jack Ma's CASH, but also promoted the "Mango TV" APP better. I don't know if those who use the boxes noticed that half an hour before the live broadcast started last year, the source of almost all TV boxes was changed to "Zhong Kui Fu Mo". It was not until about an hour after the broadcast that it was changed to the correct source. If this kind of weird change is part of the plan, then Hunan Satellite TV's "Mango TV" APP will indeed receive a lot of new users.

Moreover, Xiangshi also held an almost simultaneous sale of Mango cars on Hunan Economic TV within the group, squeezing out all the surplus value that could be extracted. "Have you ever seen flowers hidden under leaves? How many times have you walked on snow in your dreams?" Xiangshi's planning and its ability to seize any opportunity and strike hard are worth learning for all planners.

This year, in addition to receiving red envelopes from Alibaba, Zhejiang TV has also gained a lot of benefits in advertising operations and channel promotion.

However, if Zhejiang Television was not in the first camp, this result would not have been possible.

2. Traditional communication channels should not be underestimated. Only by doing well can you have partners and the world.

Different identities and different sizes have different speeds, capabilities and energies in acquiring users, and their methods and requirements are different.

For most people, spending 40,000 yuan on a wedding show is already a luxury, but if Huang Xiaoming's wedding doesn't cost more than 10 million yuan, it can't really be called a wedding. What happens at the annual Double Eleven event? It's worth looking forward to, but it's also the norm.

Who can you find in normal times? Who can find you? Let's wait and see.