Brand cross-border marketing: 1 plus 1 is greater than 2, how to do it?

I have seen a lot of brand cross-border cases recently and have some ideas that I would like to share with you.

In recent years, in order to break out of their original circles, brands have begun to collaborate and cross borders. This marketing method has become a common tactic for brands to break out of their circles. Brand co-branding can achieve the effect of 1+1>2, which not only allows for rapid exposure but also enhances the brand image.

Brand crossover can be divided into the following categories:

01 The simplest cross-border approach is to launch cultural and creative peripheral products.

This method is easy to implement and can be used by any enterprise, large or small. Due to its low cost and easy operation, this is also the way many companies choose to cross-border.

But one thing is that cultural and creative products must be combined with the company's own culture and brand attributes. It is meaningless to do it just for the sake of cultural and creative products. For example, Haidilao’s cultural and creative products are designed with elements such as peppers, vegetables, spices, and hot pot.

Cultural and creative products must be either interesting, good-looking, or trendy, and their purpose is to win the love of young people.

02 Integrating cross-border concepts into product design

Cross-border is not only used in marketing, but also can be a product design idea. Huawei's "lipstick earphones" are a combination of product and fashion, becoming cross-border fashion earphones. Such products are not only beautiful but also relatively novel, and easy to self-propagate.

03 Brands launch crossover products

For example, Wuling Hongguang makes masks, snail noodles, and street stall cars. This wave of cross-border operations has brought Wuling Hongguang a good reputation and brand image. What’s more important is that people began to spread the message on their own: “Wuling makes what the people need.”

What does autonomous communication mean? I think marketers understand this.

Haidilao also launched lipsticks in three colors: Yellow Flash Ginger, Red Beauty Pepper, and Summer Fan.

This kind of cross-border product always gives people a novel feeling, a hot pot brand suddenly buys lipstick. It not only satisfies consumers' curiosity, but also breaks the inherent impression of Haidilao, while also increasing the brand's exposure.

04 Brand x brand launches joint model

When it comes to brand collaboration, Heytea is definitely the leader in the industry. It has collaborated with 74 brands in 4 and a half years. There is nothing Heytea dare not collaborate with, from the heavy-tasting Mr. Meng to the broad-mindedness to collaborate with competitor Cha Yan Yue Se. It really is true that everything can be collaborated with Heytea.

However, there have been times when things went wrong, such as the collaboration with Durex, which resulted in a fine of 810,000 yuan. So be careful when signing together.

But I think Heytea is doing it for the sake of collaboration and breaking the circle for the sake of breaking the circle.

Brand x brand collaboration is a way for big brands to cross borders frequently. This kind of cross-border collaboration can achieve the effect of 1+1 greater than 2, and both parties can increase their exposure.

So in recent years, you will see that many big brands have started to launch co-branded products.

On November 14, Li Ning and NIO's environmentally friendly fashion brand "BLUE SKY LAB" released a new limited-edition joint product: the limited edition "EARTH Jueying Stretch Running Shoes". This new product is made of automotive-grade recycled materials and aims to convey a sustainable and environmentally friendly design concept.

05 Brand x person (celebrity, master) collaboration

There is nothing much to say about the collaboration between brands and celebrities breaking the circle. If traditional brands want to gain the favor of young people, they can find a popular celebrity to attract the younger generation of consumers.

I will focus on the collaboration with the Master.

Xiaoguan Tea emphasizes the high-end nature of its tea by collaborating with masters: “Xiaoguan Tea, a masterpiece by masters.” Later, it was questioned that the tea was not handmade by a master, and the official responded: "Masterpiece" refers to works that represent the master's skills, not that the master hand-fried the tea.

This wave of marketing is truly awesome!

Collaborating with masters can highlight the high-end and exquisiteness of the products.

Master collaborations can be with well-known designers, artists, craftsmen, industry masters, etc. For example, Sandunban No. 0 Coffee cooperates with coffee masters, many big brands in clothing design launch joint models with well-known designers, and red wine, digital products and other products can all cooperate with masters.

06 Brand x IP co-branding: IP can be a person, anime, or a virtual image

There is a culture and a group of fans behind every IP. Such a collaboration can produce the effect of 1+1>2.

Summarize

There are generally three ways for brands to cross borders: the brand itself launches cross-border products, brand x brand collaboration, and brand x person/IP collaboration.

Finally, let’s talk about the misunderstandings of brand co-branding:

The biggest misunderstanding is to be self-satisfied, mistakenly believing that collaboration is just a gimmick, to create hype, and to collaborate just for the sake of collaboration. The advantages of both parties were not maximized, and things returned to calm after a gust of wind.

Collaboration is not the superposition of two brand logos.

The core of brand co-branding:

It is about empowering each other, leveraging the popularity of both parties, integrating their respective brand characteristics and cultural genes, and creating memorable products. Thereby enhancing the brand image and popularity and breaking the inherent perception of consumers towards the brand.

Author: Zhou Enyong

Source: Zhou Enyong