Top 5 popular marketing models in 2021

There is less than a month left in 2021.

The two years stolen by the epidemic seem to have passed faster than before. However, for advertisers, in addition to racing against time, they also have to "survive" and even "seek innovation" in a slightly difficult marketing environment, which is indeed a big challenge. Fortunately, we can still see some relatively new and popular marketing strategies this year. They are not fleeting. On the contrary, they have created a big marketing "whirlwind", provided good marketing ideas for other brands, and injected new solutions into the already mature marketing models .

Today, let’s talk about the more popular marketing models in 2021 and see which brands have truly mastered the traffic code behind the “trend”?

1. Milk tea marketing: a new consumption model with various styles

Ever since the “first cup of milk tea in autumn” became popular, more and more brands have been focusing on milk tea. The more common ones are nothing more than these situations:

1. Those who make a fuss about the “flavor” of milk tea

Drinks like the 7-point sweet Xiaolongbao milk tea, the "Duck Shit Fragrance Milk Tea" launched by Nayuki's Tea, the "Floral Water Milk Tea" jointly launched by Liushen and Lelecha, etc., are the kind that make you feel incredible just by hearing the names. All you can say is: they have that flavor!

2. Those who make a fuss about the price of milk tea

Not long ago, a milk tea shop in Shenzhen became a hot topic because of its milk tea that cost 1,000 yuan per cup.

Out of curiosity, I clicked in to take a look at what kind of milk tea could be worth such a high price. In the end, I found out that it was a glass of olive juice launched by Ye Cui Shan. It is said that this milk tea is made from 100-year-old gold and jade three-twisted olives, takes 3 hours to make, and even the cup is made from the store's treasure, the golden cup. Anyone who sees it will be shocked!

3. Cross-border in the field of "milk tea"

If it is understandable for a catering brand to open a milk tea shop (such as Haidilao opening a milk tea shop), then it is really incomprehensible for China Post to open a milk tea shop, Guangzhou High-Speed ​​Railway to start selling milk tea, Fudan Medical College to open a milk tea shop, etc.!

Whether it is a new consumer brand that is well versed in the "traffic routine" or some domestic brands that seem "conventional" but are actually very playful, "milk tea" marketing has become a routine operation for them.

First, because the cost of milk tea is relatively low, the entry threshold for brands is relatively low in terms of product, so more and more people are "entering the game";

The second reason is the “social attributes” that milk tea itself has. For many young people, there is nothing that can't be solved by a cup of milk tea. Brands seized on the common topic of milk tea and joined the young people's camp, which not only captured consumers but also added a youthful attribute to the brand image.

2. Museum Marketing: Reinterpreting the New National Trend

With the revival of national trends, everyone's sense of national identity has reached an unprecedented high. The marketing actions of major museums have been widely discussed by netizens and have frequently gone viral. At the same time, brands are gradually breaking down dimensional walls and choosing to cooperate with museums. The most typical one is the Sanxingdui Museum.

On March 20, 2021, more than 500 important cultural relics were unearthed from six newly discovered "sacrificial pits" during the archaeological work at the Sanxingdui site. For this reason, it jointly launched an MV "Why Am I So Good-Looking" with Sichuan Daily, Chuanguan News, and Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. The Sanxingdui cultural relics began to sing, popularizing Sanxingdui knowledge in the cheerful and brainwashing melody.

Afterwards, Sanxingdui Museum Cultural and Creative Industry teamed up with National Treasures and Taobao Maker Festival to create the first archaeological rock blind box, and continuously launched new cultural and creative IP products, such as gold mask chocolate, voice lollipop, bronze mask ice cream, etc., which can be regarded as keeping up with the trend and figuring out the cultural and creative IP~

Whether it is cultural and creative products or cultural relics, brands have seen that museums are catching up with trends and becoming more and more playful, and have gradually started cross-dimensional marketing, sweeping the "new national trend" to multiple fields. Sparks such as the national treasure friend-hunting drama of DingTalk×Sanxingdui and the "earthy cosmetics" launched by the original color pota×Sanxingdui cross-border are all sparks generated by the cross-border cooperation between brands and museums.

DingTalk×Sanxingdui: "Searching for Friends"

Sanxingdui x Original Color Bota launches "earthy makeup"

Including the Sanxingdui Museum, the National Museum of China, the Henan Museum, the Palace Museum...more and more museum marketing is being favored by consumers and brands.

On the one hand, in the current context of Internet communication, the combination of traditional culture and modern creativity inherently brings topics and traffic;

On the other hand, more and more people are becoming interested in historical and traditional culture . Cultural relics that appear in the public eye in the form of personification or IP cross-border forms are gradually stepping out of traditional scenes and refreshing everyone's cognition with the image of "people". This is a trendy and meaningful thing for popularizing traditional cultural knowledge among the public.

3. Metaverse Marketing: A Brave Attempt to Enter the Virtual World

In 2021, the term "metaverse" frequently appeared in the public eye.

Many people say that 2021 is the first year of "metaverse marketing". In fact, the concept of "metaverse" was proposed as early as the 1992 science fiction novel "Snow Crash". However, with the development and increasing maturity of technologies such as VR, 5G, and artificial intelligence, more and more brands have begun to turn this concept into reality and explore the blue ocean that exists in "metaverse marketing".

For example, AYAYI, the first hyper-realistic digital person in China, is the digital manager of Tmall Super Brand Day. She also has multiple identities such as NFT artist, digital curator, fashion brand manager, and top digital person.

After joining Alibaba, she appeared in various marketing scenes in a near-real-life form: she was invited to participate in Guerlain's summer "honey" garden event, cooperated with AMX to launch a "digital yogurt that understands you" based on user big data, launched the AYAYI fashion brand, and collaborated with internationally renowned designers to create fashion items...

Different from the concept of "virtual image", the "metaverse" has a stronger sense of reality, and it seems more appropriate to describe it as a "real virtual world". Its core is digital creation, digital assets, digital transactions, digital currency and digital consumption, but in terms of user experience, it can reach a state where it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, and mix the real and the virtual.

Of course, in addition to Tmall's AYAYI, many brands will try out "metaverse marketing" this year.

Watsons' first virtual image spokesperson "Qu Chenxi", Hua Xizi's first virtual image of the same name brand "Hua Xizi", Zhong Xuegao's virtual image spokesperson "A Xi", and "Liu Yexi" whose fans increased by over one million overnight, CCTV AI sign language anchor...

The "Metaverse" breaks through people's imagination of virtual idols in the traditional sense. Whether it is the high IP security compared to celebrity KOLs, or the deep binding with brands and more diversified marketing scenarios, it allows many brands to see the multiple possibilities of future marketing. However, in terms of the fit between personal IP and brand products, brands still need to undergo long-term testing by the market and consumers.

4. Music Marketing: One song can go viral

If we talk about the hottest marketing cases in 2021, Mixue Bingcheng is definitely on the list.

In early June, Mixue Bingcheng uploaded its theme song MV on Bilibili. The Chinese and English versions have been played 14.42 million times, received over 680,000 likes, and 320,000 reposts. The magical and brainwashing lyrics "You love me, I love you, Mixue Bingcheng is so sweet" make people unable to stop listening to it, and the spread effect is like a snowball, getting more and more intense.

Another classic case is Baidu's "What Did You Say" series.

From last year's Double Ninth Festival hit to this year's series, Baidu seems to have found a good balance between content insight and communication effect. It uses the magic of brainwashing hits to cleverly convey content that might accidentally become "heartfelt and sensational" or preachy through music and songs. It not only breaks the circle of content, but also allows everyone to see the difference in the brand marketing model in the melody of hot words.

Although music marketing has existed for a long time, such as the classic advertising song of BBK music phone "da la da la da la da...", the music in Apple Macbook air "I'm a new soul"...

And because of the changes in social media platforms, the popular songs on Tik Tok and Bilibili (such as "Love You 105°") have brought good voice to the brand. All we can say is that "marketing is a circle", and brands relying on songs to gain popularity has become a more popular phenomenon this year.

However, it is worth noting that because the songs involve copyright and complexity of lyrics, brand music marketing still needs to be cautious. After all, a good advertising song can be the soul of a brand’s content, or it can become a “minefield” that leads to copyright disputes. Brands need to use it flexibly based on their own needs.

5. Anti-routine marketing: unexpected "play within a play" routine

When it comes to "anti-routine marketing", NetEase Yanxuan is definitely the king among "drama queens". Since announcing its "withdrawal from Double 11" last year, NetEase Yanxuan is back with its "anti-routine" tactics on Double 11 this year!

On the eve of November this year, NetEase Yanxuan teamed up with Luo Yonghao to launch a video advertisement, using situational dialogue to "complain" about the many advertising routines, but in fact, this video itself is an advertisement!

Another company that has the same "anti-routine" idea is Sandunban. It invited the famous director Jia Zhangke to star in a short story between "Party A and Party B". It seems to be an expression of dissatisfaction with "too many product placements", but in fact it is also a product advertisement full of routines.

Including Jiang Xiaobai’s 100 “solemn declarations” that swept the Internet a while ago, it is actually a manifestation of “anti-routine marketing”.

Generally speaking, when people see a "statement", they think of something that may not be very good. However, Jiang Xiaobai, which has always been well versed in marketing routines, used such a method that is very "ritualistic" and "routine" on its tenth anniversary, expressing the brand's attitude and views in disguise, which gives people a bright feeling.

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The idea behind "anti-routine" marketing is that it takes into account two levels of thinking logic in marketing methods. It thinks what the audience thinks, then substitutes it in a way that everyone "takes for granted", and finally makes a reversal, achieving the purpose of "routine" in the process of "anti-routine".

The advantage of this marketing model is that people are easily attracted by the "gimmick trap" set by the brand at the beginning and have the desire to continue clicking. The disadvantage is that if it is used too much, the audience will be able to guess what it means in advance. After all, consumers are getting smarter!

Conclusion

Every year, many excellent brand marketing cases are born, and when a certain marketing model becomes popular, we will see many similar marketing phenomena. In fact, "popularity" does not mean that more and more people are following the trend. It more represents the public's current preference for marketing content and reflects a future marketing trend. It will also be affected by many factors such as time nodes and social media. (For example, due to the epidemic, many brands have shifted their offline marketing activities to online)

Moreover, there is sometimes no clear boundary between "popular" marketing models and traditional marketing models. For example, H5 marketing, which was once very popular, is still being done by some brands and is frequently gaining popularity.

Perhaps for the general public, "popularity" is just for fun, and they stop to watch mainly because of the content. After all, considering the underlying logic of marketing is not within their scope of thinking; but for brands, behind the "popular" marketing model, it can better reflect the brand's ability to predict the current marketing environment and its innovative marketing thinking ability. It requires all advertisers and brands to constantly summarize and work together in practice.

Author: Yi An

Source: Yian