Brand planning strategy!

Case 1: Yuxi brand cigarettes

This question is actually the same as "What is the biggest difference between smart people and stupid people?" - what smart people say may not be absolutely correct, but their logic will definitely be self-consistent and they can make sense.

A brand strategy proposal consists of three major sections:

Analyze the situation : clarify the purpose and goals of the proposal; analyze the history, current situation, and future of society, industry, competitors, and the product; identify the key challenges in achieving the goals;

Determine the direction : Focus on key challenges and clarify the direction;

Provide solutions : Provide a set of interlocking solutions that can address key challenges.

These three major sections are actually a decision-making logic line in themselves.

And the most obviously bad solutions are the ones that are logically flawed.

For example, in a company’s brand upgrade strategy for Yunnan Yunnan cigarettes, the positioning of the new Yunnan Yunnan was set as “social”.

In addition, after outputting the slogans, the solution has no content, and does not tell how and where to use these slogans, and has no guiding significance at all. (After all, cigarettes are not allowed to advertise)

This is the most typical bad plan

Let me tell you what I think about the Yuxi brand.

In fact, as an old brand of cigarettes that has not changed its packaging or price for more than 20 years, Yunnan Yunnan has accumulated quite valuable brand assets.

It is not a wise move to try to subvert the original brand positioning to seize the market. (And after reading the whole article, I still don’t know why it is positioned as a “social cigarette”)

On the contrary, it should emphasize the classics - an attitude of not forgetting the original intention, which is the taste of classics and a sign of maturity.

In terms of publicity, cigarettes are actually particularly suitable for film and television product placement . Because it can satisfy the spiritual needs of users, it can show the spiritual attributes of the product while making the character more full, and it will not be out of place like the Zihaiguo in "Sweeping Dark Storm".

Case 2: Laocunzhang Wine

Just like the brand upgrade plan made by a 4A company for Laocunzhang Liquor, the logic is very clear:

Analysis of the situation: With the development of the times, the Laocunzhang wine, which was considered "cost-effective" by the previous generation of consumers, is gradually considered "low-priced and low-end" by the new generation of consumers. The new generation of consumers have more significant spiritual demands for wine products. This is why Red Star Erguotou, which focuses on the "spirit of struggle", is still very popular despite its low price and old brand.

Determine the direction: Lao Cun Zhang Liquor also needs to extract its own spiritual core and pass it on to consumers. And because the grassroots people drink liquor mainly to relieve stress and relax, the spiritual core of Lao Cun Zhang wine is: live happily.

Provide solutions: Provide 3 SLOGAN solutions - face life with a smile, just be happy; be happy and stay young, just be happy; live wisely and face it happily. (The visual solution is omitted, there is nothing much to say, and it was not adopted anyway)

First of all, these three plans all presuppose to a certain extent the scenario of "drinking only when encountering unhappy things", which has a rather dark and dull tone and is not conducive to brand communication.

In addition, it is definitely not enough to just make sense on its own. A good plan should also make sense for other reasons - it should match the actual situation of the brand and the company.

Q: What do cigarettes, alcohol, tea, mobile phones, cars, perfumes, luxury clothing, and high-end watches have in common?

Answer: The added associative value of the brand is often greater than the basic use value of the product.

Therefore, their brand names are particularly important and sometimes even determine the direction and fate of the brand. This is why "Positioning" says: Naming is the most important step in the process of building a brand for perfume.

The same is true for Chinese liquor. Because from ancient times to the present, wine and literature (poetry) are inseparable. This is its cultural attribute and cannot be changed by human will.

So, is there a direct association between the name "Old Village Chief" and "happy life"?

Obviously not.

In common human culture, the typical old village chief is not labeled as "happy". In which story have you heard: Once upon a time there was a happy old village chief...?

What can represent the old village chief are more " vicissitudes, kindness, wisdom, responsibility, stories " and so on. (Of course, he is most likely a drinker , and he often drinks with his fellow villagers... so this brand name is actually very good)

Yes, but a bridge is needed.

The slogan used by the old village chief last year is much better than the above three options - understanding life makes you happier.

Of course, this year the old village chief has completely changed his thinking (and may have also changed his advertising company) - no longer focusing on conveying "happy life", but highlighting the characteristics of the product from a competitive perspective - national liquor, brewed from pure grains.

Why?

First of all, the low-end liquor market is an extremely competitive field. Loose liquor and family workshops from all over the country can become local competitors, and the market is highly homogenized.

In this case, if the core of the strategy is placed on the added associative value of the brand, but there is no real focus like Jiang Xiaobai (focus on brand name, packaging, brand tone, and public relations and promotion), it will be impossible to form a single point of explosive power to penetrate the market. (What brand of cheap liquor can’t be used to relax and de-stress?)

In addition, the core brand positioning of Lao Cun Zhang has always been the “ model of popular wine ” printed on every bottle.

The existing slogan (national liquor, brewed with pure grains) strengthens the original positioning - "national liquor" corresponds to "popular fine wine" and clarifies the liquor category; "brewed with pure grains" provides support for "model of fine wine", which is similar to its letter of trust.

Of course, I personally think this is not the best solution.

Because consumers (especially those in the low-end market) have no idea about pure grains/impure grains. They don’t understand these professional things, nor do they want to understand them. They just want to make their own plans and live their own lives.

The simple “pure grain brewing” is actually very neutral and cannot effectively stimulate their understanding of the “model of fine wine”.

If we really want to be a role model and be No. 1, we must directly show the momentum of "I am the best in the world" and establish a strong impression in the minds of consumers that "only I use pure grains" .

For example: good liquor must have a role model, and the old village chief only uses pure grains.

So among the fundamentals, what are the points that users are most concerned about?

The proposal lists a large number of interview testimonies and news reports, ultimately focusing on " cleanliness ".

This is a very subtle link.

It can not only understand the company's attitude towards the proposed plan in advance, but also better predict the feasibility of the plan. This means that the plan has been approved before it was formally submitted, which is completely in line with Mr. Hua Shan’s strategic thinking of “win before fighting” in “Hua Shan Explains Sun Tzu’s Art of War”.

And it’s all about cleanliness.

Key points and difficulties

What are the key points and difficulties here?

In his book "Good Strategy, Bad Strategy", Rumelt mentioned that in the process of formulating strategy, 80% of the energy is focused on figuring out "what is happening now" - that is, analyzing the situation.

Because only by understanding the nature and category of the current situation can you match it with the historical experience in your mind and find possible countermeasures.

Just like you have to know whether you are eating Chinese food or Western food before you can decide whether to use chopsticks or fork. This is a fixed paradigm of human behavioral logic, otherwise it would be no different from guessing.

As for clarifying the direction, once you have truly analyzed the situation, the direction is actually already clear. (It is very likely that you have assumed the direction before analysis, and analyzing the situation can help you determine whether these assumptions are valid)

The real difficulty lies in coming up with a set of solutions that are both practical and interconnected.

Just like the case of H&H, when planning for Renben canvas shoes, the focus had been clearly defined based on the market situation: to create a fashionable shoe style belonging to Renben and to mediatize the product in order to get rid of the dilemma of mutual imitation and homogenization in the market.

The most popular model on the shopping platform is still the ordinary style - with neither a herringbone head nor a herringbone bottom.

As for why other shoes of Renben do not adopt this design? There are many possible reasons, and it is not necessarily a bad design.

It is conceivable that if this plan is to be fully adopted, there will certainly be many contradictions and difficulties that need to be overcome. It doesn’t mean that as long as you have a good idea, you can easily get a series of products like AJ, CROCS, YEEZY, Y3 that can be continuously sold and have a brand visual impact...