Brand advertising strategy and planning!

Last Wednesday, when Apple announced its new product launch event, it used the phrase "come and blow up the place".

At that time, I posted a complaint on my Moments.

I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Who would have thought that Apple could have even more ruthless copywriting?

Who could have thought Apple's copywriting would be so scary now?

And the color combination and gradient are really scary.

In my mind, Apple’s copywriting is as simple and elegant as its products and brand image. A few simple words are enough to depict the power of the product.

For example, think different, which is considered a masterpiece. Come, let’s review it again.

Salute to those crazy guys, they are unique, they are unruly, they are troublemakers, they are out of tune, they look at things differently, they don't like to stick to the rules, and they are unwilling to settle for the status quo.

You can praise them, quote them, oppose them, question them, glorify them or denigrate them, but you cannot ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent, they imagine, they heal, they explore, they create, they inspire, and they move humanity forward.

Maybe, they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at a blank canvas and see a painting?

Or sit quietly and hear songs that have never been written?

Or gaze upon a red planet and see a laboratory in action?

We make tools for people like this.

Maybe they are crazy in the eyes of others, but they are geniuses in our eyes.

Because only those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world can actually change the world.

For example, when the iPod was launched, the slogan was “put a thousand songs in your pocket”.

For example, when iPhone 4 was released, “Once again, changing everything”.

For example, when Macbook air was released, accompanied by the nice music "I'm a new soul", a notebook as thin as paper was taken out from the file bag.

I expressed a similar view in my book "Essential Copywriting":

"Put a thousand songs in your pocket" is not only to show the storage capacity of iPod, but also to show that iPod is easy to use and can be used anytime, anywhere and without any restrictions.

“Once again, changing everything” also fully reflects iPhone’s confidence, and its leadership and innovation in the smartphone industry.

I can understand Apple's eagerness to demonstrate the power of its products.

However, if you want users to clearly perceive the "strength" of your product, then what you need is to use the plainest and simplest words, and a method that uses little to achieve a great result, to easily and effortlessly demonstrate the strength and size of the product. Just like the Macbook air only uses a file bag, which makes people feel its lightness and thinness.

If you want to write good product copy, you don’t have to shout at the top of your lungs about how great you are, or pile up exaggerated and extreme adjectives like “blasting,” “scary,” “soaring,” “domineering,” “very strong,” and “the strength of the strong.”

For example, if you want to describe a person who is very good at martial arts, do you think that if you write something like "I have killed so many people in the world that no one dares to claim the throne!" "I hold the sun and the moon in my hands and pluck the stars. There is no one like me in the world!" "If Heaven abandons me, Heaven can be deceived. If the world forsakes me, the world must be destroyed. If Heaven abandons me, the world will forsake me. All the heavens will be shattered. The past and the present are connected. Only I am independent" will make readers remember who you are?

In fact, it was exactly "he just put his palms together, and there seemed to be a force that turned into an invisible high wall, blocking Xiao Feng and Murong Fu. Xiao Feng's overwhelming palm power hit the wall and instantly disappeared without a trace." With such understatement, the Sweeping Monk became the real big boss in the world of martial arts.

Even now in life, the Sweeping Monk is often used to describe a peerless master who hides his merits and fame, and has become a big IP and a big symbol.

After complaining about the copy, let’s talk about the brand.

Some of you may think that “the decline of a brand begins with the degradation of advertising” is an exaggeration. Can a few words of copywriting really bring down a brand? Even if the iPhone 13's copywriting is so bad, it's still impossible to make an appointment even if you queue up?

It should be noted that behind advertisements and copywriting, what is often reflected is a company’s corporate culture and brand strategy.

They will reveal how the company, especially the management, defines its own brand and the essential differences between itself and its competitors. They will reflect the company's attitude toward its own products, how it views the brand's development direction, and how it understands the brand's core values, personality and user experience.

Poorly made products often start with shoddy advertising. The aesthetic style of product design will naturally be reflected in the visual performance and tone of the advertising copy. This is like a company that doesn't care about its own image and brand. What good products do you think it will produce?

Victoria's Secret, an underwear brand that once occupied the crown position in the underwear industry and had annual sales of US$7 billion. Its major IP, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, is known as the Spring Festival Gala of the fashion industry. The annual dream show is a carnival that the whole nation looks forward to, with celebrities gathering and tickets are hard to come by.

The biggest feature of Victoria's Secret advertisements is the extreme promotion of sexiness, and the slogan "perfect body" is even directly shouted out in the advertisements. And whether it is an advertisement or a Victoria's Secret show, the models who appear on the screen are always supermodels with outstanding looks and perfect body proportions.

Fundamentally speaking, Victoria's Secret completely examines the female body from a male perspective and sets standards and opinions on female beauty and sexiness. After all, Victoria's Secret's origins lie in the 1980s, when it was a mail-order catalogue that helped men buy lingerie for their wives or lovers.

The extreme of sexiness, from another perspective, is the objectification of women. Under the advocacy of this culture, it is no wonder that in 2019, Victoria's Secret was exposed to the scandal of misogyny within the company, sexual harassment and unspoken rules for models by senior executives. Even the company's founder and CEO Les Wexner made many remarks that belittled women.

The final result of Victoria's Secret was a rapid decline, a sharp drop in performance, the suspension of the Victoria's Secret Show, and in early 2020, Victoria's Secret's parent company L Brand sold it at a low price. Now Victoria's Secret is embarking on a difficult road of self-rescue.

It can be seen that advertising, brand and corporate values ​​have always been two sides of the same coin.

Looking back to the past, when the "think different" copy was first released, Jobs personally dubbed the copy and even found the then US President Clinton and asked him to call the famous actor Tom Hanks and ask him to dub the copy.

Looking back to the past, Apple’s desktop computer iMac G3 came out with a Bondi Blue color scheme that amazed the world. Before the product was launched, Jobs discovered that the blue color of the iMac G3 in magazine advertisements did not match the real machine and there was a color difference. He immediately called the magazine to ask for a change of advertising printer and raged: "Fuck it! It's not blue enough!"

The reason I tell these two stories is not to say that business owners should personally participate in the creation and modification of every advertisement, but that we can see from them Jobs's dedication to and cherishment of the Apple brand.

Why was Apple able to quickly get out of the trough after Jobs' return and become a favorite among consumers again?

This is inseparable from the meticulous attention to every detail of the brand at Apple at the time. Whether it is product design, packaging, systems and software, stores, or advertising, the goal is to create an elegant, simple, and unique experience for consumers. This is the key to Apple's standing out from the red ocean of the PC market and reaching the top of the global market value.

And now, what I feel is that Apple seems to care nothing about its brand image and experience. Anyway, as long as my technical strength is strong and my products are better than Android, no matter what products I promote, consumers will rush to buy them.

You should know that the reason why Apple is so powerful is not only because of its product strength, the technical research and development capabilities represented by the M1 chip, its unique operating system and software ecology, but also because of Apple’s unique image and temperament in the minds of consumers.

Just like how Apple stood out from the PC market, in the mobile phone market, Apple’s real competitiveness is not “better Android” but “unique to Android”.

When this temperament is erased, Apple may still be three to five years ahead of Android manufacturers in terms of technological strength, but the halo around Apple will slowly disappear, and the characteristics that Apple represents will slowly disappear. If Apple's product strength is surpassed by Android, then it will surely be forgotten by the crowd.

Why is it that since Cook took office, every time Apple releases a new product, the media and netizens always lament in unison that "Apple has lost its soul after Steve Jobs"?

My understanding of this is that it’s not because Apple is not innovating enough under Cook’s leadership. After all, mobile phone screen and battery technology have basically stagnated and there have been no major changes. How much innovation can you achieve on a square box?

(Under Cook's leadership, Apple has taken the route of self-developed chips, developed a content ecosystem, and maximized Apple's advantages in software and hardware integration. I think this is an extremely wise strategic choice. Besides, Cook actually launched a revolutionary product - AirPods, which opened up a blue ocean, rewritten the audio market, and contributed huge profits to Apple.)

I think the biggest problem of Apple under Cook's leadership is the lack of refinement and attention to product design and creative expression.

For example, the notch screen that has been criticized to this day (now it even appears on MBP, Apple really loves the notch screen deeply).

There is also a bulge on the rear camera, so the phone is not flat at all when placed on the table! There are also advertising copywritings such as “bigger than bigger” which are ridiculed by the public for having no style at all.

What Apple sells to consumers is no longer sentiment or otherworldly temperament, but rather large screens, colors, and parameters that compete with Android phones.

Apple has fallen from its pedestal as a result, and I think this is the biggest crisis Apple is facing today.

This is a crisis of faith! A real crisis!

Consumers may still believe in Apple’s strength, but they no longer believe in Apple’s greatness.

Let’s take another example, Reebok.

Reebok invented the world's first pair of spiked running shoes and inflatable sports shoes. It has a glorious history and occupies the top spot as the world's number one sports shoe brand.

In the 1980s, Disco was popular all over the world and aerobics was in full swing. Reebok launched the first pair of women's aerobics sports shoes (the product name was Freestyle), which triggered a bodybuilding craze and fitness revolution in the United States, thus becoming the latest trend and a household name in the United States.

In 2005, Adidas spent $3.8 billion to acquire Reebok in order to compete with Nike for the US market. From then on, Reebok became the stepping stone for Adidas' rise to power.

In order to help Adidas occupy the American market, Reebok gave its three major American event resources, NBA, NFL, and NHL, to Adidas. In addition, Reebok and Adidas had similar brand strategies and fought each other for market share, and Reebok began to decline.

In 2014, in order to revitalize the Reebok brand, Adidas designed a new brand strategy for Reebok: focusing on the fitness market.

I think this is a great strategy. First, fitness is becoming popular all over the world and has broad market prospects. Fitness brands such as UA and lululemon are growing rapidly. Second, Reebok focuses on fitness and no longer conflicts with Adidas. Both sides are doing well and making their own efforts. Third, the fitness strategy taps into Reebok’s brand history and genes in the past and returns to the advantage it had when it started.

Subsequently, Reebok began to launch various brand promotions and strategies under the new strategic planning:

1) Reebok has a new logo

The new logo is brighter and more powerful, symbolizing the physical, mental and social changes that fitness brings to people. That is, it is more in line with the fitness market strategy.

(New on the left, old on the right)

2) Reebok opened up new channels

It has signed contracts with several gym chains, carried out brand announcements in gyms, and collaborated to develop its own fitness courses.

3) Reebok begins to re-promote its brand

In early 2015, Reebok launched the largest brand promotion in the company's history in the past 10 years, and also placed an advertisement in the "American Spring Festival Gala" Super Bowl. The theme of this round of promotion is called "Be More Human", which means to discover your own limits and become a stronger self.

This theme is translated into "Refine My True Self" in Chinese, and in early 2017 Reebok also signed Wang Deshun, Yuan Shanshan and Wu Lei as brand ambassadors for Greater China.

Yuan Shanshan is a famous "six-pack goddess" in China, who successfully reversed her online reputation through fitness; Wang Deshun, at the age of 79, can still walk on the catwalk shirtless and has a muscular body. He is simply an inspirational history of the elderly and a mobile fitness legend.

I think the choice of these two spokespersons is great, perfectly embodying the brand concept of "Training to Be My Best Self" and the brand image of fitness. Wu Lei is equivalent to a supplement in terms of traffic, popularity and capturing the young consumer market.

Reebok also launched a short advertising film called "25915 Days" at that time.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the average life expectancy of the global population is 71 years old, which is equivalent to 25,915 days. This is the average amount of time an average person can spend in this world. How should we live during these 25,915 days?

Reebok focused its camera on an elderly grandmother and used a rewind technique to review her life of running. From participating in the Reebok Marathon in old age, to running on the street pushing a stroller when she had just become a mother, running in her underwear with friends in college to show off her youth, participating in long-distance running in school sports meets in elementary school, and all the way back to the scene when she was in her cradle when she was just born.

I really like this piece. All this proves that Reebok is on the right track.

In fact, Reebok is indeed on the right track. In 2016, Adidas' new CEO took office and formulated a five-year plan for Reebok, with the goal of returning Reebok to profitability by 2020. In fact, Reebok recovered in early 2019, became profitable again, and its performance began to grow again.

But I don't understand.

Why did Reebok invite supermodel Gigi Hadid to be its spokesperson and promote this co-branded trendy shoe that has nothing to do with fitness?

Why did Reebok invite rapper Kendrick Lamar to be its spokesperson and promote street culture?

(The words "red" and "blue" printed on the left and right heels represent the conflicts between different gangs, conveying Kendrick Lamar's call for peace)

Why did Reebok invite the Korean girl group BLACKPINK to be its spokesperson?

Why does Reebok promote "Play Big" which is totally inconsistent with the spirit of fitness and lacks any spiritual connotation?

This is depravity. It is a complete departure from Reebok's fitness strategy and looks like a poor imitation of Adidas' fashion strategy.

In fact, Reebok’s advertisements should be passionate, inspirational, and to the point. We keep looking for ordinary people who train hard and strive to surpass themselves, dig out their stories to spread, shape brand culture, and infect more consumers. Instead of releasing syrupy videos about fashion idols and street trends, what is the difference between you and other sports brands?

The strategy of being caught between two extremes is never pleasing to either side. I wonder if those who sweat profusely in the gym and set strict standards for themselves in order to keep fit would be moved by these things?

Especially in early 2019, Reebok also released an advertisement with a weird style called "Storm The Court". A group of people, led by a little girl, began to dance like zombies to the rhythm of somewhat scary music. The new slogan “Sport the Unexpected” emphasizes individuality and uniqueness.

I don't understand how this embarrassing advert even won the gold medal at the London Advertising Festival.

Reebok's series of advertisements, which are fashionable for the sake of fashion and individuality for the sake of individuality, completely deviate from the brand strategy of fitness and have none of the aforementioned fitness spirit of "refining myself". This kind of advertisement with big-name idol endorsements and copy that emphasizes individuality, true self, passion, and the courage to be yourself is really vulgar. It cannot build a differentiated brand.

The final result was that Reebok began to decline again in 2020, and Adidas, losing patience, sold Reebok in August 2021. Bought for $3.8 billion and sold for $2.5 billion.

This is the story of Reebok.

Although a sentence or an advertisement is small, we can see the brand strategy behind the advertisement through these specific creative expressions, feel a company's planning for brand spirit and product concept, and understand how they view their own products and brand corporate culture.

King Zhou of Shang used ivory chopsticks to eat. When the wise minister Ji Zi saw this, he was worried, as he saw in it a sign of the country's demise due to excessive extravagance. When one leaf falls, the world knows that autumn has arrived; when you taste a piece of meat, you will know the flavor of the whole pot.

Apple, it's time to wake up.

Author: Empty-handed

Source: Empty Hands (ID: firesteal13)