How long can Zhong Xuegao’s “brainwash marketing” last?

In the Internet era, the explosion of the internet celebrity economy has also created many well-known brands. Many companies rely on the power of "internet celebrities" to mix in the red ocean of traffic and make profits from it. In a recent major Internet event, Zhong Xuegao's statement "It's that price, take it or leave it" suddenly aroused the anger of consumers. Although it was later clarified that it was the result of malicious editing, Zhong Xuegao's past dark history was also dug up and exposed.

In the eyes of many consumers, the internet celebrity economy is very much like a bubble that has been exaggerated. There may be a large premium gap between its actual value and the marked price. Therefore, many people are cautious about internet celebrity products. If the effectiveness is average, it is not worth complaining or getting angry. However, once the effectiveness is too poor, it will be difficult for consumers to avoid going crazy because of stepping on a landmine.

Judging from the brand concerns caused by Zhong Xuegao's "wrong words" this time, does the "Internet celebrity" Zhong Xuegao deserve to be criticized like this? We can understand Zhong Xuegao from its development to its problems, and see what it needs to do to become a true brand.

In the era of "Internet celebrities" creating momentum, Zhong Xue Gao was created

2018 was the first year that Zhong Xue Gao was founded. At that time, the ice cream market was not too scarce or saturated with any particular brand. Mengniu, Yili, Guangming, etc. were all kings in the domestic market, and there was no difference in superiority or inferiority. The most important thing was to see who had stronger marketing efforts. At this time, the domestic population base determines the huge size of the ice cream market, and the three companies' control over the ice cream market is relatively lax. After all, the share they each occupy is relatively large.

Zhong Xue Gao was established because Lin Sheng was indignant about the foreign market's tinted glasses viewing the domestic ice cream market. Lin Sheng believed that there should be a representative ice cream brand in China to compete with the foreign market, so Zhong Xue Gao was established.

It has been nearly three years since its establishment, and Zhong Xuegao has undergone three rounds of capital financing. Matrix Partners China, Zhen Fund, and Frees Capital participated in the angel round of financing, and Toutoushidao and Tiantu Investment joined the financing in the Pre-A round. In the A round of financing in mid-year this year, Original Capital, Wanwu Capital, and H Capital helped Zhong Xuegao complete a financing of 200 million yuan. The frequent involvement of capital may be due to the fact that there is no domestic brand that can match Haagen-Dazs, and "Internet celebrity" ice cream may become part of the consumption trend.

In the new consumption era, consumers advocate personalized consumption. When faced with some time-honored brands and international brands, consumers sometimes may not accept them all. Instead, they are fond of some unique and national trend products. Referring to consumers' consumption psychology and consumption trends, Zhong Xuegao used the creation of an "Internet celebrity" brand as its initial way to become famous. It first promoted itself through Xiaohongshu, and then took advantage of the compatibility of e-commerce platforms and the Internet celebrity economy, and soon became an Internet celebrity ice cream on the platform. Relying on the traffic of internet celebrities, Zhong Xuegao was able to grow rapidly.

There is an ancient saying that "pulling up the seedlings to help them grow", which means that seedlings that have not been exercised cannot thrive. Zhong Xuegao has risen rapidly by relying on the traffic of internet celebrities, and it is difficult to avoid the problem of unstable foundation. Therefore, when Zhong Xuegao quickly grew into an internet celebrity ice cream in three years, its accumulated hidden worries could erupt at any time and become an obstacle to Zhong Xuegao's growth. For Zhong Xuegao, no matter how fast it moves, it must pay attention to consolidating its foundation.

The stain of duplicity makes Zhong Xue Gao's hidden worries difficult to resolve

The most expensive piece of ice cream once reached 66 yuan. In the eyes of many consumers, popsicles and ice cream are actually ice products. The price of the most commonly bought ice cream has increased from 50 cents to 2 yuan or 5 yuan. Few people will specifically buy ice cream that costs more than 10 yuan. So why is Zhong Xuegao's 66 yuan ice cream so expensive?

In response to media interviews, Zhong Xue Gao founder Lin Sheng explained the reason why ice cream is priced high. Lin Sheng responded to questions from the media that the high pricing of Zhong Xuegao was partly due to the high prices of its raw materials, and the high price of Japanese red pomelo was also the reason why suppliers told Zhong Xuegao "this is the price, take it or leave it". On the other hand, Zhong Xue Gao’s profit is indeed higher than other ice creams, and the “Internet celebrity premium” component is self-evident.

While Zhong Xuegao was optimizing its brand image and promoting its quality and appearance, the Shanghai Huangpu District Market Supervision Bureau's administrative penalty decision revealed that Zhong Xuegao had engaged in false advertising in its promotions. The premium red grapes it selected from the core grape-growing area of ​​the Turpan Basin were actually bulk/first-grade, and the Japanese Yabukita tea it selected was actually just domestic bulk tea. After a series of false propaganda broke out, Zhong Xuegao's route to becoming an internet celebrity has begun to go wrong. In the following months, Zhong Xuegao was again named and punished by relevant agencies for its misleading false consumption of "not adding a drop of water, pure milk fragrance". Zhong Xuegao's hidden worries have become very serious.

You know, food quality is the primary requirement. The false propaganda information of Zhong Xuegao has lowered its original high-cost image, but Zhong Xuegao is still very high. Some netizens said that Haagen-Dazs has tariffs, so why is Zhong Xue Gao so expensive? Putting aside the original high-cost gimmick, there seems to be no reason for Zhong Xue Gao to be so expensive.

The word "expensive" has long been a preconceived notion among consumers before they even understand the cost. After understanding it, the word "expensive" is simply transformed into the result of the premium of the Internet celebrity brand. But can consumers really accept such a high brand premium?

Ice cream is not something extremely luxurious, but rather an ordinary daily food in people's minds, just like people buy two steamed buns for one yuan, and changing steamed buns into meat buns is only a price increase of one or two yuan. Even if the ingredients are changed, steamed buns will not be sold for more than ten or twenty yuan. This is the consumer's perception of daily consumer goods, then what about the "66" yuan ice cream? Consumers may feel they are hallucinating.

Many consumers know about Haagen-Dazs, but many have never consumed it. Therefore, Haagen-Dazs is only a concept and a freezer. There are great obstacles to actually consuming it. It may be okay to try it once, but it is difficult for ordinary people to buy it frequently. Zhong Xuegao faces the same problem. For daily consumer goods such as ice cream, directly pricing it at high-end levels will limit the range of consumers.

The transparency of the Internet allows many consumers to understand how a company operates. Marketing often becomes the most expensive option for a brand, with technology taking a backseat. The Internet's traffic-centric approach not only controls the way of monetization, but also has a great impact on product pricing. Therefore, consumers are becoming less and less interested in this traffic-centric, money-burning marketing approach.

In other words, although Zhong Xue Gao is pursuing the route of high-end ice cream, it has a strong internet celebrity attribute and has the stigma of being "not worth the money". If there is no change in brand power and price, it will be difficult to achieve the definition of long-term value.

Zhong Xue Gao, a popular online brand, needs to cultivate its brand as soon as possible

After being criticized, its dark history was dug up. Although it "refuted the rumors and apologized", Zhong Xuegao's brand image has gradually become less bright. Moreover, as it started out as an "Internet celebrity", its brand image was weak. In the ever-changing consumer era, the top priority is to complete the in-depth development of the brand as soon as possible.

In the snack industry, Three Squirrels and Bestore, which are currently ranked in the top three, are also internet celebrity brands that started out based on e-commerce platforms. They are still at the top of the industry and still "enjoy" the name of internet celebrity brands. Three Squirrels and Bestore are also working hard to enhance their brand image and are trying their best to solve many problems that have arisen during their growth. However, as leading snack brands, Bestore and Three Squirrels each have their own characteristics and seem to be stirring up trouble in the market, while Zhong Xue Gao is still pursuing a high-end route under a stain, which does not fully match the image of a domestic ice cream that is affordable to the people.

It can be seen from Zhong Xuegao's corporate publicity that it is seeking breakthroughs by collaborating with brands and leading consumption with the national trend culture. Zhong Xuegao has never stopped exploring the consumer market, but there is a big gap between exploration and the needs of the consumer market. In the eyes of consumers, a cup of milk tea that costs 20 or 30 yuan is already a high standard budget, and better desserts are also priced at around 30 yuan. If they have to spend dozens of yuan to buy an ice cream that they thought only cost a few yuan, consumers will only blurt out "expensive".

Although Zhong Xuegao tried its best to highlight the preciousness of the raw materials and the culture expressed by Zhong Xuegao in its publicity, in the preconceived notions of consumers, it is really difficult to match the pricing of ice cream with "66". In other words, daily consumer goods in the impression of consumers are still at a relatively affordable level. If Zhong Xuegao wants to achieve the brand power that it pursues in the new consumption era, it may require an opportunity for consumers to recognize that ice cream can also be sold as a light luxury product.

In the new consumption era, consumers believe that consumer products should not only have novel appearance, but also be practical and of value. On the contrary, if they are not watches, clothes, etc., most products are not worth consumers buying as luxury goods.

In general, the huge consumer market is made up of countless ordinary and cheap goods. In the new consumption era, consumers are not pursuing extreme luxury. On the contrary, many cheap and durable products are being accepted by countless young people. Judging from Pinduoduo's user base of over 800 million, more and more young people have joined the ranks of group buying and group buying. Frugality has long been a part of the consumption trend, and young people who value personalized consumption more are easily attracted by the national trend, but their consumption concept is still based on relatively conservative ideas.

In the process of brand evolution, what Zhong Xue Gao has been recognized by consumers are mostly its personality and trend. However, ice cream is currently in a large and ordinary market, and high prices can easily close off its own niche and reach its own ceiling. After being criticized this time, Zhong Xuegao should not excessively pursue the market based on price positioning. On the contrary, the more ordinary and affordable the products are, the easier it is to resonate with the market and create a more valuable brand.

Author: Blueberry Finance

Source: Blueberry Finance