New energy vehicle marketing strategy

April is traditionally the auto show season, but this year it is quiet due to the epidemic. The biggest news in the automotive industry recently is that BYD announced that it will stop producing fuel vehicles from March 2022. This once again shows that the trend of new energy vehicles gradually replacing fuel vehicles is an inevitable trend. Affected by factors such as rising oil prices, IDC predicts that China's new energy vehicle market is expected to reach 5.225 million vehicles in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 47.2%.

On the other hand, my country's automobile market has entered a stage of stock competition. Coupled with the reduction of subsidies and the overall economic downturn, new energy vehicles are not expected to have an easy time in the next few years. On April 1, Weichai Group Chairman Tan Xuguang made a shocking statement, "There will be a catastrophic overcapacity in new energy vehicles, especially passenger vehicles!"

Tan Xuguang is by no means exaggerating. Against the backdrop of the overall economic downturn, it is extremely difficult for automakers to achieve sales, and fierce competition will further squeeze their profit margins. The automobile industry is an industry that pursues economies of scale. Without a certain market share, the end result is certain to be elimination.

In this context, the role of marketing is crucial. However, due to differences in products, users, market economic environment, and media environment, new energy vehicles cannot continue the same strategy as traditional fuel vehicles. They need to establish a new strategy for new energy vehicles. All companies are exploring how to do this.

01

In the 3.0 era of automotive marketing , we need to rethink three issues

Putting aside the differences between oil and electricity, China's automobile marketing has roughly gone through three eras since the late 1990s: distribution, leads, and content. (Before 1995, the Chinese automobile market was in its infancy, with a lack of products and limited demand, so it was not considered.)

In the 1.0 era of automobile marketing, 4S stores began to appear across the country. Automobile marketing was dominated by distribution, focusing on the expansion of offline channels and the promotion of ground activities. In terms of channel selection, people are keen on TVC advertising, which is the so-called "big screen era". Santana was a typical representative at that time. Its own distribution channel construction also underwent a transformation from extensive to "lean sales", promoting the "direct sales system" of dealers, and from selling cars on loan to selling cars by transferring warehouses and turnover, exploring a benign distribution system.

In the 2.0 era of automotive marketing, marketing has gradually shifted online , with lead acquisition as the main focus. Contact information of potential customers is obtained through portals and vertical websites, and they are guided into stores. In terms of channels, it is also the PC Internet era.

Most of the current traditional gasoline car brands have gone through this stage. At that time, consumers had to go to vertical portals to compare prices when looking at cars. Once personal information was leaked, the clues would quickly be "betrayed" and then they would be bombarded with sales.

In the 3.0 era of automobile marketing, marketing continues to focus on online and enter the era of social marketing, using content as a lever and social as a means. It no longer conducts one-way information indoctrination, but instead uses content to leverage the minds of users. In terms of channels, social media such as Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, Zhihu, and Xiaohongshu are the main channels, which is the "small screen era". It’s just that new energy vehicles were born in such an era, so they naturally belong to this era. From Tesla to NIO and Ideal, they are all representatives of this era, while many traditional car companies have not fully entered this era.

Looking back at the evolutionary path of automobile marketing, it is not difficult to find that online, content-based and socialized are the main trends. At present, online advertising expenditures in China's automotive industry are rising year by year, while offline advertising expenditures are gradually shrinking. Among online channels, vertical media and social media spending account for more than 50%.

Data from the media can also serve as evidence. Compared with 2020, the number of automobile brand collaborations in 2021 increased by more than 60%, the number of orders placed increased by more than 51%, and the amount of orders placed increased by more than 71%.

This transformation of automobile companies is essentially a change in products, users and markets. Therefore, in the 3.0 era of automotive marketing, we need to rethink three issues.

First, at the product level, rethink what a car is.

Just as smartphones and non-smartphones are almost two completely different things, today's cars are more than just a tool to help people move through physical space. At present, the automotive industry has ushered in a new round of technological revolution in electrification, networking, and intelligence, especially new energy vehicles. Cars have gradually become part of the Internet of Things and can be called "mobile smart devices." In this context, the product's functional positioning and core selling points will be different from before.

Second, at the user level, rethink who the users are.

Cars used to be luxury goods, and the target audience was high-net-worth individuals, so many car advertisements were keen on being placed in airports and cinemas. Today, cars have become a necessity, and there is a clear stratification within them. High-end cars still belong to a small number of high-net-worth individuals, but the new middle class and Generation Z have become the most mainstream consumer groups for cars. Therefore, more and more car brands are targeting young people rather than traditional high-net-worth individuals, although there is overlap between the two. Under this logic, the attribute of cars as an identity label is also fading, and TVC commercials that traditionally strive to create extraordinary styles are gradually no longer in line with market demand.

Third, at the market level, rethink the marketing environment.

In the past 20 years, all industries have experienced earth-shaking changes in the marketing environment, including changes in users, channels, media and other aspects. Among them, changes in the media environment have the most direct impact on automotive marketing. From the initial print media to television media, and then to social media, short videos and live broadcasts, the media environment has become increasingly fragmented, and the way brands communicate with consumers has undergone tremendous changes. Digitalization, intelligence, and full-link, various new marketing technologies are emerging. The reason why new energy vehicle brands such as Tesla and NIO can gain influence no less than century-old brands in a short period of time is because they have achieved overtaking in the new media environment.

02

New energy vehicle marketing strategy in the 3.0 era

After reviewing the history of automobile marketing and current environmental changes, the next step is to look at practical aspects. How should the marketing of new energy vehicles be done?

Let’s first take a look at what the successful brands did right. Wu Xiaobo Channel once summarized the three common "success genes" of phenomenal new power brands, which are of course also applicable to new energy vehicles:

1. It has captured the growing customer base, which is a customer base with considerable number, strong purchasing power and avant-garde consumption concept, among which the new middle class and Generation Z are representatives;

2. Found the "exclusive anchor", that is, differentiated positioning;

3. Make good use of "concentrated detonation" to quickly occupy consumers' minds through high-density saturation attacks.

The first is the user level, the second is the product level, and the third is the media level.

In specific cases, Tesla has undoubtedly crushed global automakers in marketing and can be regarded as a benchmark case in the era of automotive marketing 3.0. Its exemplary role is so strong that the marketing strategies of domestic companies such as NIO, Ideal, and Xpeng can basically be said to be the localization of Tesla's strategy. It cannot be said to be plagiarism, but it may be that "great minds think alike" in the current market environment.

Looking at it more specifically, among China's new energy vehicle brands, NIO has inherited Tesla's legacy more comprehensively, also taking a high-end route and attaching the same importance to seed users and community marketing. To what extent was its social marketing successful? In August 2021, when the NIO ES8 caused a fatal car accident, suspected NIO owners jointly issued a statement, claiming that NIO’s introduction and promotion of NP/NOP did not confuse or mislead NIO owners, making the industry exclaim “I’ve never seen this before”.

Ideal and Xiaopeng have mastered the marketing of Tesla's founder's image. The founders of both companies are actively involved in social media and are not afraid of live broadcasts. In comparison, WM Motor’s approach is not so “Musk” and is more inclined towards content marketing and cross-border marketing.

After sorting out the marketing strategies of these major brands, we summarized a set of conventional marketing methods for new energy vehicles.

Technique 1: Social approach.

1. Start personal image marketing

In the marketing of new energy vehicles, the most classic approach may be the personal image marketing of the founder initiated by Tesla.

The temperament conveyed by the founder of an enterprise often represents the temperament of an enterprise. It can be said that Musk is Tesla's most valuable asset. His personal charm and global influence have enabled Tesla's brand building to take an unrepeatable shortcut.

From PayPal, Tesla to Space X and Hyperloop, Musk's creations are endless and never stop, establishing a perfect image of a person who dares to think and act and change the world. Most importantly, his influence is not limited to the fields of business and technology. His active social activities and guest appearances in popular film and television works such as "The Big Bang Theory" and "Iron Man" have expanded his influence in the public sphere. His every appearance, opinion and action will bring extremely high traffic and exposure, and empower the Tesla brand. He once said that he founded Tesla or SpaceX not to make money, he just believed that the world needed such companies. If we do not switch to sustainable energy, future climate change will bring unknown risks to humanity. Such lofty ambitions and concern for the world have given Tesla a sense of justice and mission since its inception, which is incomparable to other brands created for commercial interests.

Tesla has achieved perfection and mastery in marketing the image of its founder and has established a strong role model effect. Among the new forces in domestic car manufacturing, Xiaopeng Motors and Ideal are learning from it, either intentionally or unintentionally. He Xiaopeng, the founder of Xpeng Motors, has been on the hot search list on Weibo many times in the early days due to hot topics, and netizens questioned whether he would go the "black and red route" in order to attract traffic; Li Xiang, the founder of Ideal Motors, likes to tell brand stories and personal experiences on various occasions and play the emotional card. Although the effect is far behind Musk's, it is still a low-cost way to gain brand awareness.

2. Seed user marketing and community marketing

If Tesla's founder marketing is difficult to replicate, then its seed user marketing strategy is relatively simple. In the early days of Tesla's launch, it did not adopt the traditional hard advertising and celebrity endorsement model. Instead, it invited a group of politicians, technology giants and entertainment stars as its first users, including Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, eBay founder Jeff Skoll, etc., and through their influence, the brand quickly broke out of the circle.

After entering China in 2014, Tesla followed suit and took the lead in inviting 15 celebrity car owners to experience it, including: Sina CEO Cao Guowei, Ctrip founder Liang Jianzhang, and former Alibaba Digital Entertainment Chairman Yu Yongfu. The celebrity effect quickly ignited its spread on social media, making Tesla's high-end and innovative product image deeply rooted in people's hearts.

This method not only has low marketing costs, but is also very clever, being equivalent to free celebrity endorsement. The spread is triggered by seed users and the voice is amplified using social media.

Domestic new energy vehicle brands also generally attach great importance to the marketing of seed users. Take NIO as an example. NIO’s pricing determines that its first batch of users are all high-net-worth individuals. On this basis, NIO strives to create community activities centered around elite circles, giving the outside world the impression that NIO owners are all elites. Some people even buy a NIO in order to enter this circle. This has actually fallen into the realm of social marketing, and it should be said that NIO has done it very successfully. By operating the community, the label of elite class and high-quality social activities can become the reasons for users to buy cars. However, this high-quality community operation also brings a heavy economic burden to NIO. At the beginning of 2020, Li Bin said: "Not counting the labor costs and the investment in mobile service vehicles, NIO will lose more than 4,000 yuan per car owner every year for the 'Service Worry-Free' project alone."

3. Live video marketing

Due to the high unit price of the product, it is difficult to sell cars directly through live broadcasts, but it can be used as a channel for brand marketing. Domestic brands are just as good at this as international brands.

On April 28, 2020, Tesla teamed up with Viya to conduct a live broadcast to sell products, using the "1 yuan test drive" and 1 yuan T-shirts of the same model as Musk, attracting many fans to watch.

On November 4, 2021, Xiaopeng Motors joined the Double Eleven sales camp of Video Account, selling "1 Yuan Test Drive Experience" through live broadcast and limited-time large balance payment coupons to attract consumers to the store for experience.

On April 18 this year, Li Xiang appeared in the Douyin live broadcast room for the first time, with the background being a new batch of Ideal ONE extended-range electric SUVs that were about to be delivered. During the live broadcast, Li Xiang connected with automotive KOLs online and talked about his original intention of building cars, the challenges encountered during the research and development process, and the unique performance and selling points of Ideal ONE.

In addition, establishing an official social account matrix is ​​already a standard feature of a brand and there is no need to elaborate. Overseas ones include Twitter, Facebook, and Google, and domestic ones include Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou, etc. Through official accounts, brands can communicate with potential users more directly.

Technique 2: Content strategy.

Tesla is very good at "getting free" content cooperation because it is itself a "top-tier" brand, and many film and television dramas are also very happy to cooperate with Tesla. For example, there is an episode in the popular American TV series "Silicon Valley" in which a programmer bought a Tesla with his newly increased salary in order to show off and appear to be progressive. The entire episode revolves around Tesla's price, style, and functions, and there are a lot of laughs. In this way, Tesla gets a lot of free publicity.

This is very similar to Apple's early situation. Even though it didn't contribute a penny to the movies, many stars in the movies used iPhones, and the grand prizes in the annual meetings of major companies were also the latest iPhones, which greatly increased the market awareness of the iPhone.

Domestic emerging brands are slightly less famous than Tesla, so in terms of content marketing, they generally still follow the old ways of product placement and sponsorship. For example, in 2020, Xiaopeng Motors cooperated with the LNG Li Ning E-sports Club, and Xiaopeng G3 became the designated vehicle of the LNG team; in 2018, Xiaopeng Motors cooperated with "Saturday Night Live" to create a sitcom centered around the talk show.

In fact, it is difficult to completely separate the content strategy from the social strategy. In many cases, the two are integrated. The social approach is describing a medium and logic of communication, while the content approach is describing a genre or method of communication. Creating social triggers through content is a common way of combining the two. Therefore, when conducting content marketing, we should pay attention to combining it with social methods, so as to achieve a geometric amplification of the communication effect.

Move three: event play

On February 7, 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time. At the same time, Musk also used the "rocket" to send a Tesla Roadster sports car into space, with a "passenger" wearing a prototype of a SpaceX space suit on board. The entire process can be watched live on YouTube. The number of viewers on YouTube alone reached 17 million. At present, this red Tesla sports car has been "speeding" in orbit around the sun for 4 years. This incident made Tesla famous overnight and can be regarded as a model of event marketing. The first sports car to go into space not only attracted a lot of attention to Tesla, but also enhanced the brand's sense of luxury, surpassing any hard advertising.

There are no cases worth mentioning when it comes to event marketing for domestic brands. After all, it is too difficult to create a big event and it places very high demands on the brand itself.

Move 4: Cross-border play

Event marketing requires brands to have the ability to create big events. If they cannot create momentum on their own, they can also leverage momentum. Cross-border marketing is actually a form of leveraging marketing, but it does not require the party being borrowed to have a lot of "momentum", and it can also be done if both parties are evenly matched. Since many users of new energy vehicles are young people and their circles are more diverse, cross-border cooperation can help brands reach users from different circles.

In this regard, WM Motor is a model. WM Motor has cooperated with Yuanqi Forest, Tsingtao Beer, Ele.me and others. Through this cross-border mix and match, it has implanted its products into various common life scenarios to influence consumers' minds. It even teamed up with the music label Modern Sky to organize a music festival to help it gain popularity among young users and make its products more trendy and cool.

Conclusion

Whether it is social marketing, content marketing, event marketing or cross-border marketing, they are completely different from the marketing methods of traditional car companies. Because the underlying logic behind the two is different. The traditional marketing approach for fuel vehicles is based on the public domain delivery logic of the "funnel" model. Under the DTC model, new energy vehicle marketing has gradually formed a marketing strategy that uses high-quality content and marketing events as a medium to seek direct communication and contact with users. We call this approach social marketing and private domain marketing.

However, social marketing and private domain marketing are not the final answers to the marketing strategies of new energy enterprises. We need to be wary of any popular marketing theories at the moment. Because most of them have vague definitions and broad extensions, and lack a rigorous and complete theoretical framework, but they cater to pain points and attract attention.

Of course, popular marketing concepts are not completely useless. They are a key to unlocking the truth. What is the essence of social marketing and what is the core of private domain marketing? The process of our step-by-step questioning is the path to the truth.