4 new ideas for brand marketing!

2020 is destined to be an extraordinary year. At the beginning of the year, a new coronavirus that has been raging across the country for three years has put Wuhan and many other parts of China into a state of suspension. The impact of this epidemic on the market has continued to ferment for quite a long time. For brands, the road ahead is full of obstacles, but it also contains opportunities to overtake on curves.

At the same time, in recent years, the mobile Internet has been advancing by leaps and bounds, 5G applications have begun to show their potential, the Chinese market has continued to expand to third- and fourth-tier cities and rural markets, unicorns have continued to emerge in the fields of short videos, social e-commerce, mini-programs, and new retail, and new Internet brands such as Perfect Diary, Sandonban Coffee, Zhong Xuegao, and Hua Xizi have frequently emerged. New technologies and new models are deconstructing the old business ecology, and the traditional models and gameplay of brands are constantly changing. With the integration of online and offline, fragmentation of communication media, and diversification of consumption scenarios, brands have entered the era of omni-channel marketing.

In this turbulent era, what changes have taken place in the internal logic of marketing, communication, sales, experience, etc. during the brand development process? How should we respond? This article analyzes the new trends of today's brands from the four aspects of brand, product, channel and communication, and then proposes some new ideas for future development.

01. Brand: Not necessarily niche, but must have a niche feel

Over the past 40 years, China's consumption has generally been in a "passive consumption" stage, with the market either focused on daily purchases or on competitive consumption to show off social status and reflect one's noble identity. Consumers prefer popular brands that are sought after by everyone and have high visibility, such as KFC, Nike, LV, Moutai, etc. The overall brand style is also conventional. In order to adapt to the general needs of the public, the brand style is convergent or even mediocre.

Today, the Chinese market, which is undergoing consumption upgrading, is gradually entering what Japanese sociologist Hideo Miura calls the "third consumption era." Groups born in the 1990s, 1995s, and 2000s are gradually appearing, and Chinese consumption is moving towards an era of "active consumption." Generation Z consumers grew up in an era of material abundance, and their shopping is more rational and personalized. Compared with blindly and passively comparing with others and showing off their status, they are more willing to actively buy what they like.

What they care more about is the brand's temperament and proposition, and how it matches their own personality and interests. From identity to self, from scarce to rare, from showing off money to showing off talent, from being aloof to companionship, from high brand premium to good quality products at a low price, from lifelong achievement to lifelong recruitment.

(Changes in domestic consumer demand)

Therefore, today's brands must have a niche feel. The so-called "niche feeling" does not necessarily mean to target a very narrow market, but rather to give the brand a distinct personality and attitude, to become the inner expression of the consumer, and to make the consumer feel that the brand understands him/her and is his/her confidant or like-minded person. Such a brand can be sharper and have greater media penetration.

Especially in the crowd-based recommendation mechanism of e-commerce, those "niche" brands with clear labels can obtain greater weighting, thereby obtaining more accurate and more traffic, and amplifying the role of the brand. For example, in 2019, Sandunban Coffee, Zhong Xuegao, and Wang Baobao’s new cereals all have unique niche characteristics, but their sales are among the top in the category, which can be said to be "niche feeling, large space."

So, what should a brand do to gain a niche feeling?

After analyzing multiple new brand cases, we found that traditional brands mostly establish their brand value systems from the perspectives of category, industry status, and function, such as Wanglaoji, which “does not cause heatiness”, Xiangpiaopiao, which has the “leading sales volume”, and Angel, the “high-end purified drinking water expert”.

Brands with a "niche feel" are generally anthropomorphic, and both their inner value pursuit and external image display simulate the basic characteristics of humans. Because the most attractive, easiest to communicate with, and the easiest to help convey people's voice must be a person - a person with unique charm, as shown in the following figure:

(Path to building a personalized brand)

For example, Jiang Xiaobai, a brand that has made a comeback in the liquor industry, advocates that "life is simple" as a "person"; its personality is young, emotional, and loves life; its role is a young professional entering the society; its style is literary and artistic; the culture it is associated with is the youth and fashion culture of the post-80s and post-90s generation; its story is hidden in various copywriting and the comic of the same name; the goodwill it releases is reflected in the expression of young people's thoughts in communication activities, as well as in public welfare activities such as "dissuading drunk driving"; its unique identification is the concise and personalized copywriting bottle, and the cartoon image.

In the construction of new brands, we should refer to the human factor, give the brand a personalized value system, and implement it in various elements such as products, communication, services, and experience. By persistently conveying and accumulating it, we can gradually form a "niche feeling". It should be noted that among these brand elements, consistency must be maintained to ensure a clear appearance; otherwise, the sharpness of the brand will be diluted.

(Jiang Xiaobai’s personalized brand image)

02. Product: In the era of popularization, product contentization

In the past era of information opacity and one-way communication, the strength of a product depended largely on the degree of demand matching of product functions and the strength of advertising. The quality of a product is often determined by the brand itself, which is willing to invest a lot of media expenses for this purpose. The role of the media is more important than that of the content.

Today, mobile Internet is open to the public, and everyone is a disseminator of information. The one-way dissemination of products has become a two-way interaction. Instead of the brand speaking for itself, it is better to let others speak for it, which is more trustworthy and has better results. Brands can easily own various self-media, and media costs are infinitely close to zero. At this time, the status of content becomes important. Only content with its own power can spread through free self-media. No wonder some people say "content is king".

So, since products are something that cannot speak, how can we make fans become “tap water” and willing to share product information? The answer is: turn the product into content! Let the product have the temperament of self-propagation on the Internet, which is the so-called "net sense". Content products that have a web feel and are worth sharing can spread virally through the Internet, quickly attracting attention, and the process is free, saving a lot of advertising costs.

(Santonban Coffee has a unique web-like design)

Therefore, the strength of products in today's era lies not only in the quality and reputation of the product itself, but also in the content power of the product that "brings its own traffic". This is the deep reason why products such as the Forbidden City's cultural and creative products and Starbucks' cat claw cups have become popular on the Internet in recent years.

So, how to make products content-based? Xin Ye believes that there are several aspects:

Design your product’s social currency. Design products with a unique tone and style, or embed them into consumers' favorite photo-sharing scenes in their daily lives, such as food, selfies, and sports, so that consumers can take photos and share them on social media because of their love for the products, thereby increasing the product's "photo-taking rate" and forming a sales closed loop of shopping - sharing - shopping.

Many new tea drink brands are the best at this. Nayuki, Chayan Yuese, Heytea, etc., all like to design beverage cups to be beautiful and interesting, or develop peripheral products to attract netizens to take selfies and follow suit. This has become the core factor in the popularity of new tea drink products. For example, AKOKO’s Rubik’s Cube Snowflake Crisps are uniquely girly. The entire shape is a dreamy Rubik’s Cube design, which makes it hard for girls not to want to forward and share it.

Cross-border product collaboration. Different brands cooperate to launch joint brands, which is highly feasible and can easily generate a topic effect. Different brands can share fans and extend shopping scenarios. The chemical reaction produced by the collision of brand temperaments can form a young, fashionable and creative impression, which is very conducive to the rejuvenation of the brand.

In recent years, domestic trend brands represented by Pechoin, White Rabbit, Want Want, Li Ning, Hero, and Perfect Diary have all raised the banner of cross-border product cooperation, but there are huge differences in the level of operation and the quality of marketing effects. From this we can see that cross-border product collaboration actually requires skills. Similar or complementary consumer groups, non-conflicting brand tones, in-depth exploration of the cross-border theme connotation, and creative display of the joint design are important factors that determine the cross-border effect. If you just stay on the surface and cross the border for the sake of gimmicks, the effect will definitely be discounted.

(Perfect Diary x National Geographic cross-border collaboration)

The ultimate selling point and experience. It is not enough for a product’s selling points and experience to be excellent, that can only satisfy consumers. Only the ultimate selling points and experiences that exceed consumers' expectations and make them applaud can trigger consumers' motivation to share on their own initiative. For example, the hypochlorous acid disinfectant spray of Japan's Shanlian brand uses food-grade ingredients as its main materials, and is safe for pregnant women, children, and pets. Such a product with a unique selling point is likely to attract support from those who have children or pets.

03. Communication: From “audience” to “participant”, guiding brand co-creation

In the past, television, radio, magazines and even portal websites were more centralized. With the help of centralized media such as CCTV, brands could quickly reach their audiences and easily establish brand awareness. At this time, brand communication is in a one-to-many pyramid form, lacking interaction and communication with the audience. At this time, the brand belongs to the enterprise and consumers accept it passively. Brands have a sense of top-down authority over their audiences, and the relationship between brands and consumers is unequal.

Today, the emergence of new media such as social media, self-media, communities, bulletin boards, and forums has led to the continuous diversion of traditional mass media audiences, and the time consumers spend browsing information has also become fragmented. Brands and audiences can communicate face to face, and the relationship becomes one of equal communication. Fans can spontaneously share information about the brand.

(UCG content advertisement for NetEase's "Music Review" special column)

On the other hand, the diverted audiences are scattered in various circles. Consumers form various communities based on their interests, actively support their favorite brands, participate in the construction and dissemination of brands, cheer for brands, and accompany the birth and growth of brands. "Audience" has become "participants", and the brand is not only a corporate brand, but also a brand shared by consumers.

How should brands adapt to this trend and carry out "brand co-creation" communication? Xin Ye believes that there are the following points:

Invite consumers to co-create content. For example, you can invite experts or ordinary people on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat and Weibo to jointly participate in creating brand-related topics and interactive creative activities, and encourage them to share on their own media. At the same time, brands can also invite target users to participate in activities such as early product research and later trial evaluation, and encourage them to share their real usage experience.

For example, NetEase Cloud Music and Hangzhou-Hong Kong Metro jointly created the "Music Review Train", which included 5,000 carefully selected music review ads, all from the comment section of NetEase Cloud Music. They were the true feelings and heartfelt words of ordinary users, allowing passers-by to feel a deep emotional resonance, making it the most successful content co-creation subway advertising marketing of the year.

Designing interactive UCG communications. In combination with brand and product concepts, some interactive social applications are developed, where users can input simple information, output their own personalized entertainment content with one click, and share it on social media; or directly interact with the brand by participating in interesting social and entertainment activities offline, and accept and spread the brand in a subtle way.

(China UnionPay Poetry Pose Machine Charity Interaction)

For example, China UnionPay's "Poetry POS Machine" public welfare campaign allows users to pay 1 yuan through Cloud QuickPass at the poetry pose machines in public places such as subways. The printed POS receipt will become a poem created by a child in the mountainous area, and the 1 yuan paid will be used for the artistic literacy education of children in the mountainous areas.

Circle subculture activities. Most brands supported by fans have certain life propositions or are backed by a certain subculture, and "culture going out of the circle" has become a social norm. By hosting subcultural events and inviting brand users to participate, brands can become the base camp and advocate of circle culture, which often creates lasting appeal among users.

For example, Jiang Xiaobai holds the Jiang Xiaobai JOYBO Street Culture and Art Festival every year, which is a large-scale youth culture and art festival that integrates various trendy cultures. In the form of "JOY IN BOTTLE Graffiti Competition" and "JOYBO Market", it transforms a single graffiti competition into a street culture and art carnival that integrates competitions, food, and trendy fashion experiences.

(Jiang Xiaobai Street Culture and Art Festival)

Brands unite to create an ecosystem together. Nowadays, "sharing" has become the spirit of the Internet. Brands have broken away from the original zero-sum game mentality and jointly built a new industry ecosystem to create new experiences for users or consumers, engage in social welfare, and enhance social welfare. This is of great benefit to the integration of industries and the enhancement of the brand's image.

On February 3, 2020, catering companies suffered a brutal blow due to the epidemic. Hema Fresh has launched a call for "shared employees". Yunhaixiang, Xibei, Tanyu, Nayuki, Shu Daxia, Xiangyuan, and Cha Yan Yue Se have successively cooperated with Hema Fresh. The employees of these companies will be trained by Hema and will be responsible for the corresponding labor remuneration. Driven by Hema, many retail companies such as Yonghui, Suning, and Walmart have also extended invitations to catering companies, hoping to overcome the difficulties together.

(HEMA Fresh's "shared employees" campaign during the epidemic)

04. Channels: Return to the essence, focusing on user reach and shopping experience

In the past, channels, whether offline or e-commerce, were relatively centralized. For example, large chain supermarkets, Tmall, JD.com and other comprehensive e-commerce channels occupy a large proportion of the retail pie. In terms of shopping time, offline channels’ purchasing time is relatively concentrated after get off work and on weekends; while for online computer shopping, shopping time is also relatively concentrated when using the computer. It is relatively easy to reach consumers through centralized channels (except for lower-tier cities such as third-tier and fourth-tier cities) .

(China's mainstream e-commerce channels and industry chain map Source: iResearch)

However, in recent years, consumers' shopping space and time have become extremely complex, and channels have become diverse and scattered. Online e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo, Yunji, inventory e-commerce, vertical e-commerce, mini-program e-commerce, self-media e-commerce, proprietary APP e-commerce, and life service e-commerce have emerged one after another, constantly snatching traffic from comprehensive e-commerce platforms; offline new retail channels such as vending machines, new retail stores, and experience stores are also impacting traditional physical stores. At the same time, the time and scenarios of consumers’ shopping are also completely fragmented. When purchasing, they often browse and collect first, wait for a while before placing an order, and the shopping path is also fragmented.

Such complex channels and fragmented shopping time make it extremely difficult for products to reach users, and it also becomes difficult for brands to control the market and prices. At the same time, decentralized channels have resulted in smaller product order sizes and more frequent orders, complicated inventory management, and difficulty in reflecting economies of scale, all of which have posed new challenges to brand channel management.

At this time, how can brands sort out their thoughts in the chaos and how should they deal with this situation?

Xin Ye believes that the most important thing is not to blindly follow various new channels, but to return to the essence of the channels and think about the significance of the channels to users. The original mission of the channel is to improve the efficiency of commodity circulation, effectively reach target consumers, facilitate consumer purchases, and enhance the shopping experience. Today's channel environment has changed, but the mission of providing convenient shopping for consumers has not changed.

(The development of channels stems from changes in consumer shopping scenarios)

Online and offline are just a form of time and space presentation. The variety of channels is also caused by the diversity and complexity of consumption time and space distribution and shopping needs. Brands do not need to deliberately distinguish between online and offline channels. Instead, they should understand the characteristics, functions and applicability of various channels from the perspective of user shopping paths, and then select and manage channels reasonably.

Therefore, what brands need to do is to see through the chaotic channel appearances, return to consumers' shopping scenarios and needs, coordinate the layout of various online and offline channels, integrate and manage channels across all channels, and establish a channel matrix with a clear hierarchy and mutual promotion. The ultimate goal of all these actions is to meet consumer needs in a refined manner and improve shopping convenience and service experience.

Of course, the omni-channel integration of a brand requires the support of a professional team and strong resources. Decentralized channel cooperation with each channel managing its own business can easily lead to vicious competition among channels, making it difficult to guarantee brand image and market order. Brands can consider cooperating with strong national supply chain companies to unify the layout and control of channels, formulate pricing and channel policies, and conduct marketing and distribution. This will be extremely valuable in maintaining brand image, improving commodity circulation efficiency and sales, and preventing cross-selling and random pricing.

In addition, brands can also optimize channel management and improve consumer shopping convenience and experience from the following three aspects:

In terms of time and space, it is closer to the consumption scene. Physical stores or e-commerce warehouses can be moved to residential areas to make it more convenient for customers to purchase. In addition, self-service purchasing machines can be set up in some consumption concentrated areas, such as cooperating to open nutrition and fitness food shopping racks in large gyms, so that consumers can make instant purchases.

For example, due to huge distribution costs for a long time, many domestic brands have remained in first- and second-tier cities and cannot reach lower-tier cities below the third and fourth tiers. With the help of social networks and an increasingly developed logistics system, coupled with a low-price group buying policy, Pinduoduo has been able to expand its channels into low-tier markets, reaching consumers there and allowing them to easily purchase a variety of cost-effective products.

(Pinduoduo achieved its rise by reaching low-tier markets)

Combine online and offline to make up for each other's shortcomings. For example, home furnishing stores can use online traffic to direct customers to offline experiences. In this way, home furnishing stores do not have to be opened in expensive city centers, but can be opened in suburban areas where cars are convenient. This not only facilitates customers' on-site experience, but also expands the store's sales radius.

For example, YTO's new community retail platform "Xiao Yijiajia" can reach community household users through LBS positioning of the rich brand products in YTO's supply chain. Community consumers can buy affordable, high-quality products without leaving their homes by placing orders online, and pick up the goods in the community. The shopping experience is optimized in terms of time and space.

Shorten the path from communication to shopping, making it convenient for customers to buy with one click. Try to open up content dissemination channels and e-commerce channels, and even offline advertising channels, as much as possible. You can also consider linking to the ordering platform through a QR code. After consumers see the content, they can go to the e-commerce platform to shop by simply clicking on a link. What you see is what you get, and the convenience of shopping and conversion rate can be greatly improved.

For example, some brand public accounts with a large number of fans can consider establishing e-commerce mini-programs, and the brand’s e-commerce channels can also be linked to content accounts with high-quality content and matching user groups. Fans can enter the mini program and place an order with just one click, thus forming a closed shopping loop. It not only solves the traffic problem of mini program e-commerce, but also solves the conversion and carrying problems of content and traffic.

(Tongdao Dashu achieves close integration of horoscope content and e-commerce shopping)

Summary of key points

1. A brand does not have to be niche, but it must have a "niche feeling". Brand personification is an important way to create a niche feeling.

2. In the era of social media, turn products into content and give them the power of self-propagation.

3. The brand "audience" becomes "participants", guiding "brand co-creation" and allowing consumers to own the brand.

4. Channel diversification and fragmentation require a return to users, full-channel integration, and a focus on reaching and improving the shopping experience.