Bilibili’s “Houlang” screen-sweeping marketing strategy!

The content is 1 and the channel is the 0 behind it. Just having good content alone won’t create such a hit. I sorted out the channels through which Bilibili puts its content. From CCTV, government agencies, to central media and party media, important media, opinion leaders, celebrity writers, directors and screenwriters, vertical KOLs, and celebrities and internet celebrities, Bilibili has invested a lot of resources.

Words cannot describe my intuitive feelings when reviewing the channel directly. The overall feeling it gives me is that in terms of execution, the channel was comprehensive and thorough from top to bottom, with all resources in place, and it took a lot of cost and effort.

From last year’s New Year’s Eve party to this “Houlang”, the label of “young people on Bilibili” has been nailed down, and the determination to break out of the circle is very firm.

1. Let’s see how powerful the 0 behind “Hou Lang” is

Since there are too many accounts, we only pick out important channel numbers based on important time points. Overview of the overall communication rhythm:

1. First of all, the production was jointly carried out by six important media outlets: Guangming Daily, China Youth Daily, Global Times, Beijing News, The Paper and Guancha.com.

2. Overview of overall time rhythm:

①At 16:50 on May 3, the official Weibo account of Bilibili released the online version. Reposted by knowledge influencers, writers, and journalists.

②At 17:00, important media outlets issued reports: China Youth Daily, The Paper, Beijing News, Cover News, Chutian Metropolis Daily and other media issued reports first.

③At 18:48, a special edition will be broadcast before the “News Broadcast” on CCTV-1. Then major media began to follow up. At 20:00, the official Weibo account released the CCTV version, and a group of knowledge and government affairs big Vs reposted and followed up.

(The first popular repost of the official Weibo account of Bilibili) ④At 21:00, important government and media accounts such as People's Daily Weibo and client, the official Weibo account of the Press and Publicity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, People's Daily micro-commentary, and National Business Daily released the news. A group of government agency accounts, media accounts, opinion leaders, directors and screenwriters, and knowledge-related KOLs forwarded and followed up. Set off the first climax.

(The second popular repost released by the official Weibo account of Bilibili)⑤It is worth noting that starting from around 17:00 on May 3, various accounts on various clients such as People's Daily, Phoenix.com, and The Paper have also been continuously posting this content. We have been continuously working on it and it has had a great effect. Among them, the one released by the People's Daily client at 21:44 on the 3rd has been played over 3 million times. Many people probably only see mainstream channels such as Weibo and WeChat, and ignore the existence of the client channel. Of course, this also shows how detailed Bilibili’s channels are. ⑥ On May 4th, on Weibo: Starting from 6 o'clock, Sina Technology, Jian Wang 3, Ma Xiaolin of BoLian News, Dongfeng Express, Toutiao News, Sina Video, Nandu Weekly, Chi Shuai, etc. continued to follow up.

⑦ On WeChat, the campaign was first launched in important media on May 3, and then rolled out in large scale on May 4. Xinmin Evening News, Economic Daily, Voice of West Lake, China Economic Net, Dezhou Evening News, Advertising Crazy, Beijing News, Gansu Traffic Radio, Youth Hangzhou, Hello Shanghai, Modern Express, Da Chu Net, and other regional media and vertical public accounts.

2. Execute the replay

I am engaged in the brand public relations industry myself, and from the specific practice, I have summarized the key points that can be reused: 1. In this kind of global fermentation, Weibo is always at the forefront, and WeChat follows as the main force of the long tail.

(Time-sharing trend chart of the event on the entire Internet, Weibo, WeChat, and online media)

2. During production, cooperate with important media and communicate with upper-level channels: Bilibili Danmu Network jointly released it with @Guangming Daily, @China Youth Daily, @Global Times, @Beijing News, @The Paper, and @Observer.com. The tone of the upper level is certain, and other channels and big Vs can communicate well.

3. For this type of content that sets the tone for the platform, GR and important media accounts are very important. Other big Vs and celebrities followed behind. On the other hand, I have also had several important cases of cooperation with central media, but they were not rolled out so thoroughly. It’s still not thorough enough. Reminder again: content is 1, and channel is the 0 behind it. You can’t create such a hit just by focusing on content.

4. The client cannot be ignored. They can reach many vertical users and may be more conducive to the spread of waist and bottom user groups (this group of people like to forward to Moments)

5. One channel should be sent repeatedly.

6. Spread and release of marketing vertical accounts.

7. The official accounts of regional media are crucial in the later dissemination.

8. In the early stage, information on Weibo spread very quickly and there were many trolls. If public opinion cannot be well controlled and guided, the negative situation may be very serious.

9. After the incident really goes viral, all kinds of spontaneous re-creation of content will occur in about 24 hours. The authorities need to strengthen the control of public opinion: At the beginning on the 3rd, most of the things seen in the circle of friends were praises. Starting from the afternoon of the 4th, the spread of the news tended to be more sarcastic, with some being sour and some being flattering.

3. Bilibili’s overall marketing strategy

From last year's New Year's Eve party to this "Hou Lang", it fully demonstrates the latest strategic direction of Bilibili - going beyond the circle: In the conference call after the release of the 2019 Q2 financial report, Chen Rui said, "Starting from the second half of this year, we will target those who have not heard of Bilibili, such as older users, and develop corresponding brand and market strategies. I think this is our highest priority because it will play a very important role in our subsequent growth."

Bilibili has set a goal of reaching 220 million MAU and exceeding 10 billion in revenue by 2021. The song "Hou Lang" that has been trending this time is their second milestone in breaking the dimensional wall.

4. About Generation Z

This screen-sweeping event sparked a lot of discussion about Generation Z, and there were many mocking comments that "this is flattering Generation Z." Let’s remove the moral magnifying glass and examine it: “The Next Wave” is not about pleasing everyone, but about breaking the circle. Develop more users and generate more revenue. This is a marketing case, and it is very successful.

Does this kind of cultural ideological discussion of superiority sound familiar to you? My first reaction was that it was very similar to the ideology of the “petit bourgeois group” of Starbucks back then. Here I introduce a concept called "cultural strategy": creating and spreading trends, thereby forming cultural identity among the target user groups. Different from product and user value innovation, cultural strategy is another way of playing the game - the pursuit of radical cultural innovation. Cultural innovation is about identifying a specific historical opportunity and responding to it with specific cultural content. This can be represented by this diagram:

The horizontal axis above, historical changes, represents the evolution of the times. Every era has its own mainstream culture. Competitors (nowadays, more industry giants) will choose to occupy the mainstream culture because mainstream culture belongs to the masses, and catering to the masses means having a broader customer base. But mainstream culture is not set in stone. The changes of the times will quietly affect mainstream culture. Mainstream culture may gradually fail to meet the needs of consumers, or consumers may feel that the previous mainstream culture is "rustic" and no longer like it.

This is the important point in the picture, "social rupture". When brands seize this opportunity, find their own cultural codes from raw materials, namely subcultures, media myths and brand assets, and create their own myths, this is "cultural innovation." Starbucks' success is due to its seizing of the ideological opportunities created by changes in demographic structure. Amid the huge changes in population structure, a new group has emerged: the cultural capital group.

China is also undergoing a huge demographic change, and a new group, Generation Z, has emerged. Why has Generation Z become this cultural gap?

1. They are the backbone of consumers ready to take off.

2. Their preferences, consumption habits and psychology are very different from ours:

Sixth, let’s look at the behavioral habits of Generation Z:

In general, these children are facing three major emotional confusions: loneliness, being needed and sense of security.

1. Loneliness

Data source: CBN Business Data Center "2018 Lifestyle Consumption Trend Report"

Data source: Ctrip's "2016 Solo Travel Report"

2. Laziness

People born after 1995 attach more importance to pursuing a more convenient and faster life than those born between 1980 and 1995, thus giving rise to a diverse lazy ecosystem in buying, living, and eating.

Data source: CBN Business Data Center "2018 Lifestyle Consumption Trend Report", regarding residents' demand for surrounding facilities, those born after 1995 most need 24-hour convenience stores, while the middle-aged and elderly groups (born in the 1980s and 1960s) prefer vegetable markets and supermarkets.

Data source: Anjuke Real Estate Research Institute "2017 National Housing Report"

3. Petting dogs and cats

Consumers born after 1985s, 1990s and 1995s have already occupied the majority of the market, and those born after 1995s have been spending more and more on pet products in the past two years.

Data source: CBN Business Data Center "2018 Lifestyle Consumption Trend Report", and the types of pets raised are also strange...

Data source: CBN Business Data Center "2018 Lifestyle Consumption Trend Report"

4. Play

On weekdays, about 60% of young people spend more than 2 hours a day on leisure and entertainment, and more than 5 hours on weekends.

Data source: GroupM & New Generation "New Generation Crowd Insight Report"

5. Second Dimension

The penetration rate of animation among those born after 1995 has reached 41.2%. It is a hobby with a relatively high proportion among those born after 1995. Is it very different from you? And they are about to become the mainstream of this society, and we will become a minority. They have to accept their age, so all brands are trying to win over this group of Generation Z.

And Bilibili is using this point to export its culture abroad. "The Next Wave" is not about sentiment, it's about marketing.

Author: Internet Analysis Salon

Source: Internet Analysis Salon (ID: techxue)