Brand marketing promotion: How to produce better strategies?

In most cases, people tend to think in a positive way, so the results of their thinking are often similar, and unique ideas are very rare. However, once you master reverse thinking, you will find that it is not that difficult to come up with good ideas and strategies.

I saw this joke on the Internet. A batch of shared umbrellas totaling 30,000 recently appeared on a busy road. The deposit was 19 yuan and the charge for half an hour was 0.5 yuan. However, after just a few days of being put on the market, all the umbrellas were taken home.

An umbrella that originally cost 9.9 yuan was sold for 19 yuan, and 30,000 umbrellas were sold in just a few days. The most important thing was that there was still no one selling it.

After seeing this joke, my first reaction was: This must be a classic marketing case that will surely go down in the history of Chinese sales. But if you think about it carefully, its principle is a standard marketing method based on reverse thinking.

What is reverse thinking?

Human thinking is directional, and there is a difference between positive and reverse, which gives rise to two forms of thinking: positive thinking and reverse thinking.

Reverse thinking is a way of thinking that reverses the common and seemingly concluded things or ideas, allowing thinking to develop in the opposite direction and explore the problem in depth from the opposite side.

In marketing, there is basically no theory like reverse thinking, but in real life, there are many classic marketing cases that have achieved unexpected success after applying reverse thinking. So how can reverse thinking be used in today's marketing?

Take an example of product promotion

Suppose I need to promote a suitcase and demonstrate its ability to resist falling and pressure.

Positive thinking looks like this:

No matter how hard people step on the box, it won't break. The final copy reflects the product's characteristics - strong and drop-resistant, the box is both hard and flexible and can withstand the stepping of an adult weighing about 300 kilograms.

The reverse thinking can be shown like this:

An elephant sat on a suitcase and it eventually broke. The final copy reflected the product’s characteristics—after 20 people tried to step on it, the elephant finally broke the suitcase.

In the process of product promotion, the ultimate goal of showing the characteristics of the product in different ways is nothing more than to make consumers remember the product characteristics clearly. However, if positive thinking is used to show the product characteristics, consumers will usually not remember them deeply. Why? Because ordinary people's thinking is positive and logical, positive thinking can easily follow the consumer's thoughts and be submerged in the consumer's consciousness. The display of reverse thinking is more "conflicting" in thinking, more impactful, and easier for consumers to remember.

Let’s take another example of product advertising creativity.

If Lao Gan Ma were to shoot an advertisement, based on positive thinking, its style would be like this:

However, unexpectedly, according to reverse thinking, its style becomes like this:

How to experience reverse thinking in this advertisement: reverse thinking of characters, from Lao Gan Ma herself to the little Lolita before the New Year, the two images form a strong contrast, giving people an inexplicable sense of joy.

Reverse thinking on behavior, market, and eating methods breaks the traditional public label on Lao Gan Ma. Although it is reverse thinking in product advertising, it returns to the essence, uses a popular communication method, and a strong sense of contrast to reflect the brand tone of Lao Gan Ma.

Reverse thinking routine

The above examples of reverse thinking reveal that when your eyes are only focused on the positive solution to the problem at hand, you will ignore the possibility of another direction, thereby narrowing your own perspective. This is the advantage of reverse thinking that can bring us to expand our perspective.

There are also routines for reverse thinking. Here are a few examples:

1. Principle reversal is the adoption of a way of thinking that runs counter to generally accepted principles. For example, the invention of the smokeless pot.
2. Reverse thinking, adopting a way of thinking that is opposite to the original concept, such as the case of Lao Gan Ma advertisement
3. Process reversal, in business, means adopting a way of thinking that is opposite to the original business operation procedures, such as the application of Alipay.
4. Functional reversal refers to adopting a way of thinking that is opposite to the original functional attributes of a product. For example, Wanglaoji and Jiaduobao broke through in the beverage industry with their herbal tea beverages.

Reverse thinking case based on routine

So in real life and work, when we need to solve various problems, we might as well think about it through reverse thinking.

for example

• When planning for the new year's work , you should not think about what you can do for the company, but what the company hopes this position can do for the company.
• When you start a company , don't think about what you can do next year, but think about what your competitors are afraid they will do next year.
• Product development is not about considering what kind of high-tech products the company can develop, but about considering what kind of products the market needs.
• When writing product copy , we should not consider how to make the copy beautiful and gorgeous, but how to make it easier for consumers to understand and remember.

A more specific analysis

If a company wants to develop a health product next year, but the market is already occupied by various big brands, consumers will not know which brand to choose when they want to buy health products.

• Create products with positive thinking: Create an all-round health product that integrates major health functions to meet the needs of all consumers. Or create an internationally renowned health product that is imported from abroad and internationally certified.
• Create products with reverse thinking: Considering the Chinese habit of giving gifts during festivals, health care products are made into a must-have gift for festivals. (Melatonin case)

For example: If you are the CEO of a startup company, how can you use reverse thinking to quickly figure out the company's plans for the new year?

Market competitiveness is often the core force for a company's survival. When planning for the new year, a company often does not think about what it can do, but rather thinks about what its competitors fear most about us doing.

Taking companies A and B as examples, A represents our own company and B represents our competitor company.

Reverse thinking can not only be used in marketing and work, but also can broaden your thinking limitations in all aspects. Deliberately cultivate your reverse thinking, and I believe that there will be a moment when you witness miracles.

Author: Tang Chenchao, WeChat public account: Kusi Brand Talk (ID: gh_0453cc7f71a9), Group Marketing Planning Director