2022 Marketing Strategy Trend Report!

In 2021, the local recurrence of the epidemic has forced many companies to adjust their pace to adapt to sudden changes. Dealing with uncertainty has become a new survival skill that brands must master in the longer term.

At the same time, more and more brands are thinking about how to return to their essence. The increasingly complex communication environment and dynamic consumer behavior make it difficult for companies to return to the era when relying on one or two classic actions to make marketing "once and for all". We need to adhere to values, pursue meaningful things, and innovate against involution.

In the past two years, driven by many Internet traffic platforms, many brands have not only been frantically capturing extensive public domain traffic, but also using various technical means to convert this public domain traffic into private domain traffic .

However, the cruel reality that companies have to face is that the cost of public domain traffic is becoming higher and higher, and the conversion of private domain traffic is becoming less and less ideal, and companies are caught in a new growth anxiety.

What is the ultimate goal of building a brand? Whether in the public domain or the private domain, the essence is to continuously build brand trust, establish a closer relationship with consumers, and achieve inner resonance and resonance with consumers.

Recently, in the "2022 China Consumer Trend Report" released by Zhimeng Consulting, the trend of "brand heart domain" was proposed. If a brand wants to penetrate the fragmented information jungle of communication, constructing a "brand heart domain" is the key to breaking the deadlock. Whether it is public domain traffic or private domain traffic, what really has long-term value is "heart domain traffic."

1. How can brands win consumers’ trust?

In the era of information explosion, consumers receive a large amount of information every day, and their limited attention is scattered among endless hot spots.

Therefore, in the vast ocean of the Internet, it is becoming increasingly difficult to impress consumers. Many marketing actions are like "meteor showers", which are brilliant but short-lived. How to become the eternally shining star in the vast starry sky? The key is for brands to win the long-term trust of consumers through continuous brand building.

The "2022 China Consumer Trend Report" by Zhimeng Consulting pointed out that in brand building, the accumulation of consumer cognitive assets is very important.

The survey shows that 43.1% of people believe that the promotion of brand image will increase their confidence and understanding of it; 40.1% of consumers are more willing to try brands that are widely recognized; and 32.4% of consumers believe that the brand image must be maintained over a long period of time.

This means that today’s brands are easily forgotten by consumers. If a brand wants to remain in the minds of consumers for a long time, it needs to carry out continuous brand communication, rather than relying on just one or two “explosive points” or “hot spots”.

Taking stock of the domestic brands that have emerged in recent years, without exception, they did not rely on a single point or a certain point in time marketing explosion, but were driven by innovation and persistent brand value communication. These communications also allow consumers to naturally think of a trustworthy leading brand when choosing a product. For example, if you want to buy a down jacket, you will think of Bosideng; if you want to buy milk powder, you will think of Feihe; if you want to buy milk, you will think of Mengniu; and if you want to drink beer, you will think of Snow.

The reason why these brands have achieved continued success in the market is that, in addition to product quality assurance and continuous innovation, they attach great importance to brand building in the minds of consumers.

Take Mengniu Youyi C as an example. After 11 years of development, it has become the leader and innovator of live-bacteria lactic acid bacteria beverages in China, surpassing industry giants such as Yakult, winning a group of loyal young fans and becoming an Internet celebrity "magic drink" loved by young people. How did Youyi C do it?

After its listing, Youyi C made a strong entry into Focus Media, using a media combination of elevator TV + elevator posters + elevator smart screen + stores, and continuously detonated at a high frequency in more than 100 cities across the country. The slogan "50 billion live bacteria, 5 times more powerful" accompanied by a familiar melody quickly penetrated into the minds of mainstream urban people.

In addition, as a leader among domestic brands, China Resources Snow Beer regards mainstream variety shows and focus media as its main battlefield and important engines. The former brings Snow closer to young consumers, while the latter helps Snow lock in the mainstream urban consumer groups. Through close connection with consumers through brand communication and effective linkage between offline and online, the brand's leading advantage in the high-end wine market and among young people is ensured. As of June 2021, Snow Flake achieved a net profit of 4.291 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 106.4%, and its domestic market share exceeded 30%.

Therefore, no matter how traffic changes, the real sustainable driving force that can bring long-term value to the brand is the trust of consumers. This trust is won by the brand's consistent persistence and constant communication. Capturing traffic is only a method and means. Three-dimensional brand building is the fundamental way to cope with changes in traffic.

2. Building a brand mindset can help you break through growth anxiety

If public domain traffic is the creation of brand voice and private domain traffic is user relationships, then mind domain traffic is the "identity asset" that the brand can truly rely on.

In the era of fierce competition in the Internet industry, it is becoming increasingly difficult to gain user attention. More brands will turn their attention to private domains. Although private domain traffic shortens the channels of contact between brands and users, if they want to impress consumers, they ultimately rely on product quality and the relationship between the brand and consumers.

Jiang Nanchun, chairman of Focus Media, once said that performance advertising can solve the problem of precise distribution, "telling consumers to buy it, when to buy it, and at what price", while brand advertising is to solve the problem of "why should you love this brand and how deeply do you love it". Purchases “without love” are difficult to sustain. Without brand advertising to build awareness, the end result is a drop in prices and an increase in traffic costs. Therefore, if a brand wants to gain user recognition, it must have long-term thinking. Traffic is just a tool, and how to create a "heart field" for consumers is the ultimate goal of the brand.

To create a "brand heartland", we must not only continue to spread brand influence, but also think about how to enable consumers to achieve more immersive involvement. The popularity of a brand is the foundation, which is the process from achieving exposure to building cognitive minds. The brand's involvement is a kind of relationship stickiness, which requires the brand to carry out refined operations.

For example, Runbaiyan, a domestic functional skincare brand specializing in hyaluronic acid, has caught up with the online traffic dividend in the past and received active recommendations from many celebrities. However, its content is often overwhelmed by big brands and international brands. The essence of its half-effort with twice the results is still its weak brand power.

In order to enter the "hearts" of target consumers, Runbaiyan chose to enter into a strategic partnership with Focus Media. The white-collar women in first- and second-tier cities covered by Focus Media are exactly Runbaiyan's target consumer group. After promoting offline communication, it also leveraged the likes and conversions on online platforms, and its operational efficiency has been comprehensively improved. During the "618" in 2021, Runbaiyan achieved sales of over 230 million yuan across the entire network, becoming a national brand that the Chinese are proud of.

The success of Daily Dark Chocolate also verifies a path to the "hearts" of consumers. In the face of the chocolate market that has long been occupied by foreign brands, Daily Dark Chocolate has broken through the siege and become a "dark horse". In the promotion of new products, in addition to relying on online community fission, with the help of high-quality content platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Bilibili, and inviting KOLs and celebrities such as Lin Yilun, Hu Ke, Lin Yun, and Zhao Lusi to promote and sell products, Daily Dark Chocolate concentrates its firepower and strongly lands on elevator advertisements in the top 20 cities across the country to dominate the screen, launching a saturation attack on the mainstream population, and continuously promoting the product characteristics of "0 white sugar, 0 milk, pure plant-based formula" and the brand proposition of "pure plant-based formula, a new generation of healthy chocolate."

Many brand cases have shown that traffic is just the starting point. The ultimate pursuit of brand building is to build a "flow experience" that can resonate with consumers and transform public domain traffic and private domain traffic into "heart domain traffic".

3. Five dimensions of building a “heart domain brand”

If "flow" is an association that consumers naturally recognize when they recognize a brand, then "heart zone" is a long-term emotional value and relationship building. From creating flow to constructing heart domain, it means that brands not only need to build consumers' awareness of the brand, but also need to "enter people's hearts" and form a "heart field effect" by creating a series of cultural connotations such as content assets and user assets.

So, how to build a “heart domain brand”? The "2022 China Consumer Trends Report" by Zhimeng Consulting summarizes five dimensions: attraction field, scene field, content field, interaction field and companionship field.

Attracting field: clear brand positioning and touching brand proposition attract consumers' attention.

For example, the advertisement "If you have babies at home, eat Xibei" that appears in the elevator is aimed at the children in the family. When consumers take their children to find a place to eat, Xibei will be one of the first choices that come to mind. Diboer focuses on young people in office buildings, and joins hands with Focus Media to place a large number of "removes oil and grease without any effort" advertisements in office building elevators. When young people in office buildings who are in sub-health conditions due to irregular lifestyles and overeating see this advertisement repeatedly in the elevator, it can arouse their anxiety about their sub-health, and then stimulate their demand for the "oil-removing and greasy" Diboer tea.

Scenario: When consumers choose products, they first have needs, then choose categories, and then choose brands.

Although some brands have become the first choice in the category, there is an opportunity to create huge incremental space if they can better connect and stimulate demand. Therefore, "invade" consumers' life scenes and use scenes to demonstrate brand value. Focusing on and expanding from solidified life scenarios to brand new life scenarios and creating new experience scenarios will lead the consumption trend.

For example, Hua Xizi took advantage of Valentine's Day to run the "It's better to send flowers than to send flowers" advertisement in Focus Media's elevators, which created commercial growth for boys in purchasing cosmetics. On 520 and Chinese Valentine's Day, Hua Xizi continued to make efforts and launched the "Love Lock" lipstick and "Heavenly Box" gift packs in Focus Elevators, using the couple's festival to stimulate male users' demand for purchasing cosmetics as gifts.

Content field: Content is the most stable source of traffic. High-quality content has the advantages of attracting and aggregating resources, and can also help brands establish emotional bonds with users. Brands need to build their own content matrix and build a gravitational field that continuously connects with users.

Ulike has attracted much attention through its clear brand positioning of "beauty salon-level home use" and its differentiated competitive point of "sapphire freezing point painless hair removal device". Through the spread of brand potential, users can quickly form the perception that “brand is category”. Ulike invited Jun Ji-hyun as its brand spokesperson, which encouraged users on major social platforms to spontaneously experience the product. In October 2021, Ulike officially announced that Zhang Yuqi became another brand spokesperson, launching a new round of brand communication offensive.

In addition, Ulike has also adopted the golden marketing combination of "two Weibo, one Douyin, and one Focus Media", continuously planting content on social media online, and placing brand advertisements through Focus Media offline, to convey the brand advantages of Ulike hair removal device "freezing point without damaging the skin, strong and not painful" to the mainstream population through the elevators of apartment buildings and office buildings that they must pass through every day, seize the minds of consumers, and continuously detonate consumer leaders and influencers, thereby establishing a strong brand moat.

Interactive field: Interact with consumers, allowing them to participate and co-create, turning transactions into inspiration.

For example, many people have eaten Juewei Duck Neck, but simply talking about the taste may not necessarily arouse consumers' interest. Therefore, Juewei Duck Neck repeatedly reminds you through the content in the office elevator "Why work overtime without Juewei Duck Neck", and the content in the apartment elevator repeatedly reminds you "Why watch TV series without Juewei Duck Neck". It uses content co-creation in people's daily life scenes, opens the trigger button for transactions in specific scenarios, and arouses consumers' empathy.

Companionship: Accompanying the consumer’s life trajectory and communicating with them on an emotional level.

For example, since 2018, Bosideng has returned to its original entrepreneurial spirit, focusing on the main channel and the main brand, and using the power of the brand to lead the all-round upgrade of products, channels, supply chains, etc. At the same time, Bosideng has joined hands with Focus Media. In every cold moment, the heartwarming advertisement "For you in the cold wind, Bosideng has worked hard for 45 years" can be seen on the Focus Media screen at the elevator entrance. With the rise of domestic brands, Bosideng has once again won the favor of the mainstream consumer groups of the times and achieved high-quality growth.

The demographic dividend is coming to an end, but the dividend of people’s hearts is unfolding; the traffic dividend may have ended, but the brand dividend is unfolding. Today, companies inevitably have to face dramatic changes in the macro environment and growth anxiety. The more noisy the environment is, the more brands should pay attention to consumers' spiritual experience and create more spiritual value. Constructing the "heart realm" will become the key to business and marketing actions.

"Value creation" and "deep focus" are the best paths for companies to get rid of internal circulation in 2022. Returning to our true selves, devoting ourselves to value creation, and becoming trend-leading companies are our ultimate answers to all changes. "Heart traffic" will surely become a trump card to solve growth anxiety.

Author: Bill

Source: Bill