These brand marketing efforts are useless | Share 4 negative cases

A few days ago, when I was writing advertising slogans, I went through Li Jiaoshou ’s copywriting tutorial - "Remember to make a list before writing copy."

I originally wanted to sort out my thoughts on the copywriting, but as I read, I focused all my attention on the Nanfu batteries in candy packaging...

Because no matter how I look at it, I always think that: although the appearance of the new products has been greatly improved compared to the old products, for Nanfu, launching the candy package is actually a waste of effort.

Going further, I recalled several corporate cases that I thought were also doing useless work, so I wrote them all down in this article and share them with you.

1. Nanfu candy packaging? It's just useless

Why does Nanfu want to make batteries packaged in candy?

Regarding this issue, Jiaoshou has already introduced:

As the industry leader in high-end batteries, Nanfu's overall strategy is to further capture market share in low-end batteries so that more people will choose to use long-lasting batteries. On the Internet side, it is found that young people's consumption habits are gradually changing, but there is no battery product specifically for young people (mainly those born after 1985) on the market. Nanfu saw this opportunity and prepared to launch candy-packaged batteries. (Still using energy-gathering ring technology)

And I think one of the key issues lies here - it is certainly right to further capture the low-end market, but who is the low-end market mainly targeted at?

Obviously, Nanfu’s answer is “young people”.

However, please use common sense to think about this: is this really the reality?

If we divide the people who buy batteries into two major groups: young people and middle-aged and elderly people, who do you think is more likely to be the typical user of low-end batteries?

Of course it is the middle-aged and elderly people, because they are more frugal and less willing to spend money than young people. So I think this matter is problematic from a fundamental logical point of view.

This is one of them.

Secondly, even if more young people can be encouraged to buy Nanfu, it would be a good result, but does it have to rely on the so-called candy packaging?

Many successful companies forget how they became successful as they go along, and Nanfu is no exception.

As we all know, the reason why Nanfu has become the absolute leader in the field of high-end batteries is due to consumers' recognition of its excellent performance , such as the advertisements of "energy-gathering ring" and "one cell is better than six cells".

Let me ask: Why would a brand that focuses on performance suddenly want to focus on appearance?

Improving appearance is certainly not a bad thing, but there are two problems with this: First, compared to Nanfu, other battery brands are more suitable for candy packaging, such as Xiaomi and other mid- and low-end brands. Because they have youthful brand genes, and the "low-profile and cheap feeling" brought by the colorful packaging does not seem out of place on them. (After all, many mobile phones with colorful shells are low-end versions)

In other words, Nanfu has entered a field where it has no competitive advantage.

In addition, it is actually far-fetched to equate "candy packaging" with "for young people only." Because unlike mobile phones and clothing, batteries are purely practical products and are very inconspicuous, and consumers will not regard them as an extension of their own personality.

For this type of product, most consumers' perception of the brand is basically based on only two dimensions: practical performance and price , which has little to do with brand tone, product appearance, etc.

As for Nanfu, it should actually continue to strengthen its investment in "technology and performance" to consolidate its own positioning - it used to have an "energy-gathering ring" to highlight its durability, so why can't it now have a "force-gathering shell" to highlight its strength? Or some other notable concept to highlight environmental protection, etc. (PS, "Polyshell" is my fiction)

Yes, judging from the strategy and products alone, Nanfu Candy Packaging’s chances of success are slim. Not to mention that such a huge makeover would also cause serious damage to the brand assets...

The above view can be verified to a certain extent from its current sales volume - the sales volume of Nanfu candy packs is less than one percent of Nanfu's other products; although the sales of other brands of candy packs are not very good, they are still dozens of times higher than that of Nanfu.

It seems to have been discontinued, but this is not just hindsight after I looked at its sales. I actually wrote about the above views in detail a year and a half ago. (Why is the Nanfu copywriting written by Li Jiaoshou "limitedly effective"?) And if you ask me if I have any new opinions after such a long time, I would say: Even if the candy package must be promoted, the direction of Jiaoshou's copywriting was wrong at the time, or the fact that Nanfu asked Jiaoshou to write the copy was wrong in itself, and it was all a waste of effort. (At least you can't expect too much from it)

Why?

Jiaoshou’s copywriting idea is to use topics that interest young people to attract their attention and share new products. So his copywriting is more "interesting":

The idea here is correct and the logic is valid, but it obviously underestimates the difficulty of achieving this effect.

At that time, this set of advertisements was mainly released on Nanfu’s official Weibo, and this channel was obviously wrong.

Because batteries themselves are low-attention products and are not within people's normal focus, the probability of success in getting the audience to really pay attention and share is too low... Maybe only 1 out of 1,000 sets of copywriting can achieve this effect. (Unfortunately, this copywriting is not one of the 1‰)

Ultimately, this is all due to a mistake in values ​​- always wanting to pursue some low-probability events and trying to win from failure. If you succeed, everyone will praise you for turning the impossible into the possible, but in most cases, the impossible remains impossible...

What is the correct approach?

Advertise honestly.

Whether it is TV, elevator or sales terminal, there is no need to consider any topic.

If it is a video ad , there is no need to make a new commercial just for the candy packaging, and it is not worth it (because Nanfu’s expectations and investment in the candy packaging are not high, and should not be high). Simply add a sentence "Now available in more gorgeous candy packages" after the existing advertisement and add a picture. The whole process only takes 2 seconds.

If it is a sales terminal, just write "Nanfu Candy Pack New Products on the Market" and people who need to buy batteries will naturally notice it. You don’t even need to write anything, just rely on the packaging or product photos. (But it is obvious that Nanfu cannot compete with Xiaomi and other brands in terms of "grabbing young people's attention", as can be seen from their more vivid color matching...so I said this is an area without competitive advantage)

In order: Nanfu, Xiaomi, ZMI

As for pure text and image advertisements on other channels, I really don’t recommend them. It is impossible to brainwash people, and it is also difficult to attract effective attention through pictures and texts. Therefore, no matter how Jiaoshou's advertisement is modified, it will not make much sense, and there is no need to spend time trying to be clever.

“He who is good at fighting has no reputation for wisdom or bravery, but is better than those who are easily defeated .” If a product that is naturally difficult to attract attention insists on trying to attract attention, even if it wins, it will be luck.

2. Another good-looking but useless packaging

Of course, Nanfu is not the only company that hopes to boost sales through “good-looking packaging”. I have encountered similar cases when I was working in a consulting company.

The client is an environmental protection company from France. Their product is a container-like product that can decompose organic waste (such as food scraps and feces) into water and CO2, and can also convert it into electricity and heat. Theoretically, it is suitable for supermarkets, hotels, farms and communities, etc.

In order to make users more willing to buy this product, they came up with an idea - they invited a French artist to paint on the box, trying to make it more beautiful and more ornamental. (The French are so romantic...)

In fact, this is a waste of effort.

A box, plus all the other expenses, costs more than 1 million in total. How many people would buy it just because of the pattern on it?

Let’s talk about its environmental value. Although every company says they are willing to contribute to environmental protection, are they really sincere? Most of them are forced to do so due to policy pressures... Even if they are sincere, how much are they willing to spend? (As for power generation and heat generation, those are ideal situations. The construction of power grids and water networks is also a big project.)

All people care about is their own "business", everything else is fake.

So what is the correct "packaging method"?

We have repeatedly emphasized: what you sell is not a product, but a set of solutions to solve problems for customers.

What problem do you want to solve? Is it an environmental issue? no! That's the environmental company's problem. What you really need to solve for them is business problems.

My suggestion at the time was to turn it into a " marketing tool " that could generate direct benefits for businesses.

1. Change the name: The product was originally called "skid-mounted organic waste disposer", a name that has no meaning to people outside the environmental protection industry, so it was simply changed to "expired food recycler".
2. Change the packaging: Remove all the artwork on the boxes as it has no meaning. Simply print the LOGO and “Expired Food Recycler” on it, and use copywriting or other visual designs to introduce that it can be used as a renewable energy source.
3. Focus on shopping malls and supermarket customers: First, because they have done actual cases in Auchan, and second, I believe that supermarkets are the easiest customers for them to develop (which is indeed the case), so we should "win more than easy".

Because there is a problem with supermarkets, that is, C-end consumers may worry about the expiration of food.

At this time, if you put this "expired food recycling machine" in a relatively conspicuous place, such as a corner of a square, and let others see you pour the expired food into it every day, it will have a good publicity effect.

When I first came to Shanghai, my friends recommended that I go to FamilyMart for breakfast. “FamilyMart throws out expired food every night. I saw it with my own eyes, so it must be very fresh.”

This is communication, and this is business value - it is the value that customers (supermarkets) need, and it is also the value that customers' customers (consumers) need. The "expired food recycling machine" will further amplify this effect because it is open 24 hours a day and is display-based.

As long as this product can become a marketing tool for supermarkets, supermarkets will definitely be more willing to buy it.

Yes, no matter how noble your industry is, if you want customers to pay, you must start from the "interests" of the customers. Even religions understand this truth - if you believe in XX, you will go to heaven; if you don’t believe in XX, you will go to hell.

3. Fission is not a panacea

Many companies are now playing the fission game, whether it is Pinduoduo or Luckin Coffee, the essence of which is to encourage consumers to share and spread through "economic benefits", which is especially effective in the stage of attracting new customers.

However, some companies have found that it has very limited effect after following suit.

For example, a moving company I talked to a friend about a few days ago, no matter how high it set the reward (within the allowed range), it had almost no effect on attracting new customers, and even few people were willing to share.

Why does this happen?

In fact, the main reason is: moving is a very low-frequency demand, and most consumers may not use it once a year. It is impossible for them to buy your service immediately after seeing the advertisement.

This also indirectly leads to few people willing to share. Because he knows that there are few people in his circle of friends who need this service, they are reluctant to share this useless spam information.

Yes, it is basically useless for moving companies to have such a fission mechanism. There are many things that you cannot do well just because others do them well. For anything, you must identify the premise - high-frequency demand is one of the prerequisites for fission to produce effectiveness.

So what might be the right direction?

You can run search ads , or specifically bribe some local moving drivers, or cooperate with real estate agents.

When catching a snake, you should grab it by the seven-inch mark; when holding a fan, you should hold it by the handle. Only by mastering the key points can you exert the leverage effect. (Of course, if you really want to use fission to go to the C-end, you can try to add some relatively high-frequency businesses, such as cleaning?)

4. Another case of copycat

Last year, a company that produces eggs in Northeast China found me through a public account and talked to me a lot about their situation. Perhaps they listened to a lecture by a master, and then they followed the trend and created their own media , hoping to attract traffic and sell goods through self-media.

Of course, this is also futile.

Because what appealing content can be made from eggs? What is there to write about it? Of course, you may be able to come up with a hit article, but that is basically just luck and is not sustainable.

Many companies are like this. When they see other big brands have their own media and each article has over 100,000 views, they think that others have also succeeded by relying on self-media. In fact, this is a complete reversal of logic.

For example, Xibei has become very big, with each article on its service account having over 100,000 followers, but did it become so big by relying on self-media?

Definitely not. Others are just directing offline traffic to online - there are consumers first, then subscribers; you first like the brand, and then you pay attention to its self-media. I don’t necessarily read every article because they’re not very attractive. For example, I only flip through it before going to Xibei to see if there are any new dishes or activities.

As for the egg company, I can say a little more about it here. Because its products are indeed very rare, they are able to differentiate eggs.

First of all, the chicken is not an ordinary chicken, but a Royal Concubine Chicken. It used to be the British Royal Ornamental Chicken. It looks very special at first glance and its name sounds noble as well.

You can tell at a glance that the egg is not an ordinary egg. It is smaller than ordinary eggs, the shell is as white as porcelain, and the key is that the yolk is super large (related to the feed). Here are photos of their products:

This is the first time I’ve seen a product as low-differentiation as eggs be made so differentiated.

In fact, for such a good product, there is no need to go around in circles and create your own media, you can just sell the product directly.

And the ideal customers are not in the Northeast because the local consumption level is relatively low. If the production capacity and supporting facilities can keep up, it should be sold to more developed regions through online push advertising, which will make it easier to raise the price.

In my hometown, there was a former celebrity who went to the Tibetan area to make eggs, and then focused on the high-end market and sold them to Chengdu . One egg could be sold for 6 yuan. Of course, this price is not very reasonable, because if you are a member, it will only cost more than 3 yuan.

Yes, eggs are very suitable for membership (subscription) system because it is a high-frequency and urgent-demand product. If others eat it every day, you can deliver it every week. This creates an opportunity to convert external traffic into the brand’s own traffic (what is a brand? A brand brings its own traffic), and the profits from multiple transactions are enough to offset the cost of a single promotion .

Let’s talk about their packaging.

For such a good product, the packaging content is made into this:

Of course, all the paintings above are useless.

In fact, there is no need to draw anything. It is enough to take a high-quality photo of the peeled egg to show the large yolk, and then add a photo of the Guifei chicken to highlight the difference.

Then comes the copywriting. In addition to highlighting the name, you must also highlight the core selling points. Don’t write anything messy.

What is the core selling point?

Nutrition.

Of course, for some reasons that I don’t want to tell you and you don’t need to ask, I was unable to cooperate with this company at the time and all my ideas came to nothing. For me personally, this is also a useless effort 2333...

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In short, I have seen too many companies pursuing thankless tasks, and the above are just the tip of the iceberg.

Although none of them are serious enough to cause the business to go bankrupt, I believe each of them has a rough idea of ​​the positive and negative profits and losses.