The most touching marketing cases in 2021

It was screen-sweeping, heart-breaking, and defense-breaking... The spotlight that once shone on the brand marketing circle suddenly became dim, and there was no longer a continuous tide flowing, because the tide was receding. With the coming of national trends, cross-border... and the blossoming of internet celebrity marketing, behind the crazy live broadcasts, "greed, anger, ignorance, and stupidity" traffic is prevalent, and most brand marketing cannot see the "human brilliance" that can truly move consumers.

I have selected several brand marketing cases that I personally like in 2021. Although some of these cases are not very popular, they have become a striking sight. I hope to gain some insights from these wonderful cases and find some commonalities, which will provide some inspiration and thinking for brands in their brand marketing in 2022.

1. Inside and outside NEIWAI: "Song of the Lonely Island"

Without selling anxiety and without fearing age, what else can we do in marketing to women? "To be a brand from a female perspective", the few "few but fine" campaigns launched by NEIWAI every year can be said to be a model for female marketing and are worthy of being copied by many brands.

Recently, the documentary series "Song of the Lonely Island", planned by video artist Wang Yingying and co-produced by "NEIWAI", was officially released.

After 10 months of planning, shooting and production, this time "NEIWAI" will focus on " women living alone ". The first season will present the living conditions of 5 single women of different ages and professional backgrounds, and launch a discussion on life and "loneliness".

In the first episode of the TVC that has been released, the protagonist is Bao Mei, a photographer who runs away from the city, lives alone and with nature. The theme is "Loneliness is a good thing."

The whole film is beautifully and healingly shot, unfolding Baomei's life of living alone in front of the camera. It is based on reality and nature, free and easy, and has a faint but tenacious strength. This is a girl with sunshine in her eyes and a frank smile.

As a female user, I was deeply touched after reading it, just like many readers in the comment section.

Throughout the film, we don’t see any labeled or stereotyped descriptions. Instead, we see the comfortable and confident side of women, as well as a conversation about life and understanding of loneliness.

From them, we see women's confidence, self-esteem, and independence, which is reflected on the audience level——

For many women: "After watching this short film, I don't seem to be so afraid of being alone."

For women in their 30s, like me, looking at Baomei is like looking at the life they yearn for and strive for. The only difference is that her stage is nature, and our stage is the bustling city, but we achieve the same goal through different paths.

In the era of commodity economy, we need more brands like "NEIWAI" to speak out, so that more people can see women's highlights and calmness.

2. Tantan: Invisible Violence

• Why would a woman work so hard? Just find a good husband!
• You take care of the children and do housework at home every day, so what's so tiring about that?
• I feel like you don’t look like a woman, you are strong in every aspect!
• Don't worry, you look safe.

These words are very common, so common that people who blurt them out don't take them seriously, but they are social language violence that hurts people's hearts with every word.

Various rules about how men should be and how women should be mostly reflect human imagination rather than the innate reality of biology. Any attempt to impose roles on others using this imagined gender order overemphasizes gender differences while ignoring the commonality that both are "human beings."

In November, Tantan focused on gender-based language violence in daily social interactions, launched the 2021 edition of the "Guidelines for Anti-Social Language Violence", and released the public welfare short film "Invisible Violence".

This film focuses on the verbal violence that women suffer in their studies, life, and work. Through the perspectives of six men and women of different ages and professions, it shares the shackles that secular gender-based stereotypes bring to women, as well as the interpretation and thinking behind verbal violence.

I think the essence of the whole film lies in the fact that every topic of verbal violence discussed is cut into pieces by scissors, aiming to eliminate gender differences and return to "people" themselves. It does not make exceptions for women, and also shows the female group that "I" am paying attention to you sincerely.

As a social platform whose main functions are love and friendship, Tantan has also released a "Guide to Anti-Social Language Violence", which lists 100 typical examples of gender-based language violence in 12 areas, including body shaming, age shaming, workplace shaming, slut shaming, housewife shaming, sexual harassment, and victim-blaming, by soliciting opinions from netizens.

It is this kind of "universal" insight that puts Tantan on the same page as most women, empowering women and speaking for women: not being swayed by others, not being defined by the world, and not being bound by concepts.

It’s not easy for women to take this step, but the good news is that many brands are working hard to speak out.

3. NetEase Yanxuan: "Let's Get Divorced, Double 11"

Regarding Double 11 in recent years, not only have the discounts become smaller and smaller, but there are also more and more tricks, such as discounts for purchases over a certain amount, coupons, red envelopes, prepayments, final payments, and flash sales... For a person like me with a slow brain, this is not a shopping carnival, it's simply a large-scale Mathematical Olympiad competition!

Consumers have long suffered from the Double 11 scam. NetEase Yanxuan understands its users very well and launched an anti-routine marketing video for Double 11.

The short film uses humorous anthropomorphic techniques to compare the relationship between buyers and Double 11 promotions to a couple who have been married for 12 years. It opens with a divorce and details the evolution of various Double 11 promotion routines, incorporating routines such as cross-store discounts and small coupons that are criticized by consumers, leading to the gradual breakdown of the relationship between the couple (mirroring Double 11 and consumers).

After watching it, I just want to say: you have taken all the bamboo shoots on the mountain.

The reason why this advertisement can make people laugh is that it is authentic, funny and unconventional. It not only speaks out the voice of users, but also highlights to the audience in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere that the brand has abandoned complicated routines and returned to its original intention, conveying a simple and pure promotional concept of direct price reduction.

4. Xuan's mother: Li Xueqin and her mother exchanged souls

The holiday marketing we often see nowadays is mostly "the excitement created by the accumulation of marketing", with vulgar jokes that have been played out, standard self-congratulatory WeChat copywriting, incomprehensible viral videos, and flashy H5 pages, which are very much like the "annual meeting" at the end of each year. But Xuanma’s holiday marketing was extremely successful.

In 2020, Xuanma Egg Yolk Pastry launched a series of creative short films for Mother's Day, including "Mom's Refuge", "Mom's Refuge", and "What a Mom Should Be Like".

The plots of these short films are not particularly unique, but they are often the ordinary little warmth in life that touches the soft hearts of consumers!

This year's Mother's Day, Xuanma took a different approach by integrating the "blind box" gameplay, launching a limited-time "busy" box for Mother's Day, and initiating the "Chinese Moms Go to Action" theme event.

At the same time, in order to fit the theme, Xuanma Egg Yolk Pastry, Li Xueqin and her mother Ms. Jia jointly shot a heartwarming short film, which interpreted the experience of fresh life through the form of "soul exchange". Starting from the mother's perspective, it slowly told the mothers that there are many wonderful roles outside the circle that are worth experiencing.

Just as Li Guo said, a good advertisement not only conveys messages, it can penetrate the hearts of the public with the power of love. Xuanma has been deeply involved in holiday marketing and has set an example for many brands. This is what I often emphasize: what we sell is not products, but stories that provide insights into human nature.

5. Xiaohongshu x Zhang Zhenyue: For those who want to be famous

In the past, the starting point of brand marketing may have been product acquisition and brand exposure. This epidemic has awakened people's thinking about the essence of life and has cultivated everyone into "cleanliness freaks". Consumers pay more attention to and are more eager for health and a better life. For brands, actively embracing social responsibility has become a consensus among major brands. The short film "Tell Those Who Want to Be Famous" jointly created by Xiaohongshu and Zhang Zhenyue is the best example. This short film is only a little over 2 minutes long, but it is very intriguing.

The entire short film combines the themes of "red" and "nature", exploring the philosophy of being in the world in an atmosphere of detachment. This also conveys a way of dealing with the world in a natural way in today's impetuous society:

"Go camping in a more natural way", its return to nature is exactly Xiaohongshu's profound insight into the "lifestyle" and "consumption behavior" of contemporary young people.

At the same time, Xiaohongshu also joined hands with Zhang Zhenyue to launch the first "No Trace Camping" initiative in China. The theme was elevated to the hope that nature will become better because of our existence, and the environmental protection proposition was put on the public screen.

Xiaohongshu also joined forces with many brands and camping communes to speak out for the "Leave No Trace Camping Initiative", further expanding the influence of the event.

The temperature of a brand measures its length. The temperature of a brand creates a kind of "warmth" at the level of universal value, which actually connects the good intentions of consumers. This trend will not change in the short term, so what brands need to do is to deliver emotional and humanistic content that consumers already have in their hearts but cannot express, resonate with consumers in terms of life attitude, and gain their recognition.

After reviewing these outstanding marketing cases, we can conclude one thing: more restraint, more sincerity, and fewer flashy gimmicks.

In brand marketing, the role of value to the brand will be reiterated and amplified. Based on resonant communication, the connection between brands and consumers will not only be limited to the exchange of interests, but will also rise to moral coordination and emotional bonding.

Therefore, brands should not only return to value realization in terms of marketing purposes, but also find a point in the marketing direction that can arouse a high degree of social resonance among users. Only in this way can the influence and vitality of the marketing plan be determined. Starting from emotions, brands should find values ​​that are in line with social values ​​and accurately get the public's "G-spot".

Author: Sister Mulan

Source: Mulanjie (ID: mulanjie-)