The lack of brand style makes it difficult for Niu electric vehicles to achieve success

An electric car and a bicycle started running at about the same time this June. I make a bold prediction: I'm afraid the electric car called Niu will not be able to outrun the bicycle called 700bike.

The Niu electric car, which was first launched on JD.com through crowdfunding today, looks so boring. The script, which is a combination of lithium battery revolution, ultra-long battery life, Bosch power system and intelligent anti-theft, is a manual for an electric car with reliable quality, advanced technology and easy use, rather than a soul-stirring question: What does this have to do with consumers? Why must I buy it? It seems that Li Yinan, a science student, really can't tell a story.

700bike, founded by literary man Zhang Xiangdong and endorsed by many internet giants and celebrities, also launched a "blind order" crowdfunding campaign. However, he tells the story of a new life dream of young urban people about "riding back to life", and aims to form a "community that loves bicycles and life" through websites, WeChat public accounts, apps and various offline gatherings, a lifestyle brand that represents "returning to reality and a simple philosophy of life".

The brand stories of the two are in stark contrast.

The communication language used by Niu Electric is from the last century. They usually emphasize reliable quality, excellent service, and powerful technology. Therefore, consumers only regard their products as a "function" embedded in their lives. Consumers just use them without any emotion. If they are only regarded as a function, they will be at risk of being integrated, replaced, and marginalized by the Internet.

But to be honest, the so-called consumer education on quality, service, technology, and function has been completed: these have become the passing line for entering the market competition, rather than the dominant advantage. This is no longer the era of "smashing refrigerators", "two-in-one washing and care", and "super long standby". Continuing to emphasize these is just shaping the impression that you are a brand in the manufacturing era, not a brand in the consumption era.

Just like the dilemma of rebranding faced by traditional manufacturing companies, in my opinion the problem is just this: they are becoming increasingly irrelevant to consumers.

That is, the connection is lost.

Even if we can create a hot topic on Weibo like Durex in the Rain, even if we learn to hold product launch conferences like the Victoria's Secret Show, even if we really realize the importance of participating in the experience and take action, it will only be a temporary fad. They cannot solve this fundamental problem.

Because your brand cannot explain what kind of consumers are the ones who buy your products or services. In fact, consumers are ashamed to mention to others that they are the buyers of your products or services.

Electric cars and bicycles are both traditional means of transportation. If they don’t have the BMW logo, no one will proudly declare to others what brand of car they own. As the saying goes, it’s not cool enough.

Why is it important for a brand to become a personal label for consumers?

Because we are entering an era where everyone is reunited based on their personal labels. Everyone actually has two labels: one is a social label, such as the company name and position printed on your business card, your place of origin and the school you attended. In the past, we used this to find common topics and develop friendships at the dinner table; the other is a personal label, which reflects our personal taste and life interests, such as whether you are a mysophobe, love to watch suspenseful movies and TV series, like cycling, are a foodie, and prefer heavy metal rock...

For each of us, social labels will become increasingly implicit, while personal labels will become increasingly explicit. Common interests and preferences allow people to tear off social labels such as region, nationality, age, income and cultural background and aggregate into new communities.

In the process of consumers showing their individuality, brands will have huge market opportunities, because consumers need to partially explain what kind of people they are through their consumption of brands.

Brands with obvious styles will be easily found, noticed and consumed by consumers. People who like BMW MINI advocate freedom, not because it accelerates from zero to 100 kilometers fast; people who like to visit MUJI stores prefer simple, natural and unpretentious styles, not because of reliable quality; people who buy Miele washing machines appreciate the top European art appliances, not because it is just a washing machine.

We intuitively say that some brands are no longer "cool" because their early stylization has gradually faded from the market. Becoming the brand with the largest market share and popular products does not mean that the stylization will definitely be lost. Look at the examples of Coca-Cola, Nike, and Apple. They can still interact and play with consumers of different generations. They never emphasize how good their drinks taste, how durable their shoes are, or how powerful their mobile phone configurations are, but they can always capture the mood of the times in different time periods and become part of the trend culture.

That is, the brand must have a "magic resonance" with the personality label of the consumer. The so-called Internet of Things, which has been clamoring for many years, still emphasizes the connection between things, thinking that adding an LCD screen to the refrigerator can achieve human-computer interaction. This "thing connection" is still just an evolution in function and technology. "Magic resonance" refers to the connection between people, and all products are just the medium to create this connection.

Brand storytelling based on functions is no longer suitable for today. The new stories we want to tell today should start from application scenarios and be the dream builder of a better life, so as to stimulate the emotions of the audience.

Let me give you another example. Both of them are pure electric vehicles, so why are people flocking to Tesla, while people are avoiding BYD? From the perspective of brand tone alone, BYD positioned itself as a "national car" from the beginning, which means that it wants to win the mass market with a low price, and as a result, it attracts consumers in third- and fourth-tier cities; Tesla successfully labels its audience: this is a group of people who pursue cool technology, have money and style. If you just want to arouse consumers' sense of earth morality by being green and environmentally friendly, I'm afraid it will be difficult for more people to buy it.

This is why I am not optimistic about NIU. Those big Vs who pretend to endorse it and claim to participate in crowdfunding reservations, I bet you will never use it in real life.

How about we bet fifty cents?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.