This article is authorized by the author and originally appeared on Baibu Buru Yijian (ID: bwbryj123).
Recently, I participated in a beverage repositioning and communication proposal. During discussions about the "creativity" of communication, I chatted with several creative veterans. One creative colleague shared a previous case that was quite interesting:
He said they had helped Coca-Cola's Minute Maid name a new product "Zhi Chang Xin Ren" (literally "Plant Field Newbie"). He explained that this concept had potential for play, allowing integration with workplace insights for promotion and extension into many creative activities.
Packaging design of Zhi Chang Xin Ren
I nodded along, thinking, "Why haven't I heard of this?" I went home and did some research, and indeed found such a product: but after its launch in 2017, aside from a few vertical industry media reports and some offline event PR, it went silent.
Then, searching on major e-commerce platforms, I found the SKU count was zero.
When I asked a friend at Coca-Cola, the exact words were: "It failed shortly after launch."
Know what I felt? Four words: like finding treasure (schadenfreude).
Because of survivorship bias, we easily remember successful products, and most of them are still alive. But failed cases are rare. Although major FMCG companies launch N failed products every year, 99% of them die very early, far away from you, silently. Finding one is not easy.
More importantly, analyzing failure is the most meaningful lesson for us. Alibaba's Hupan University established "failure education" from its inception; Munger also advocates focusing on "how failures happen" and then thinking backwards. So... many thanks to that creative colleague!
So why did the product fail? Let's go from the surface to the core:
- Why did this product fail?
The reasons behind FMCG product failures are complex, but on the surface, there are several obvious problems:
- Named based on creative communication, narrow positioning
As the creative colleague mentioned, the naming was highly "creative." We can imagine the scene of the client and agency brainstorming this name and cheering...
But precisely because it was too creative, its meaning limited its consumer base. Although "Zhi Chang Xin Ren" claims to target people aged 18-26, the naming tendency is too obvious. What would consumers who are not workplace newcomers think?
Even setting that aside, a product's naming and positioning should not have too segmented a demographic tendency, as this risks rejecting other groups.
From data, if we estimate the national population of workplace newcomers, it's less than 30 million, which is not a very large magnitude.
Data from China Business Industry Research Institute, 2017
In contrast, many products that also claim demographic positioning either don't restrict themselves, like Xiao Ming Tong Xue targeting post-95s, but they don't indicate this in the name; or they face a sufficiently large market size, like the single-dog potato chips that became popular in recent years, targeting the so-called single after-work scenario (according to Guojin Securities' single consumer research report, in 2017, the national single population was 220 million, accounting for 15% of the total population).
- Awkward emotionalization and personification
The naming "Zhi Chang Xin Ren" can be reverse-engineered as a strategy based on FMCG product personification.
From the packaging level, we can see their efforts in "following trends to sell personas":
They "carefully" designed two personas for walnut and coconut flavors, but unfortunately, much of the copy was confusing.
Words like "burning, cute, cool, cheap, warm" show a feeling of using whatever is hot in the deck... The character design also fell far short of the well-known IP beverage Xiao Ming Tong Xue from the same period.
The persona wasn't done well enough; we can't be too harsh, but then forcing emotional communication of the product borders on fake insight. This product actually did quite a bit of promotion at its launch in 2017, including a wave of offline and online communication in Shanghai:
Offline events + KOL live streaming + staged social media campaigns
"For newcomers to the workplace, how to adapt to a new environment and handle new relationships are their biggest concerns. On September 21, Minute Maid's 'Zhi Chang Xin Ren' teamed up with 'emotional blogger' Hu Xinshu to create a mobile lunch truck event at Shanghai's 96 Plaza, combining live streaming to discuss how to resolve workplace awkwardness with newcomers online and offline." — From official PR copy
Simply understanding the brand's insight: newcomers have many troubles entering the workplace, and Zhi Chang Xin Ren is a choice in this scenario.
But such a communication starting point has two problems:
Is resolving workplace awkwardness and unfamiliar scenarios about eating, drinking, and having fun, or about striving to solve the problems at hand? Let's say both, depending on personal preference, but this is not a "stable" demand.
More importantly, doesn't this further confine and limit the audience? Fresh graduates might be more interested, but can others gain enough interest to recognize a product "specially crafted for workplace newcomers"?
This brings us back to the first problem: "narrow positioning."
- Based on the pseudo-category of plant-based protein
The third point isn't a big problem, but I find it interesting.
Similarly, reverse-engineering why this product was called "Zhi" (plant) field newcomer: a reasonable guess is that the client's brief emphasized the concept of "plant-based protein drinks" from market trends and product positioning. This has objective basis:
According to data from the China Beverage Industry Association, since 2007, the fastest-growing beverage sub-industry has been plant-based protein drinks. From 2007 to 2016, the compound growth rate reached 24.5%, and its share in the entire beverage industry increased by 8.79%. With consumption upgrading and rising health demands, the plant-based protein drink market will continue to grow.
People in the industry take this seriously, so it's easy to overemphasize the concept of "plant-based protein." Thus, it's easy to understand why it was called "Zhi Chang Xin Ren" — COFCO Coca-Cola had high hopes for this product line, possibly developing more raw materials in the future to tap into the young people's plant-based protein drink market.
But the reality is: plant-based protein drinks are not a category that exists in consumer minds.
To borrow the words of Mr. Feng Weidong from Tiantu Capital: What cannot be bought is not a true category.
We can't buy a product called "plant-based protein drink"; consumers are unfamiliar with this concept. What consumers are truly familiar with are: walnut milk, almond milk, and peanut milk.
Although it's just one word, it was this word that, as a starting point, inspired the agency to give such positioning and naming.
Who is right or wrong, I'll leave for everyone to comment.
- Clarify: Communication Mindset vs. Market Mindset
Summarizing these three obvious problems, I have a very intuitive conclusion: they were doing business with a communication mindset.
This communication mindset can be contrasted with a market mindset.
What is a communication mindset?
A communication mindset solves the problem of communication value; it doesn't solve the problem of creating value.
Marketing communication agencies are usually best at solving communication problems because communication is about breaking consumer cognitive inertia, attracting their attention, and implanting concepts into their memory. Using a concept I often cite:
Mental availability = get noticed and build memory structure.
From this perspective, Zhi Chang Xin Ren seems successful. But to make a food and beverage consumer product successful, one cannot rely solely on a communication mindset. First, one must solve what the real value is; this requires a market mindset.
What is a market mindset?
A market mindset is about discovering market opportunities, finding the real needs of a certain group, which is the value you should truly create. For a product like Zhi Chang Xin Ren, it aims to solve the problem of workplace awkwardness for newcomers (or young people). Then:
First, is this need real? Does it exist?
Second, is this need widespread enough to support a real market?
A market mindset requires that group to repeatedly pay for your solution (or more and more people pay). A communication mindset only requires them to notice and then pay once, perhaps due to category reasons (like the probability of trying something new).
Six Walnut is a good name from a business perspective
Also a plant-based protein drink, traditional brands like Six Walnut successfully chose the need of "giving gifts should be healthy and high-end," targeting the gift market. This is based on the real and widespread need of "Chinese gift-giving culture and face culture."
The fundamental difference between a communication mindset and a market mindset is the real reason we can see this product's failure.
- Three Mindsets for Building a Business
Actually, the case analysis should have ended here. But in my brief startup experience, I found that besides communication and market mindsets, there can be a further layer of understanding — that is, a business mindset.
Taking a product from 0-1-10, pushing it to market, and ultimately building a brand. What is this whole process, really?
Excluding various confusing concepts, it's about building a business, building a sustainable business model. So-called sustainable development means creating value over the long term.
So, it's not just about looking at an attractive communication concept, nor just which market, which demographic's which need, but building a model that continuously solves needs and creates value. It includes product and brand, but at the bottom level, it faces more of building a team, streamlining the supply chain, reducing costs, and improving efficiency.
Simply put, a business mindset is: don't treat the product as your product; treat your business model as your product. This is from the author of "The Lean Startup" (actually "Running Lean"), which I recommended in my detailed interpretation of needs & demand article.
Let me use a business empire as an example — NIKE.
In its story, these three mindsets played important roles at different times and dimensions, so none is superior; they have different roles.
Communication Mindset: Focus on consumer attention and memory
The most obvious is the widely praised NIKE advertising, its famous "Just Do It" slogan, and ads that move generation after generation. It must be admitted that regardless of the underlying commercial purpose, we cannot separate the "goodwill" boost that JDI's conveyed sports spirit brings to the company. That's the charm of communication.
However, what's fascinating is that in NIKE founder Phil Knight's autobiography "Shoe Dog," the author doesn't mention NIKE advertising at all. Perhaps he didn't think advertising was that good, or perhaps he had more important stories in his heart.
Market Mindset: Focus on market needs and solutions
Many people now know that NIKE's origin was as a distributor for the Japanese sports shoe brand Onitsuka Tiger, when NIKE was still called Blue Ribbon Sports.
Why become a distributor for Onitsuka Tiger? Simply put, because Japanese shoes were lighter, more comfortable, and cheaper than American running shoes at the time. Knight and his mentor Bowerman, as professional runners, fully believed these Japanese shoes could take off in the US, and their judgment proved correct.
Bill Bowerman in a lab in Eugene, circa 1980
Subsequently, Bowerman continuously improved NIKE's running shoes, making them more comfortable and suitable for sports, creating the classic Cortez and the famous waffle sole.
This is a process where seasoned professionals insight into real needs, leading solutions, brought NIKE huge business opportunities, and can be said to be one of NIKE's key turning points.
Business Mindset: Focus on the healthy development of the enterprise
However, in "Shoe Dog"'s record of NIKE's rise, what impressed me most was not how shoes were made or how exciting selling was, but that the founder and his company, even when they had been operating for millions of dollars and had a team of over 30 people, still faced the risk of bankruptcy at any moment.
The reason behind this, simply put, was their insufficient understanding and control of cash flow. Almost every month's revenue and profit were reinvested into the next month's expanding inventory costs, sometimes even insufficient to cover them.
So sometimes, even if your product is good, your ads are great, and you're popular with consumers, you might still fall due to the business not being sustainable. It could be cash flow, supply chain lag, team issues, etc. NIKE faced all these. And NIKE surviving to this day is undoubtedly because they developed a deeper understanding of the shoe business than others.
We can find examples of the same business mindset in various companies.
For example, the recent buzz about "P&G Delisting" and "P&G's Confidence," looking back at P&G's transformation over the past five years, besides seizing the Alibaba and data trends, there's another important business mindset manifestation: the focus strategy:
Lafley's choice seemed simple: sell and close nearly 100 brands, keeping only 65 brands across 10 product categories. This period, jokingly called "cut, cut, cut" by the media, is often isolated to evaluate Lafley's financial performance after his return. But in fact, from a company management perspective, "cut, cut, cut" brought crucial strategic focus to P&G.
At this point, I believe you'll better understand why I say doing business with a communication mindset will kill you.
- Final Thoughts
We've gone from a failed plant-based protein drink to a sports company that faced failure several times. In my view, the pattern is similar: when facing different problems, we need different mindsets. Most of the time, agencies help companies solve communication problems, occasionally market problems. But all problems inevitably relate to the client's business problems.
If we are communication practitioners, we naturally tend to view the market and companies with a communication mindset, even in our unconscious communication and dialogue, showing this thinking pattern. This is a natural man with a hammer tendency. But Marketing is a huge concept; we shouldn't understand it narrowly.
I've organized for a long time to write out these three dimensions of understanding.
I hope this helps industry professionals view clients' businesses, product markets, and brand communication with a more macro and rational mindset. If so, the internal and external communication environment of marketing will improve, and there will be less impetuous and noisy business in the market.
References:
- Jiemian, "Minute Maid Enters the Plant-Based Protein Drink Battlefield": https://www.jiemian.com/article/1363513.html
- FBIF Food & Beverage Innovation: https://www.zhihu.com/question/66840877/answer/246399718
- Northeast Securities, "Plant-Based Protein Drinks Have Broad Prospects"
- Shenyin & Wanguo, "Plant-Based Protein Drink Industry Deep Report: Sharing the Consumption Upgrade Feast of a 100-Billion Market"
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