---
title: "Fang Gang: Is the Power of Brands Still Worth Believing?"
description: "China has two cities known for beer: Harbin and Qingdao, ranking first and third in per capita consumption, with Shenyang, birthplace of Snow Beer, second. While attacking these cities with new brands was once seen as suicidal, recent visits reveal that local century-old brands are no longer the top choice, prompting a deep reflection on whether brand power still holds."
author: "方刚"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2017-12-20"
language: "en"
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---

# Fang Gang: Is the Power of Brands Still Worth Believing?

> China has two cities known for beer: Harbin and Qingdao, ranking first and third in per capita consumption, with Shenyang, birthplace of Snow Beer, second. While attacking these cities with new brands was once seen as suicidal, recent visits reveal that local century-old brands are no longer the top choice, prompting a deep reflection on whether brand power still holds.

China has two cities known for beer: Harbin and Qingdao, ranking first and third in per capita beer consumption, with Shenyang, birthplace of Snow Beer, second.
If someone said a new brand would challenge Harbin and Qingdao, most would call it suicide—like wielding a broadsword before Guan Gong's door! Today, that doesn't seem to be the case. The topic of "doing it over again" truly deserves a study of these two cities.
Not long ago, I visited Harbin. Local friends brought out what they considered a high-end beer to host me, but it wasn't a local brand, and they said it was selling quite well there!
I found it hard to understand: Harbin, as the holy land of China's beer industrialization, started its first brewery in 1900. Locals should have a deep bond with century-old brands!
The reality is: the local century-old brand is no longer the first choice in the region!
This is a jaw-dropping and thought-provoking topic: **The brand still exists, but do we still have the power to believe?**
 _1_**What the heck is a scene?**
In traditional thinking, consumer segmentation is based on age, occupation, income, residence, etc. The consumption patterns of these groups can be identified, leading to terminal-based category management: A/B/C/D/E classes for dining, KA, CVS, famous liquor stores, traditional shops in circulation channels...
In this mindset, consumers are trapped in a web of terminals, with no escape!
Dominant manufacturers build this web well: "Whether you come or not, I am here, neither sad nor glad!"
Today, scenes break this logic! The break is: "Come or not, sad or glad!"
**The dimension of scene not only covers the above, but crucially includes emotion and atmosphere.** In this scene, I don't just consume material goods; I consume emotion! I hope the product (brand) has **immersion**, knowing exactly where my (our) emotions lie!
I no longer consume you out of material need; give me something beyond the material!
**Material is for the body; spirit brings emotion! My scene needs products that fit the occasion, and your being there, neither sad nor glad, has nothing to do with me!**
**Those not of my kind must have different intentions! Those who don't resonate are only forced to consume; once someone who resonates appears, I choose without hesitation!**
This is the scene: a stage born from the consumer's perspective, based on preferences and emotions! The solution for the scene is the product!
Compared to tech products, the evolution of consumer goods scenes is lagging and insensitive! In the integration of online and offline, where ducks know spring's warmth first, few ducks are stirring! That is, most enterprises continue to glide on their original tracks!
Perhaps this is the dividend!
 _2_**Category Redo: Grasp the Key Points!**
For enterprises with existing stock and confidence to redo, whether they can build the track for redoing should be benchmarked against four dimensions:
**Redefine your product, define your channel, make good use of new media, and polish your new organization!**
In traditional operations, mainstream consumption scenes have been monopolized and standardized, but this is a B-end monopoly; scene solutions are batch, force-fed, and mold-based.
What are the new scenes? No one discovers, sorts, or satisfies them!
**What is the solution for scenes? Answer: Products!**
> **❑ Case:** Jiangxiaobai's scene classification: small gatherings, banquets, reunions, solo drinking, team building...
Once the scene is found, opportunity arises; once the scene is satisfied, the product emerges! The scene story is the brand! Who tells the brand? IP!
IP's role is to integrate brand name, tone, even visual hammer, and language nail, spreading and interacting on social media, continuously outputting and creating content. The most used are personified brands, anime cartoons, kawaii...
The biggest difference between traditional and new media is: traditional media is one-way, new media is two-way or multi-way! Traditional media emphasizes top-down, dominance; new media emphasizes equality and democracy.
Scene is the stage, product is the actor, IP is the script...
If the stage isn't found, even the best actor is useless; if the actor is good but the script is garbage, it's unreliable...
Traditional marketing's approach is: first find IP (find a noun with public recognition), then design the product, then find the scene (stage)... The whole logic is reversed! In traditional thinking, IP brings public recognition traffic dividends to enterprises!
Some (not all, except functional recognition) traffic from public recognition may not be quality traffic, and can even be a burden!
 _3_**Marketing Empowerment: Old Products Can Be Redone!**
If we talk about Internet+ today, it makes people want to vomit! But go to the front lines of traditional marketing, and the Internet is really far from them! The daily routine of sweeping streets, filling forms, and running terminals hasn't changed much!
However, inadvertently, new species have emerged in business forms:
Unmanned vending, B2B, O2O, social e-commerce... Most of these changes haven't affected the traditional infantry's operational system; many enterprise reps still foolishly hold POPs looking for a place to stick them, unaware that internet-based POPs and H5 have risen!
Because existing stock relationships and industry characteristics determine that FMCG marketing evolves relatively slowly, and the understanding of terminals and sales in existing cognition is deeply rooted!
If we can benchmark against this existing stock and walk in reverse, perhaps that's the opportunity for new products and new brands!
Source: Teacher Liu's Forum (ID: liuchunxiong1964)
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