Over the past two years, brand crossover and IP co-branding have indeed made domestic brands popular. As a result, more and more brands are joining this co-branding hype! The original intention of brand crossover and IP co-branding is to make 'ordinary' brands more interesting, thereby stimulating consumers' desire to buy. However, when this kind of thinking becomes a certain 'political correctness' in the marketing world, all brands are engaging in marketing gimmicks, falling into the self-entertainment of creating hit products. That is to say, although such marketing is harmless, it has led many brands into the trap of 'marketing hits' while completely unwilling to settle down and create 'product hits' that can become classics. The result is that many domestic brands have won attention but lost sales! **-01-******Crossover Marketing and IP Co-branding Are Not Wrong Just Don't Be Too Superstitious About Them First of all, IP co-branding itself is not a 'panacea'; some can handle it with ease, while others just imitate mechanically, eventually ending in failure! On September 10, Heytea and Naixue Tea almost 'collided' at the same time. Heytea co-branded with Yakult to launch 'Pomegranate Yakult Bobo Ice' and used packaging that was 5 times larger than the original Yakult bottle; Naixue, on the other hand, co-branded with People's Daily to launch the trendy Chinese tea drink 'Report Red Pomegranate'. Users could get a free coupon for 'Report Red Pomegranate' by taking a photo with the 'Naixue X People's Daily' standee at offline stores and posting it on Weibo with the relevant hashtag. Logically, Naixue's co-branding partner was more prestigious and offered free coupons, so it should have been more effective. But the fact is, the hashtag #石榴养乐多波波冰# (Pomegranate Yakult Bobo Ice) had 190 million reads, while Naixue's 'Report Red Pomegranate' only had 550,000. Why? The reason is that the co-branding between People's Daily and Naixue seemed forced, and consumers have long become numb to such collaborations. In contrast, the co-branding between Yakult and Heytea was different; both the product itself and the packaging could evoke consumers' memories. Especially the enlarged Yakult bottle, which provided a strong visual stimulus. In other words, consumers' emotions have been exhausted by bland crossover marketing and IP co-branding. Without differentiation, even crossover marketing becomes lackluster. So, in essence, crossover marketing and IP co-branding are just a part of marketing. Even though IPs like the Palace Museum can indeed create a chemical reaction with domestic brands and empower brands with new connotations, they cannot withstand the forced combinations between brands and the endless consumption of brand traffic. ****-02-What's More Terrifying Than Superstitious Crossover Co-branding Is That Products No Longer Matter It is undeniable that crossover co-branding between brands can indeed create topics and buzz, and can also bring sales. However, we find that more and more brands are now marketing for the sake of marketing. For example, White Rabbit; for example, Want Want. Why do we say they are marketing for the sake of marketing? Because these brands are already familiar with crossover co-branding. They not only use limited-time and limited-quantity sales, but also limit the locations, thus creating the 'illusion' of being sold out, which is the so-called 'pseudo-hit'. The reason for limiting time, quantity, and location is that these products can hardly withstand the test of the market and time. Moreover, due to the limited quantity, brands can create enough buzz through public opinion, drowning negative comments in a sea of noise. Objectively speaking, creating enough topic heat for the brand is not a problem in itself. But practice has proven that brands that were superstitious about crossover marketing often believed that products no longer mattered. Why has White Rabbit's crossover co-branding been done wave after wave, yet it has never solved the consumer complaint that 'the candy becomes hard and the milk flavor becomes weak'? Why do they invest heavily in marketing but are quite stingy with product R&D? Because product lag has created a psychological fear for the brand! You might say, Coca-Cola's crossover marketing is thriving, and Li Ning has also returned to the public eye through marketing and co-branding. Why doesn't it work for my brand? Let's talk about Coca-Cola first. Although Coca-Cola enjoys various co-branding and marketing activities, it should be noted that Coca-Cola, as a century-old brand, has a mature marketing team behind the scenes. Moreover, if you observe carefully, you will find that although the advertising and marketing methods vary, the brand philosophy behind them is consistent. Furthermore, Coca-Cola's marketing can be done without repeating the same tricks; can you? Moreover, Coca-Cola continues to innovate at the product level; can you? Now let's talk about Li Ning. Many people attribute Li Ning's resurgence to the 2018 New York Fashion Week and riding the wave of Chinese fashion. But have you considered that from 'Li Ning' to 'China Li Ning', from 'wholesale model' to 'retail model', from 'low-end' to 'mid-to-high-end', this transformation actually began in the early stages of 2010. However, it only began to show results in 2018. Many people may not know that Li Ning's 'Wu Dao' series sneakers are very popular, but as early as 2016, 'Way of Wade 4', 'Speed 4', and 'Li Ning Arc' had already accumulated considerable reputation. To put it bluntly, Li Ning's return to the public eye was not due to crossover co-branding or increased marketing spending; the fundamental factor was the product. Because Li Ning's shoes and clothing have changed! ****-03-Behind Brand Decline Comprehensive Improvement in Organization, Channels, and Products Is Needed As we all know, products have a life cycle. For example, VCDs and radios were eliminated in the rolling tide of technology; for example, the development of smartphones caused Nokia's traditional phones to be abandoned. However, brands in the consumer goods sector are more often experiencing brand decline. For example, the demand for products like White Rabbit candy, Coconut Palm Juice, and Laoganma has always existed; although the products have changed, they are still in the same lineage. So why have sales suddenly declined? Because consumers have changed! 'Post-70s' consumers focus on cost-effectiveness, i.e., 'good quality and low price'; 'Post-80s' consumers focus on product quality, i.e., 'good quality and good price'; For 'post-90s' and 'post-00s', they pay more attention to personalization and fun. **And this is the reason for brand decline. It's not that the product is too outdated to keep up with trends, or that the channels are too old, or more directly, consumers are indifferent to the brand. In other words, your image, your slogan, your marketing creativity, and your products no longer have freshness or even presence! So what should be done? It might be a good idea to first conduct a thorough diagnosis of the brand. If the decline is caused by the product, then start from the product level, either improve it or iterate on it; if it's caused by channels, then re-examine who your consumers are and follow them; if it's an organizational structure issue, then adjust the organizational structure to rejuvenate the organization's vitality and vigor. Marketing is only a part of brand strategy. Don't be overly superstitious about brand crossover and IP co-branding. If you think that increasing topic heat and exposure can solve sales problems, then you are too young. Always remember: Products need differentiation, and so does marketing! Finally, I particularly want to say that brand stacking is only a superficial and shallow operation. On a deeper level, a brand should be an adherence to a concept and culture, and under this concept and culture, through different 'youthful' guises, tell the story that 'remains the same despite all changes'. This article is authorized to be reprinted from: Brand Head (ID: ceozhiku), author: Lin Chuan. Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once the tip is adopted.