Three Squirrels is back. During the first Douyin New Year Shopping Festival in January, Three Squirrels ranked first in the food category and second overall among brands in livestream sales. This 'internet-born brand' in the e-commerce world has once again dominated the livestream scene. In essence, this can be seen as a transition between two eras: from graphic-based e-commerce to livestream e-commerce. What has Three Squirrels inherited? And what has it newly created? The answers to these two questions are the underlying logic that determines its decision to treat livestream e-commerce as a long-term strategy. Inherited: The marketing mindset of 'product + content' from the graphic e-commerce era, and the advantage of a full-scenario supply chain. It's worth noting that during this year's New Year Shopping Festival, Three Squirrels not only topped the charts online but also performed well across all offline channels. As of January 27, Three Squirrels' total sales across all channels during the New Year Shopping Festival reached 2.2 billion yuan, firmly ranking as the No.1 brand across all channels. During the festival, sales of nut gift boxes exceeded 7 million boxes. Over a thousand offline direct-operated and alliance stores participated in the festival, and the proportion of offline business in Three Squirrels' sales has been steadily increasing. Newly created: Livestream e-commerce has shone as a strategic project. In terms of content creation, Three Squirrels remains the brand best at capturing consumer mindsets. From graphic content to video content, it has driven scenario changes through content evolution, creating a new 'brand + content + scenario' marketing ecosystem. -01- Why position livestream as a strategic project? As early as 2017, Three Squirrels began its livestream layout. In 2018, it started cooperating with top Taobao livestreamers for product promotion. By 2019, it expanded from Taobao to Douyin and Kuaishou. In 2020, it completed the full-chain construction of its livestream business, achieving its first ten-million-yuan special livestream sales. At the same time, it adopted a dual-track approach of 'influencer livestream + brand self-livestream', especially in the self-livestream segment, launching large-scale self-broadcast content plans like 'The CEO is Coming'. From the timeline, it's clear that Three Squirrels is not a company that casually rides industry trends for short-term gains. Instead, through careful research and hands-on practice, it has accurately understood the relationship between the brand and livestream e-commerce. This also shows that Three Squirrels is not the stereotypical marketing-only company; it is essentially an enterprise skilled at learning and persistent in evolution. Ultimately, Three Squirrels' positioning on livestream e-commerce is: Livestream is a trend because there is new content, and any new content has a shelf life. But livestream e-commerce is a long-term strategy because content + commerce has no expiration; commercial behavior is eternal. Therefore, the value of livestream e-commerce for internet-born brands, and even all brands, is not just a channel value, but also a high-speed pathway between brand and customers in the era of 'strong visuals' + 'strong mindshare'. It's not just about selling products; it can also reshape the brand. If Three Squirrels' development in the previous era benefited from its construction of a 'product + word-of-mouth' flat strategy, then this era is a more three-dimensional livestream e-commerce strategy of 'product + word-of-mouth + scenario'. Treating livestream as a strategic project has enabled Three Squirrels to successfully break through in the fully digital era: During the Douyin New Year Shopping Festival, the Douyin self-livestream business alone achieved sales of 65 million yuan in just 20 days. It ranked first in the food sector and second among all brand categories, second only to Peacebird, surpassing 3C brands like Xiaomi and celebrities like Chen He. So, that familiar Three Squirrels is back. -02- How does Three Squirrels do livestream? Three Squirrels excels at combining brand content with product lines for integrated marketing, an asset accumulated from the previous era. So, in the strategic track of livestream e-commerce, which is full of new brilliance, how exactly does Three Squirrels do it? First, Three Squirrels' 'leveraging the underlying platform' is shifting from a single-wheel drive on e-commerce platforms to a dual-wheel drive of e-commerce + livestream platforms. In terms of three-dimensional scenarios, livestream platforms are clearly a new scenario that can better leverage Three Squirrels' product strength. E-commerce platforms are more suitable for graphic content dissemination, and the communication scenario is relatively static. In the video era, livestream platforms offer more three-dimensional visual presentation and interactive scenarios for content expression, providing Three Squirrels with new advantages. Content creation is Three Squirrels' strength, and the 'unity of brand and effect' in the video era is the simultaneous realization of content and results, undoubtedly enhancing the added value of Three Squirrels' content. Second, the dual-wheel drive of influencer livestream + self-livestream, with a gradual shift towards self-livestream as the main focus and influencer livestream as a supplement. This is the core route, from public domain to private domain. Despite being strong in content, Three Squirrels did not rush into self-livestream. Instead, it first leveraged influencer livestream to successfully break through in public domain traffic, and then penetrated into brand private domain self-livestream. Self-livestream has obvious advantages for brands, but it also requires the enterprise to have sufficient self-broadcast capabilities, which requires both a learning gene and an ambition for evolution. A livestreamer who joined Three Squirrels' livestream team recalled some details that also confirm Three Squirrels' evolution in self-livestream: "From the initial monotonous bullet-comment answering machine, to the interactive mini-games I invented (like name that tune, you draw I guess, etc.) to increase interaction and attract fans." "To better understand consumer preferences, we specifically set up a livestream welfare community and managed it, learning about regional preferences between north and south. The first thing I do every day is check the weather in various places and trending topics on Weibo." In 2020, Three Squirrels' self-broadcast business on Taobao, JD.com, and Douyin alone achieved annual sales of over 150 million yuan. Among them, Douyin self-broadcast ran 109 sessions, totaling 582 hours, with sales of 8.79 million yuan, and hourly sales were close to JD.com's, with rapid growth. Initially, it was entertainment livestreams to attract fans, then virtual livestreams were tested. The livestream scenarios and interaction methods of Three Squirrels have been continuously upgraded with technological innovation. From October, daily broadcasts started, running 3-6 hours per day, with continuous optimization in products, scenarios, and scripts. In mid-December, following the platform's New Year Shopping Festival rhythm, Douyin self-broadcast achieved a leap from daily sales of 30,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan and then to 1 million yuan. Until the 20-day New Year Shopping Festival, self-broadcast sales reached 65 million yuan. In other words, this breakout during the Douyin New Year Shopping Festival was not an accident, but the result of thorough brand experimentation. Every detail from theory to practice was meticulously handled, thus determining a steady long-term strategy. Finally, in the private domain brand position, through the three 'cloud-piercing arrows' of appearance, price, and scenario, Three Squirrels created a brand self-broadcast room exclusive to it. During the Douyin New Year Shopping Festival, Three Squirrels' livestream room established a distinctive identity. In terms of appearance, both the livestreamers and product packaging were pleasing to the eye; both 'people' and 'goods' were beautiful. In terms of price, the highest gift box was 238 yuan, the lowest biscuit was 0.01 yuan, and the price distribution of hot-selling products formed a healthy price matrix, with products for driving traffic and main products suitable for the New Year scenario. In terms of the overall atmosphere of the livestream room, the overall picture colors were bright, the lighting and camera equipment were good, and the image quality was high-definition, comparable to some clothing and accessory livestreamers. There was even background music playing 'Happy New Year' songs, creating a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. People, goods, and scenario: on the basis of thoroughly understanding the three elements of livestream e-commerce, they further extended the festive atmosphere, reflecting Three Squirrels' mature understanding of content scenarios. The transition of Three Squirrels from the graphic era to the livestream era seems smooth, but that's because outsiders can only see a small part; behind it is still a complex process. In addition, livestream e-commerce relies heavily on accumulated strength. Whether in public or private domains, it is a precise calibration under the big rules of livestream. It can be said that the brand understands livestream, but in fact: It's because the brand understands itself and consumers. -03- New long-termism: Never be the next anyone The concept of 'internet celebrity' is biased; it implies being short-lived, fading after a gust of wind. This is a cognitive dilemma that many internet-born brands inevitably encounter. Three Squirrels was also once considered to have too high a proportion of e-commerce, being 'flighty'. But in essence, judging whether a company is 'flighty' should not be based on the e-commerce proportion, but on: Whether it has formed a long-termism for the brand. Since its inception, Three Squirrels has made two strategic choices: first, adhering to the e-commerce route; second, adhering to product + content. Livestream e-commerce is the new content that Three Squirrels will persist in in the next stage, and it is also a new long-termism. The so-called new long-termism means never being the next anyone, only being the first me: the route is long-term, brand value is long-term, product innovation is long-term, and content evolution is also long-term. In this way, Three Squirrels will always have novelty and will always be the surprising me. Source: Ni Shu's Thinking Dark Time (ID: nishu-think) —end—