Click 'Read Original' for details Source: Marketing Old Wang (ID: wltx-2015) Author: Keny Wei When a brand goes direct-to-consumer (TOC), how can it maintain consistency to leave a deep impression on consumers? Entrepreneurs often ask me: when implementing my understanding of the brand, colleagues in operations, design, marketing, and product development often fail to fully grasp it. Execution can be erratic: crossovers for the sake of crossovers, adding SKUs just to sell more, user events and holiday campaigns that are self-indulgent and not strongly tied to the brand. How can this be resolved? This phenomenon is very common, and the core reason is the lack of a brand core. So what is a core? The Necklace Principle Southwest Airlines, a low-cost carrier in the U.S., has maintained profitability for over 40 years while other American airlines generally incurred losses. There are many reasons for its success, but the most important factor is "low cost, short routes." Everyone knows this, and many airlines have imitated it, but none have been as successful as Southwest. Why? Reducing costs is not just a slogan; it requires coordinating tens of thousands of employees, from executives to warehouse managers. How does Southwest implement and coordinate this supreme standard? Southwest's longest-serving CEO, Herb Kelleher, gave an example: A marketing colleague walked into my office and said her survey showed passengers on the Houston-to-Las Vegas flight wanted a light meal. We currently only offer peanuts. Wouldn't a chicken salad be more popular? What do you think? The answer to this question was: Would adding a chicken salad make us the lowest-fare airline in the U.S. on the Houston-to-Las Vegas route? If not, we won't offer chicken salad. Kelleher's decision criterion was "We are the lowest-fare airline in the world." All decisions must be checked to see if they align with the core; if not, no decision is needed. The Necklace Principle: Successful marketing must have a brand core, like the string of a necklace, threading all elements together, turning scattered pearls into a pearl necklace. Only when they match each other can marketing achieve maximum effect. All of Southwest's marketing activities are integrated into one thing, and even its operational decisions revolve around low prices, reinforcing the core keyword "low price." Therefore, when implementing a brand, a clear brand core must guide the way. Core Element 1: Specific Positioning Brand positioning is a one-sentence introduction that differentiates you from competitors. It must have sufficient recognition and express the brand's characteristics. Some entrepreneurs position their brands as: industry expert in xxx; leading brand in xxx field. These are brand visions, not brand positioning, because they lack recognition and fail to express brand characteristics. They just sound impressive. Positioning should be as specific as possible. The more specific the positioning, the easier it is to guide daily work and serve as the string in the necklace. What is specific positioning? Many brands are now learning to focus on niches, finding sub-segments ignored by big brands: In the maternal and infant market, toys are a sub-segment; infant crawling/walking is a sub-segment of toys; crawling mats are even more niche. If a brand positions itself as a crawling mat brand, that's not wrong, but it lacks brand characteristics. Skincare can be segmented into products for sensitive skin; sensitive-skin products can be further segmented into those featuring specific ingredients. So, being specific means defining brand personality through audience, ingredients, flavors, packaging, functions, services, etc. A simple formula is: xxx's product. xxx can be a noun, an adjective, or a combination. Nouns: zero-additive, handmade, plant-based, direct from origin, guochao (Chinese trend), anime-style design, xx technology, etc. Adjectives: delicious, easy to use, all-natural, lightweight, large, etc. Only by being specific enough can you guide daily operations and marketing activities, unifying all brand efforts. Heytea and Nayuki may both seem like new-style tea brands, but their positioning is actually different. Nayuki positions itself as a consumer brand with experience and fashion elements. Experience and fashion elements require sufficient space to carry them, which is why we see Nayuki still insisting on opening large stores while Heytea opens Heytea Go, Luckin opens pickup stores, and Starbucks opens "Coffee Now." Nayuki extends experience and scenarios to the fullest. Nayuki has several store types: Nayuki Tea, Nayuki Tea PRO, Nayuki Bar, and Nayuki DreamWorks. Heytea positions itself as a young cultural symbol, an "inspiration tea" with attitude. So Heytea must provide consumers with continuous freshness and surprise, reinforcing its "young" and "inspiration tea" brand image through short films and crossovers with various brands across food, apparel, beauty, and more. In marketing, Heytea frequently collaborates; the logic behind this is that Heytea needs to reach a broader young audience. The consumers covered by partner brands are exactly who Heytea wants to reach. A classic marketing case is Pepsi-Cola. To differentiate from Coca-Cola, Pepsi positioned itself as "the cola for young people," distinguishing by audience. But if a concept doesn't resonate deeply, it remains just a concept. How did Pepsi do it? They interpreted the specific concept and found tags! Tags associated with "youth" include passion, music, sports, vitality, liveliness, and coolness. For visual expression, Pepsi uses vibrant colors and neon to make users feel young. In marketing, they invite young influencers, sponsor music and dance shows, and daily posters and ads convey a sense of "cool." Misconceptions about Specific Positioning Some brands say: "We are the leading xx brand in the industry." The goal is ambitious, but the problem is it's not TOC language, it doesn't express brand personality, and how can execution reinforce it? Is it okay to have non-specific positioning? Of course, if the founder is happy, but it will definitely affect conversion rates, repurchase, and word-of-mouth. Bananain's positioning is very specific: a body-comfort company that redesigns basics. Product development: starting with underwear, gradually expanding to other basics. All product design and development adhere to "whether it's redesigned," so Bananain's underwear has "no-tag labels," boat socks are "seamless and non-slip," and sun-protection clothing is made like "cold skin" (a cooling fabric). On the marketing side: they use the concept of "ergonomics" to reinforce the body-comfort company. On product pages, large titles like "Ergonomics" and "Body-Comfort Technology" are very prominent, followed by specific parameters, continuously reinforcing the brand positioning.