Click to read the original text for details. On August 8, Jiang Nanchun, chairman of Focus Media, attended the 13th China Brand Festival and delivered a speech sharing trends in the consumer market and communication market. Jiang Nanchun stated that in the wave of consumption upgrade, trendsetter groups dominate the consumer market. Capturing the trendsetter groups defines the brand and leads the trend. "The essence of advertising is to capture and influence the trendsetter groups in the market, and use these trendsetter groups to influence the bottom groups." Jiang Nanchun believes that media represented by mobile internet has changed the dominant mode of the communication market. The rise of the internet has transformed information from diversified to fragmented, entering the era of dust. Old brand communication methods have completely failed, and new methods are rising. The following is the transcript of the speech: Let me talk about the micro-level communication trends in the brand communication industry. In terms of macroeconomics, we see two different directions. First, when you sell products like yogurt, you find that the growth of high-end products still maintains a relatively good speed, while if you sell products like beer and instant noodles, the overall market challenges are still relatively large. From 2012 to now, among 26 categories, 18 categories have entered the trend of continuous premiumization and consumption upgrade, and this trend has not changed. The direction seen in the market is that you either have a basic product or a directly upgraded product; products in the middle category are challenged. We also see that 40% of successful brands are positioned at ultra-high prices, and 24% are positioned at high prices. In the Chinese market, it is the "three-high groups" that truly lead market development; they prefer products that are user-centric. We can also see, who are the origin groups of consumption upgrade? They are those aged 24 to 45 who are willing to share. Today, China has about 225 million middle-class people. By 2025, China will have 500 million middle-class people, and they are the core group of China's consumption upgrade. What do China's middle class love, fear, and lack? They love beauty, fun, and enjoyment; they fear fatigue, aging, and loneliness; they lack love, mood, and stimulation. The needs of the middle class have shifted from materialistic to spiritual. What is the consumption psychology of the middle class? Low-priced items are increasingly hard to sell; they prefer quality, branded products that bring psychological satisfaction. Pragmatic things are replaced by emotional, atmospheric, and scenario-based things. There is nothing necessary; everything is desired and trendy. Products not only provide a function but also soothe the soul and emotions. This round of consumption upgrade has two directions: one is self-reward and self-compensation after the middle class works hard. The ad for Didi Chuxing says, "If reality is always hard, at least be quiet in the car. You who work hard, today you should sit better." And Luo Zhenyu says, "To become a better self." Let's look at today's Chinese society. In the wave of consumption upgrade, who dominates the consumer market? It is the trendsetter groups who dominate; they define brands and lead trends. If you capture the 200 million mainstream people among China's 1.3 billion population, the trendsetter groups, you define the brand and lead the trend. We see that Duan Yongping once said that advertising is for 20% of the people, and the rest follow. Everyone is a consumer, but their influence and ability to drive trends are completely different. The essence of advertising is to capture and influence the trendsetter groups in the market, and use these trendsetter groups to influence the bottom groups. The above is my sharing of trends in the consumer market. Second, let's talk about trends in the communication market. As you can see, China's advertising market has undergone earth-shaking changes. In 2015, China's advertising market declined for the first time, and now decline has become the norm. The trend is already very obvious: one is media in the living circle, and the other is transformative media in information mode. Media represented by mobile internet has changed the market dominance. The change in media and the rise of the internet have transformed information from diversified to fragmented, entering the era of dust. In the era of dust, two major information changes have led to the separation of China's mainstream population from traditional television, which also brings great challenges to the advertising industry. The information mode has brought about great changes. In the past five years, the internet has surpassed the total viewership of all traditional media. 2015 was a watershed for traditional media. After 2015, China's traditional media basically declined at a rate of 5% to 20%. We can also look at China's ratings market. A program with a rating of over 1% is already considered good, and a variety show with a rating of over 2% is already the champion. This shows that ratings have fundamentally changed. Mainstream people don't watch TV; they are on Weibo and WeChat, spending five hours a day looking at content, rarely looking at ads. This is the second major challenge that brand communication faces today. Third, entertainment methods have also changed. Originally, we went home to watch TV dramas, but now TV dramas and variety shows have moved to the internet video market. The internet market has undergone important changes with many choices. In the past, it was feasible to be continuously exposed to ads while binge-watching a drama and leave an impression. Now, when watching dramas, among about 700 million monthly active users, 280 million have bought memberships, and about 400 million have not. Can they be provided with consumption? Ads can still effectively reach them. On the contrary, those who are unwilling to pay 20 yuan a month for a membership can be considered not the mainstream group, and they are actually contrary to the consumption trendsetter groups you want to influence. This is the current situation facing brand communication today. How do we face brand communication? In China, Focus Media is an exploration, but it is only one of the solutions. I think we can think about what the city's infrastructure is. For example, elevators. Fifteen or sixteen years ago, when I founded Focus Media, I made a judgment: What is China's future change? It is urbanization. What is the infrastructure of urbanization? It is elevators. So I thought that since elevators are the city's infrastructure, creating a media called elevator media will definitely become the infrastructure for the city's mainstream population. Second, I had been in advertising for about ten years, and I had an observation: advertising itself is anti-human nature. No one wants to see ads, so it is a disturbance and an interruption. When you watch TV, you want to watch programs; when you look at your phone, you want to see content; no one watches ads. At that time, I set myself a question: When do consumers actively look at ads? I found the elevator. I found that when consumers are waiting for the elevator, they will actively look at ads. If you are in an elevator with a woman, would you look at the woman or the ad? Looking at the ad obviously breaks the awkwardness. If you are alone in the elevator, would you look at the ad or the stainless steel? It helps you pass the boredom. I wrote four keywords for elevator media: it represents the mainstream population of society, that is, the so-called trendsetter groups. Second, I think it must be a must-pass road. Whether you play Weibo or WeChat today has nothing to do with me; your body will definitely pass through the elevator. Third is high frequency. An important question is: What is the essence of advertising? It is to establish a continuous contact interface with the mainstream population. The essence of advertising is repetition; the essence of the audience is forgetting. Many important ads, especially consumer ads, are accompanying. If you cannot effectively accompany consumers, they will quickly forget you. Finally, it is low interference. If you put a person in an elevator and play an ad, their attention is relatively concentrated. So I wrote a sentence at that time: When users have no choice, it is often the best choice for advertisers. So, you may find that the biggest problem facing brand communication today is fragmentation. 20% go home and watch TV, 20% watch videos, 20% use Weibo and WeChat, 10% educate children, 10% play games, and others chat, work overtime, go to KTV, watch movies. People have so many choices, which is good for individuals but a disaster for advertisers. The best time for advertisers was more than ten years ago, when TV was dominant. In that era, TV still had great communication efficiency. The brands that grew up in China, especially consumer goods brands, all relied on TV. But today, when TV itself is difficult to become the main information channel, especially for the mainstream population, what method is unavoidable? The success of TV is unavoidable. Now I think we should return to places where consumers have no choice. Future media communication has two directions: one is to embrace change, and the other is to firmly hold on to what does not change. Embracing change means that the information mode is undergoing great changes. The mobile phone end occupies the main market. Consumers don't watch ads on mobile phones, so you need to do content and embed. Then the living space is hard to change. If you want to face business people, the best way is apartment buildings and office buildings. If you are an FMCG, the best way is apartment buildings, office buildings, and supermarkets. Finally, I will share a case. Starting in 2018, I accepted a brand—Luckin Coffee. Its competitor is Starbucks. How did Luckin Coffee break through Starbucks' encirclement? What does Starbucks sell? Starbucks sells coffee shops. The core issue is that in a 38-yuan cup of coffee, more than ten yuan is for rent. But the boss of Luckin Coffee also found a problem: 70% of people who come to Starbucks never sit down; they buy a cup of coffee and leave. Why should they pay for the coffee shop? So he created a 20-square-meter coffee shop called Luckin Coffee. In a cup of coffee, there is only one yuan for rent. I only sell coffee; you don't have to pay for the coffee shop. They use a lot of IT technology to replace inefficient processes. There are no professional baristas; they use fully automatic coffee machines. There are no cashiers; everyone buys and pays directly on their phones. So the cost structure has changed significantly. Also, it uses coffee consumption as an entry point. It captured office buildings. Focus Media captured the elevator traffic entry point; it captured the entrance of office building lobbies. It sells coffee and juice there; it is infinitely close to your convenience store. On January 1, 2018, when we started to spread this brand, we ignited it in 13 cities including Beijing and Shanghai. Tang Wei told you, "If you haven't tried coffee made by a master, I'll treat you." You can scan the code on the elevator poster to get a free cup. If you like it, you can share it with other consumers via WeChat fission. When others drink this coffee, you can get another cup. From brand ignition to traffic fission, Luckin Coffee developed rapidly. The WeChat index increased 10 times. In seven months, it sold 18 million cups of coffee. By the end of last year, it had sold 89.6 million cups of coffee. Luckin Coffee's sales are more than 90% of Starbucks'. By October 1, the most consumed coffee in China will be Luckin Coffee. They also achieved great success in the capital market. Starting with a 1 billion yuan angel investment, they raised $400 million in two rounds last year. In May this year, they listed on the NASDAQ in the United States, becoming the fastest company to go public worldwide. The myth of Chinese brands is born every day on Chinese soil, refreshing world-class records. This requires us to see that the entire consumer market has undergone fundamental changes. These hugely successful companies did not use original methods. They didn't do TV or newspapers. You can find that their ignition method is to use living circle media for brand ignition and WeChat for traffic fission. I think everyone here knows about Luckin Coffee. In fact, it used a very simple, single media mix to form this. So the advanced communication mode represented by advanced productive forces, and the driving force it represents, has already formed. You can see that today may be the era when old brand communication methods have completely failed and new methods are rising.