Foreword: For most companies, imitating big brands' marketing is the best path to success. But if you don't see through the essence of things and find the key to imitation before copying, you may pay a heavy price.
A few years ago, Durex became famous for its masterful copywriting and newsjacking. Many companies thought Weibo was crucial and invested heavily in their official accounts. Earlier, Jiang Xiaobai's bottle design went viral, and industries imitated it, filling the air with sentimental copy. In the last two years, Heytea became popular with its minimalist, cool store designs, and many competitors rushed to imitate. Marketing professionals are too eager to learn how big brands do marketing. Whenever a brand goes viral, they immediately wonder if their own brand can do the same.
Every year, I provide brand consulting and design for many companies. A common question from entrepreneurs is: "Big brand X does this, so why can't we follow suit?" Learning from successful people is understandable, but is it really appropriate for brand marketing?
To this day, we haven't seen a second company with outstanding Weibo operations, nor a second Jiang Xiaobai in any industry, nor a tea shop that won competition with a minimalist style... Why is that?
Behind a brand's success, many truths (both right and wrong) are easily obscured. If you learn from big brands' marketing without deep research, you may put your brand in danger. Especially for startups, studying how a brand succeeded before it became famous is more meaningful than imitating what it does after success.
So today, I want to discuss: What pitfalls exist in imitating big brands' marketing? And how should we think correctly about effective imitation?
Behind a brand's success, many truths (both right and wrong) are easily obscured. There are three main reasons why you shouldn't blindly imitate big brands:
1. Big brands can afford mistakes; you can't. There's an old saying in advertising: "I know half my advertising budget is wasted, but I don't know which half." Companies often make mistakes in strategy and tactics, and big brands are no exception. Many of their marketing actions may be ineffective or even wrong, but they don't affect the business. But small brands can't afford that. They are weak with limited resources. If they blindly imitate, they may waste resources on actions that don't drive growth, causing serious damage.
Many big brands' ads are actually negative examples for small brands, yet they become the most imitated. A widely circulated ad in Taiwan featured 80-year-old men training to ride motorcycles around the island to honor their youthful dreams. Many were moved and wanted to imitate it. Undoubtedly, it's great content, but not a great ad—you still don't know which brand it was for.
2. You lack the key resources behind big brands. When we see brands rise or go public, we habitually judge why they succeeded based on first impressions, often ignoring the key resources behind them (talent, capital, channels, traffic, etc.).
Jiang Xiaobai's success appears to be its bottle copy, which many admire. But behind it, its offline distribution in restaurants and supermarkets, and its differentiated positioning, are unseen. Imitating the sentimental copy alone will never create a second Jiang Xiaobai.
Luckin Coffee went public, and we praise its user experience, especially digital and fast delivery. In a recent experience strategy class, a Malaysian student asked: "Can I imitate this model and bring it to my country?" It's possible, but we can't just look at the tip of the iceberg. Behind Luckin are a top team, initial support from CAR Inc., and billions in advertising. Even after all that, customers haven't formed a habit of drinking Luckin, and its future is uncertain. Trying to cultivate customer demand is never something small companies should attempt.
Speaking of coffee, Starbucks gets the best locations and lowest rents in new malls, sometimes even free rent. That's why countless coffee brands have failed. Any offline coffee shop loses from the start on location traffic and rent costs, not to mention Starbucks' supplier bargaining power.
3. Big brands have established basic awareness; you haven't. Big brands have accumulated years of presence (even Luckin, the fastest to IPO, attacked the market for two years). They've built basic brand awareness in consumers' minds. This is crucial but often overlooked.
For example, "Red Bull" is associated with energy drinks, and "Haidilao" with hot pot. If you're a new brand like "Blue Bull" or "Bowl in the Pot," you likely can't use the same marketing strategies as they do now.
Big brands have established basic awareness—when people hear the name, they know what you do. Later marketing is more about conveying spirit and values to enhance consumer identification. Small brands are at a different stage; they urgently need to solve brand awareness and trust. You must tell customers: What do you do? Why buy from you? Why trust you?
"1点点" (Yi Dian Dian) has achieved awareness as a low-priced milk tea shop on the street. Its store design is basically non-existent—just a big green sign with no other advertising, not even telling customers it's a milk tea shop, yet it's always busy. If you don't recognize that consumers already know 1点点, you might imitate its store design, open your shop, and wonder why no one comes in, blaming customers for not appreciating quality.
Many companies haven't reached the big brands' "level," but they've learned their "taste." When people don't even know who you are, everything else is futile. The way you greet a new friend is very different from greeting an acquaintance.
Many companies haven't reached the big brands' "level," but they've learned their "taste."
In short, blindly imitating big brands' marketing can lead to many pitfalls, from wasting money to endangering your business.
So, should we stop learning from them? Of course not! On the contrary, correct imitation can reduce trial-and-error costs. The key is your ability to discern. I think you can start from two angles to see through the fog and avoid imitation traps.
Method 1: Trace the founding generation's history. Big brands often go through near-death experiences. In his autobiography "Shoe Dog," Nike founder Phil Knight tells the story of Nike's "from 0 to 1." Nike's success came from repeatedly crawling out of the mud, often nearly dying.
Studying how the founding generation succeeded when resources were scarce and no one knew them is more meaningful than learning what the second or third generation does now. Imitating only the surface after success leads to many mistakes.
For a godfather brand like Coca-Cola, its success lessons are from over 50 years ago; today's actions are less relevant. Early Coca-Cola ads promoted it as a non-alcoholic drink, a tool to attract women, and a headache cure. When it entered China, it used the mystery formula marketing. What about now? Coca-Cola's slogans are "Open Happiness" and "Taste the Feeling." If a small brand imitates Coca-Cola's current strategy, it's likely wasted effort.
Twelve years ago, Huang Tea (now Heytea) in Jiangmen developed new milk tea recipes. Only after gaining small-scale customer approval did it lay the foundation for later success. The creative store design and good marketing came later.
Studying how the founding generation succeeded when resources were scarce and no one knew them is more meaningful than learning what the second or third generation does now.
Method 2: Adapt key actions. Of course, big brands' current marketing has much to learn from, but with so much noise, it's hard to tell good from bad. I recommend a thinking path: adapt key actions, in three steps, to separate truth from falsehood.
First, remove the brand halo. Big brands' names carry a cognitive halo. Remove it to see the essence. For example, Nike can easily get tens of thousands to participate in a marketing campaign. For a small brand, even doubling the reward may not attract many. That's the inherent advantage of a leading brand.
We can first replace the big brand's name with our own, then consider what to learn.
Here's a real case: This DingTalk ad was a subway screen-filler. If a brand with the same business, called "Hammer," used the same content but replaced "DingTalk" with "Hammer," would it still be a successful ad? The copy is still heartfelt, but what does Hammer do? Unknown.
Next: Find the key actions. After removing the brand name interference, look at what key actions big brands took at critical moments. "Steal" the essence, not the creativity.
It's like fitness: if someone trains well, you should learn that they persist daily without interruption. Which gym they go to, which protein powder they drink, or what shoes they wear are not key.
Many saw Xiao Guan Tea go viral and simply imitated its novel packaging. But the key capability is founder Du Guoying's ability to redefine products (previously with Backbelt, Haojixing, and 8848). He redefined traditional tea as a modern high-end gift. The small aluminum can packaging existed before Xiao Guan Tea, but wasn't widely known.
Another example: In the mid-range hotel industry, Atour Hotel emerged as a category killer. Its most visible label is "cultural characteristics." Imitators followed, turning lobbies into libraries and placing photography in rooms.
They didn't understand that Atour's real rise was due to creating a customer experience far beyond the industry, which sparked word-of-mouth. Also, it used crowdfunding for new stores, turning loyal consumers into "investors," a key ally in expansion.
Why did Atour have libraries and photography? Purely because the founder loved them. He put his hobbies into the hotel, making them Atour's label. But that's not why it became popular. If later entrants only imitate the surface details, they waste effort.
Remove the brand name halo to see the essence. In marketing, "steal" the essence, not the creativity.
Finally: Adapt key actions. Whether a big brand's key actions can truly become your own capability involves adaptation. There are two key principles:
First, it must fit your brand genes, or you'll look foolish. Second, it must be within your capability to execute.
Two years ago, Juewei Duck Neck had a mishap: its Tmall store imitated Durex's sexual allure ads, with slogans like "Tender and juicy, want it?" and "Irresistible temptation," full of vulgar innuendo. A perfectly good duck neck was inexplicably linked to sex organs. This blind imitation, forcing it, ended in embarrassment and damaged the brand.
It's like a serious person suddenly telling dirty jokes on stage. Even if it works temporarily, in the long run, the audience's impression blurs, destroying the original serious label.
Let's return to Heytea's Zen-like, sometimes bold store designs, which align perfectly with its "Inspiration Tea" concept. Naixue Tea has feminine elements in its brand genes, and the founder is female, so its spaces are more feminine than Heytea's. If you don't understand that marketing actions must fit brand genes, you'll blindly imitate.
Of course, you must also assess your own capabilities. If you lack the ability, imitation will only reach 60-70%, and the effect will be greatly reduced.
Summary: Imitating big brands' marketing is a common path for many brands, but blind imitation can be dangerous. Big brands can afford mistakes; you can't. You may lack the key resources behind big brands. And big brands have established basic awareness; as a newcomer, your marketing strategy should be different.
I believe a more scientific learning method is: Study how the founding generations of big brands broke through when resources were scarce and no one knew them. Also, try to remove the halo from big brands, identify their core capabilities, and see what key actions they took at critical moments. Finally, combine with your own capabilities to see if it fits your brand genes.
The way you greet a new friend is very different from greeting an acquaintance.
Source: Volcano Uncle (ID: HuoTalk) Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan upon adoption.