---
title: "Lessons from the Viral Success of Zibo Barbecue for the FMCG Industry"
description: "The sudden popularity of Zibo barbecue was not accidental but the result of years of groundwork, following the pattern of online public opinion: incubation, formation, and diffusion. FMCG brands can learn from this in brand communication, focusing on strategic consistency, tactical alignment, and the density and form of communication, as well as in consumer experience, truly putting consumers first by addressing their real needs and expectations."
author: "高级研究员 海游"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2023-05-15"
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# Lessons from the Viral Success of Zibo Barbecue for the FMCG Industry

> The sudden popularity of Zibo barbecue was not accidental but the result of years of groundwork, following the pattern of online public opinion: incubation, formation, and diffusion. FMCG brands can learn from this in brand communication, focusing on strategic consistency, tactical alignment, and the density and form of communication, as well as in consumer experience, truly putting consumers first by addressing their real needs and expectations.

**Learning Brand Communication from Zibo Barbecue**
**1. Did Zibo Barbecue suddenly become popular?**
Obviously not. My personal view is: **any sudden popularity is the result of long-term accumulation.** Zibo's communication follows the law of online public opinion development: incubation period → formation period → diffusion period. It also conforms to the characteristics of internet information dissemination: intra-circle communication → inter-circle communication → fission effect.
**a. Incubation period + intra-circle communication:** In 2019, Jiang Dongtao, then Secretary of the Zibo Municipal Party Committee, vigorously promoted the night economy; built barbecue squares; constructed city light shows; advocated for the Wheat Music Festival; and was photographed dining out and eating skewers. In September 2020, Joker Xue interacted with fans at the Zibo Wheat Music Festival, saying, "After eating Zibo barbecue, I gained 2 jin." After the show, barbecue restaurants within a 5-kilometer radius were packed, and "Zibo Barbecue" first appeared on hot search. In 2021, the Bilibili documentary "Life's a BBQ: Season 3" became popular, providing a comprehensive introduction to Zibo barbecue and building a fan base for the "Zibo Barbecue" IP.
**b. Formation period + inter-circle communication:** In May 2022, during the pandemic, the Zibo Municipal Party Committee and Government jointly issued "A Letter to Students of Shandong University," providing high-quality accommodation and dining services to students who were collectively transferred to Zibo. The students agreed to return to Zibo for barbecue the following year. In June 2022, then Secretary Jiang Dongtao positioned and called out: "Let the 'Zibo flavor' occupy taste buds and spread globally."
**c. Diffusion period + fission effect:** On January 29, 2023, a netizen from Zibo's Hengtai County posted a 16-second video of eating barbecue, which received 4.5 million views, and Zibo's eating method was imitated by netizens. In February, Zibo invited a big influencer with 20 million followers for an outdoor live broadcast. In March, current Secretary Ma Xiaolei gave city promotions and youth talent policy presentations at Peking University and Tsinghua University, calling out that "current students of Tsinghua and Peking University can enjoy free accommodation and meals in Zibo during May Day," which sparked heated discussion. Subsequently, continuous "exposure" by government departments and various influencers kept the heat going, marking the formal formation of the "Zibo Barbecue" topic.
**2. What can brand owners learn from brand communication?**
**a. Understand that brand communication is a strategic matter:** It is also a top leader's project. Once the communication goal is set, it must be implemented unswervingly. What effect do we want to achieve? How should the process proceed? How to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of communication? All communication work should proceed orderly along the "track." Like Evergrande Spring Water, which at one time communicated the water source, one source supplying the world; at another time communicated its distinction from Nongfu Spring, not being surface water; and at another time communicated high quality, mineral water, without a definite theme, tens of billions in brand communication costs went down the drain.
**b. Once the brand communication strategy is determined, ensure tactical alignment:** The so-called "strategy" is a plan, deployment, and arrangement made to achieve the vision and goals; this "vision and goal" is holistic and long-term, not partial and short-term. Tactics are the action measures or methods to achieve strategic goals, including: what to do, how to do it specifically, etc. The biggest obstacle to brand communication is that communication tactics do not closely follow the communication strategy, often resulting in "deviation." For example, Wanglaoji's brand communication is "Drink Wanglaoji to prevent getting heaty," and the tactical communication scenario is hotpot and barbecue. If it communicated hotpot and barbecue at one time, then Sichuan restaurants to prevent heatiness, then Hunan restaurants to prevent heatiness, could it still succeed?
**c. Pay attention to the density and form of communication:** The quality of brand communication mainly depends on the density and form. Communication density determines the breadth and depth of influence on the audience (higher density increases contact rate and frequency), and communication form determines the audience category and acceptance (young people like Douyin, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu; elderly people like CCTV and satellite TV).
**Learning Consumer Experience from Zibo Barbecue**
Consumer experience must be "consumer-centric." Everyone is used to hearing the slogan "consumer-centric." Business owners often say "the customer is God, we must meet all customer needs" to make money, leading many to misunderstand the meaning of the slogan. The correct understanding of consumer-centric is: **think from the consumer's perspective, discover the consumer's inner needs, solve problems elegantly and with foresight, and maximize consumer satisfaction.** It absolutely does not mean "do whatever the consumer says they need." Because many consumers may express "false needs" due to social conventions and face, and even if they understand their true needs, they cannot express them accurately, or they cannot express products they have never seen. Take Zibo barbecue as an example: many consumers going to Zibo express their "false needs": "As long as I have fun, it's okay to spend a bit more; I mainly want to feel the atmosphere of a barbecue gathering of ten thousand people." Is it really all like that? Is it okay if skewers are a bit more expensive? Is it okay if accommodation is a bit more expensive? Did they think parking could be free? I believe most tourists are not like that; they just "talk nonsense" in interviews due to "face." What did Zibo do? The municipal party committee and government explicitly stated that merchants were not allowed to raise prices during the May Day holiday, and penalties were imposed on violators; hotels that raised prices during the holiday uniformly reduced prices and refunded; taxis were not allowed to overcharge; a notice was issued requiring party and government organs and public institutions with conditions to open parking lots and restrooms to the public for free, all with the purpose of serving tourists... Zibo truly put consumers first, attracting, moving, and impressing people with comfortable consumption experiences and warm consumption services. Therefore, to truly be consumer-centric, it is necessary to fully explore consumers' "real needs" and "need expectations," and implement them in detail. This is an ability that brand owners urgently need to develop.
**Final Thoughts:** According to official data, Zibo Station sent a cumulative 24,000 passengers during the May Day holiday, an increase of 85,000 compared to the same period in 2019, an increase of 55%. Before the holiday, hotels and homestays were fully booked, with orders at 800% of the same period in 2019. During the May Day period, the number of tourists in Zibo also reached a new high of 120,000, and restaurants of all sizes were packed. Why did Zibo barbecue win the favor of the whole country? Is it because of the taste of the barbecue itself? The fair price? The service? Yes, but not entirely. Because no other city has yet replicated this success. FMCG companies should think: if their target consumers could achieve such explosive growth, what would they need to do? Is it excellent product quality? A value-for-money pricing system? Ultimate user service and experience? I believe the answer is also: yes, but not entirely. There are too many things worth thinking about, and brand owners need to slowly appreciate them.


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