Click to read the original text for details ◎ Niu Enkun ∙ Chairman of Liangjian Consulting, Internet Community Marketing Expert, Co-founder of New Marketing System ∙ + In the past two years, following several senior marketing experts to participate in research on several new marketing cases has been very rewarding. Not only has it broken the boundaries of thinking, but it has also greatly improved cognitive abilities. Now I have basically formed my own set of thinking logic system. Today, I want to write this article "Dispelling the Fog of Marketing" to talk about my experiences and insights over the past two years. 01. A Severely Divided World In the past two years, I suddenly found that acquaintances could no longer communicate. Although we met frequently, the language they spoke seemed somewhat incomprehensible; even among group members in the same group, there would be vastly different views on certain matters. Why does this happen? It is because mobile internet, a epoch-making tool, has severely divided the world into countless small circles with different values. Some people, though previously familiar, seem to be estranged in ideological communication. Contextual communication is severely separated, as if there is an indescribable strangeness. So many people start to change circles, and what surprises us even more is another phenomenon: some people have never met, but they live around your circle, supporting you tirelessly and paying attention to your actions. The internet makes communication easy, but it also severely divides the world. It separates people with different values, and the speed of fission is like an invisible but fast-connecting light, linking people with the same values into a group. 02. The Underlying Logic of Cognition If there is a word with the highest mention rate in the marketing field, it is probably "cognition." The ability of cognition determines a person's depth of seeing problems and systematic ability to think, which of course requires a high level of knowledge system. Ordinary people's cognition may be only shallow, staying at the surface. A person with high cognitive ability can often go through the surface to the essence and see through many underlying logics. Besides thinking methods, there must be patterns to follow. This pattern is logic. What is logic? It is the causal pattern of things. If one cannot find the causal pattern from the underlying logic of cognition, cognition will be limited by the boundaries of thinking, like a frog at the bottom of a well, seeing only the sky the size of the well mouth. There are two cases that have greatly improved my cognitive ability through repeated thinking. The first is the product development of Xiaoshile Shanzha Shuang (Hawthorn Refreshing Drink). Initially, we did not think much within the beverage industry, but saw two major problems facing beverages: industrial upgrading and redefinition of the beverage industry. At that time, we saw two trends: one is consumers' new demand for domestic specialty beverages, and the other is how to upgrade and innovate on the original category. Initially, we thought about how to turn the formula of Jianwei Xiaoshi Pian (digestive tablets) into a beverage. In marketing promotion, we did not follow the traditional sales model, but adopted a "traditional + internet" integration model. The result was breaking the boundaries of product innovation and the integration of marketing models. On the basis of product success, we uniquely created a methodology suitable for today's market. The second is thinking about the controversy over the quality of Jiangxiaobai's liquor. Jiangxiaobai's liquor quality is severely questioned by old liquor drinkers, but enthusiastically embraced by new liquor drinkers. The reason old liquor drinkers say it is not good mostly starts from questioning the taste, while new liquor drinkers' recognition comes from the experience process. The two groups have different cognitive logics and different evaluation standards, leading to a polarized situation of industry criticism and fan enthusiasm. 03. Dispelling the Fog of Marketing Why dispel the fog of marketing? Because marketing is often a result and the most easily seen thing. The process is often hidden, ignored, and simplified. Recently, the circle of friends has interpreted the growth pattern of bamboo quite thoroughly: it takes years to root, but only a few days to grow out. "One minute on stage, ten years of work off stage" also says the same thing. Why do we want to dispel the fog of marketing? It is to remind us to see things more clearly. The courses on explosive product strategy have been getting worse in recent years, which is expected. Over-amplifying short-term rapid growth while ignoring the laws of product explosion will inevitably pay a heavy price. Of course, this does not deny the role of marketing, but rather face the true role of marketing to use it for our own benefit. What is easily seen is often an illusion. When we see Xiaoshile's 5-day sell-through, we should also see that Xiaoshile first transforms public cognition into brand cognition through promotion empowerment. When we see Jiangxiaobai's copywriting, we should also see how strong Jiangxiaobai's deep distribution capability is. The success of marketing is never the rapid achievement of a single element, but the accumulation of multiple conditions. 04. Persistence in Returning to Normalcy Although today's world is more variable than before, it is still vibrant, just more colorful. Persistence in returning to normalcy means staying calm in seemingly impetuous times. We must open the boundaries of thinking, improve cognitive abilities, and dispel the fog of marketing to see the causal patterns of development. If all the above are achieved, then persist with like-minded people in a normal way! Believe that a bright tomorrow belongs to us! On August 22-24, the 2018 China FMCG Digital Innovation Conference with the theme "Finding New Growth Engines" will be held in Shanghai. The conference will build a bridge for brand owners, distributors, retail enterprises, and marketing agencies to help FMCG manufacturers obtain the latest information, understand best application practices, and master more practical transformation skills. On the afternoon of the 22nd, Liu Chunxiong, founder of the New Marketing System; Li Xuefeng, general manager of Xiaoshile; Zhang Xuejun, renowned marketing expert; Fang Gang, practical marketing expert; Niu Enkun, renowned community marketing expert; Liu Peng, deputy general manager of Jiangxiaobai; Chen Ruifen, general manager of Uni-President's tea business division; and Gu Tiefeng, CEO of Answer Tea, will gather to discuss the theme of deconstructing new marketing and talk about new marketing strategies for brand owners in the internet era. More excitement awaits at the 2018 China FMCG Digital Innovation Conference. Xiaoshile looks forward to seeing you there! -END-