P&G has been in China for 30 years, and despite being a century-old company, it continues to seek innovation, fully implementing a strategy of youthfulness and personalization. In the era of social consumption, young people are a major consumer force that cannot be ignored; winning over the youth means winning long-term loyal fans and assets for the brand. This time, P&G has set its sights on the post-00s generation. 2018 marks the coming-of-age year for post-00s, as the first batch enters adulthood and society, opening a new era for them. The post-00s generation, with a population of 147 million, may become the largest consumer force over the next decade. At the same time, their behavior and consumption habits may influence people of other age groups. Unlike the budget-conscious post-80s and post-90s consumers, according to Tencent's research report on post-00s, post-00s have three times the savings of post-90s. They enjoy superior material conditions, higher purchasing power, and greater financial autonomy. They pursue high-fashion items and enjoy the pleasure of the consumption process. Understanding the needs and preferences of the youth, and communicating with them on platforms and in ways they like, has become key to brand sales growth in the new era.
CQY with post-00s,
Communicate with them in their language Zhang Hong, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at P&G Greater China, stated that to win the favor of post-00s consumers, brands must listen to their voices, communicate in their language, and interact in their ways. Different eras have different cultural labels and internet slang. The post-00s generation also has its own unique language. In post-00s communication circles, words like "cqy" and "xswl" are often seen, which are ways they communicate with each other. "cqy" means "add QQ friends," and "xswl" means "laughing my ass off." Many think WeChat is the most popular social platform now, but in the post-00s world, QQ is used much more frequently than WeChat. If they are interested in someone, they choose to add QQ, not WeChat. For brands, to understand real post-00s consumers, they must enter their world, CQY (make friends) with them, communicate as friends, lower their posture, and open their minds. See what words they like to use and what they like to do. If you communicate with someone in a language they understand, they will remember it in their head; if you communicate in their own language, they will remember it in their heart. Post-00s don't watch hard ads,
and don't fall for soft ads. How to move this group? Traditional advertising targets the mass audience; as long as you package the product and run ads, you can easily attract a large number of consumers. But now consumer needs are personalized, and just spending heavily on ads can no longer capture the hearts of the new generation. Brands need to find the circle of their target users, reach them precisely, and attract consumers. Where post-00s are, brands go Zhang Hong said that in choosing communication channels, we only need to know who the consumers are and where they are. Where consumers are, brand promotion goes. Post-00s like bilibili and QQ, but also use Weibo, WeChat, and Douban. Different platforms have different play styles; for example, on bilibili you play with danmaku, while on Weibo you use fun memes. P&G's "Girl's Palm Pack" (少女掌心包) moved the "girly heart" of post-00s through the most fashionable and youthful activities. The product's launch was at bilibili's New Year's Eve celebration, attracting many girls to participate, and was simultaneously promoted on Xiaohongshu and other channels, with online and offline linkage, sparking a buying frenzy among post-00s fans both on and off the platform. Although post-00s have higher purchasing power than post-90s and post-80s, they still like to get bargains. Post-00s like to "grab lucky bags" on bilibili, spending 88 yuan to see if they can get a lucky bag worth 188 or 298 yuan. Whisper (护舒宝) seized this consumer psychology and co-branded with bilibili to create some lucky bags, placing the newly launched palm pack and some bilibili merchandise inside, which received a very good response. Zhang Hong said that in the future, as the market changes, P&G will continue to innovate in channels and methods, and perhaps for post-10s consumers, they will use new play styles. Use different means to attract consumers at different stages From users seeing the product, to being interested, to finally buying, these behaviors may happen on different platforms. So you need to use different methods on different platforms to attract users at different stages, ensuring that consumers at all stages can see the product. For example, a consumer sees a friend say on Weibo or WeChat Moments that a product is good, but she won't buy it immediately; she might first go to Xiaohongshu, Weibo, Zhihu, or Baidu to search for information about the product. If she finds many people using it, she'll check reviews. If reviews are good, she might be tempted but still not buy. Then one day, at an offline event, she sees the product has a promotion with small trial sizes, and naturally she's happy to pay to try it. This is the path from not knowing, to being interested, to finally willing to try. So brands need to set bait on all channels, build a multi-channel promotion matrix, and attract consumers. Post-00s' core demand for products:
Good-looking and functional For the FMCG industry, the product is the core. In "Confessions of an Advertising Man," Mr. Ogilvy proposed that "product is 1, marketing is 0." The product is the "1" at the front of the number, and marketing is the "0" behind it. Without a good product, even if the promotion is exaggerated, consumers won't buy it. Although post-00s' preferences change easily, their core demand for products remains unchanged—they want good products. As long as the product is good enough, even if it's a bit more expensive, they will still choose to buy it. Moreover, after using better products, consumers' pleasure threshold rises, and they won't be satisfied with ordinary products anymore. For example, if you used to drive a gasoline car, but after driving a Tesla and experiencing how good an electric car feels, you definitely won't want to go back to a gasoline car. P&G's Girl's Palm Pack, besides its fashionable and exquisite design that attracts many young and trendy post-00s, has a more important point: the product is good enough and functional enough. The small fold, large pad design folds to the size of a palm, doesn't take up space, and when unfolded, it has good absorption and comfort, naturally winning the love of many post-00s girls. The product itself is an important part of marketing; good products speak for themselves and promote themselves. When the product is good enough, consumers naturally recommend it to friends. Post-00s like to express their opinions, so word-of-mouth recommendations are extremely "lethal" in this group. However, to make them spontaneously advertise your product, the product must move them enough. At the same time, products need a technical threshold and continuous innovation to seize market opportunities. According to Zhang Hong, liquid sanitary pads have been on the market in China for three years, but no competitor has been able to replicate the technical barrier. Even if companies can make similar products in the future, P&G will continue to innovate and launch better products. Post-00s need good
products and brands that understand them What post-00s want in products is good-looking and functional; they need not only a beautiful appearance but also an interesting soul. What post-00s want in brands is that they can understand them, know their hearts, and have positive values. Product and brand complement each other; neither is dispensable. Product is "1," marketing is "0." High-quality products plus excellent brand promotion can create "+∞" influence. Source: Marteker Technology Marketing Officer (ID: marteker) -END-