Failure: Not About the Product, Not About the Company Product. From the perspective of product ingredients, Qili, Lehu, and Dongpeng Special Drink all include taurine, lysine, vitamins, caffeine, and other similar ingredients, with the same function of 'refreshing and anti-fatigue'. In terms of product composition and characteristics, they are essentially no different from Red Bull. Corporate Strength. Wahaha Group (owner of Qili) and Daliyuan Group (owner of Lehu) are both leading enterprises in the domestic food industry, with unquestionable financial and channel strength. Dongpeng Special Drink has been steadily developing in the southern market since its launch, with deep channel layout and wide recognition in Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Guangxi, etc. To expand nationwide, Dongpeng even invited celebrity Nicholas Tse as spokesperson, clearly not short on money. However, as latecomers, the core problem facing Qili, Lehu, and Dongpeng Special Drink is not weak products or insufficient corporate strength, but the 'Red Bull dominance' issue. As the global pioneer and leading brand of energy drinks, Red Bull has firmly occupied the position of 'number one energy drink' in the public's mind. 'Energy drink = Red Bull' is almost a universal consensus; when replenishing energy, Red Bull is naturally the first choice. In other words, Qili, Lehu, and Dongpeng Special Drink on supermarket shelves will inevitably face direct consumer questioning: What's different about you compared to Red Bull? Why should I choose you? Let's look at their performance.
Qili: Suggestive Attack, Self-Amusement With the popularity of 'The Voice of China', the name Qili became known along with its advertising appeal ('Drink Qili, add power, refresh without harming the body, boost immunity! Treat both symptoms and root causes, authentic health product.'). Rows of blue cans began to appear on supermarket shelves. Is Qili about to sell well? But the production date on the cans proves this is an illusion. 'Add power'? Who is more powerful than Red Bull in adding power? 'Adding power' is a common attribute of energy drinks and has been firmly occupied by Red Bull. 'Refresh without harming the body'? Does drinking Red Bull harm the body? Qili's bullet did not hit its opponent Red Bull, but rather its own imaginary target. 'Treat both symptoms and root causes, authentic health product'? What exactly is Qili selling (confusing category definition)? At the same time, as the first brand to enter the mind and occupy 70% market share, the word 'authentic' belongs only to Red Bull. The more Qili emphasizes 'authentic', the more it reinforces people's perception of Red Bull's authenticity. Additionally, 'treat both symptoms and root causes' seems more like describing traditional Chinese medicine. From its pricing comparable to Red Bull and its appeal of 'refresh without harming the body', it seems Qili intended to launch an offensive war against Red Bull, but unfortunately it did not find Red Bull's true weakness. In consumer perception, there is no such thing as 'drinking Red Bull harms the body', so Qili's 'Red Bull harms the body' implication can only be wishful thinking and self-amusement. At the same time, the kaleidoscopic pile-up of advertising slogans is confusing. In the end, Qili leaves us with only that glaring blue. Blue is melancholy. Qili, how to 'Qili'?
Lehu: Frontal Assault, Foolish Arrogance Lehu: 'Drink Lehu, refresh and anti-fatigue, stimulate positive energy.' Clearly, 'refresh and anti-fatigue' is Red Bull's territory, and 'attacking the city is the inferior strategy'. If Lehu hasn't forgotten Red Bull's existence, it is simply foolish and arrogant. The cognitive rule of 'first impression is strongest' reveals that if a follower claims the same product attributes as the leader, it not only fails to work but also strengthens the leader's position in the customer's mind. 'Stimulate positive energy' is purely superfluous. Moreover, Lehu's product packaging is almost identical to Red Bull's, with virtually no difference (later adjusted strategy to launch PET bottles). Similar advertising appeals plus the shiny little gold can made Lehu a representative of counterfeit Red Bull. In this situation, the more Lehu advertises, the more distinct its counterfeit image becomes, and against this backdrop, Red Bull's 'authentic' status becomes more solid. Additionally, due to lack of differentiation, the advertisement featuring Yi Jianlian and the trust endorsement of 'Official Drink of CBA League' find no leverage. Trying to draw a tiger but ending up looking like a dog—Lehu, how can it be a tiger?
Dongpeng Special Drink: Packaging Is Not 'True Differentiation' 'Tired, sleepy, drink Dongpeng Special Drink'—another member joins the counterfeit army! Clearly, Dongpeng Special Drink directly copied Red Bull's advertising slogan. Based on Red Bull's dominant position in the energy drink category, when people are 'tired or sleepy', they still think of Red Bull first. But Dongpeng Special Drink uses PET bottle packaging, with larger capacity and lower price (average price almost half of Red Bull's), which overcomes the drawback of cans being drink-immediately, and to some extent makes its low price more subtle. From the perspective of 'affordability' and 'convenience', it has some value, especially for second- and third-tier markets and lower-income consumers (it is reported that Dongpeng Special Drink, relying on this differentiation and channel segmentation, has achieved sales of 1 billion yuan). Theoretically, any perceivable 'differentiation' that can influence customer decisions may constitute a market opportunity and build a brand. But Dongpeng Special Drink's packaging and low price cannot threaten Red Bull at a strategic level, so at best it is another Heqizheng (the war between JDB and Wanglaoji stimulated consumption and boosted the herbal tea category, but Heqizheng, in an awkward position, did not gain any advantage; its market share decreased rather than increased, and according to the 'Law of Duality', Heqizheng almost never has a chance to rise). As the second Heqizheng, where is Dongpeng Special Drink's future path?
Where Is Red Bull's Strength? Authenticity! As the pioneer and leader of energy drinks active for nearly half a century, Red Bull naturally occupies the perception of 'authentic'. Entering China, Red Bull used 'long-distance truck drivers, office workers who stay up late, and young sports enthusiasts' as demonstration groups, sponsoring sports events and bombarding with advertisements. Through long-term education and meticulous cultivation, its characteristic of 'quickly relieving fatigue and replenishing energy' has become well known to the Chinese public. 'Red Bull' and 'energy' (the category) are tightly locked together. Despite attacks from numerous well-funded follower brands, Red Bull still holds over 70% market share, and its 'authentic' position is undeniably strong. At the same time, perhaps learning from its experience in the US market (where follower brand 'Monster' launched a flank attack on Red Bull with 'high concentration, strong effect' and highly distinctive visual packaging, achieving considerable success), Red Bull later launched a 250ml silver can 'enhanced type' in the Chinese market. This new product strengthened its own flank, set up roadblocks for latecomers, and also won over more segmented consumers. Does Red Bull really have no weaknesses? Do latecomers really have no chance? Not necessarily. Below are two personal strategic conjectures for challenging Red Bull, for discussion.
First Conjecture to PK Red Bull: Use Category Differentiation, Flank Attack Idea: Since there is an 'enhanced type' Red Bull, could there be a 'light type' (let's call it light energy category) Red Bull? If beer can differentiate into light beer, why can't energy drinks differentiate into a 'light energy' category? It seems not optimistic. There are two reasons. First, 'light energy' (light type) to some extent contradicts the category attributes and core value of 'energy drinks'. Common sense suggests that energy drinks should have stronger energy—this is also the feeling Red Bull's small can packaging aims to create. Second, from external opportunities. Danone's popular beverage Mizone belongs to the 'vitamin beverage' category, which overlaps with Red Bull's 'vitamin functional drink' category. From a customer perception perspective, they are also likely to belong to the same broad category, meaning Mizone is very similar to the 'light type' Red Bull we envisioned. Therefore, even if there is a 'light type' functional drink in people's minds, Mizone has already occupied that position. So this flank of Red Bull also has slim chances.
Second Conjecture to PK Red Bull: Reposition Red Bull Although the two flank opportunities are slim, based on more general principles, we still believe Red Bull has strategic weaknesses. 'All things carry yin and embrace yang.' Red Bull benefits from the 'strong effect' brought by its strategic strength of 'authentic', but the perception of 'strong effect' also fatefully brings negative suspicion: 'Does Red Bull contain hormones?' Coupled with crisis events like being taken off shelves in 2012 due to the 'additive gate' (tests at the time showed Red Bull's formula contained ingredients that could potentially generate trace amounts of the national Class II psychotropic substance anacaf), the already highly sensitive Chinese public became even more suspicious. The author also noticed a phenomenon: very few women drink Red Bull. Multiple random surveys yielded answers like 'worried about growing a beard, growing muscles, affecting endocrine...' When further asked 'Are you worried it contains hormones?', the answers were quicker and more uniform: 'Exactly!' It seems the 'Red Bull contains hormones' theory has a certain cognitive foundation (of course, the entire energy drink category may carry this perception, but in comparison, the dominant Red Bull is particularly prominent). In the marketing world, perception is reality! Is the negative perception arising from the strong aspect of 'authentic' Red Bull's 'strategic weakness'? Possibly. So it is suggested that Qili, targeting Red Bull's 'strategic weakness', change its appeal from 'refresh without harming the body' to 'no hormones, safer refreshment'. What if Red Bull steps forward to defend itself? First, defending is unwise; the sensitive nerves of the public have already proven this: when KFC emphasized not using fast-growing chickens, what did we think? When an outstanding athlete emphasizes he didn't take stimulants, what do we think? Due to differences in standpoint, corporate defenses often increase customer suspicion. Even if Red Bull really steps forward, there's no need to fear. First, the 'Red Bull contains hormones' theory has a broad cognitive foundation (at least many people suspect it, unlike the 'Red Bull harms the body' theory). Second, in today's information explosion, companies cannot achieve information symmetry with customers.
How Powerful Is Negative Perception? In 2014, a fabricated 'scientific experiment' claimed that the gel formed by drying Nutrition Express product 'can be used as a condom' (in fact, this is a normal protein coagulation phenomenon). This rumor alone caused Wahaha a loss of 5 billion yuan! Therefore, leveraging existing perceptions, we optimistically believe that the appeal of 'no hormones, safer refreshment' has the potential to reposition Red Bull. Based on the 'Law of Duality' in categories, there should also be a position for an opposing brand besides Red Bull; the key is to be 'opposite'! Based on this positioning, at the product level, it is suggested that Qili reduce or replace one ingredient (for example, replace taurine, Red Bull's main ingredient), and add herbal ingredients to serve as factual 'support' and contrast. —Even further optimize the advertising appeal to: Qili herbal functional drink, no hormones, safer refreshment! Of course, in the long run, 'perceptions' that deviate from facts will inevitably be readjusted by facts, but for now and for a considerable time in the future, the cognitive foundation of the 'Red Bull contains hormones' theory cannot be ignored. Therefore, using this as a leverage point to reposition Red Bull should have some value.
Author: Ke Lei, New Marketing Editor. Reprinted from: Yingxiaoli. - END- The best learning platform for FMCG distributors in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent article selection | 002 Distributor market operations | 003 Terminal visit management | 004 Sales supervisor skills | 005 Sales improvement techniques | 006 Channel expansion | 007 Managing distributors | 008 Distributor development | 009 Distributor internal operations management | 010 Team management | 011 Efficient distribution techniques | 012 Sales manager's eighteen skills | 013 KA operation methods and strategies | 014 First lesson for new sales | 015 Internet, brands | [Long press QR code to follow]