▲ Long press the image to scan the QR code to register for the Jiuye Jia 7.24 China Liquor Industry Summit in Jinan, Shandong Entering 2016, everything turns a new page, especially for the baijiu industry. Xiaodao liquor, launched in 2003, achieved gratifying results in 2015 after 12 years of product upgrades, brand positioning, and structural adjustments: the single product Xiaodao Yuanjiang alone saw a 210% year-on-year increase in 2015; building on this, Xiaodao liquor is expected to create an even newer and better performance in 2016. Xiaodao liquor, produced by Hebei Sanjing Liquor Industry Co., Ltd., is one of the earliest baijiu brands to use the minimalist and stylish 'white label with black characters' trademark. It quickly caught consumers' attention upon hitting the shelves, standing out among the red and green products, and was hailed as a 'dark horse' in the liquor industry upon its launch. The name Xiaodao is derived from the baijiu brewing term 'shaodaozi' (burning knife), and it breaks away from the prevailing secular naming trends in the liquor industry, being unique and distinctive, quickly making consumers remember it and attracting industry attention. Xiaodao liquor caters to the real needs of modern consumers' value transformation, innovates marketing models, adheres to a consumer-oriented driving strategy, focuses on continuously building a strong consumer brand, and brews the most valuable bottled baijiu. Since its launch in 2003, Xiaodao liquor, after years of market operation and accumulation, has become increasingly clear in its goals. Targeting the 20-35 Year Old Consumer Market 'Drink Xiaodao, achieve greatness' and 'A man's life should be like a knife, with gains to be made' -- over the years, Xiaodao liquor's series of advertisements have been distinctive, confident, and brave, evoking young people's aspirations and pursuits, which is closely related to its target consumers. In 2009, to change the predicament of low-end Chinese baijiu not building brands and not expanding beyond regions, Xiaodao liquor planned to use the approach of building mid-to-high-end brands to create its own distinctive brand, seizing the transformation trend of the baijiu consumer base, targeting the urban grassroots class, and focusing on the 20-35 age group as the main sales target, proposing the brand positioning of 'grassroots famous liquor'. Xiaodao liquor's special-shaped bottle also breaks the monopoly of round and square bottles. According to Jiuye Jia, the special-shaped bottle packaging is an important part of Xiaodao liquor's 'brand productization', perfectly showcasing the brand's personality and genes on the product packaging, appearing with a new personalized and fashionable appeal and a new streamlined bottle shape. Consumers had never seen or experienced knife-shaped bottles before, and the personalized packaging greatly improves the terminal sales interception rate. Traditional low-end bare-bottle baijiu often gives a feeling of low grade and poor quality. Xiaodao liquor not only innovates in packaging but also ensures excellent liquor quality. Xiaodao liquor is produced in one of the largest grain liquor fermentation cellar groups in North China. The company has more than 2,000 cellars and maintains an annual reserve of over 20,000 tons of high-quality base liquor, effectively ensuring the consistent quality of Xiaodao products. Xiaodao liquor is a typical healthy, low-intoxication liquor (available in 42° and 38°), with pure and impurity-free quality. It has also been optimized and improved for young consumers, with a delicate flavor, soft and smooth mouthfeel, and a clean finish. After drinking, it quickly clears the head, does not cause headaches, and leaves the body feeling relaxed and comfortable, making it more beneficial to health. Xiaodao liquor's marketing methods are diverse and rich. 'We will do some interactive activities targeting consumers in the market, and many activities will use more modern tools to screen target consumers. WeChat is the most direct tool.' A staff member from Xiaodao liquor's marketing department told Jiuye Jia that Xiaodao liquor's marketing and promotion activities are very rich, averaging 2-3 per month. At the same time, the company will sponsor influential local activities in the market, including folk activities and government-led performances, to enhance the brand vitality of Xiaodao Yuanjiang and keep the brand heat high in the market. In terms of market expense allocation, Xiaodao has a complete expense application and usage verification process, maximizing the extent to which sales strategies come from the market, sales personnel, and terminal needs. This makes market operations more timely and effective, greatly improving marketing efficiency. Seizing Trends, Focusing on Yuanjiang, Leading the Market Currently, Xiaodao liquor has a total of three products: the Laodao product priced at 8-10 yuan, the three-year product (knife-shaped bottle) priced at 12-15 yuan, and the Xiaodao Yuanjiang product priced at 25-30 yuan. Among them, Xiaodao Yuanjiang, priced at 25-30 yuan, is the strategic flagship product clearly identified at the beginning of the 2015 fiscal year. 'In the early stage, the market recognition was very high through practice, so at the beginning of 2015, the company officially decided to focus on the Xiaodao Yuanjiang product, with other products as supplements, and at the same time tilted policies and expense support toward Xiaodao Yuanjiang.' A staff member from Xiaodao's marketing department said that in 2015, the company focused its business strategy on Xiaodao Yuanjiang, truly launching a systematic implementation of the strategy: 1. Focus on a single product: Seize the trend, be optimistic about the 25-yuan price band, and unswervingly make Yuanjiang the leading product in 2015. The company basically focuses its three major resources -- brand promotion resources, market construction resources, and consumer pull resources -- on the Yuanjiang single product. Basically, in the key markets to be attacked, Xiaodao Yuanjiang can become the most influential product in that market. 2. Focus on distributors: For distributors who dare to challenge the market, dare to look to the future, and do not stick to existing best-selling products (Laodao products), the company provides wholehearted nanny-style support services in terms of model market creation, distributor team training, and consumer public relations promotion, ensuring that distributors can quickly break through the market, never letting them have burdens or pressure, and ensuring rapid development and profitability. To help distributors grow quickly, the company has not only set up office managers and business managers responsible for the region in its organizational structure, but also has a dedicated promotion team to assist distributors in market development and team building (internally called the Wolf Team: a 30-person special forces organization that integrates market development and distributor team building, flexibly and mobilely operating in various markets). 3. Focus on models: The Xiaodao Yuanjiang promotion model, after successful partial pilot tests in multiple markets in 2014, began to be fully replicated. Its essence lies in focusing on small regional breakthroughs (can be townships or urban areas, depending on market competition), focusing on core store breakthroughs, focusing on terminal promotion breakthroughs, focusing on consumer public relations and source group breakthroughs, laying out on the surface, breaking through at points, and finally linking points and surface for an overall breakthrough. 4. Focus on regions: Focusing on regional markets, focusing on key markets, seeking progress with stability, and seeking strength with precision are the basic principles for Xiaodao Yuanjiang's market advancement. Currently, Xiaodao Yuanjiang is mainly distributed in 11 regional areas including Beijing-Tianjin, southern Hebei, northern Jiangsu, Henan, and Anhui. The requirement is that there are key points within regions, model markets within key points, leading from model markets to being among the top in key markets, and being king in the region. In many small counties with a population of 300,000-400,000, it is normal for a single product of Xiaodao Yuanjiang priced at 25-30 yuan to sell tens of thousands of cases a year. Either don't do it, or if you do, lead; leading from partial to overall is the basic thinking of the Xiaodao team and distributor team in regional market operations. In 2015, Xiaodao focused on Yuanjiang with the core of 'inheritance, innovation, return, and transcendence' and achieved excellent results. In 2016, Xiaodao Liquor Industry's Yuanjiang will continue to soar, continuing the sales target of doubling year after year. Xiaodao Liquor Evolution History: In 2003, Xiaodao liquor was launched, creating the cultural appeal of 'A real man drinks like this, knife after knife, not returning until drunk', reflecting the highest realm of a man's drinking, expressing the boldness of men seeking intoxication and the joy of 'A thousand cups are too few when drinking with a bosom friend, and together we dissolve the sorrows of ten thousand ages!' And with 'seeking intoxication' as the theme, it highlights the heroic spirit of a true man. 2009 was the year of transformation and upgrade for the Xiaodao brand. The upgraded three-year aged and five-year aged products targeted young working-class and entrepreneurial groups, shaping the grassroots cultural connotation of 'A man's life should be like a knife, with gains to be made', and with 'Drink Xiaodao, achieve greatness' as the theme, it enlisted the popular actor Zhang Guoqiang as the brand ambassador. In 2014, with industry development and consumption upgrades, Xiaodao liquor developed a new product 'Yuanjiang', targeting young white-collar workers and entrepreneurial groups striving in their careers; in 2015, Xiaodao Yuanjiang, under the appeal of 'Drink Xiaodao, achieve greatness', adhering to the persistence of dreams, advocated that 'A man should have dreams, and even more, persist for his dreams. Only by understanding persistence can one achieve greatness', resonating with the consumer group. On the road to chasing dreams, only through unremitting effort and persistence can one reap the original dreams and achieve a great life. This is also Xiaodao liquor's return to and repositioning of its own brand value and appeal. From 2003 to the present, Xiaodao liquor has always adhered to trendiness, individuality, and quality first. Xiaodao liquor aspires to become the leading brand of bottled baijiu, and it is also expected that Xiaodao will achieve better results in brand building and product promotion. Tip: Click the original text link below ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ to register for free for the China Liquor Industry Summit (Shandong) Forum hosted by Jiuye Jia. On July 24, at Jinan Shunhe International Hotel (No. 26008 Jingshi Road, Huaiyin District), Yang Guang, Chairman of Zhengyitang Consulting, Xu Wei, Chairman of Heige Consulting, Pan Wenfu, General Manager of Senpan Consulting, and beer marketing expert Fang Gang will interpret the survival changes for Shandong liquor merchants in the new era on site!