China's first-tier brands all need to be reborn Fashion from ten years ago looks hopelessly outdated today. So, what about today's fashion in ten years? Are brands any different? Suddenly, overnight, traditional brands seem to have lost their former glory. Not only Chinese brands, but multinational brands as well. Brands that are currently thriving are almost all related to the internet, a result of internet communication. In the world's top 10 brand rankings, traditional brands will increasingly be hard to find. Chinese traditional brands seem to be "past tense" in the eyes of consumers; brands once proudly consumed seem to have lost their symbolism. Those multinational brands that were once looked up to are no longer even worthy of a level gaze; they seem outdated. In the past, history was a brand's glory, but now it seems necessary to draw a line with history. What's worse, brands are already in trouble, yet we are still in the dark, unable to find a remedy. If only a few brands have problems, it might be isolated cases; if only Chinese brands have problems, it might be a Chinese characteristic; but if global brands all have problems, then the problem must be related to the times. This is the era of brand rupture.
Brand communication "out of control" In the era of industrial civilization, brand communication through media was controlled and proactive. Brand communication had planning, targeting, budgets, and monitoring; it was a controlled process. Although marketing is consumer-centric, brand communication was more about "conquering consumers" under the slogan of "consumer-centric." I don't know why Kevin Kelly named his book "Out of Control," but at least I think internet-era communication is currently out of control. In 2015, internet advertising spending surpassed TV advertising. But except for those "internet celebrities" who have mastered internet discourse, internet communication is uncontrolled. Almost without warning, Xiaomi became popular. Similarly, without warning, Xiaomi haters dominated. Perhaps also without warning, both fans and haters disappeared. Unlike traditional communication with planning, budgets, and monitoring, how do you budget or control internet communication? At present, there is no way, even the popular "internet celebrities" cannot guarantee it. Traditional media communication has patterns, and most brand operators in the past have found them. Internet communication certainly has patterns, but they haven't been found yet. Perhaps uncontrollability itself is the pattern of internet communication. Internet communication has become the mainstay, and since it is currently uncontrollable, brand building that relies on communication is also out of control. With internet communication out of control, brand communication loses its controllability. This is the biggest confusion facing the rebirth of traditional brands.
Information civilization and brand tone Xiaomi suddenly became popular, without any sign. Huawei suddenly suppressed Xiaomi, and even Apple had to yield. Sport brands represented by Li Ning suddenly lost steam, and even international brands like Adidas and Nike struggled. Casual clothing brands represented by Baleno suddenly fell into trouble, with no chance to recover. High-street brands like ZARA, H&M, and Uniqlo suddenly became popular, and even the story in the Uniqlo fitting room was hot on the internet. Consumers feel that brands that were once good are now not the same. P&G was once fashionable, but now it has lost its flavor. All of this seems related to the internet. This is the brand tone of the times. When mobile internet popularization brought information civilization, brands suddenly changed their flavor; the taste of brands changed. Brand tone is inherently non-explicit and difficult to define. It can only be felt, not expressed. It is different from brand positioning. It should be the embodiment of consumer values in a certain era. It does not belong to a specific brand but is a commonality of brands in an era; consumers may appreciate a certain brand tone. For example, ten years ago, we found Coca-Cola and P&G pleasing, but now they seem a bit awkward. The tone of these brands hasn't changed, but consumers' appreciation has. Brand tone, I think, is the brand values of the consumer group, just like aesthetics. In the past, when talking about brand tone, it might refer more to a specific brand. Today, I emphasize the collective tone of brands, which is the greatest common divisor of society's appreciation of brands. The change in brand tone is related to the popularity of mobile internet. More deeply, it is related to information civilization. In the past, brands were inherently marked by industrial civilization. Although we are still in the early stages of information civilization, it has already shown signs of overwhelming brands from the industrial civilization era. In the era of information civilization, the new generation (post-80s and post-90s) controls the initiative in communication, which means their values are spread. China has always had the saying "each generation is worse than the last," which was the era when the older generation held the discourse. Now China suddenly has a phenomenon of "flattering the post-90s." The discourse once held by the elite has been overturned by the internet. Although we cannot yet clearly define the brand tone of the internet era, at least we know that the brand tone of traditional industrial civilization is no longer suitable.
Mainstream shift "gap" I believe the cornerstone of a brand is the strategic big product. That is, the foundation of a brand lies in its products. Some people give brands many intangible things, perhaps for brand communication needs, but I am in marketing and do not believe in such things. If the strategic big product changes, then the brand built on it will also be different. In the past, most mainstream Chinese brands were products of the "double low" era (rock-bottom price, rock-bottom quality). The products these brands carried were mostly "strategic low-price" products. During industrial consolidation, industry oligarchs relied on scale and strategic low prices to eliminate numerous competitors in batches. That era was also a time when Chinese consumers had "consumption hunger and insufficient purchasing power," and "double low" products exactly met the needs of that era. Therefore, I do not think "double low" brands were a mistake, because marketing is time-bound. 2013 may have been the peak of production capacity in many industries. In 2014, leading companies in various industries began to see sales decline, and people thought it was abnormal. As the decline continued, people finally recognized the "quantity ceiling" of consumption and began to pursue quality consumption. In 2014, I, together with marketing expert Shi Xianlong, proposed the concept of "mainstream shift," which was well received by society. This means that new products launched in the future should meet consumers' new quality needs, and also means that brands carrying original products are outdated. There have been precedents of brand rebirth in the world, such as Samsung and LG, but overall, successful brand upward moves are rare. Moreover, Chinese mainstream brands are all facing the need to shift. The current situation is: in terms of sales, original brands and products still have large volumes; but in terms of trends, these brands and products have no future. The "mainstream shift" requires either upgrading original brands to shed the "double low" image, or launching entirely new brands to keep up with the "shift" requirements. Traditional enterprises' original brands are no longer sought after overall, and new brands have not yet been born; this is the era of brand rupture. It is an era where old brands suffer and new brand images will continue to emerge.
At the request of many distributor friends, the third B-end e-commerce inspection class of this public platform will visit Wanshang Yizhan, Yunbao Shangmeng, and Weicheng Distribution from July 9-12. Distributor friends interested in transformation can join us for on-site inspections:
Organization format
- Company visit
- Actual market case visit
- On-site explanation
- One-on-one communication
Participating distributor friends only need to pay a registration fee of 200 yuan. Time: July 9-12, 2016. Location: Changsha, Xiamen.
Interested distributor friends can register by long-pressing the QR code below.
When adding friends, please reply "Third Registration".
Previous inspection enterprise cases:
Yishang Logistics Model Inspection (Second B-end E-commerce Inspection Group Yishang Logistics)
Caiba Model Inspection
Jinhuobao Model Inspection
Beiquan Model On-site Inspection
Piduoduo Model On-site Inspection
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