Why don't today's post-95s like using brands their mothers use? How does online 'pick-up artistry' teach nerds to efficiently attract women? How did the new fitness religion of 'self-discipline gives me freedom' become popular?

1. Senior, you've done nothing wrong; you're just too old. Have you noticed that, seemingly from one day onward, anxiety about age has become a common attribute of everyone in this era. No one is willing to become the 'front wave,' so we might still post pouty, cute photos with filters on our Moments and call ourselves 'babies.' But deep down, we feel a nagging unease, sensing that this world is slowly becoming less our own. Don't worry; you're not the only one with a midlife crisis. Procter & Gamble's most recent youth-oriented attempt was in 2016, when it replaced the latest spokesperson for Pantene in the Asia-Pacific region with two members of the 'Asia's No. 1 Girl Group' Girls' Generation. This former daily-chemicals giant now faces the headache of being seen by post-95s as a 'brand their mothers use.' In the media, Boss Zong and Sister Dong are still blaming 'Papa Ma' for young people not buying their products. On the other hand, middle-aged figures like Luo Zhenyu and Ma Dong, who have long understood the rules of the game, have transformed themselves, appearing on camera and mingling with young people. They constantly say 'the youth are always right,' painting themselves to be even more post-95 than the post-95s, becoming a major spectacle of this era.

2. The social environment has turned 'people' into 'labels.' In the past, people thought the post-95s were a generation, but more accurately, the post-95s are a type of person. During the Chinese New Year, a 14-year-old relative came over and seriously tried to teach me 'how to climb over the wall' (use a VPN), which startled me. I said, 'You've seen so many websites; don't you have any thoughts?' He said, 'No, we've seen everything, but this time it's for a patriotic 'expedition' using emojis to communicate with the world.' You see, at such a young age, they're already making such demands and expressions. Information is almost completely abundant for this generation. They have a very high acceptance of social networks because they were born into an environment of 'all-platform social networking'—chatting on QQ, WeChat, posting on Qzone, browsing Weibo, visiting Tieba, lurking on Douban, and using Momo. They are practitioners who grew up in this 'social network combination play' environment. Being adept at using social tools to express themselves gives post-95s more remote social needs than the previous generation. Each person can contact and get to know more peers, something their parents' generation cannot match. But this also brings a problem: as individuals, no one can deeply understand another person from the vast number of virtual relationships online, especially the 'opposite sex' they most desire to understand. This forces many people to extract the information they want from the traces of social information, using this method to maintain their social efficiency. If you're unwilling to admit that the underlying reality is so utilitarian, just look at these popular and once-popular internet buzzwords. Have you noticed that behind most of these words, they can be classified as social 'labels'—like the small tags on clothes that tell us basic product information, just like clothes in Uniqlo, where you can see at a glance, e.g., 80% cotton, 20% wool, machine washable, do not tumble dry. The post-95s' love of labeling is a tool to convey the information they care about most in the most intuitive, brief, and rapid way. Through these labels, a young person can quickly learn important information from social tools: Is she/he single? My crush goes to the gym every day to lift weights; great abs! This person says 'Eternal Love' is a brainless drama; what a straight male chauvinist! The top student senior returned from Stanford; how can I cleverly get close without seeming too forward? This author named Sheyu seems to be a knowledgeable and warm guy! My goddess was joking about being single before Valentine's Day, but today she's showing off her baby?

3. Why I don't see post-95s in 'pick-up artistry' classes I once had a friend who taught PUA on Zhihu, with several hundred thousand followers. 'Pick-up artistry' is essentially a product that caters to the need for courtship in this social environment. He would teach men who couldn't attract women many practical tricks, but invariably, the first lesson was about how to shape social labels, from the most basic social entry point—the profile picture (appearance) packaging—to various Moments materials that showcase oneself as a high-value member of the opposite sex. First, they'd help clients take a set of professional photos; take them to Western restaurants to teach them how to use knives and forks without embarrassment; higher-paying students could take photos at golf courses and horse farms to use as Moments backgrounds. After mastering these online packaging skills, they'd groom the students and then move to 'real combat'—approaching the opposite sex in social venues. As an observer, my overall feeling is that pick-up artistry is quite primitive; many techniques can be traced back to nature, but they are very effective for male students because the biggest 'feature' of this method is that it uses a rational thinking model for students to imitate and learn, fitting male engineering logic, making them feel enlightened that picking up girls can also be 'logical.' It sounds a bit low, yes, but it does help some older men who are not good at socializing meet their 'conquest' needs. So I said to my friend, 'What you're teaching is bad; you're harming girls.' He said, 'Sheyu, you don't understand. We're all adults; it takes two to tango.' Later, this pick-up artist friend also told me that most of those with such opposite-sex social disorders are post-80s; very few are post-90s. Of course, age and development play a part, but the bigger reason is that post-95s are naturally good at this. If you don't believe me, check out Momo or Tantan.

4. The 'new fitness religion' and the popularity of Under Armour's tight-fitting clothes Understanding label-based socializing, we can easily understand a phenomenon: Why has fitness become so popular in Moments in recent years? There seems to be a paradox here, because logically, our parents' generation cares more about health and exercise, but now it's mostly young people who are sweating it out in Moments, posting various mileage circles. Behind the slogans that promote thinness and encourage fitness lies discrimination against those with out-of-shape bodies. Because 'a person who can't even control their own body is destined to achieve nothing in life,' and 'self-discipline gives me freedom' has become the new religion of urban middle-class self-aggrandizement, also forming a new sports market. The first to enjoy the dividends of this new religion was Under Armour. This American fitness apparel brand, founded in 1996, spent the past two decades playing second fiddle to big names like Nike, Adidas, and Onitsuka Tiger, until the social media era, when it overtook Adidas and Nike and surged. But have people not liked wearing tight clothes for exercise for the past twenty years? Of course not! This brings us back to a question: Why do young people go to the gym? For health? The latest survey data doesn't think so; the answer is simple: to achieve a certain social display. Posting photos of your trained body in Moments is, on one hand, a sense of participation, winning more attention. On a deeper level, this feeling comes from our ancient ancestors. Imagine, thousands of years ago, Homo sapiens with strong physiques often had better opportunities for reproduction. So for those men and women pursuing eight-pack abs, a thigh gap, and a peach butt, their bodies are their biggest social label and courtship dividend. Thus, it's not hard to understand the popularity of activities like 'A4 waist,' 'I6 legs,' and 'touching your belly button from behind.' Imagine a scenario: after arduous fitness training, you finally have eight-pack abs and the legendary 'dog waist,' and even the girls at the gym sneak glances at you. 'Thin when dressed, muscular when undressed' is no longer your pursuit. Not showing off would be a crime, but a naked photo would earn you the label of 'exhibitionist' in your circle. At this point, you need a more rugged, tight-fitting, hormone-laden, and aggressive shirt to highlight your muscular physique during exercise without being too abrupt. Under Armour exists for this purpose.

5. 'Label-based' survival will be the only KPI for products To some extent, the emergence of the last wave of internet brands is essentially a product of technological information changes catering to young people. Three years ago, I was doing advertising planning at Three Squirrels. The rise of this brand is interesting. In the past, coarse-processed foods like nuts had little room for innovation, and e-commerce in this area was once not favored by investors. But what does Three Squirrels provide? Nuts? That's only a small part. In fact, more importantly, it provides a kind of 'companionship.' A young woman in her early twenties can, by consuming fast-fashion foods like Three Squirrels, have life content worth posting, such as packaging boxes with big eyes and squirrel faces, clips with faces and ears, a handwritten postcard, and various figurines and collectibles. When users open the package, they are captured by a series of small surprise gifts. These products meet users' need for companionship and are closely related to social scenarios. Thus, in 'Ode to Joy,' countless young office workers and interns found resonance in the scene where 'Qiu Yingying and Guan Ju'er share Three Squirrels nuts.' Three Squirrels designed a full set of such peripheral products and, through its unique 'master' culture, created an emotional connection with young users. The ultimate goal is to make them eagerly share the small props from the package.

6. This generation is indifferent to 'aloofness'; products must be 'playful, edgy, and irreverent.' 'Sapiens' tells us that the gossip and imagination of Homo sapiens gave the species evolutionary advanced productivity. Why could Uncle Tongdao sell for 200 million? It's not just a self-media hype for cash-out, but a massive intellectual property exchange behind it. This generation of post-95 users is appallingly indifferent to functional products. For them, meeting functional needs is far from enough; they also need virtual value. The most important thing is that a product can transform into a 'label' and survive in their social tools. So, for new-generation products to thrive, they must first be open-minded, with the spirit of the uncles on 'U Can U Bibi' who, despite wrinkles and thinning hair, can dress flamboyantly and act cute and flirtatious on variety shows. After all, we must understand that this generation of young people was already at center stage when they came into this world.

The Third (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in November 2017. The conference will closely focus on the theme 'New Forces, New Ecology,' inviting 1,000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, 200+ B2B platform founders, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to jointly explore a new chapter of cross-border integration!

November 8-9, 2017 Chongqing Yuelai International Conference Center, Xinyue Hall Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click 'Read Original' to register. Add friend and note 'Conference Registration.' Click the links below to review the highlights of the First and Second FMCG + Internet Conferences: 2016 'FMCG + Internet' Summit Forum

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