The sudden COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to reduced brand budgets, hindered offline promotions, and disrupted marketing plans. At the same time, the pandemic changed consumer daily behaviors, with consumers getting used to browsing news, and the rise of live streaming, short videos, and other communication methods, unleashing online communication and consumption potential. As domestic outbreaks were controlled, various consumption gradually returned to normal. Driven by the national economic cycle strategy, FMCG products, as essential goods, will also face new development opportunities. If brands can seize channel dividend opportunities and effectively use marketing tools, they may break the existing competitive landscape, achieve a curve overtaking, and outpace competitors. -01- Marketers Begin to Investigate Wasted "Advertising Spend" "I know half of my advertising investment is wasted, but the problem is I don't know which half." Often, after investing heavily in TV ads and offline materials, brand sales do not improve. In reality, traditional media focus on brand message delivery but are "out of control" regarding conversion. Moreover, their "broad casting" outweighs "precise targeting," wasting advertising budgets. In traditional advertising, there is a "chain break" between communication and purchase. Unlike durable goods like cars and appliances, FMCG products have low trial thresholds, and consumers are prone to impulse buying. If the stimulus from an ad does not immediately lead to conversion, it may be forgotten. However, platforms where users receive information, such as TV, are mainly responsible for informing; consumers need to go to new platforms to purchase or participate in activities, creating a disconnect. If the communication and purchase chain is not bridged, waste continues. Online, users can directly jump from "planting grass" (being influenced) to "pulling grass" (purchasing) on the same device. FMCG prices are relatively low, and promotions, trials, and gifts can trigger users' "getting a bargain" psychology, directly driving purchase behavior. While conveying brand information, both brand and sales can be enhanced. The "waste" of traditional advertising also stems from the inability to determine the precision of the audience reached. The "flood irrigation" model of traditional ads cannot accurately assess the people reached. For example, with TV, it is impossible to accurately judge whether viewers are the brand's target audience or whether they actually received the ad message. Ad effectiveness can only be surveyed or estimated after the campaign, with a certain lag. Online advertising platforms can label consumers based on physiological and behavioral attributes. When pushing information, they can combine user tags, selecting conditions like gender, age, identity, and region to achieve precise delivery. For tea beverages, Xiaoming Tongxue ads can be pushed to student-tagged groups, while Dongfang Shu Ye can be pushed to white-collar workers. Key consumer groups for food, beverages, beauty, and daily chemical products are concentrated in the post-80s to post-00s, who are also the main internet users. Affected by the pandemic, brands reduced offline ad spending year-on-year, with a 12.6% decline in June. Although ad spending decreased, brand sales requirements did not lower. Brands need to choose appropriate communication channels and marketing tools to achieve high ROI. Platforms with strong data analysis capabilities can provide better guidance for ad placement, helping formulate creative materials and plans. Data source: CTR, July 2020 advertising data Recently, Tencent Kandian released the "Economic Internal Cycle Opens New Consumption Engine" User Value Report, revealing truths hidden behind the data and the potential of marketing tools to achieve the goal of integrating brand and performance. -02- How Can Brands Use Online Marketing Tools to "Customize" Plans? Online marketing tools differ from traditional media; they can "customize" brand marketing plans based on factors like brand positioning and development stage. Let's take Tencent Kandian as an example to see how marketing tools help brands achieve "customized promotion." Tencent Kandian relies on WeChat, QQ, and QQ Browser within the Tencent ecosystem, providing information flow content services in social, search, and recommendation scenarios. Brands like KFC, Chando, and fresh have advertised on Tencent Kandian. 1. Good marketing tools "speak" When selecting media for placement, brands must internally consider brand development stage, positioning, and target audience, and externally consider market environment and competitor performance. Traditional media rely mainly on surveys or experience. Online platforms can display audiences and competitive landscapes in data form. Brands use this data to inform placement decisions. Marketing tools can reveal consumer profiles, filter media, and facilitate precise reach. In Tencent Kandian, you can directly see gender and age distribution for a category. For example, beauty is female-dominated, so cosmetics and daily chemical brands can increase female audience delivery to enhance high-potential audience reach. Data source: Tencent Kandian user data Marketing tools can further refine selection conditions. For instance, in Tencent Kandian's user base, category preference varies significantly, allowing further audience filtering by category preference. Convenience foods, tea, and afternoon tea products lean toward personal consumption, so brands in these categories can target young groups aged 18-35. Note: Dark bars are male data, light bars are female data. Data source: Tencent Kandian user shopping preference survey Marketing tools provide a basis for regional placement decisions. Brands need to plan markets of strategic, core, and general importance based on regional competitive environments and allocate resources strategically. Through marketing tools, brands can identify regions needing increased investment. For example, Three Squirrels ranks high in first, second, fourth, and fifth-tier cities, but in third-tier markets, it lags behind Bestore. Third-tier markets may be a potential market for Three Squirrels, offering new opportunities. Data source: Tencent Kandian user shopping preference survey Marketing tools provide analytical basis for differentiated placement. Taking food and beverages as an example, in first-tier cities, brand and price decision importance are similar, but as city tier decreases, price factors outweigh brand. Therefore, in first- and second-tier markets, brand information should be the main content, leveraging brand influence; in lower-tier markets, marketing should highlight price advantages, achieving differentiation across cities. Data source: Tencent Kandian user shopping preference survey Marketing tools can also show consumer interest trends. For instance, in Tencent Kandian data, domestic beauty and daily chemical brands have the lowest attention in first-tier cities and the highest in fourth-tier markets. Brands can adopt a "rural surround city" strategy, strengthening investment in lower-tier markets. Based on Tencent Kandian's long-term data accumulation on domestic internet users and in-depth data scanning of category markets, brand owners can see more clearly where the "market" is, brand strengths and weaknesses, helping customize marketing strategies and make communication targeted. 2. Good marketing tools make communication "moistening things silently" Luan Na, Vice President of Tencent and Head of Tencent Advertising Clients, mentioned: The best advertising product or business ecosystem must be deeply rooted in the most stable user habits. Only an ecosystem based on user habits can benefit all parties. Chando once ran information flow ads on Kandian Express and QQ Browser, using the creative "The Secret of Shen Teng's Looks Return" for promotion, significantly improving brand preference and behavior indicators. Over half of ad-exposed users could accurately identify the brand, and 70.5% of consumers interacted after viewing. From a content perspective, "Shen Teng's looks" has high recognition among users. Users are immersed when reading content in information flow scenarios, and the ad format helps brands amplify user acceptance of content and ads. The softer the ad, the less likely users are to skip. Information flow ads integrate brand information, creative, and content consumption scenarios, blurring the line between news and ads. They can quickly build brand awareness and accelerate conversion by precisely reaching target audiences, improving conversion effectiveness. Data source: Miaozhen System ad effectiveness evaluation online quantitative survey - Chando -03- Information Flow Marketing "Three Kingdoms Kill," Tencent Kandian Breaks Through Information flow platforms have become a new battlefield for brand marketing, bringing new traffic opportunities. In recent years, information flow traffic share has grown rapidly, with ad categories showing concentration. In Q3 2019, mobile information flow ad traffic share reached 15%. According to Miaozhen data monitoring: News is the largest traffic entry for information flow ads, accounting for about 66.7%. Reading news ranks third in netizens' mobile entertainment behavior, making it a high-frequency platform for consumers. Data source: Miaozhen System ad monitoring data News information flow distribution platforms are maturing, with major players Tencent, Baidu, and Toutiao forming a tripod. According to Questmobile data: Tencent Kandian currently has the highest DAU, followed by Baidu and Toutiao, showing clear industry head advantages. Tencent Kandian's product portfolio, services, and analytical tools can provide marketing combinations with broad audience coverage and diverse formats, helping enhance brand and sales power. Tencent Kandian is a cross-platform information flow product matrix. Compared to single platforms, Tencent Kandian's product matrix covers diverse content scenarios and reaches a wider consumer base. According to Tencent Kandian data from March 2020: Daily active users reached 240 million, covering youth, new professionals, affluent middle class, and stable mature groups. This provides ample flexibility for information promotion. Its social attributes allow sharing and dissemination, bringing extra communication effects and forming a channel for brand-consumer interaction. Statistics show Tencent Kandian's daily information consumption reaches 9.6 billion. These forms, integrating brand information, creative, and content consumption scenarios, deepen audience impression and memory while enhancing user behavior drivers, leading to post-linkage conversion. Tencent Kandian's strong data technology supports brands in finding target groups. By identifying demographic attributes, consumption behavior, and interests, the platform accumulates users into different tagged groups. During use, the platform can use automatic recommendation and intelligent expansion to help brands find more "right people." Summary: To do a good job, one must first sharpen tools. No brand wants to waste half its advertising budget. Good marketing tools help brands identify user groups, find appropriate communication methods, and achieve precise reach. Information flow ads, with immersive design integrated into scenarios, help reduce consumer defensiveness. The data genes inherent in marketing tools help brands identify and filter users, achieving precise placement. As a leading information flow platform, Tencent Kandian provides timely and accurate decision-making basis for FMCG brands, helping them strategize and win in the industry recovery campaign. If a tip is adopted, a reward of 400-2000 yuan will be paid. Like this article? Click [Watching] and share with friends.**********************************