Click to read the original text for details. As an industry insider who has long followed Laobaigan's development, I was upset when I saw Laobaigan's new positioning: "Drinking Laobaigan won't give you a headache". To be honest, I was upset. I believe everyone saw my comments and the number of likes, which were a concentrated venting of my emotions about this positioning. A week later, when I saw Laobaigan's promotional images on Moments, I was upset again. I suppressed my anger for a long time, and I wrote this article to vent, hoping to offer suggestions for Laobaigan's future development. 1 "No headache" is indeed the most direct expression of consumers' quality requirements for a product, but it is merely a basic quality requirement for good liquor, and also the lowest level of experiential requirement. In plain terms, it means the product is qualified. For a product priced at 1688 yuan, this is not only a correct but useless statement, but also suspicious, like "protesting too much." If it truly doesn't cause a headache, is it necessary to keep emphasizing it for such an expensive liquor? Consumer psychology is often rebellious. "No headache" is a physiological experience, closely related to individual physical differences and the amount consumed. This is why many liquor brands only use physiological experiences like "no headache" and "no dry mouth" as word-of-mouth, and are reluctant to promote them widely. From Laobaigan's "manly taste" to "no headache," not only does it fail to help upgrade the Laobaigan brand, but it also lowers Laobaigan's impression in consumers' minds. 2 The so-called pricing is positioning. A price of 1688 yuan already surpasses Moutai. The appeal of high-end liquor brands focuses on the spiritual level, not the physical level. In the liquor industry, consumers often recognize a brand starting from a single product. From the current perspective, the Laobaigan brand supporting the 1688 yuan price point can only be an image product or a cultivation product. It is difficult to achieve significant sales in a short time, and it can only rely on creating momentum to drive sales of series products. If Laobaigan sells at 1688 yuan and repeatedly says it doesn't cause a headache, what will consumers of other Laobaigan series products think? It may cause consumers to perceive that only the expensive one doesn't cause a headache, while others may not. Therefore, the positioning of "no headache" is clearly a bad move. 3 This new positioning starts from the core idea of positioning theory: the intention of "drinking Laobaigan won't give you a headache" is to expand the Laobaigan category. Consumers do indeed consider Laobaigan a high-proof liquor that doesn't cause a headache, and its trust evidence includes the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition First-Class Gold Medal for liquor, cleverly emphasizing that the award was not for sauce-flavor liquor but for Laobaigan. From the perspective of positioning theory, it seems flawless and perfect. However, it does not conform to the common sense of the industry. Liquor is a social interaction product, and the essence of social interaction products is to reflect the identity of social value. A high-end product comparable to Feitian Moutai, yet emphasizing the brand value point of "no headache," makes consumers feel embarrassed. This reminds me of the positioning of Evergrande Spring a few years ago, which always claimed to be high-end water but regarded Nongfu Spring as a competitor. No matter how good the positioning, it should not be mechanically applied; it requires deep research into industry attributes, starting from consumer cognition, to find a truly suitable strategic positioning for the brand. 4 Why has positioning theory rarely been successful in the liquor industry? Because the liquor industry is a traditional industry, and traditional industries are complex ecosystems that require multi-dimensional systematic interpretation. From the consumer perspective, it is a cultural phenomenon. It is also a manifestation of success. No wonder many people say that drinking is about culture. The culture here refers to a combination of quality cognition, consumer emotion, and social value. It is both material consumption and spiritual identification. From the marketing perspective, it is a promotion system. The liquor industry seems to have high gross margins, but in reality, it has a long promotion chain. In the process of cognitive education, it requires time for accumulation and efficient use of resources. Why is there a saying that a brand can be "drunk down" in a year? Because promotion needs to adapt to local conditions and adjust with the times. From the industry perspective, the liquor industry is one that respects seniority. In recent years, it has basically been dominated by famous brands, because consumers have a cognitive radius for brands, requiring long-term continuous cultivation and nurturing. From the production perspective, there are basic conditions such as production areas, brewing techniques, and environment, as well as the spirit of craftsmanship for continuous technological innovation. The liquor industry is a systematic cognitive process, while positioning theory is a simple cognition—a word that occupies a place in the consumer's mind. Even if positioning succeeds in the liquor industry, it is only temporary and needs to be upgraded with the times. Xuanjiu has clearly been blindly superstitious about positioning in recent years without timely upgrading, which has become a bottleneck for further development. 5 Positioning theory is a theory of the old era. Today, we have fully entered the mobile internet era. Positioning theory has always emphasized the mental principle that cognition is greater than fact, which is being broken as consumers' cognitive abilities improve in the new era. Positioning theory was effective before the internet era because information was relatively closed and the market was relatively static. In the internet era, information is highly developed and the market is completely dynamic. Consumer minds are changing at any time under the influence of various factors. In this rapidly changing new era, using outdated theories from the old era to pray for changing a company's fate is undoubtedly a gamble. After venting, I hope this article does not bring negative effects to Laobaigan, and I wish Laobaigan better and better development. -END-