Source: New Retail Business Review (ID: xinlingshou1001) "Marketing makes you fast, but products make you last." Cover image from the movie "Saving Mr. Wu" "Dear friends, my hair has been getting oily lately. I'm desperately looking for a shampoo that can save me?" On a Friday evening, Xiao Ai, born in the 1980s, couldn't help posting a plea on her Moments. Within an hour, she received over a dozen replies recommending various brands. Only one reply caught her attention—Bee & Flower is pretty good. In Xiao Ai's memory, Bee & Flower belongs to childhood. The yellow plastic bottle was conditioner, and the red plastic bottle was shampoo. Usually on Sunday afternoons, it was a sacred time for many mothers to wash their children's hair. First, apply some red shampoo, rinse it off, then apply some yellow conditioner, and rinse again. Even a snot-nosed kid could become "the coolest kid on the street" after washing. But when Rejoice and Head & Shoulders entered China, people discovered that shampoo and conditioner could be combined into one. Laziness is human nature. When one wash and one rinse could make hair more flowing, who would bother with extra steps? Coupled with the advertising campaigns and channel expansion of foreign brands, Bee & Flower gradually retreated to lower-tier markets. Bee & Flower is not the only brand that has faded from the spotlight. White Rabbit, Pechoin, Hero, and Arctic Ocean all once enjoyed great popularity in their respective industries. However, as the competitive environment changed, consumer generations shifted, and new brands kept rising, the mainstream consumer discourse changed hands several times. In recent years, old brands have also tried to keep up with young people, and with the help of technology, new communication channels have provided them with more opportunities. From the long images popular on WeChat a few years ago, to the trendy cross-industry collaborations later, and now to live streaming and short videos, what interesting attempts have old brands made over the years? What predetermined outcomes are hidden behind these attempts? Can consumers' wild spending save those aging brands?

Various Ways Old Brands Have Tried to Go Viral 2017 was the year of long images on WeChat. A one-shot long image depicting a Republic of China-era street scene, with characters and stories, quickly became popular that year. The protagonist of the long image was a woman in a green cheongsam named A Ling. After applying lipstick by her window, she gracefully descended the stairs and walked onto the streets of Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s. The scene of A Ling greeting her neighbors brought readers back to any ordinary day decades ago. The street was bustling. Following A Ling's steps, the story unfolded slowly. Rickshaws, bicycles, tailor shops, and photo studios—these cross-century scenes of everyday life magically appeared in the same long scroll. Details deliberately included scenes and symbols containing Shanghai and era elements, such as Sincere Department Store and Paramount, classic venues from movies. But readers still couldn't see the purpose of the long image. It wasn't until A Ling exchanged secret signals with various people during her journey that the mystery began to unravel, prompting readers to continue scrolling to confirm whether the ending matched their expectations. Finally, A Ling pulled out a pistol and shot the woman in black on the street. Then a slogan appeared: Pechoin, started in 1931, accompanying you against time. This long image, specially planned for Pechoin by the "Local Climate Investigation Group," went viral instantly, with over 100,000 reads within a few hours. After being reposted by "4A Advertising Gate," it triggered a second wave of dissemination, making it seem outdated not to have seen it. This phenomenal spread is rare even among new brands, let alone old ones. At the end of the long image, Pechoin launched its new product—the Mother's Day special edition "Moonlight Box"; beyond the image, Pechoin presented a fresh brand image to consumers. Compared to Pechoin, White Rabbit is 12 years younger. Its predecessor was the ABC Candy Factory, which underwent several reforms to become the White Rabbit brand. When President Nixon visited China, White Rabbit became famous overseas as a national gift. At the same time, it became the national milk candy. Later, White Rabbit faced almost the same competitive situation as Pechoin, and "seeking change" naturally became a necessary choice for survival. So, White Rabbit decided to take the path of cross-industry collaborations. Starting in 2015, wherever White Rabbit appeared, there was bound to be a new collaboration. National Museum of China, Pacific Coffee, Scent Library, Maxam, Happy Lemon, Ledin, Want Want, GODIVA, and so on—this rabbit appeals to all ages. The most notable was a lip balm launched in collaboration with Maxam in 2018. The cylindrical lip balm was very similar in shape to White Rabbit candy, evoking a sense of familiarity among consumers. What would it be like to apply milk candy-flavored lip balm? Young consumers were willing to pay for curiosity. In 2019, on the 60th anniversary of the White Rabbit brand, White Rabbit and the tea brand "Happy Lemon" opened a pop-up milk tea shop in Shanghai. Buying a cup of White Rabbit milk tea required a three-hour queue, and the price for proxy purchases was absurdly inflated to 120 yuan per cup. Hero, the same age as Pechoin, had a more turbulent fate. On the path of cross-industry collaborations, Hero once partnered with young brands like RIO, but after generating a wave of buzz, the products didn't follow through, and ultimately Hero fell short.

What Was Done Right and What Was Missed Over the Years Success seems accidental, but there is some inevitability in the accident. Pechoin's successful transformation can be attributed to three major factors: First, from the external environment, it was the golden age of WeChat. In November 2017, the "2017 WeChat Data Report" released at the Tencent Global Partner Conference showed that daily logged-in users (September) reached 902 million, a 17% increase year-over-year; the number of monthly active official accounts was 3.5 million, with monthly active followers reaching 797 million. Second, from the WeChat ecosystem, WeChat's previous communication was mainly text-based, so when content primarily in the form of images, such as H5 and long images, appeared, it easily created a "new, novel, and special" user experience for readers. Moreover, compared to text, images have higher visual impact and are easier to read in the context of fragmented time. Finally, from Pechoin itself, old brands choosing nostalgia as the starting point for planning is very consistent with the brand's original tone. The long image also designed the protagonist, theme, and storyline, giving it richer connotations and spreadability, rather than simply marketing for the sake of marketing. The entire plan was full of calculated moves. In terms of details, the color tone of the protagonist A Ling's clothing hinted at the main color of Pechoin's new product. It can be said that whether in marketing strategy or product innovation, Pechoin fought a well-prepared battle for revival. Today, Pechoin's brand color has successfully shifted from the initial blue and white to green. In its Tmall flagship store, the product announced at the end of the long image has become the store's signature item, with cumulative sales exceeding 1.23 million sets. White Rabbit's situation is more delicate. With the help of the new trend of national trend, it has done many cross-industry collaborations, and the brand has sufficient recognition and topic appeal. Shen Qinfeng, marketing manager of Shanghai Guanshengyuan Food Co., Ltd., once told New Retail Business Review that the ultimate goal of brand collaborations is to form an emotional connection network centered on White Rabbit. But in fact, today's White Rabbit is somewhat awkward because it lacks a clear product positioning. This is partly due to the downturn of the entire milk candy industry, especially as young people increasingly focus on health, making sweet milk candy inevitably neglected; On the other hand, modern consumers are the most fickle generation. If there is only marketing without product implementation, White Rabbit will eventually become a tool rabbit or IP rabbit. Currently, emerging candy companies represented by Jinduoduo have found new opportunities with functional gummies such as sugar-free candies, vitamin C gummies, and probiotic gummies under its Beoubo brand, as well as black technology like Amas music lollipops. Actually, in terms of functionality, White Rabbit is the originator. After all, in the minds of consumers back then, White Rabbit was a god-like existence where "seven White Rabbit candies equal a glass of milk."

How Long Can Nostalgia Be Consumed? A few days ago, the former national hair care brand Bee & Flower made it to the hot search because consumers suspected it was going bankrupt due to its plain packaging and low prices. Consumers who heard the news, out of sympathy for Bee & Flower, once again staged a scene of wild spending, rushing into Bee & Flower's live streaming room and placing 20,000 orders in one day, almost equal to Bee & Flower's usual monthly sales. This scene is reminiscent of something. In August this year, the local sportswear brand Erke, which donated 50 million yuan in supplies during the Henan disaster, also received wild support from netizens because it was "poor." It can be seen that compared to new brands, old brands have an advantage in having a natural emotional connection with consumers of a certain generation. Therefore, if old brands leverage this advantage for marketing planning, the success rate is extremely high. Currently, the rise of national trend also provides an excellent foundation for the growth of local brands. Many old brands are beginning to try to communicate with young people through new products and new methods, attempting to regain the market. The "resurrection" of Arctic Ocean is a typical example. This soda brand, born in the 1930s, once ceased production due to marginalization after being acquired by a foreign company. It wasn't until 2011, after being absent from the consumer market for 15 years, that the Arctic Ocean brand returned to public view. The first new product after Arctic Ocean's comeback sold 3,000 boxes on the day of its launch, and that year, sales exceeded 70 million yuan, achieving profitability. It should be said that relying on consumers' nostalgia for the brand, Arctic Ocean's comeback was successful. However, Arctic Ocean also clearly knows that for long-term brand development, relying solely on marketing or nostalgia is far from enough. Changing packaging, adjusting formulas, seeking collaborations—Arctic Ocean has been making various attempts to cater to the new generation of consumers. In terms of channels, Arctic Ocean has played with everything from convenience stores to Hema, from offline to online; it hasn't missed out on the standard for new brands—live streaming and short videos like Douyin. Back to Bee & Flower mentioned at the beginning of the article, before this viral moment, it had never stopped demanding quality from its products. Although the prices are low, it has consistently invested in R&D and production, and its products have an excellent reputation in lower-tier markets. Currently, Bee & Flower's new smart factory has 12 production lines, 7 of which are fully automated, with an annual production capacity of over 100,000 tons and an annual output value of around 1.2 billion yuan. It is also equipped with industry-leading intelligent production equipment and product R&D and testing equipment. Clearly, for old brands in any industry, relying on nostalgia can make them move fast in the short term, but only by solidly doing product innovation can they seize the opportunities brought by marketing breakthroughs and go further. Are you "watching" me?