World Cup Ads Criticized, Ye Maozhong Discusses 22 Misconceptions of Chinese Brands

Click to read the original text for details. " Recently, the World Cup has been hot, but all the Chinese World Cup advertisements have flopped and drawn criticism. At least two of these ads came from the team of renowned marketer Ye Maozhong, leading many self-media to question Ye. Today, I republish Ye Maozhong's article '22 Misconceptions of Chinese Brands' in hopes of giving everyone a better understanding of brands and hearing some different voices. " A brand is a relationship established when a product earns a place through consumers' cognition, experience, trust, and emotion in their lives. Therefore, what sets off is the product, and what arrives at the destination is the brand. Consumers connect with you because of the product, and they fall in love with your product because of the brand. The brand resolves long-term consumer conflicts; the brand itself cannot create consumer conflicts that lead to choice barriers.

1. Misconception 1: Positioning equals brand What sets off is the product, what arrives is the brand. When we use product power to resolve consumer conflicts, thinking with competitors at the center, solving conflicts they haven't addressed, and establishing effective, differentiated positioning for the product is a necessary process for aggressive enterprises during brand growth. But dear readers, we must clarify: do we want a one-time relationship with consumers, or develop a lifelong one? After using positioning to quickly open the market, it satisfies consumers' 'needs'; how to make consumers continuously 'want' our products requires brand power to ignite consumer love. Positioning is a good medicine to differentiate product power, allowing consumers to quickly identify who you are, what you can do, and where you come from amidst competition. But as consumers upgrade, more consumption scenarios occur in 'wanting,' and more consumption reasons arise from consumer desires, not just actual needs. Especially when material needs are overloaded, to find new entry points for new products, we must start from consumer desires, find new entry points for conflicts, and resolve long-term consumer conflicts. We cannot rely solely on 'positioning'; we need to address the conflicts of the right brain's desires. Brands, especially those consumers love, not only have material appeals that address left-brain cognitive positioning but also need spiritual pursuits that satisfy right-brain desires. So, dear readers, you cannot simply equate brand with positioning. Positioning that resolves consumer conflicts is just the starting point of the brand journey; we need to think deeply about what the anchor point at the consumer's destination is. When the product sets off, we need to think with the consumer at the center, not just from the product perspective. No matter how good or unique your product is, if it's not needed, it's a poor product in our view. So positioning must first be set on the consumer's conflict points. Otherwise, like Kodak, even if positioned as the number one film, it couldn't change the trend of digital technology and consumers' preference for phone photography. Kodak's self-centered positioning made it miss the digital photography era, even though it invented the digital camera first. When consumer conflicts escalate, we cannot stay static. No matter how good the product, how fine the craftsmanship, or how unique the positioning, if it deviates from 'human nature,' it becomes corporate self-indulgence. So, excellent positioning first finds a place in consumer needs, then sets it, and never positions without a place. As Zuckerberg once said: 'You solve a problem, not start a company. This is a common problem in Silicon Valley; many people start companies before thinking about what problem to solve, which seems crazy to me.' So, we must first gain insight into where consumer conflicts lie, not just simply provide our products and positioning: Ye Maozhong Strategic Marketing served Wujiang Pickles twice. The first time was in 2004, when we observed that the main conflict for consumers buying pickles was 'consumers want pickles when they have no appetite VS the pickles on the market feel unhygienic and unhealthy.' We proposed the claim 'three cleans, three washes, three pickles, three presses' to create reassuring pickles, helping Wujiang become the leading brand in the pickle industry. The second time was in 2012, when the environment had changed. Consumer demand for pickles was constantly evolving, and the key conflict points were also changing. We observed that the main conflict was no longer about hygiene but 'consumers need more variety of pickled vegetables on the table, but there are few brands to choose from.' We broke the limitation of 'authentic pickles' positioning, helped Wujiang achieve category extension, and transformed small Wujiang into big Wujiang. To build a brand that consumers 'need' and 'want,' we must constantly observe how their conflicts change, treat them as living lovers, and not just offer a generic 'drink more water' when they feel uncomfortable, ignoring real human needs. Before positioning, we must return to consumers' left and right brains, understand their conflicts, and then establish effective positioning. So, we must clarify: what consumer conflict does your positioning solve? What reaches the consumer's inner destination always starts with the product and ends with the brand; great brands ultimately communicate with consumers a concept higher than the product and needs, derived from human emotions, dreams, and desires, and must resolve conflicts. For example, the six cups below: Greatness always pursues greater greatness, is higher than mediocrity and life; it can easily resolve life's conflicts, even making consumers temporarily forget life's trivialities, giving ordinary things greater meaning. Just like the liquid in these six cups, it not only solves the conflict of thirst but also uncovers conflicts consumers haven't thought of, even creating consumer conflicts, making them bestsellers for 1,500 years. In 'Consumer Society,' Baudrillard said: Consumerism means that the purpose of consumption is not to satisfy 'actual needs' but to continuously pursue manufactured and stimulated desires. And the brand is the path to desire. In today's health-conscious beverage market, Coca-Cola, as the originator of carbonated drinks, is naturally linked to unhealthiness. Therefore, no matter how we conceptualize, symbolize, or even artisticize Coca-Cola, we cannot resolve the conflict consumers feel the moment they pick up a Coke. Since that's the case, why not go back to the basics, start from the product, amplify the 'refreshing' advantage, stimulate consumers' longing for the 'opening' moment, fantasize about the effect of ice and carbon dioxide, the stimulation on the tongue and throat, and the desire for refreshment? So Coca-Cola's brand returns to 'desire' itself, creating the conflict of 'refreshment,' making you crave the feeling of refreshment from the depths of your throat, forgetting the conflict with health. This is what the brand brings with 'want'—'Taste the feeling'! Dear readers, finding positioning is important; it's the starting point of the brand. But the road is important; knowing the direction of the road is even more important! How we walk into the consumer's heart is the path the brand paves. We must fight our way through the conflicts of the left and right brains, pave the golden road of the brand from consumer desires, and build a beautiful brand world.

2. Misconception 2: A hit product equals a brand Another common phrase is: 'Should we also create a hit product?' From the results, it seems reasonable because a brand is a result, and a hit product is also a result, so a hit product can build a brand. But that's not the case; the logic of forming a hit product and a brand does not completely overlap. In the early days of Taobao, it claimed to support 'Taobao brands.' These brands used Taobao's preferential policies—massive traffic—to create hit products. Where are these Taobao brands today? And today's Taobao, can a hit product created through Juhuasuan, a window for rapid traffic, become a brand? Similarly, you can create hit products on Pinduoduo, but can they become brands? You can also create hit products on Ele.me, but can they become brands? The question is, can these hit products create brands worth billions? So, before wanting to create a hit product or a big single product, we must also clarify: what consumer conflict does my hit product solve? What consumer conflict does the 'hit point' of the hit product solve? It's not just about better design or lower prices. The big single product strategy was once a powerful tool in the market. Enterprises concentrated core resources to create a big single product, relying on product power to break through market competition, hoping to occupy a place in consumers' minds. Products solve short-term consumer conflicts; we need to continuously make consumers actively form a purchase loop, and the product is just one necessary condition. With the openness of the internet, product moats are weakening. Innovative product concepts often have only a three-month lead before being imitated or surpassed by giants or peers. To sustain competitiveness with a hit product strategy, innovation is the only way; continuous iteration and micro-innovation keep the product advantageous. Product-centric thinking has, to some extent, kidnapped P&G itself. It's hard to let go of past glory, but the residual light of these honors has obscured P&G's eyes from seeing the escalation of consumer conflicts. P&G's strong product power made it ignore the speed of consumer conflict escalation. After consumer upgrades, consumers wanted better shampoos that don't harm the scalp, but P&G couldn't meet these conflicts, opening market space for our clients. In 2014, Seeyoung, a shampoo brand under Huanya Group, found Ye Maozhong Strategic Marketing, and the two began cooperation. Facing a highly branded competitive shampoo market, simply segmenting the market and offering better shampoo, in Ye's view, was far from reversing Seeyoung's fate of following the market. Since we wanted to attack the industry leader, we had to create conflicts and always design product competitiveness around the core consumer conflict. Conflict: With consumption upgrades, consumers began to pay attention to shampoo ingredients, forming the perception that 'silicone blocks pores and causes hair loss.' Long-term accumulation created a huge conflict demand that international brands couldn't solve. Enemy-making marketing—making an enemy of 'silicone-containing' shampoos: Step one: Attack the enemy's weakness at the material level, proposing the material appeal of 'silicone-free.' Step two: The enemy-making strategy must be built on the opposite of the enemy's material appeal, but more importantly, it must solve conflicts not met by competitors. The concept of silicone-free, once introduced, even sparked special discussions on platforms like Elephant Guild: Real Questions, Real Answers: Is silicone-free shampoo really better? | Elephant Guild If silicone-free were just an innovative claim, could Seeyoung have achieved its current position as the NO.1 brand in high-end hair care? Only by standing against international brands, creating consumer conflicts, and providing solutions—'You've washed your hair all your life, but have you washed your scalp?'—transforming the benefit of silicone-free into a consumer conflict point, can it truly become a product and brand consumers need. So Seeyoung is not shampoo but scalp wash, silicone-free scalp care. Step three: Creativity is power; we created a powerful conflict: 'You've washed your hair, but you've never washed your scalp.' This claim not only solved consumer conflicts but also dealt a heavy blow to competitors, leaving them defenseless. In May 2018, Euromonitor, a world-renowned market research institution, released survey results on domestic hair care market share. Official data showed that by 2017 retail sales, Seeyoung accounted for 31% of domestic hair care market share. This data fact further confirms Seeyoung's leading position in the domestic hair care industry. What sets off is the product, what arrives is the brand. But today, if a product is only built as a hit product, traffic is like a trend; once the trend passes, without strengthening and amplifying the conflict the product solves, it will ultimately just be a better-selling product on e-commerce, never forming a brand, and without its own moat, low prices and copying are inevitable.

3. Misconception 3: If you can't be a big fish in a big pond, first be a big fish in a small pond 'I have two martial arts here: one is evil, quick to learn; the other is Shaolin, requiring hard practice to gain insight. Which do you want to learn?' This is a scene from a martial arts novel, strikingly similar to today's marketing situation. Small ponds are easy to enter but limited in capacity; big ponds have large capacity but face competitive pressure. Today's market share is not about category share but consumer demand share. In the past, we always wanted to be the number one or two in the industry. So when big mountains were continuously segmented, standing on a small hill and enjoying the view often gave enterprises the illusion of being the industry leader and having the world. But little did they know that marketing myopia often makes us lose battles like a mountain falling in this speed-dominated battlefield. Choosing a small pond means the enterprise gives up more platforms and opportunities to contact consumers. Especially in today's increasingly homogeneous products, if you are content with small pond thinking and use extreme craftsmanship to build your small world, unfortunately, consumers don't have that much time and opportunity to discover your pond. Their attention is attracted by those shining big rivers and oceans; they always hope to have more choices and better opportunities in the big world. When we think about the essence of marketing with consumers as the main body, we start from human needs, gain insight into product opportunities, and find that consumer desires never diminish; they always yearn for a better life, a more convenient life, a happier life. The right brain's conflicts won't stop, so product demand shouldn't shrink; facing consumer desires, how can we just be a fish in a small pond? In the past, we often used segmented marketing thinking to build brands. For example, in mature markets, because the leader holds an advantageous position, latecomer brands face great pressure in full competition. As weak brands, an effective measure is to gain insight into core consumer conflicts, actively carry out disruptive innovation, usually by segmenting the market and breaking through at the weak points of competitors' strengths. Like China's labor advantage in the early reform era, marketing costs in specific business environments are also an important factor. In the past, the infrastructure of the business environment was not complete, media communication costs were low, and corporate marketing expenses were not that high. The key was that communication costs were much lower than today, and overall competitive pressure was not that great, giving enterprises a favorable window of low-cost marketing. Another 'wise' reason is that China's overall market is too large; there's no need to fight to the death on one tree. Instead of entering a red ocean, it's better to open a blue ocean, avoiding unnecessary costs and risks from competition. In this case, we say if you can't be a big fish in a big pond, you might as well be a big fish in a small pond, but the premise is always that the market must be large enough. Times have changed. Today's market, with increasing segmentation across industries, offers smaller and smaller opportunities, and enterprises can earn less and less profit. In such a situation, if we overuse segmented positioning thinking, enterprises will suffer from marketing myopia. Not only can they not be the 'big fish in a small pond,' but once category demand is affected or replaced by new business logic like the internet, the outcome can only be 'small fish in a small pond.' The direct consequence of insufficient ceiling is weak supply. Constrained by segmented market share or weak category market space, enterprise profits are limited. In today's business environment, limited profits cannot support high communication costs. So, a small pond to a certain extent cannot support the strong subsequent development of an enterprise, because of a series of comprehensive reactions caused by the 'ceiling' being too low. Dear readers, if we want to build a great enterprise, do not limit yourself with today's product landscape, creating conflicts for enterprise development. Look at the future from the future, not just judge the enterprise's future with today's pattern. When we sorted out the corporate strategy for Mafengwo, we immediately saw that the brand name and product name were artificially creating conflicts for the enterprise. Mafengwo's original product name was 'Ziyouxing' (free travel)—this was the enterprise starting from self-centeredness, using 'travel notes and guides' as product competitiveness, naming the platform 'Ziyouxing.' But if we think with consumers at the center and look at the big travel market from a development perspective, the product name 'Ziyouxing' is undoubtedly a limitation for Mafengwo. We can use 'travel notes and guides' as our platform entry, but there's no need to limit ourselves to the small hill of free travel, giving up the possibility of scale. Mafengwo changed its name to 'Mafengwo,' which is easier for consumers' left brain to recognize, and the product name changed from 'Ziyouxing' to 'Travel Network,' which has broader horizons, preparing for brand expansion. As you can see, we're not saying it's bad to be a big fish in a small pond; it's just that the environment has changed, and latecomers must adapt to the new jungle rules. Philip Kotler said, 'All the successful cases are local.' Yes, all successful cases are environmental, so all rules should also be environmental. So, the thinking of being a big fish in a small pond 10 years ago needs to change in today's environment; latecomers should go to the big pond.

4. Misconception 4: Mainstream media is ineffective, TV ads are useless 'Young people don't watch TV anymore; should we still invest in TV ads?' Many entrepreneurs have this doubt, which is normal. With the rise of new media, traditional media is indeed declining on the surface. Print media is falling off a cliff, and news information markets have been quickly eroded by several digital news companies. Radio, with new technology, has been transformed into internet radio, carrying more business space, while another part has become a niche media in regional markets, broadcasting news and daily promotional ads. So, only TV remains. We still see some market moves by giants. Nike appointed its first digital marketing officer, but the Nike brand hopes to shift from cookie-cutter social marketing to brand digital construction itself. This means Nike wants to use digital facilities to consolidate its brand image, not just do digital communication. In 2017, P&G directly cut its digital advertising budget by $140 million. Another daily chemical giant, Unilever, also launched related reduction plans. These giants are cutting digital marketing budgets, sending a clear message: the effect of digital communication may not have met their expectations. When we choose media, we are also looking for strategic partners for the brand. Who the partner is will directly determine who consumers think we are. Digital media, as emerging media, is naturally closer to young consumers as platforms and channels, with obvious advantages. But the disadvantage is that being too close to consumers, without distance, loses authority and brand power. Information channels themselves imply attitudes. The biggest difference between TV and new media like the internet is that the former is authoritative media, while the latter, due to low entry barriers and writability, has less authority than TV. In China, in terms of influence indicators like coverage and reach, CCTV as the highest media is unquestionable. Moreover, due to unique administrative factors, CCTV is a media that reaches the whole country without regional barriers. CCTV's National Brand Plan is a new policy to cultivate and support national brands, aiming to find, discover, and cultivate national brands. The specific plan is divided into 'TOP Brands' and 'Industry Leaders,' with 46 companies in 2018, including 19 TOP brands. Most are well-known brands, such as Moutai, Huawei, Haier, Seeyoung, Wanda, Midea, JD.com, Evergrande, Country Garden, Yanghe, Yunnan Baiyao, Gree, etc. These brands not only do nationwide communication through CCTV media but, more importantly, can use the strong endorsement influence provided by CCTV to enhance their own influence. When the brand is weak, it especially needs quality media to drive the brand's overall influence. Ask yourself: if consumers see a brand advertising on CCTV and another advertising on a website, which one do they prefer? Or rather, which one do they trust more?

5. Misconception 5: Celebrity ads are ineffective 'Should we still hire celebrities?' When conditions allow, Ye Maozhong agrees with celebrity endorsements. Celebrities can solve problems that communication fees cannot. It's precisely because of this advocacy that people often complain that Ye only has three tricks: 'hire celebrities, shoot ads, go on CCTV.' Little do they know that these three tricks are actually the fastest way to help small and medium enterprises rise—borrowing momentum! When the brand is still weak, we should find our giants and stand on their shoulders so consumers can find us faster. Celebrities are the most borrowable resource. Give the brand a pair of wings A brand is registered in consumer cognition, becoming a familiar symbol. But when a brand is unknown and lacks good design, it looks like a typo, awkward. From unknown to well-known, how much communication cost must be paid to turn a new brand into the result the enterprise wants? A new brand bound to a celebrity can quickly influence consumer cognition, rapidly increase brand awareness, and even save advertising costs in the end. This time cost is hard to achieve with communication alone in the short term. Provide strong endorsement Trust barriers are usually the first barrier to transactions. A brand means trust, safety, and reliability, meaning consumers can constrain the brand. If consumers buy a problematic Moutai, they don't blame Moutai but the counterfeit dealer. Similarly, if consumers buy a problematic product, they think the brand is bad and will expose and complain online. But if consumers don't buy a branded product and there's a problem, they might not even have the chance to punish. Celebrities, as opinion leaders, on one hand provide strong trust endorsement, and on the other hand have a strong guiding effect on the public. Even trends often need celebrity amplification. Dear readers, you must be familiar with these 'little tricks' of Taobao merchants: just search 'XX same style' or even 'same style' on Taobao. The endorsement provided by celebrity spokespersons is also unquestionable in investment attraction. Brands endorsed by celebrities are obviously better in the eyes of distributors than those without. Dear readers, do you still think celebrity ads are ineffective? Of course, Ye still thinks hiring celebrities is within the enterprise's capabilities. A celebrity that fits the brand's core value and style is unquestionably beneficial for new brands.

6. Misconception 6: Brands fear controversy In 'The Art of War,' the chapter on military potential begins with a description of 'potential.' 'Rushing water can move stones—this is potential; a fierce bird can break bones—this is timing. So the good fighter has dangerous potential and short timing. Potential is like a drawn crossbow, timing like releasing the trigger. Amidst confusion and chaos, the battle cannot be disordered; in chaos, the formation cannot be defeated. Disorder comes from order, cowardice from courage, weakness from strength. Order and disorder are a matter of numbers; courage and cowardice are a matter of potential; strength and weakness are a matter of form.' Public opinion is potential. With positive information, there is naturally negative information. The famous German sociologist Beck said today is a risk society. Indeed, especially in advertising, this is almost a default common sense. A brand's slightest misstep with consumers can cause a crisis. Coincidentally, the development of social media has shortened the distance between brands and consumers to a 3mm screen. Because of this, most entrepreneurs today fear public opinion and worry about being 'discussed' by consumers. More precisely, they fear controversy. Know that the biggest difference between a brand and a product is that the product's key is to find the conflict of purchase and the opportunity for differentiation, while the brand is to find a concept compatible with the product, find the soul that touches consumers' heartstrings, and solve conflicts at the spiritual level. So, products are for exchange with consumers; brands are for communication with consumers. A brand is not a lofty symbol; its spirit must be communicated with consumers to be manifested. Only in the process of communication with consumers can the brand's core value and conveyed concepts be interpreted through the mouths of various third parties. A brand that fears controversy fears communicating with consumers, even if controversy is also communication. A brand without controversy has no future; even more, a brand should be good at creating controversy. In 2015, Shenzhou Special Car launched a series of print ads with the theme 'Resist illegal cars.' The posters contained 'Beat U' in images and text, directly pointing at competitor Uber as 'illegal special cars' and touting itself as 'safe.' Once released, it immediately sparked great controversy online. Supporters thought the ride-sharing industry indeed had frequent safety incidents, and enterprises should respond; opponents said brands can state their advantages, but so blatantly disparaging competitors was too low. We won't judge who is right or wrong, but through this clear-cut communication, when you call a car home late at night, especially if you're a woman, would you call the safe Shenzhou Special Car or an unknown car? Shenzhou Special Car created and solved consumer conflicts with 'safe special car,' and subsequently launched pregnant women's special cars, smog-free special cars, etc., strengthening the brand's safety gene, successfully breaking out of the market. Dear readers, all business models and competitive advantages built by a brand ultimately need consumers to pay. If we can't attract consumers, what's the use of being a 'nice guy'?

7. Misconception 7: Mistaking brand building for sales volume From product to brand, there's more than just sales volume. Unlike the view that 'making a hit product is making a brand,' the former pursues creating a big single product, breaking through from the opportunity of a big single product to find brand-building opportunities, lacking insight into core consumer conflicts and judgment of the market potential of the big single product. 'Making a brand is making sales' is mostly the consensus of corporate marketing executives, believing that as long as sales rise, the brand will naturally improve. So in many marketing plans, they often emphasize sales volume, making product sales the biggest goal. From an internal perspective, this may be reasonable because it stems from the need to meet internal KPIs. In fact, this is a very wrong view. Of course, I'm not denying the importance of sales; the only use of advertising is to sell goods, and sales are certainly important. But enterprises don't just sell for a day or a month; making a brand is about selling well in the long term. The product is the ticket for consumers to board the ship. Before this ticket, the enterprise has done a lot of homework: advertising persuasion, terminal promotions, etc. The act of boarding is sales, but brand building is more than that. Consumer conflicts change with the environment. As a solution to conflicts, products cannot stay at the physical level; they should shift from product-driven to consumer demand and desire-driven. Good sales prove that the product was advantageous in the market at that stage. We should gain insight into core consumer conflicts, build the brand in time, and continuously deepen and amplify conflicts. Nongfu Spring might be another excellent example. In the early days, Nongfu Spring unilaterally declared war on purified water and heavily advertised on CCTV, announcing the stop of producing purified water. By standing against purified water with mineral water, it completed the split, then used waist pricing strategy and the core brand value of 'mountain spring' to harvest the low-concentration water market. But even today, Nongfu Spring still tirelessly advocates water quality, just with different themes. Its purpose is to call for deeper thinking about the conflict of drinking healthy water, continuously amplifying consumer conflicts. This is Nongfu Spring's marketing activity to promote using Nongfu Spring water for cooking, with the theme 'China's Good Water - National Cuisine.' It even launched a marketing campaign at the G20 summit using Nongfu Spring water for state banquets and made it into an ad. Nongfu Spring's market actions aim to convey the concept of good water and trigger people's thinking about water. One-sided pursuit of sales reflects short-term behavior; brand is long-term behavior. It not only ignores the mining of consumer conflicts but also leads to ignoring the construction of other brand elements, such as brand awareness, reputation, loyalty, and brand associations, ultimately leading to brand collapse. How much water a wooden barrel can hold depends on its shortest plank. If we don't strengthen the short side—improving reputation, loyalty, and building brand associations—the water in the barrel will slowly dry up. Frequent promotions to expand sales are, in our view, a devaluation of the brand. Frequent promotions give a feeling of unreal prices. Consumers prefer to wait for promotions to buy your products, and some loyal consumers may leave because they feel 'cheated.' Advertising should achieve two goals: one is sales growth, the other is brand image enhancement and brand asset accumulation. If only one goal is met, it cannot be called successful advertising. Looking at successful brands, they not only focus on sales but also on building a permanent brand. Sometimes sales are secondary; brand building is the most important, of course, under the condition of no survival pressure. We need both immediate interests and long-term interests; both sales and brand accumulation. Only such brands can gallop freely and last long.

8. Misconception 8: Doing creativity is doing brand In Ye Maozhong Strategic Marketing's manifesto, there's a line: 'If you don't have good creativity, go die!' So, when receiving client work orders, we often hear: 'Our brand depends entirely on your creativity...' Facing clients' earnest and trusting eyes, we often feel a sacred mission. But can a brand really be established by one or two good ad creatives? What role should ad creativity play in brand development? Enterprises that fall into this misconception usually know little about the concept of brand and have a half-understanding of how to build a brand. They think: good ad creativity can build a brand. This falls into the trap of creativity for creativity's sake, which is very wrong and dangerous. 'Creativity for creativity's sake' deviates from consumer conflicts, not conforming to market background and the enterprise's actual situation When doing advertising, first do it right, then do it well. A good ad creative is based on a correct strategy. The first step is to gain insight into consumer conflicts, then judge and choose market opportunities, propose a marketing strategy suitable for the enterprise, and only under this big strategy can the creative concept be correct and effective. Any so-called 'good creativity' that deviates from strategy is mostly detached from consumer conflicts and needs. Even if such creativity is wild, it can at most win awards but cannot effectively contribute to the brand. The concept of 'creativity for creativity's sake' lacks a big-picture view centered on consumer conflicts, easily ignoring the coordination of other marketing links The idea that a good ad creative can conquer the world is wrong. Every 'plank' in brand marketing must be closely linked and coordinated to maximize the role of brand marketing. Relying only on the ad creative plank while ignoring other aspects will only get half the result with twice the effort. Moreover, the market is dynamic, with gains and losses. The brand must always have the eye to lock onto core consumer conflicts. The rise of food delivery has strongly impacted the traditional instant noodle meal replacement demand; What forced broadcast media to transform was not other accompanying new media but ride-hailing apps. The decline in sales of portable items at supermarket checkouts stems from changes in payment methods. Corporate strategy must keep up with changes in market environment and consumer conflicts. Under the premise of ensuring these marketing variables, then determine the persistence and horizontal expansion of creativity. The view that as long as you continuously launch good creatives, the brand image will become more complete and fuller, and the brand will be accepted by consumers forever, is wrong. Sales decline is not as simple as 'ads lack creativity' or 'creativity isn't fun.' At this point, you must think: does the product have competitiveness in the market? Has it lost its appeal to consumers? This is typical thinking that values creativity over product, ignoring product innovation and quality improvement. Consumers buy products as solutions to conflicts. As the physical actual benefit, the product must ensure continuous updates and iterations to maintain product power advantages. Similarly, a good ad creative is indeed a good manifestation when shooting an ad. Once it enters the offline terminal, the physical presentation of packaging, display of stacks, etc., must consider the specific 'micro-environment' and adapt to local conditions. Ad creativity, as an important part of strategy, can make your brand shine, but if you superstitiously believe in the power of ad creativity, your brand will become a child that cannot grow, lost in the market trend!

9. Misconception 9: Brand image changes frequently I think this is a stupid question. 'To know that you don't know is the highest knowledge.' Have you heard this? Probably everyone has. Where does it come from? Do you know? It comes from 'The Analects.' You probably know 'The Analects.' The question is, do you know other famous sayings from 'The Analects'? Some readers might feel a bit confused. Why does this happen? In the end, isn't it because 'The Analects' is not repeated (read) enough? Brand image is, to some extent, an impression formed by repeated memory. It belongs to the enterprise, is controlled by the enterprise, and is also rooted in the consumer's brain. Brand image refers to how consumers view your brand; it reflects the current feeling the brand gives. Adhering to a unified brand image and maintaining repetition, repetition, repetition is the only way for some international brands to succeed. Marlboro's cowboy style has remained unchanged for decades. Domestic coconut juice brand Yeguo Coconut Juice has had the same packaging for over ten years, with the only change being the 'XX years authentic' on the packaging. Dabao, from 1995 to now, except for the modernization of the packaging box, its bottle style is almost unified. Much experience tells us that if the brand image changes frequently, it will ultimately fail to build a strong brand. Adhering to the unity of brand image means directing all people and actions in the same direction, making every brand behavior contribute to brand asset accumulation, and making every bit of communication action become the accumulation and sedimentation of brand assets. Horizontal unity: Within a period, a series of brand behaviors in product, packaging, communication, and promotion revolve around the same theme. For example, Marlboro's cowboy, in the wind, by the campfire, at rest... In short, all cowboys. Vertical unity: 1 year, 2 years... 10 years, 20 years... Adhere to the same theme and style, such as Absolut Vodka, which insists on unified expression in different countries and eras.

10. Misconception 10: Brands cannot extend Consumer minds fear chaos; a brand should correspond to one symbol and do one thing. So, brand extension is a trap; brands cannot extend. Some also think, 'When one door closes, another opens.' Diversification strategy is considered by some enterprises as a good way to prevent risks and increase benefits. In the process of diversification, as long as the opportunity is good, the enterprise can extend. Both views are biased, typical of the conflict between self-centered perspective and consumer perspective. Before thinking about whether a brand can extend, let's consider how brands develop. Drucker said enterprises are organs of society. Since the brand, as a social organ, is itself a new organ extended from existing social relations and specific environments, why can't it extend new businesses? Emphasizing that it cannot extend is too self-centered, ignoring consumer conflicts and disdain for market environment changes. Ask yourself, do consumers today consider what species Tencent is? No, consumers use QQ, can also use WeChat, play Tencent games, use various Tencent software, and don't feel any incongruity. Just as consumers won't shout 'Wujiang, you've changed' because Wujiang launched new pickled vegetables like seaweed shreds and dried radish. Brands also cannot extend arbitrarily. Businesses that don't conform to the brand's core value will inevitably damage the original brand cognition. Excessive extension will directly disperse consumers' original cognitive foundation of the brand. For example, America's Parker Pen has always been known for high price and quality, a symbol of upper-class status. Later, it produced low-end pens at only $3 each. Not only did it fail to enter the low-end pen market, but it also lost part of the high-end pen market. Its noble brand image was damaged. Of course, there are enterprises that don't extend. When financial journalist Wu Xiaobo asked glass king Cao Dewang, 'Fuyao is such a heavy-asset company, how much of your profit comes from financial investments?' Cao Dewang replied, 'Not a penny.' Wu Xiaobo asked again, 'Wall glass has been booming these years. Does Fuyao have any intention to enter?' Cao Dewang replied, 'I've thought about it, but I don't know much about that industry's glass, so I'd better not do it.' Not every entrepreneur can maintain focus like Cao Dewang, and it's even rarer for every entrepreneur to find an industry with sustained demand and high barriers. So under what circumstances can a brand extend, and when can it not? From a consumer-centered perspective, what are the main consumer conflicts? Are there related unresolved consumer conflicts? Can the business line solve secondary subordinate conflicts? From a self-centered perspective, brand extension must consider the correlation between the brand's core value and style and the business line, industry and product characteristics, the market environment, and the purpose of developing new products. From a competitor-centered perspective, it's necessary to consider the competitive situation and the overall market capacity of the industry. In the consumer's mind, a brand is a type of demand. As long as it doesn't deviate from the brand's core concept and value, product diversification and brand platformization actually provide a larger platform for contact with consumers. So Xiaomi's counterattack comes not only from Xiaomi phones but also from the establishment of Xiaomi Home. When Lei Jun observed that around 2015, the growth of e-commerce users began to slow down. Perceptually, e-commerce seemed to have dominated consumer purchasing behavior, but looking at the data calmly, you'll find that e-commerce sales only account for 10% of China's total consumer retail sales, with some categories higher, around 20%. Lei Jun consulting with aunties in fourth-tier cities No matter how perfect Xiaomi phones are, they can't break through the sales bottleneck online. So Lei Jun decided to use offline methods to solve the conflicts of 80% of people. Changing their shopping habits is difficult; we can only cater to them and slowly erode. Use internet efficiency to return offline—create Xiaomi Home and promise the same price online and offline. If Xiaomi Home only sells Xiaomi phones, and the Xiaomi brand only focuses on the single product line of phones, it actually violates the game rule of retail = traffic x conversion rate x average order value x repurchase rate. Phones are low-frequency consumer products, bought once every year or two. If Xiaomi only sells phones, it's undoubtedly giving up the opportunity to contact traffic. Instead, using big data to select products, letting channels realize more repurchase possibilities, and making Xiaomi a channel for diversified products is the way to unleash Xiaomi Home's strong potential. Some single products don't sell well online, but because of offline experience, their sales increase. So, Xiaomi Home doesn't just sell Xiaomi phones; it sells Xiaomi's core competitiveness of 'cost-effectiveness.' Consumers entering Xiaomi Home can buy anything with confidence and without worry. Product extension increases consumer entry rate and purchase frequency, which in turn boosts Xiaomi phone sales. Complementary, as long as extension doesn't violate Xiaomi's core competitiveness of 'cost-effectiveness,' it can win more consumer support. A successful brand has its unique core value and style. Under the premise that the core value can accommodate the extended product, and the extended product solves consumer conflicts, then boldly extend the brand. The reverse means: brand extension should try not to conflict with the brand's original core value and style. So Wanglaoji selling herbal tea can also sell throat lozenges, can also sell anti-inflammatory medicine, and can even start herbal tea shops selling white fungus and lotus seed soup. As long as it doesn't violate the health attribute, consumers will be happy to accept it, even 'black herbal tea.'

11. Misconception 11: Avoiding competition Do you know the World Cup process? The World Cup has a qualifying round design: first select 32 teams, divide them into 8 groups for group stage advancement, 16 teams enter the knockout stage, with 4 rounds, finally deciding the champion. This hierarchical competition model creates the World Cup's heat. If the World Cup were just one match, would its influence be as great? Each World Cup match not only clarifies who the direct opponent is but also shows the conditions for winning the championship and which core competencies need strengthening. Each World Cup match gathers the audience's passion, gradually increasing everyone's enthusiasm for football, forming greater potential, exploding on the final day, igniting worldwide attention. Teams participating in World Cup competition are like enterprises leveling up and fighting monsters, advancing layer by layer, comparing competitiveness, sorting from weak to strong, from small to large. This not only improves the team's combat effectiveness but also attracts loyal fans through competition with opponents. Reasonable and fair competition is a method to help teams grow faster and find their core supporters—enterprise competition is like the World Cup game. If you fear competition and strong enemies, you'll never get the Hercules Cup, and you won't attract more consumer attention and following on a bigger, more shining stage. In Ye Maozhong Strategic Marketing's view, competition is the best way to judge whether core competitiveness matches consumer needs; competition is also the best way to truly achieve differentiation in consumer minds; fair competition is also the optimal way to expand category markets and even scale. Enterprises and products all try to find blue ocean markets, but except for a few resource-monopoly industries with so-called blue ocean time zones, most enterprises and products face homogeneous competition. The business mindset of trying to find a small segmented hill to protect oneself often leads to marketing myopia. Because of fear of competition, just guarding a small hill with few visitors misses not only the possibility of scale but also consumers' interest in you, especially young consumers' attention. Ye Maozhong Strategic Marketing suggests: 1. Face competition 2. Actively embrace competition 3. Create conflicts and directly compete with the leader 1. Face competition—give up the speculative psychology of always finding a blue ocean market. Even facing a red ocean, you must fight your own path. Don't build product differences from a self-centered perspective; instead, from the consumer side, observe whether their conflicts have escalated, whether they need new solutions, and propose new, vibrant solutions, not just better ones. Like the old but still apt metaphor: customers want a hole in the wall; enterprises always think of providing a better electric drill. The problem is consumers may not need a more advanced drill; a cheap wall sticker might solve their conflict of needing a hole for some purpose. 2. Actively embrace competition—an active mindset gives enterprises and entrepreneurs eyes of insight, constantly observing consumers to discover new conflicts and market opportunities. All competition sources are on the consumer side. What we need to do is be half a step faster than competitors, provide conflict-solving solutions, and prepare for defense battles earlier. In Ye's view, the way to solve competition is continuous self-iteration and innovation. Being half a step faster than opponents is the rule of leading competition. 3. Create conflicts—even if you're a small soldier, you need the courage to challenge a general. Creating conflicts and provoking the strongest leader is what market latecomers should do. But remember, creating conflicts means creating consumer conflicts. The true meaning of making enemies is to push the leader into an awkward position of 'unable to solve new consumer conflicts,' and we should appear with new solutions. We must have the greatest courage to provoke the leader, not the second or third, nor your neighbor competitor. Just like when Zhen Gongfu was established, our competitive landscape was enlarged to Chinese fast food vs. Western fast food, challenging the 'unhealthy' disadvantage of Western fast food leader KFC. This way, consumers immediately put Zhen Gongfu on the same competitive platform as KFC, and Zhen Gongfu can truly become a brand that solves new consumer conflicts. Everyone complains about excessive competition. Many enterprises, to avoid competition, often enter remote markets. But is a market without competitors a good market? Not necessarily. No opponents often means no market. Too many hunters in the forest cause competition, but going to a place with no prey is even more meaningless. Without enough competing products, the market lacks enough 'potential' to attract consumers. A field without competitors is not necessarily suitable; the burden of market education is not shared. If one enterprise's energy can heat the market to 30-50 degrees, then several enterprises together can boil the pot. Take shared bikes as an example. The model of renting bikes has existed for a long time, like city public bicycles. Early city public bicycles were also rented, but due to a lack of commercial value chain design, they existed only as infrastructure for green travel, requiring physical cards to use. Such a once-silent industry flew to the forefront with the rise of the sharing economy. Behind this, capital was indeed heavily laying out and promoting, but for consumers, it was because a group of shared bike brands, through price wars and even free activities, pushed this species to the forefront. Competitors are in a competitive relationship, but it's precisely because of mutual 'friction' that the category's fire was ignited, letting consumers see that such a category can solve their conflicts. Competitors are enemies, but also comrades in arms. In the weak stage of category development or during self-growth, avoid vicious competition, make the category bigger, and grow together. The KMT and CPC cooperated for the first time when facing the difficult environment of the Great Revolution; The second cooperation was also under the external environment of resisting Japan. Even when Pepsi had problems, it was Coca-Cola, the competitor, that helped it through. If this already-declining category is affected by the competitor's decline, the category leader will inevitably be affected too. Enterprises own themselves, but brands belong to consumers. Brands must observe the core consumer conflict and provide the best solution based on it, but brands cannot solve all conflicts. Consumers like excitement and watching competitors fight because it's a good time for them to benefit as 'fishermen.' If a brand wants to grow, the category must rise. Masters don't reject competition; masters lead competition. Only in a competitive market is it easier to attract consumer attention. Please treat your competitors well.

12. Misconception 12: Chasing hot topics equals building a brand Whenever a blockbuster movie is released, holidays are celebrated, or hot social topics appear, many marketing departments receive orders to chase hot topics. Chasing hot topics is not necessarily bad; after all, hot topics can gather a lot of user attention in a short time, and with luck, you might even hit a viral event. Especially in an era where user attention is increasingly precious, spreading on the trend is one of the common operational communication methods for brands on social media. Following hot topics is actually a means of borrowing momentum. By leveraging social hot topics, you expose your brand and product on the topics people care about most while also getting closer to consumers. Of course, we can't miss any hot topic we can borrow, but Ye wants to remind: The purpose of borrowing momentum is to strengthen your core competitiveness and show consumers your ability to solve conflicts. The purpose of borrowing momentum is to resonate and play with consumers, but it must revolve around core conflicts and have a bottom line. Responses to hot topics cannot be cookie-cutter; they must have attitude and personality, and not create conflicts for brand recognition. Conversely, if you just chase hot topics and do some communication, it doesn't help the brand's core value and conflict-solving ability. What's the point for the brand? Furthermore, we hope you think about what purpose your brand's hot topic chasing aims to achieve after gaining attention. Some say communication on new media doesn't need to be tied to selling goods; it's enough to improve brand reputation and awareness, giving the brand an exposure opportunity. An awkward situation is that we often hear consumers say: 'This brand is good, but I haven't heard of their products.' How much impact such communication has on consumers is unknown. A certain situation is that separating the brand from the product cannot evoke consumption desire through brand exposure, ultimately getting a bunch of seemingly beautiful but useless data. Is this really what we want? When the iPhone 7 was launched, many brands chased this super hot topic. As Apple's competitor, Huawei bravely joined the ranks. Unlike other brands' teasing tone, Huawei's approach was very smart: 'Welcome Apple to the dual-camera family,' instantly showing Huawei's leading position in dual-camera technology. A simple brand exposure not only increased reputation but also showed off product power. When we planned Zhen Gongfu, we also helped it chase a hot topic. At that time, Zhen Gongfu's claim 'Nutrition is still better steamed' directly hit the pain point of Western fast food, making them very uncomfortable. So on August 8, 2005, KFC announced: Refuse to be traditional Western fast food, fully build new fast food. This change was incredible at the time, after all, Western fast food had dominated the Chinese market for years and never proactively considered local market needs. Once released, it sparked market discussion. Zhen Gongfu naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. At the end of August, Zhen Gongfu put up eye-catching ads at bus shelters: 'Zhen Gongfu, the pioneer of nutritious fast food, warmly welcomes KFC to join the ranks of nutritious fast food.' Subsequently, on the exterior posters and table calendars of all its restaurants nationwide, it printed: 'Zhen Gongfu welcomes traditional Western fast food to change for China, pay attention to nutrition,' and listed the 'seven sins' of traditional Western fast food and the seven advantages of Zhen Gongfu's 'steaming.' This caused extreme dissatisfaction among all Western fast food chains, including KFC. KFC even angrily complained to the Industry and Commerce Bureau, demanding Zhen Gongfu remove the ads. In fact, most hot topic chasing behaviors are problematic. For example, when Apple launched the China Red version, many brands followed suit to create hot topics. The problem is they don't have red products themselves. After a bunch of brands hard-strapped the red concept, the actual communication effect on themselves was limited. Instead, it heated up the communication effect for Apple's 'red version' new product, actually helping Apple strengthen the communication agenda of the China Red new product launch. Dear readers, if we can't use hot topic traffic to cleverly show our ability to solve conflicts, we might as well stop and think: why borrow momentum? How can I borrow momentum appropriately? Otherwise, blindly following trends is actually spending money and time to divert traffic for others, making wedding dresses for others. The purpose of chasing hot topics is to expose the brand, which is not wrong. But if the combination of hot topic information and the product, and the association with the consumer conflict the brand wants to solve, is not achieved, such communication is meaningless. Even some vulgar hot topics not only lower the brand image but also cause consumer disgust. So, don't oppose the brand and product. Using creativity to win an exposure opportunity for our conflict-solving solution is the true purpose of chasing hot topics.

13. Misconception 13: Brand rejuvenation Young people have become the mainstream of consumers, with stronger purchasing power and even the ability to drive sales. Brand rejuvenation strategy has become a required course for every brand. 'Baijia' (a brand) has transformed from a mother-type brand to the most popular brand among young people on Tmall through various youthful social marketing. The craftsmanship spirit of time-honored brands, facing today's young people, has to lower its posture and play with them. But dear readers, the youth strategy should not be simply defined as a young people's strategy. Narrowly finding the entry point to solve 'youth' conflicts by population and age seems inadequate in today's thousand-person, thousand-face consumer profiles.

14. Youth is a spirit, not an age. Young people are anti-labeling: young people are not equal to street, hip-hop, or 2D. They are not rigid market segments. In their hearts, Jobs may be an eternally young leader; catering to young people is worse than provoking them. Li Ning once made such a typical mistake: abandoning the original purchasing power group and embracing the mainstream of post-90s young people. Not only did it not bring improvement, but it also framed itself in crisis, neither attracting young customers nor retaining original customers.

15. What young people need is not catering but resonance. A sentence 'I understand you' is worth a thousand words. So we see more and more internet language becoming a symbol of group distinction; only people in the same group can understand each other's entry-level language. But what brands need to do is not use quick internet language to get closer to them. Brands need their own core value and need to tell young people openly: 'I have products and brands here that solve your conflicts, and I am more trustworthy.' To transmit this trust, we need to respect young people's aesthetics, not hold a high posture. Between 'catering' and 'being together,' enterprises need to build an appropriate bridge for the brand, neither flattering nor conservative. Let's see how Liushen Florida Water escaped its midlife crisis. In 1990, the first bottle of 'Liushen' Florida Water was launched, with clear product claims of 'removing prickly heat and relieving itching, refreshing the mind,' quickly winning over 70% of the Florida water market share. At that time in Shanghai, girls even brought a bottle of 'Liushen' as a dowry when getting married. Now, this mosquito repellent artifact of the grandmother and mother generation, to connect with young people, re-examined the market. Beyond the basic function of mosquito repellent, it developed new products for the restless and hot young people, such as refreshing, anti-itch, anti-perspirant, refreshing, and cool products. Among them, the cool and refreshing Florida Water became an internet hit, solving the conflict between old and young. The transformation of Liushen tells us that the key to brand aging is not packaging or marketing methods, but that the conflict we originally solved has aged and lost vitality. What brands need to do is re-observe what new conflicts consumers show in today's living environment. By providing new conflict solutions, we can smoothly transition into a young brand.

16. Misconception 14: The greater the channel momentum, the greater the brand advantage Traditional marketing often equates channel advantages with brand advantages, believing that if the channel occupies the high ground, the brand forms a top-down competitiveness. This was indeed effective in the era of information asymmetry: brand owners liked to open flagship stores in core business districts of first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, creating brand illusions and psychological hints for distributors, enhancing their confidence in joining. First-tier cities often become the must-fight sample market for new brands, even if the enterprise pays a greater price. Meituan observed an obvious piece of information during the group-buying war: all funded group-buying websites were laying out in first-tier cities. Indeed, first-tier cities have large market capacity. In such high-quality soil, group-buying enterprises grow extremely fast. Facing achievements, enterprises easily fall into the 'growth trap,' unwilling or even reluctant to leave easily. But the entry barrier for group-buying websites is extremely low; a few people, a server, and a few thousand yuan can join, making price wars inevitable. Meituan clearly realized that in the first-tier market, beautiful data cannot measure whether the brand is doing well; on the contrary, it's because the market demand is large enough. With this judgment, Meituan avoided the 'premature decisive battle' in the first-tier market and instead quickly laid out in third- and fourth-tier cities, running desperately, first forming scale advantages. In the first-tier market, Meituan even contracted its front, maintaining a certain market share, even just surviving, because it's like 'hiding from a typhoon in a harbor.' Once the 'storm' passes, Meituan, having formed scale momentum in peripheral markets, can hunt the biggest cake. When enterprise resources are limited, instead of struggling in first-tier cities, it's better to reclaim wasteland. In the first-tier market, other brands can solve consumer conflicts, but from a competitive perspective, it's actually a war of attrition. Once the brand cannot continuously receive 'blood transfusions' in sustained competition, it's unhealthy. Similarly, OPPO and VIVO also surrounded the city from the countryside. They rapidly scaled in third- and fourth-tier cities, accumulated strength, and only then achieved today's glory of the OV giants. With strong financial strength, they hired celebrities and continuously communicated to reach a pattern of sitting with international brands. Even in remote areas, consumers say 'OPPO is a big brand,' and even Apple has been shaken. First-tier markets are national markets and indeed high-momentum markets. Once a brand occupies them, it has a certain radiation effect, spreading the brand. But for high-competition categories or growing brands, it's not necessarily good. If a brand blindly competes in first-tier markets, it suffers from 'first-tier market fever.' It's precisely because of this awareness that Xiaomi has now begun to lay out offline physical channels.

17. Misconception 15: Channel victory is brand victory If you are a female reader, you should know a shoe brand called Belle. There's even a saying: 'If you meet ten girls on the road, at least one is wearing Belle shoes.' Due to its strong channel strength, this king of women's shoes once occupied half of China's women's shoe market. The rise of e-commerce channels directly brought this shoe king an unprecedented turning point. According to Southern People Weekly, since Belle's listing in 2007, it expanded offline stores crazily. From 2010 to 2012, Belle's net store additions were 1,500 to 2,000 per year, with peak store numbers exceeding 20,000. By 2015, Belle International began closing offline stores in large numbers, closing 366 stores, changing from 'opening a new store every two days' to 'closing a store every two days.' In 2016, it closed an average of about three stores per day. By the end of 2016, Belle International had 13,145 shoe stores, a decrease of more than 7,000 from the peak of 20,738 stores. Belle Group CEO Sheng Baijiao said that in the face of huge market changes, Belle did not predict and find a path for transformation. In fact, Belle didn't do anything wrong; it just continued on its existing channel. The problem was that the wind of the times had changed. The 'Korean wave' fashion spread with new media, and the rise of e-commerce launched a fundamental, revolutionary impact on the retail environment. Belle's old channel model was disconnected from new consumer behavior. In fact, Belle had self-rescue measures. It invested 2 billion yuan to develop e-commerce Yougou. On one hand, there was huge operational pressure; more critically, Belle's 'root' was still offline. Online and offline were almost two different customer groups, with different prices and products. Under new consumption drivers like fashion and cost-effectiveness, Belle's past advantages quickly turned into huge disadvantages. Belle's decline is a microcosm of the era when enterprises believed in channel supremacy. Because a brand is a result, and sales are the presentation of the final result. But Belle didn't understand that its victory was a channel victory, not a brand victory. Ye Maozhong Strategic Marketing encountered a similar situation when serving Proya. Proya was established in November 2003, with sales of 40 million yuan in 2004, 80% growth in 2005, 30% growth in 2006, and less than 20% growth in the first half of 2007. The enterprise hit a bottleneck. Through research, we found that the power of the channel was exhausted. Because Proya was a trade-industry-technology integrated enterprise transformed from distributors, its channel capability was very strong. At the same time, because it directly contacted consumers, it grasped demand accurately. So in the first year, it achieved the miracle of 40 million yuan in annual sales by developing specialty stores and daily chemical channels. Next, the enterprise continued to work hard, launching new brands and various ground activities, continuously exerting force in channels, achieving the good result of doubling in the second year. But at this point, the power of the channel was exhausted. Among many strong cosmetics categories, we found that consumers' conflict about hydration was not well solved. We used the concept of deep ocean water to lock the hydration market and created a brand-new product space for Proya with the new 'morning and evening water' concept. Similarly, let's talk about the Taobao brand case. The Taobao brands strongly supported by Taobao were products of the channel dividend period. Dividends are advantageous factors, but if you stop at the dividend, it's just a channel victory. Dividends are like tides; when they recede, you can see who's swimming naked. Philip Kotler said, 'Where the product is transacted is never important; what's important is the transaction.' Today is at a node of channel integration; the future must be an omni-channel era. Brands must not overly rely on channels. Today, channels are consumption scenarios. Brands must always observe changes in consumer conflicts in new consumption scenarios, solve the problem of how to close deals, and set channels according to the situation. Ye is not denying the view of channel supremacy. Strong enterprises are necessarily strong in channels, but strong enterprises cannot be overly constrained by channels. Channels are just variables in the sales environment. Where to sell is important, but what's more important is how consumer conflicts change and whether the enterprise's ability to solve consumer conflicts keeps pace with the times.

18. Misconception 16: Brands can extend infinitely We discussed brand extension earlier. Under appropriate circumstances, brands can reasonably extend. But the business to extend must not harm the brand's core value, nor endanger the brand's main business, nor conflict with existing business lines. The standard for judging whether a brand can extend is whether it conflicts with the core of solving consumer conflicts. If you just want to use the brand's premium ability to meet more market demand, that's absolutely not allowed. For example, if a product clearly solves business conflicts, don't easily extend to personal conflict solutions. For instance, DingTalk made an enemy of WeChat and became an office solution; DingTalk cannot continue to extend to personal online communication, otherwise, it's slapping itself. Apple, as a high-end phone brand, also launched the low-end iPhone 5C to attract some trendy consumers who are price-sensitive. Although the 5C achieved some success in the US market, Apple still discontinued it. Apple CEO Tim Cook said directly that the iPhone 5C was never as popular as Apple hoped. In fact, launching a product like the iPhone 5C harms Apple's core value. The longer it's on the market, the greater the harm to Apple. The reason is simple: it conflicts with Apple's high-end product line to some extent, weakening Apple's core value as a high-end brand. Similarly, Quanjude's launch of takeout roast duck also harms the Quanjude brand. Since roast duck itself has grades and levels, and takeout roast duck and vacuum-packed roast duck clearly don't match the taste of dining in, even if takeout and bagged roast duck can make up for the frequency of store consumption, it will damage Quanjude's reputation. Imagine if old customers notice a clear taste difference when eating takeout roast duck, what would they think? Brands can reasonably extend, just like a person: as the environment changes, as a child, then a student, then a new professional, then a husband, then a father... But a brand is also a general on a journey. The core conflict the brand solves is the main road the general must take. A general on a journey cannot chase after little rabbits.

19. Misconception 17: Overly exaggerating brand advantages We often encourage small brands to learn to borrow momentum, to use the strong's momentum to help us enter consumers' eyes. But brands must borrow momentum sincerely, sincerely control our position in consumers' minds. Borrowing momentum to reach the sky in one step is often self-centered self-indulgence. Every brand has a path from unfamiliar to familiar, from familiar to fresh in the consumer's brain map. At every intersection, we must think deeply about what to say and do for ourselves. We need to solve conflicts that resonate with consumers, not self-construction in one step. To become a long-term partner with consumers, we must be sincere, sincerely plan 'making friends,' and present the role and ability at each stage. This also reserves reasonable positions and space for product iteration and innovation. Brands especially cannot over-promise; blindly raising consumer psychological expectations is actually wrong. Over-promising and over-exaggerating your ability to solve conflicts is a mistake brands must never make. Because once consumers get the product—the fruit on the brand tree—if it doesn't meet their expectations, the consequence of being 'tricked' will make consumers take warning and distance themselves from the brand. Many internet-famous restaurants rise quickly and disappear quickly because of over-promising and over-packaging. In fact, they sell freshness amplified by opinion leaders, which invisibly creates high expectations. But the contradiction is precisely in the catering category, which means facing real experiences like taste and user experience. Once the product level can't support the freshness and high premium per customer, and doesn't match consumer psychological expectations, the result is predictable. In this regard, Haidilao is our role model. In such a highly homogeneous hot pot category, what we can feel is Haidilao's service, a highly humanized service, a service that can play a clear differentiating role. There's even a joke: a guest at Haidilao wanted to pack leftover watermelon after a meal, but the server said no. However, when he checked out, the server brought a whole uncut watermelon and said, 'You wanted to pack it; we prepared a whole watermelon for you to take away. Cut watermelon isn't hygienic to take back.' That moment touched the customer deeply. This is using service to create super high emotion. This approach is common in today's PR communication. Before product launches, PR news often makes a series of product announcements, usually overestimating product parameters and possible prices. When the final new product is released with a cost-effective solution higher than user expectations, it creates 'overvalue' excitement among consumers. This artificial surprise is used too much but works repeatedly, precisely using consumer psychological expectations. Brands should tell consumers from the consumer's perspective the brand's ability to solve conflicts, not just exaggerate. Ask yourself: do consumers need solutions to conflicts, or do they want to hear the brand bragging alone? Advertising emphasizes the logic of publicity, but also considers the cognitive logic of customer psychology. Brands must not over-create expectations; leave the good fruit for consumers to discover themselves. Their emotion is the source of loyal customers.

20. Misconception 18: Lack of core brand identification elements If you go out on the street and ask consumers, 'Do you know what BMW is?' How many people would know?—Of course, you might argue that 90% know it's the logo of BMW. Maybe not 90% know BMW, but I estimate 99% know BMW. What if the question is changed to: 'Do you know what IBM is?' How many would know? Many enterprises lack core brand identification information, which is very dangerous. There's a simple way to test this: ask someone what they think of when a certain brand is mentioned. If there's nothing, it means either the core identification information is not novel and unique enough, or the repetition is insufficient, and the memory is blurred. Usage experience (experience, taste, efficacy...), product, brand name, packaging, slogan, logo, design, spokesperson... any of these could shape the core brand identification information. For example, when mentioning Nike, you might think of that globally recognized symbol; When mentioning Intel processors, you might think of that 'Intel Inside' jingle; When mentioning FamilyMart convenience stores, you might think of the music rhythm on the automatic door—'Welcome to FamilyMart, FamilyMart is your home'; etc. The setting of core brand information is also a problem. Every industry has its underlying logic, and every brand must shape a unique core brand identification information, which can be a slogan or packaging. For small and medium enterprises, packaging is the brand's biggest self-media. During the growth period, all packaging should have a unified design style, tying the brand into a rope, forming a sharp weapon, and branding the brand into consumers' minds. Chairman Mao said, 'The Red Army cannot be without base areas.' Enterprises need their own market base areas. Brand core identification is like their own mental base area. No matter which end, brands cannot be without base areas.

21. Misconception 19: Consumers are experts, 'they'll know once they try' We often hear: 'Our product is fine; consumers will know once they taste it.' And a similar one: 'Our product is fine; consumers will know once they use it.' There are many more like this... This is a typical misconception. The brand belongs to consumers, but please don't treat consumers as experts. In Ye's view, consumers are an extremely shrewd group; they are proficient in various product evaluation techniques and may compare prices at five stores. But at the same time, consumers are an extremely forgetful group; they are not experts. If you don't loudly tell them what your product is, what conflict it solves, and how it differs from other products, they actually don't understand the product. They are not experts. Of course, brands can indeed have confidence in their products, but not blind confidence. Strategically, we can despise the enemy, but in specific competitive details, that is, tactically, we must value the enemy. When Ye Maozhong Strategic Marketing served Mafengwo, it fully utilized Mafengwo's core advantage of travel notes and guides and proposed a seemingly 'nonsensical' slogan: Before traveling, why go to Mafengwo first? Before traveling, why go to Mafengwo first? Before traveling, why go to Mafengwo first? Before traveling, you must go to Mafengwo first. Such advertising creates a psychological conflict for consumers: why go to Mafengwo before traveling? At this point, the line 'Before traveling, you must go to Mafengwo first' comes into play. Since that's the case, let's take a look at Mafengwo; after all, travel requires preparation. Once tourists go up and see, it's all guides and travel tips, naturally understanding the meaning of 'Before traveling, you must go to Mafengwo first.' This starts from consumer conflict—preparation before travel, but lacking a suitable platform to understand information—and combines the product's ability to solve conflicts, showing consumers Mafengwo's core value. Consumers are not experts; they never carefully observe products. Brands must clearly convey their ability to solve conflicts, even removing secondary information from brand communication. It's for this reason that we suggested changing 'Mafengwo' (with the insect radical) to 'Mafengwo' (with the horse radical) to improve brand recognition and reduce communication costs, not creating any cognitive barriers for consumers.

22. Misconception 20: Small enterprises don't need to build brands 'Building a brand is for later; the urgent task is to accumulate strength and increase sales!' When talking with many domestic small business owners, we often hear such assertions. Indeed, small and medium enterprises with little capital, little experience, lack of management, and old machines still have survival as a big problem. How can they talk about brands?! But wait! If your goal is not just to be a small enterprise, not just to gain short-term small profits, but to aspire to become a big enterprise in the future, with stable sales and profits, standing like international big brands, then you must face the brand issue now, and you cannot ignore brand building with the excuse of enterprise survival! Small enterprises completely ignoring brand building may bring the following harms to enterprise growth: Product quality declines. Most small enterprises have a sales-oriented business concept. Often during peak sales periods, to achieve certain sales targets, they pass off inferior goods as quality ones, lowering quality inspection standards, inevitably leading to unstable product quality. Short-term behavior damages brand image. Some small enterprises, to activate funds, sell inventory at low prices. This short-term behavior greatly damages the original brand image. Affects product extension. Many small enterprises, when extending product lines, often lack the concept of brand integration. As long as there's money to be made, they blindly start projects, causing great waste of brand resources. Neglecting brand protection. This is a common phenomenon in Chinese enterprises, more common in small enterprises. By the time the product gains popularity, they realize the brand has been registered by others, and it's too late to regret! Affects employee morale. The enterprise's short-sightedness, 'shoot one shot, change one cannon,' without long-term brand building goals, makes employees feel no sense of belonging and mission, affecting morale. Chinese small enterprises struggling at the bottom of the market all suddenly realize when they encounter brand bottlenecks on the road of enterprise development: So small enterprises also need to build brands! So, what correct brand concept should small enterprises establish? What role should the brand play in enterprise development? Ensure product quality is consistent, making your product a symbol of genuine quality. No matter the circumstances, this should be done. Consumers cannot be deceived, just like your relatives and friends; only with sincere treatment can the friendship last. This is also one of the most important assets of a brand. Many Chinese time-honored enterprises have maintained stable, good product quality, allowing them to stand firm after years of trials. Must create brand added value. As the market gradually develops and matures, product homogeneity becomes more serious. Product functions, packaging, appearance, etc., can all be imitated, but only the brand is unique; it helps consumers quickly make their own judgments among numerous products! For example, Coca-Cola's brand assets cannot be imitated by other brands: the passionate red, rich brand associations, a century of consistent quality assurance, and deep-rooted high awareness all prove that Coca-Cola sells brand added value, not the product! Small enterprises should pay attention to the creation and accumulation of brand added value during product development. Of course, this is indeed a complex long-term project. Small enterprises should formulate long-term brand strategic goals from the early stages of development. Note: it's brand goals, not marketing goals. You should realize that creating a brand has 'bright prospects but a tortuous path.' But only with high aspirations can you seize market opportunities and make small enterprises take off again and again. At least for those who want to pick stars every day, they won't end up with mud on their hands. Any big enterprise actually starts as a small enterprise. But it's certain that with a long-term brand management concept, this distance will be shortened. The rapid growth of Japanese enterprises is the best evidence. SONY was just a small enterprise producing electronic transistors for others in the 1950s, but Akio Morita thought, 'We should have our own brand!' So SONY came into being. From naming, SONY had a world vision. Even in the hardest times, they insisted on correct brand operation, continuously innovating, injecting new connotation and vitality into the brand, changing the world's impression of 'Japanese goods are low-end and poor quality,' ultimately creating a world-class brand. There's an apt metaphor for small enterprise development: like a long journey, what sets off is the product, and what arrives at the destination is a complete brand. The key lies in the route you choose and the way you arrive!

23. Misconception 21: Promotions don't need to consider brand issues Promotions have almost become a weapon for enterprises to challenge the market. New product launches, activating funds, clearing inventory, attacking competitors, etc., all use promotions to solve short-term problems. Some enterprises even list promotions as long-term product promotion activities in their product development plans. Indeed, promotions have played an irreplaceable role in special periods for some enterprises. But many enterprises, when doing promotions, think that as long as the product is sold, the goal is achieved, and the promotion is effective, often ignoring the brand issues that should be considered during promotions. 'Promotions are short-term behavior, while brands are long-term construction. Why consider brand issues during promotions?'

24. Promotions without considering the brand will affect the establishment of brand image and personality. As a brand behavior, promotions directly reflect consumer attitudes toward the brand and affect the brand's favorability in consumers' hearts. Promotions often lead to trial purchases, but if not considered from the brand perspective, the brand's long-term interests will inevitably be damaged.

25. Promotions without considering the brand will make product price recovery difficult. Promotions should try to avoid simple discounting and price reduction. Once consumers have the impression that your brand frequently discounts or reduces prices, or they expect discounts and reductions, then price recovery will become a difficult burden for the brand!

26. Promotions without considering the brand will fail to get the maximum return from promotional activities. A certain carbonated drink conducted a free trial activity for a new product in Nanjing. As a result, more than half of the attendees were elderly! A carbonated drink targeting teenagers deviated from the target group during the promotion, making the activity half-effective and wasting most of the promotion budget. So, how should brand issues be considered during promotions, and what role does the brand play in promotions? 1. Promotions should be conducted under the unified brand strategy. Promotions are not an isolated behavior; they are part of brand marketing and must be conducted under a unified brand strategy to avoid damaging original brand assets. Before doing a promotional activity, consider: Consistency with brand core value; Meeting the needs of the target consumer group; Using the brand's accumulated awareness to boost the activity, such as using the brand's specific image carrier. 2. Promotions should be well-planned, considering all aspects to avoid accidents. Holding a successful promotional activity is a severe test for brand managers. We think the following issues should be noted: Avoid single price reduction; Consider social impact; For new brand promotions, strive to achieve trial; Achieve brand switching; Brand alliance: big brands and small brands can gain more benefits and save promotion costs; small brands and big brands can rely on the big brand's influence to enhance their own brand image. 3. Promotions should enhance brand awareness. Generally, new product launches involve promotions, not only to achieve trial purchases but also to contribute to brand awareness. For example, Cadina's new product launch with free samples, combined with the launch promotion activities, contributed significantly to brand awareness. 4. Promotions should enhance brand reputation. An excellent promotional activity is also an effective investment in brand reputation: Conducive to conveying the brand's value proposition; Triggering resonance among target consumers. The purpose of promotions is to stimulate consumption and induce purchase; this statement is not wrong. But if this is the only starting point and purpose of promotional activities, it will fall into a metaphysical dead end and harm brand building.

27. Misconception 22: Weak brand protection We have helped clarify many brand misconceptions earlier, hoping that enterprises can avoid detours in the process of brand building and complete brand construction at the minimum cost. All this is based on the premise that the brand is reasonably protected by law. The losses caused by neglecting brand protection may be no less than any of the misconceptions mentioned earlier. Brand protection mainly refers to: trademark registration and whether there are behaviors that harm the brand during brand management. The former is hard protection, the latter is soft protection. Due to lack of brand protection awareness, in the past many years, some enterprises have paid high tuition and suffered painful lessons. 'Red Plum' is a cigarette brand of Yunnan Yuxi Cigarette Factory. Because it was not registered in time, it was preemptively registered by Chengdu Cigarette Factory, and finally, they had to redeem their own brand at a high price of 1.8 million yuan. Heytea's predecessor, 'Royal Tea,' also failed to protect itself well, prompting the founder to make a painful decision to create his own big IP! After the pastry shop 'Bao Master' became popular, similar stores like 'Jindian Bao Master,' 'Jing Bao Master,' and 'Zhizun Bao Master' also blossomed all over Beijing. Consumers couldn't tell the difference. The founder of 'Bao Master' had to come out repeatedly to refute rumors. Even the hot queue phenomenon in Wuhan was for counterfeit 'Bao Master.' After anti-counterfeiting became the main work of the enterprise, it undoubtedly increased operating costs. The full flow of information on the internet has allowed many startups to gain a lot of exposure before establishing their brands. Some speculators have seized this opportunity to register trademarks in large numbers. As long as they hit one, they can extort a large sum of money. Therefore, startups might as well register trademarks before registering the company to avoid such situations. Furthermore, developing cross-border businesses or even a business covering multiple fields is very normal for internet companies. So enterprises should determine the scope of trademark application based on the functions involved in the product or service. For example, Tencent's WeChat not only registered communication trademarks but also social networking trademarks. Some enterprises, because they didn't register in advance according to the direction of new business development, are easily attacked by malicious registrants. For example, the 'Xiyou' trademark case mentioned earlier: in 2014, a company holding the registered trademark 'Xiyou' sent a lawyer's letter to the female health app Xiyou, demanding it stop using 'Xiyou' and remove the product. Xiyou, which had not registered trademarks in Class 9 and Class 41, immediately removed the product and soon announced on its official website that the brand was upgraded to 'Meiyou' and pushed a new version of the app. This is a typical case of suffering a dumb loss. There are many similar trademark disputes. The key is to learn lessons, improve self-protection awareness, and conduct comprehensive registration of the brand vertically and horizontally. In this regard, 'Wahaha' has done well, with over 70 anti-counterfeiting registrations, ensuring foolproof brand protection. If the brand is not familiar with these matters, it might as well entrust a professional trademark registration company to handle related matters, rather than regretting when something happens.

Source: Virus Sir In late August, the '2018 China Digital Innovation Conference (2018FDIC)' with the theme 'Finding New Growth Engines' will be held in Shanghai, hosted by the China FMCG Industry Association and organized by New Distribution. The conference will last 3 days, focusing on two major themes: marketing and supply chain, with six parallel forums: brand, channel, communication, B2B, same-city logistics, and innovative retail. We will invite industry experts, CEOs, and brand executives to deeply interpret the trends and drivers of digital transformation in the FMCG industry. We will invite over 500 FMCG enterprise executives, 200+ B2B industry CEOs, and 1000+ FMCG industry leaders to gather together to discuss how the FMCG industry can use digital tools to achieve its own rapid growth again in the context of the digital era. This conference will build a bridge for brand owners, distributors, retail enterprises, and marketing agencies, helping FMCG manufacturers obtain the latest information, understand best application practices, and master more transformation practical skills. The following is the list of invited enterprises Conference Time August 22-24, 2018 Conference Venue Shanghai Baohua Marriott Hotel Conference Content August 22: Full-day check-in Afternoon 14:00-17:30 Distributor Same-city Logistics Parallel Forum Evening 18:30-21:00 New Distribution Night Gala Dinner August 23: Theme: Marketing Digital Innovation Morning 9:00-12:00 Marketing Digital Innovation Main Forum Afternoon 14:00-17:30 Brand, Channel, Communication Parallel Forums August 24: Theme: FMCG Supply Chain Digital Upgrade All day: FMCG Supply Chain Conference Registration Method Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click 'Read Original' to register. Early bird tickets are limited to 200, with 50% discount, while supplies last! Registration Consultation Ticket inquiries: Media cooperation inquiries: New Distribution Previous Conference Highlights Click the links below to review the first, second, and third FMCG + Internet Conferences: -END-