Introduction How did the classic catchphrase "You Hei Wo Ke" (Another black on Kobe) come about? A right enemy is more important than a friend! A comprehensive analysis of the "create enemies" rule in marketing! If you still don't know, you're really behind the times! 2016 was a sad year for basketball fans. Of the three people who have had the greatest impact on basketball since the 21st century, two retired: Kobe retired, and then Duncan retired. One was passionate as fire, the other calm as water. They were rivals in their prime, both achieving great success. If we only consider basketball achievements and honors, Duncan was slightly ahead, but when it comes to influence, "My Kobe" absolutely leaves "Duncan the Dull" in the dust.
Today, Old Miao will again "You Hei Wo Ke" with you readers, analyzing from a brand-building perspective how Kobe gained influence far exceeding his on-court honors. If you're not interested in basketball or Kobe, you can skip ahead or read the last third. Those familiar with the NBA know that from 1996 to 2002, Kobe's experience was a traditional, positive, inspirational script: Kobe entered the NBA as a high school player, selected 13th in the 96 Golden Generation. From bench warmer to starter, from ordinary player to All-Star, then as the team's second leader, he won three championships, also winning the Slam Dunk Contest along the way. Kobe smoothly climbed to his first peak on the court. At that time, Kobe was a sunny youth with an afro, flashy playing style, tenacious spirit, a big heart, and moves resembling Jordan's. Back then, Kobe was accepted by almost all fans and deeply loved by many; these might be the earliest Kobe fans. If the script had continued like that, it wouldn't be Kobe. So the plot began to reverse from 2003. First, there were rumors of discord between Shaq and Kobe, fighting over shot attempts. The All-Star Game didn't give Jordan the AMVP. After failing to win championships in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the conflict with Shaq became public, and eventually Shaq was traded. The Lakers truly became Kobe's team, but unfortunately, they missed the playoffs in 2005. At that time, Kobe was really vilified: selfish, cancer, greedy, iron king, teammate destroyer, unfit to be the leader—all kinds of labels were thrown at him. Especially in our collectivist-oriented China, bashing Kobe became a trend: "How dare you compete with the boss for shots!" "You don't respect Jordan, ruining his All-Star Game!" "You even forced the boss out—rebellious!" "Without the boss, you're nothing, you selfish attention-seeker, destined for failure." If the story stopped here, it would fit traditional logic: a young talent ruins his future due to selfishness and greed. The world would have one more case for elders to educate young people who only look down at their own paths. At this time, many fans turned from neutral to negative, or even from fans to haters. But many Kobe fans persisted, defending him point by point and showing his positive side: "The sun at 4 a.m. in Los Angeles," "Two thousand shots a day," "The boss did his best; his teammates are CBA-level." However, in the 05-06 season, the plot reversed for the second time. After this season, Kobe was no longer the former "Little Flying Warrior" but the "Black Mamba" out of the hole. Gone was his bright smile, replaced by chest-thumping roars after difficult shots. The awe-inspiring scoring performances began: 81 points in a single game, 62 points in three quarters, countless game-winners, countless long-range shots over defenders, countless drives into the paint for dunks or contorted layups. Kobe became the player in NBA history most adept at making shots under unreasonable circumstances. He would give his defenders a sense of despair: "I defended that so well, I cut off his shooting lane, I almost covered his eyes, his body was completely off balance, and he still made it." Everyone knew Kobe would score at least 40 points that night, but no one could do anything about it. After two scoring titles, with the arrival of Pau Gasol, the Lakers made three Finals appearances and won two championships. Kobe reached the true peak of his career. Even more spectacular than Kobe's on-court performance were the off-court battles between "Kobe fans" and "Kobe haters." Kobe's strong performances brought him more fans, and the fan base grew. Even Zhang Weiping, who advocated "rational basketball," became a Kobe fan, known in the community as "Weiping Bryant." Kobe fans finally could stand up to the haters, and the largest-scale war of words in sports history began. They argued over team records and personal stats, then moved to advanced stats like true shooting percentage and efficiency rating, argued offense and defense, one-on-one matchups, with or without the ball, face-up and back-to-the-basket, technical skills, talent, even hand size; then compared him to contemporary stars like T-Mac, LeBron, Shaq, and Wade; then to historical greats like Jordan, West, and Magic; then debated his leadership ability, whether his teammates helped him more, whether he was "riding coattails"; then attacked his character, questioning the alleged rape, malicious elbows, and verbal abuse of teammates. It was like the battle between Sun Ce and Taishi Ci in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," fighting from horseback to the ground, breaking weapons and fighting barehanded, finally grappling and biting, rolling together. Kobe haters and fans were really dedicated. Often on Hupu, you'd see lengthy essays of thousands of words, compiling data from dozens, hundreds, or even hundreds of games to argue whether Kobe was great or overrated. Forums often had all-night debates. In universities, Kobe fans and haters would argue during games, sometimes even coming to blows. There were many ways to hate or love: direct hate (love), high-end hate (love), fake hate but real love, and fake love but real hate, various undercover hate (love). On Hupu, there were often posts that seemed unrelated to Kobe, but at the end, the topic would shift to bashing Kobe, or a topic unrelated to Kobe would be dragged to Kobe by haters. This is the legendary "You Hei Wo Ke" (Another black on Kobe). Kobe became the most controversial figure in sports history: "As many people love him, as many hate him." Every move he made was a topic, and any behavior could be over-interpreted. It was precisely because not only people adored him but also opposed him that Kobe achieved his current status and became the most influential NBA superstar in China. The medal of honor belongs half to Kobe fans and half to Kobe haters. This aligns with the "create enemies" rule in marketing: You must have enemies. If you don't explicitly oppose your enemies, your own stance appears less clear. If your stance is unclear, your brand personality and image will be vague, making it hard to gain recognition from your target audience. Here's an example! "I think people who buy a Mac are those with different thoughts. Those who spend money on a Mac think differently. They represent the innovative spirit of the world, not those who are mediocre and just do their jobs. They think about changing the world and will use any possible tool to achieve it."
"If necessary, I will use my last breath and spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to set the record straight. I will destroy Android because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to fight a thermonuclear war with it." Sounds exciting, right? Can you see the "scheming" of Jobs from these familiar quotes? If not, here's another: Jobs never came to China in his life. In his eyes, China was a market on par with Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. The greatest value of the Chinese market was its proximity to Japan. It was full of knockoffs and lacked innovative spirit. He expressed contempt for the Chinese market with exaggerated attitudes. Jobs designed the enemy for the Apple brand as "those lacking innovative spirit, imitators and followers, mediocre people who just do their jobs." Then the "innovative, individual" label for Apple fans became exceptionally clear. Lei Jun (the Chinese "Jobs") naturally didn't want to be outdone (actually, he was far behind). He created Apple as the enemy. Apple is so expensive and not cost-effective. Our Xiaomi phones have similar performance to Apple but are much more affordable. Buying Apple instead of Xiaomi makes you a fool. With this enemy, the brand immediately came alive. Many who wanted an Apple but felt the pinch found a reason to buy Xiaomi: "It's not that I can't afford Apple; I just don't want to be a fool." Huawei, on the other hand, directly brought up the "Bushy Scholar" (a reference to a modest academic) and labeled competitors who engage in hype and so-called fan marketing as impetuous. Huawei phones suddenly appeared "steady and cultured." Let me share a case I like: "Xiao Ming Tong Xue" (Little Ming Classmate). Xiao Ming Tong Xue established an image of drinking tea with a goofy attitude. Who did it create as the enemy? Right, it's the tea-snobs like me. "Isn't it just tea? As long as it tastes good, that's enough. Why make such a big fuss over bottles and jars?" This gave young tea-drinkers a huge reason to buy and a psychological advantage. So you often see young people holding Xiao Ming Tong Xue, swaggering in front of me. "Whatever the enemy opposes, we support; whatever the enemy supports, we oppose." Chairman Mao, who was well-versed in the art of struggle, succinctly revealed the essence of the enemy-creating rule. In the end, marketing battles compete for consumer mindshare. Find your "non-customers," find your competitors, draw a clear line with them, declare war on them, even adopt a do-or-die stance like Jobs did—this helps win the hearts of your target group. The key to winning a girl is the girl herself: "If I'm in your heart, what do I care if there are three thousand rivals?" Friendly reminder: The "create enemies" in this article refers to a marketing principle, not to be applied in real life. If you get beaten up for doing so, Old Miao is not responsible. -END- The best learning platform for FMCG distributors in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for companies and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent Article Selection | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Boost Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's 18 Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet and Brands | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]