---
title: "You Think Silence Is Lying Flat, but They Are Growing Stubbornly"
description: "During the pandemic, life seems formatted, but some brands continue to innovate and advertise, creating new scenarios and categories. This article highlights how brands like Miaokeland, Jinmailang, Shuyi, and others have found differentiation and growth by seizing opportunities and investing in brand building during the crisis."
author: "陆星集"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2022-06-14"
language: "en"
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# You Think Silence Is Lying Flat, but They Are Growing Stubbornly

> During the pandemic, life seems formatted, but some brands continue to innovate and advertise, creating new scenarios and categories. This article highlights how brands like Miaokeland, Jinmailang, Shuyi, and others have found differentiation and growth by seizing opportunities and investing in brand building during the crisis.

**Introduction:**
During the pandemic, life seems to have been formatted. The daily routine is from the building gate to the nucleic acid testing point, then back to the building gate, and then take the elevator home.
Constantly scrolling on your phone makes you anxious. For me, one of the greatest pleasures of home life is the advertising screen at the elevator entrance that I pass every day after the nucleic acid test. The weekly updated ads are as exciting as new movie releases.
**This at least means that in many industries, there are still many companies that would rather step on the accelerator in place than retreat. They launch new ideas and new products every week.**
This gives me a sense of warmth and even encouragement. So, I recorded these brands that persist in moving forward.
**Creating a Scenario Creates Sales**
Miaokeland is the ad I see most often. And the recent new cheese slice ads make me think this brand is very remarkable.
It is said that in 2015, the year before Miaokeland was founded, China's per capita cheese consumption was only 0.18 kg, while South Korea and Japan were 10 and 20 times that, and Europe and the US were even higher.
At that time, the market was dominated by foreign brand Breguet. But Miaokeland's founder, Chai Xiu, discovered that because Chinese people consume so little cheese, the brand power of Breguet, with annual sales of 1 billion, and Miaokeland, which was just starting out, was actually similar—most people were unaware and indifferent.
The story that followed is simple. Chai Xiu chose a consumption fulcrum that could leverage the mainstream population—cheese sticks for children. She borrowed 500 million yuan from the bank and immediately launched a saturated advertising campaign on mainstream channels like Focus Media. The adapted song from "Two Tigers" was almost everywhere.
Five years later, Miaokeland became the most mentioned brand in the Chinese cheese market, with a market share exceeding 40%.
With international giants turning around to encircle and suppress, and more than 500 startups catching up, the ultra-high growth from 150 million to 4.5 billion in six years also brought a problem—the platforms to advertise on and channels to distribute through have reached their limits in the short term, and the growth of cheese sticks has slowed.
So Miaokeland began to launch new products—cheese slices.
**With the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, everyone's willingness to consume has become low. What can be done to drive consumers to spend actively and willingly?**
The answer is to create a new scenario. Miaokeland cheese sticks, as a healthy snack for children, have created many consumption scenarios, such as coming home from school, replenishing energy after exercise, and sharing happiness. Is there a scenario more essential than snacks? Yes, that is the main meal.
We see Sun Li in elevator ads telling everyone that Miaokeland cheese slices can be added to porridge, noodles, bread, etc. This is equivalent to telling parents stuck at home due to the pandemic that strengthening nutrition is a good way to help their children get through this difficulty with vitality. Thus, the seemingly difficult task of cutting into the "main meal" scenario was accomplished.
**Miaokeland created an unprecedented scenario—linking cheese with porridge, noodles, and children. This is a scenario that only Chinese people could think of, and even only an entrepreneur trapped in Shanghai by the pandemic could think of.**
It is conceivable that even after the pandemic passes, the importance of Miaokeland in children's breakfast will never be erased from consumers' minds.
Another product I frequently see is Jinmailang's "Liangbai Kai" (cool boiled water).
During the pandemic, scenarios like going out, traveling, and exercising have decreased, and bottled beverage sales have declined, including those of Kangshifu, Uni-President, and even Coca-Cola.
**Liangbai Kai insists on going against the trend because they firmly believe that the new scenario or new track they created—drinking cooked water—is valuable to consumers and fits the cultural atmosphere under the pandemic.**
Jinmailang's Liangbai Kai is not the kind of water we boil at home with an electric kettle. It is a very particular "cooked water"—first pressurized to 125 degrees Celsius and kept for a period of time to mature, then hot-filled at 80 degrees Celsius.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese people are not accustomed to drinking raw water; they drink boiled water, also known as "soup," hence the idiom "go through fire and water." Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" records "Taihe Soup," saying it can "help yang qi, activate meridians, and promote sweating," and is a good medicine.
In simple terms, Taihe Soup is cooked water that has been boiled and kept at a rolling boil for a certain time.
**Believing that cooked water is more beneficial to health is deeply rooted in Chinese food culture. "Liangbai Kai" sensitively captured this and opened up this new track, allowing "drinking cooked water" to return to modern life in a more convenient way. It seems conservative, but it is actually innovative, and a remarkable innovation.**
To awaken the new generation's understanding and reverence for "cooked water," "Liangbai Kai" announced donations of Liangbai Kai to medical staff in Wuhan from the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020 until now. Two actions have remained unchanged: on the one hand, high-frequency participation in various social welfare activities, especially those related to health; on the other hand, recently, it has been repeatedly appearing on Focus Media screens.
While most bottled water brands are contracting, Liangbai Kai, due to its intricate connections with Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine, health, and other cultural symbols, has awakened people's attention to health in the current context of repeated pandemics. Through saturated brand advertising attacks, it has successfully entered first- and second-tier mainstream markets such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, completing a classic counterattack.
**IPA DATABANK found in a study on brand marketing effectiveness:**
**1. In economic downturns, people tend to spend their money on brands that are more stable, certain, and trustworthy.**
**2. During economic downturns, brands should dare to act; it is a good time to widen the gap and expand market share.**
**3. When facing economic decline, cutting brand marketing budgets may help protect short-term profits, but after economic recovery, brands will become weaker and less profitable. Smart companies invest more in brand marketing, gain a greater voice, and thus are able to achieve more long-term profitability.**
**Redefining the Track: Difficult but Correct**
All emerging companies in China's new consumption tracks owe two debts.
One is called homogenization of competition, which is essentially a lack of differentiation. The other is called normalization of promotions, which is essentially a lack of pricing power. So, when faced with head brands like Heytea and Naixue, which have similar styles and have cut prices by 50%, why should consumers choose you?
**Promotion normalization and competition homogenization are ultimately caused by a lack of differentiated brand value. Differentiated value is not achieved just by innovation; it requires carrying out the actions that make consumers perceive the innovation to the end.**
Recently, Shuyi Shaoxiancao, which often appears in elevator ads, has nearly 7,000 stores nationwide and ranks leading in China's new-style tea drink track.
Shuyi Shaoxiancao made an innovation by partnering with OATLY to launch a new product that went viral—Orange Blossom Camellia. This plant-based new tea drink sold over one million cups in just 10 days.
Surveys show that due to the "high sugar" and "high calories" of traditional milk tea, consumers who have experienced rich and stimulating taste bombardments want to drink something simpler, healthier, and without burden. Consumers' preference for healthy drinks, inherited from categories like Genki Forest, has been transmitted to the new-style tea drink industry.
Shuyi seized this signal and used the differentiated positioning of "plant-based" as the entry point for the overall brand, making a decisive move.
On the product side, Shuyi bound itself to OATLY, the leading oat milk brand from Northern Europe—0 sucrose, 0 trans fatty acids, 0 cholesterol, and comparable protein content to milk. Shuyi bound itself to the "ceiling" of plant-based drinks.
**On the mind side, Shuyi bound itself to Focus Media, indicating that from the start it resolutely refused to carry the debts of "promotions" and "homogenization." Using a high-potential brand strategy, through saturated attacks with strong mental penetration, it influences the urban mainstream population and ignites the brand to break through the mental threshold at once.**
Facts have proven that it quickly sold one million cups after launch, and consumers have a high degree of recognition for this product, which also indirectly verifies that the transformation to "plant-based new tea drinks" hit consumer demand. Since then, Shuyi's new products like Cili, Coconut Lemon Milk, Mulberry Berry... a brand value point of "low calorie, low fat, delicious and not greasy" defined by plant-based milk tea has become Shuyi's most important differentiated competitive weapon.
Co-branding with international giant Oatly to develop new products, partnering with domestic mainstream channel Focus Media for saturated attacks, and launching difficult-to-handle ingredients like coconut and mulberry to nearly 7,000 stores nationwide... The price of not lying flat is a high-intensity strategy: even if you stay in place, you must step on the accelerator.
**After the pandemic, will people remember those brands that did nothing, or will they remember Shuyi, which gave them some small beauties and small certainties during the pandemic?**
Speaking of differentiation, it relies on product strength and brand strength, and under the pandemic background, it also requires stubborn perseverance—making difficult but correct choices.
Product strength and brand strength rely on careful observation of consumer needs.
Recently, a brand called Youngse, which makes baby food, has become popular.
What to feed children as complementary food is a required course for many parents, but in practice, the scale is not easy to master. Some children of small months can walk and crawl, while some older children may not stand steadily or walk fast.
Youngse, together with the China Maternal and Child Health Association and experts in children's nutrition, comprehensive pediatric medicine, and child health care, launched a 5-stage precise feeding system, divided into Stage 1 (can sit), Stage 2 (likes to bite), Stage 3 (can crawl), Stage 4 (can stand), and Stage 5 (walks steadily).
**Youngse's biggest differentiation is that you don't have to worry too much about when to start adding complementary food; you can simply divide it into 5 stages.**
**In Youngse's Focus Media elevator ads, the catchy slogan "Youngse 12345" has extremely distinct recognition and high memorability. With high-frequency daily exposure, it undoubtedly helps it stand out in the current chaotic complementary food track.**
For manufacturers, this is actually just a product segmentation move, but for parents, it is no less than a leap from feature phones to smartphones.
There are indeed many differentiated brands that can be cited. For example, a beer brand with a small differentiation—Taishan Original Pulp.
In terms of product, original pulp, freshness, and a shelf life of only 7 days are the core advantages of Taishan Original Pulp. To highlight the "fresh" signal, Taishan uses a dark brown bottle and enlarges the number 7 to emphasize the "7-day fresh" feature.
In terms of production capacity, channels, and scale advantages, it has no comparison with the five giants: China Resources, Tsingtao, Budweiser APAC, Yanjing, and Carlsberg. However, through multiple rounds of financing, officially announcing famous basketball coach Du Feng as spokesperson, igniting through Focus Media community ads, and attracting franchisees, it has become an existence that can defeat giants in segmented fields.
In the fresh beer category, Taishan Original Pulp accounts for 60% of domestic similar product sales, while the five giants account for about 70% of the entire beer industry. Taishan Original Pulp has become a small giant in the segmented field. This is the power of differentiated brands.
More importantly, the popularity and success of Taishan Original Pulp have shown people that the solidified beer industry has new possibilities for breakthrough; and the "fresh beer" battle is also pushing the industry to the next stage of development.
**Every stubborn countercurrent that refuses to lie flat may be the future breakthrough of the industry.**
**Brand is the biggest Matthew effect in the business world.**
**After the pandemic and crisis, brands with truly unique value will have market profits far higher than their peers.**
**Catching the Pie Falling from the Sky**
Heaven often gives pies, but few people seize the opportunity of fate.
Recently, brands like Erke, Mixue Ice City, and Baixiang have become popular because they actively assumed social responsibility and were strongly sought after by consumers.
During the Henan floods, Erke donated 50 million yuan in materials, which sparked heated discussion and attracted a lot of "wild consumption," becoming popular for more than two months. Erke also tried to cooperate with IPs such as Henan Museum, Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, and Honor of Kings, and invited celebrities like Tian Liang and Sen Die to endorse, but it obviously did not seize the key breakthrough point.
Now, Erke's live streaming room has returned to being quiet.
**People say the internet has a memory, but now, the internet, which carries too many memories, has become unprecedentedly "forgetful" due to information oversaturation. So, when the opportunity of "being popular" comes to you, seizing it is also an ability to grow wildly.**
Also in July last year, Baixiang donated 5 million yuan and materials for the Henan floods, quickly emptied its factories and offices in Henan to provide shelter for citizens, and provided free hot water and instant noodles.
This move, combined with the Beijing Winter Paralympics this year, when it was exposed that one-third of Baixiang's employees are disabled and they enjoy the same treatment as normal employees, with special guarantees for the disabled, triggered a hot purchase by netizens.
Baixiang seized this opportunity and concentrated resources on two products for saturated advertising attacks.
One is a unique soup base developed using technologies such as bone calcium extraction and home-style bone broth stewing, which is very consistent with consumers' pursuit of consumption upgrading; the other is Dala Jiao, which seizes the characteristic that young people increasingly love spicy food, extending to sour and spicy noodles, Nanchang mixed noodles, Xinjiang fried rice noodles, and fire chicken noodles.
Thus, **Baixiang concentrated media resources on these two categories: one attacking urban consumer groups, the other attacking young people. Using mainstream media platforms like Focus Media to ignite, it attempts to break through consumer minds, concentrate and accumulate the momentum from previous "emotional popularity" and "wild marketing," and then release it in one burst with countless saturated impacts to create higher brand momentum.**
The pre-made dishes track is also exciting. During my daily elevator rides, I found that besides Shejian Yingxiong, pre-made dish brands such as Tyson Foods, Zhenwei Xiaomeiyuan, Dingding Lanren Cai, and Guoquan Shihui have collectively made efforts, sparking a marketing war with a growing smell of gunpowder in the small elevator room.
**A brand's success often comes from being decisive and resolute when opportunities arise. Because management is not about managing results, but about managing causes and effects.**
_Conclusion: Don't let brands be silent, don't lie flat_
**Companies that fight a beautiful counterattack against the pandemic are composed of two standard actions:**
**First, combine with demand to find a real (not pseudo) differentiated competitive point;**
**Second, use mainstream channels to deposit the outbreak of special social conditions and time points into brand power that can work long-term, and voice your own message to the mainstream population.**
For most people, the hardest part of the pandemic is "silence." However, what is more terrifying than "silence" is that you think "silence" is lying flat, but in reality, it is rapidly regressing; while some people are struggling to cross the cycle, stepping on the accelerator against the wind. Silence is only temporarily staying in place, and once the resistance disappears, they will speed away with a "whoosh."
When I see the efforts of these companies, I think of writer Mo Yan's message on Youth Day, where he said: "When the wind came, Grandpa did not dodge. Although only a grass remained, the cart was not overturned, and we were victorious. A person can be defeated by life, but cannot be knocked down."
**Are you "watching" me?**


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