New product launch, a must-answer question in the marketing circle in 2024

On average, a new product is launched in the Chinese market every 3 minutes. Behind this is the brand's keen insight into new market demands and its unremitting pursuit of innovation. This article deeply analyzes the multiple reasons for the launch of new products, from market pressure to the maintenance of brand vitality to the market breakthrough of new brands. Each angle reflects the complexity and challenges of the current marketing field.

01.

In August, I participated in marketing activities on many platforms in succession, especially the "Zhenbuchua Brand Summit" on Weibo. The most striking consensus was that the proportion of new product launches in marketing topics is increasing.

Kantar data shows that in the Chinese market, a new product is launched every 3 minutes on average, and 90% of brands will launch new products within a year.

02. Top ten reasons for launching new products

1. New market demands force new products;
2. The old system is anxious about the public examination, and it is impossible to determine the winner in the short term;
3. Continuously launching new products is a strategy for brands to stay vibrant;
4. The key battle for emerging brands to open up the market;
5. Leading brands explore new markets and layout new tracks;
6. Look for growth in other people’s stock;
7. The potential leverage brought by new product marketing drives the whole market;
8. New products relieve anxiety at all levels;
9. The natural emergence of supply-side innovation drive;
10. It may also be a kind of path dependence;

But the reality is also cruel. There are massive new products, traffic is scattered, channels are fragmented, and the track is full of people who want to share the cake. Everyone is looking for a concrete and executable formula for new product success.

We will break it down from one posture, two ways, and three techniques.

03. Trend 1: Seek big hit first and then big sales

The core mission of new products is to increase brand potential. In an era of fragmentation, brands need more centralized capabilities, and S-level marketing events themselves are potential.

The operation of the trend presents several characteristics as a whole:

① National topicality, industry topicality, or niche topicality, one of the three options, depending on product characteristics and corporate style;

② The boundaries between advertising, public relations and social media are disappearing and starting to merge. Advertising is becoming an issue, and issues are becoming advertising. The profit ratio of extremely conservative strategies is getting lower and lower. Crossing the line and actively causing controversy, strong topicality is back.

③ Brand owners’ expectations for the integration of product and effect have also changed, mainly in terms of the path. They no longer regard effect as a constraint on the product, but a derivative result of the product. Simply put, they pursue a big hit first, and then big sales or small sales, rather than seeking small sales and ending up with a small hit or even no hit at all.

04. Daoyi: Allin one main battlefield

Today's new product marketing is basically centered around several major platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, JD.com, and Tmall. Different platforms have different characteristics. There are too many platforms and limited bullets. First, Allin a main battlefield, create potential, and then copy it to other platforms. This is the relatively optimal solution. • Weibo: public opinion field, celebrities, and national topics; • Douyin: hot products, anchors bring goods, and accurate algorithms; • Xiaohongshu: trendy, tasteful, and value spillover; • JD.com Tmall: direct sales, mature mechanisms;

It depends entirely on the brand itself. Generally speaking, brands with good topicality are suitable for Weibo, brands that attract traffic are suitable for Douyin, brands in small circles are suitable for Xiaohongshu, and brands that are stable are suitable for JD.com and Tmall.

It is worth mentioning that different platforms have their own phased focus points, and the corresponding support strengths are different. For example, on Weibo platform, the health category grew rapidly in the first half of the year, with more than 1,000 topics and more than 110 billion traffic. It not only focuses on illness, but also includes psychological state, etc. These are all bonus areas for new product marketing.

Allergy season → loratadine, diarrhea → smectite, which have become good cases in the circle.

05. Second way: please women and young people

Don't laugh, this is determined by the supply and demand of the market.

Just look at the Olympics and you will know: Chinese female power has completely risen, and has absolute say in the vast majority of consumer categories; the post-00s are a generation that cannot be defined or constrained, and are beginning to dominate social media.

When you don’t know how to market a new product, pleasing women and young people is absolutely the right direction; when you have done new product marketing, you will know that women’s decisions will spread quickly in the same circle, and young people’s likes and dislikes will be expressed in public.

06. Technique 1: Borrowing the East Wind

• During the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, keywords such as Erbin and Little Potato set off a wave of popularity. Erbin’s sister Erjia quickly took advantage of the situation to enter the market and announced the launch of the new Fuerjia ice and snow gift box;

• On Sleep Day this year, De Rucci launched “Tidal Technology” and new AI products, capturing the emotional resonance of Chinese people towards sleep culture and enhancing users’ recognition of the technological capabilities of its products;

• During the F1 China Grand Prix, Huawei launched the new Pura70 smartphone, and worked with professional F1 photographers to effectively convey the new smartphone’s “ultra-high-speed flash shooting” selling point;

Brands are relatively weak entities in social topics, so it is better to take advantage of the momentum rather than create it. Pre-preparation of routine topics and quick response to immediate topics are basic skills. Fortunately, the methodology in this regard of various platforms is basically mature.

07. Technique 2: Dare to Reverse

The Bosideng case is well worth analyzing.

In November 2023, the high prices of many down jacket brands became a national topic, triggering huge public pressure from consumers, especially Bosideng, which "mentioned" 13 hot searches in a short period of time.

Thanks to Bosideng's relatively complete brand system, a large number of Blue V popular science activities were quickly organized to explain in detail why Bosideng down jackets can be sold for more than 1,000 yuan. In a short period of time, the brand's reputation has reversed, and the C-end perception has shifted to domestic products, the price is worthy of the quality, and one piece can be worn for many years.

This has laid a very good foundation for the launch of new jackets. This year, Bosideng launched "more fashionable professional sun protection clothing" and released new products in the Sun Series.

08. Technique 3: Sustainability

In September 2020, "The First Cup of Milk Tea in Autumn" became a hit on the Internet and became a huge success for the entire industry. Four years have passed in a flash. Do you know who is the biggest winner at this moment?

The answer is Overlord Tea Princess.

From linking with the health brand KEEP, to betting on Zheng Qinwen's endorsement; from the announcement of active calories, to the definition of industry standards; Bawang Cha Ji's marketing actions are aggressive and steady. It was ranked second in the fall of 2023, and ranked first in the minds of users this year.

The blockbuster new product "Wanli Mulan" in the first half of the year and the new product "Huatian Oolong" in the second half of the year both achieved good results.

09. The essence is still a competition of minds.

All walks of life are really competitive, with new product launches emerging one after another. It is said that Weibo receives an average of one launch event every day. Why do so many brands choose Weibo as the main battlefield for new products when it is obviously not as good as e-commerce platforms in terms of sales, not as good as Douyin in terms of hits, and not as good as Xiaohongshu in terms of tone?

The reason is simple, it is the minds of consumers. Topic marketing has always been the commanding heights of a small effort. Yao Jun, the founder of Qun Yu Shan, has accurately defined Weibo's right to define social consensus, like a mirror that truly projects and presents the social mind.

And new product marketing is too eager to reach a new consensus.

10. A pyrrhic victory is still a victory.

The cruel truth is, from the perspective of the overall market, among the millions of new products launched each year, only a very small number can succeed. Even if they can, a careful calculation of the investment-output ratio shows that they are almost all "miserable victories."

How to break the dilemma of "a life and death" in the launch of new products is a must-answer question in the marketing circle in 2024.