In-depth review of Xiaomi’s automotive communication strategy

Looking back three years, from a marketing perspective, let’s talk about what Lei Jun did in Xiaomi Auto’s development from layout, start-up, user attraction to product launch, and how he turned every detail into public opinion.

The day before yesterday, I went to Zhengzhou.

When I got back on the high-speed train, there were two young men and an old man sitting opposite me.

The young man was browsing Douyin and saw a video about guessing the price of Xiaomi cars. The voices were quite loud, so they started discussing it. One person thought it must be 300,000 yuan, and another guessed it would be around 250,000 yuan.

Later, the uncle joined the discussion and said: I see this car every day, and it looks great.

If they weren't by my side, I really wouldn't have known that Xiaomi was holding a new car launch event in the evening. Although people often post about it on WeChat Moments, I'm not that interested in cars, so I didn't pay much attention to it.

Later, I decided to set an alarm and take a look, and the results were quite rewarding.

Lei Jun talked about a lot of knowledge about cars that I didn’t understand, such as engine parameters, chassis design, lidar, etc.; he also promoted a lot of ecological products on the spot, it was simply a live broadcast of selling goods.

I won’t go into details about price and other aspects, as there is a lot of content on the Internet.

Later I thought that the release of new cars is quite common, with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche as the first, and BYD, Wei, Xiaopeng and Li Auto as the latter. However, the discussion about Xiaomi Auto seems a little different. It has obviously gone viral, and even people who didn’t pay attention to it have started to pay attention to it. The marketing is indeed very good.

After reviewing the past few years, we found that Xiaomi Auto has a complete marketing strategy from layout, start-up, attracting users to promotion and release, which overlaps with its previous mobile phones and is worthy of learning from other brands on the market.

01

Let’s talk about layout first. What is layout?

If you want to organize a music festival, you have to decide in advance on the theme, lighting and stage design, address, ticket sales, guest arrangements, ticket sales and other aspects; these planning that the audience cannot see behind the scenes can be called layout.

Before Xiaomi announced its plan to build cars, it did a lot of preparation work.

In 2015, Shunwei Capital, owned by Lei Jun, began investing in the electric vehicle field, first in NIO and then in Xpeng's AI financing round. By 2019, they invested in Xpeng Motors' C round and tested the waters in smartphones and automotive technology.

In June of the same year, Xiaomi announced a partnership with Mercedes to explore how to integrate Xiao Ai into cars. In August, it also hinted that it was developing an in-car service system based on MIUI.

It is not difficult to see that these strategies focus on investment + technology exploration to realize the scenario of IOT integration, but these efforts are only the starting point for Xiaomi to fully enter the automotive industry.

Why do you say that?

The difference between what giant companies do and ordinary companies is that they must consider "macro factors"; the so-called macro factors include the stability of government policies, tax preferential policies, the speed of technological development, and changes in people's lifestyles.

I checked and found that Xiaomi Group's total operating revenue in 2020 reached 245.866 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.0%. Net profit was also 13 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.8%.

Revenues look good, with mobile phone sales still the main source of revenue.

Although the sprint to the high-end market has strongly supported Xiaomi's overall market, it is not enough for the company to cross the second chasm again. At the same time, other players in the market also put pressure on Xiaomi.

for example:

Traditional automakers and technology companies such as BMW, Magna, and General Motors are accelerating their development into the field of smart cars. Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida also said in 2020 that with the advancement of technology, they are also looking for new directions for development.

Companies like Baidu and Apple are also exploring car-related capabilities.

As a result, we saw that in 2020, Xiaomi had closer ties with the automotive industry. It not only made a strategic investment in the Internet of Vehicles company Shanghai Boya, but also cooperated with Mercedes-Benz again to launch an electric scooter.

In addition, according to multiple market reports, by 2025, China's smart car market penetration rate will reach 75%, making it the world's largest smart car market.

Therefore, Xiaomi has shifted its business model from its original "smartphone + AIoT"-based model to a new "people, cars, and homes" strategy.

02‍

What to do after the strategic adjustment? It must be announced publicly. The question is, how to make the announcement more noticeable?

The answer is: create public opinion topics.

Do you still remember the LOGO designed by the internationally renowned designer Kenya Hara? The familiar "Xiaomi Orange" and "MI" logos were retained, but the shape of the LOGO was changed from the previous square (with rounded corners) to a more rounded oval.

You must have seen it. Someone joked that the owner of the printing shop next door could handle the design, but you insisted on spending 2 million. Someone else joked to Lei Jun, "Call the police, you've been scammed."

In my opinion, this is a smart move.

Why? In the Internet world, people’s memories are short-lived, and attention is equivalent to the effective use of time. If a topic continues to be discussed, it can extend its life cycle in the public memory and keep people paying attention to a brand.

Xiaomi's method of "keeping attention away from the table" has been proven to be effective time and time again. As late as April 7, Lei Jun mentioned the LOGO again on Weibo, saying that he didn't like it very much at first, but now he thinks it's okay.

This heated discussion once again became active and lasted until June.

Guess what happened next?

In August, Xiaomi invested approximately US$77.37 million to acquire autonomous driving company DeepMotion Tech Limited. In September, it announced the establishment of an automobile company and announced the core members of the automobile team.

Therefore, in 2021, the topics that contributed the most to Xiaomi Auto's marketing are: LOGO, the announcement of an investment of 10 billion yuan in car manufacturing, the announcement of core team members, and the location of Xiaomi Auto in Beijing.

Lei Jun is good at creating topics, and he promoted each event through posters on Weibo, Toutiao and other platforms. These steps were taken in a rhythmic manner, attracting media attention in March, June, September and November respectively, without letting any important moment go unnoticed.

No wonder Liu Qiangdong once said: Don’t compete with Lei Jun in marketing. Anyone who can sell Xiaomi phones for tens of billions is definitely not an ordinary person.

Of course, in a series of marketing activities, there is one detail that was hardly mentioned: the design of Xiaomi’s first car was very avant-garde, and the team made two models. Insiders were worried that users might find it difficult to accept such a bold design.

However, the topics exposed to the public that year were different. For example, the concept map of Xiaomi Automobile was released, and netizens speculated that the price would start at 149,900 yuan. This kind of market test actually collected a lot of public opinions.

There are also some stories of "paying a high price to recruit talents".

For example, Xiaomi offers a salary 20% to 30% higher than the market average to attract talent. Yu Liguo, a key figure in Arcfox Auto, and Huang Zhenyu, former vice president of Magna China, have joined Xiaomi. These have added a lot of hot topics to Xiaomi Auto.

In 2022, there was not much news about cars, and the main focus was on mobile phones and other ecological products. Even in Lei Jun’s annual speech in 2023, there was no mention of car manufacturing.

Netizens once suspected that the dream of making cars was shattered. However, three major announcements were made in the second half of the year, namely:

1. The main part of the first phase of the factory was completed and released
2. Full ecological operating system for people, cars and homes‍
3. December Technology Conference

It can be seen that Xiaomi's car manufacturing is almost proceeding at a running pace, with time compressed to the extreme, and almost all the information that can be disclosed has been announced.

It is very difficult to attract users and create hype after the launch, especially in the early stages of a product. It is often difficult to impress people just by talking about the technical background or the original intention of the founding . I believe that technology conferences are a key part of Xiaomi's marketing success.

Why?

First, Xiaomi adopts a relevance positioning promotion strategy.

Before the technology launch conference, Lei Jun used Weibo to pay tribute to BYD, NIO, Huawei, Xpeng and Ideal. This action actually aroused the interest of many people.

To maintain its popularity, Xiaomi Auto has also invested heavily in outdoor advertising, placing large billboards in core business districts and transportation hubs in major cities. This not only increases visibility, but also allows users to cleverly associate the image of Xiaomi with cars.

Secondly, the price war and the brand difference of high cost performance.

At the technology conference, Xiaomi did not reveal the specific price, but directly said that people should not expect a low price of 99,000 yuan, because it is simply impossible. At the same time, it also compared itself with the high-end brand Porsche in its publicity.

This makes users feel very conflicted. After all, Xiaomi has always been known for its "high cost performance" in the mobile phone market, but now it says that its cars are similar to Porsche in design and very advanced in technology, which naturally makes people think that the price will not be cheap.

I often say: in mass marketing, curiosity is right, satisfaction is wrong. Therefore, Lei Jun successfully planted "conflict" in the minds of users, arousing people's curiosity. The more netizens discuss, the more topics there are.

03‍

By 2023, the public opinion topics from January to March almost topped all the lists.

Do you remember what happened in January? If I were to sum it up in one sentence, Xiaomi has been deeply interacting with users, refuting rumors, and testing market feedback.

Let’s look at the whole context:

On the 2nd, a Xiaomi spokesperson said that at least 50% of the information in a picture about Xiaomi's automotive industry chain was wrong.

Then on the 5th, a car blogger named "黎Sir教路" raised questions on Weibo, believing that Xiaomi Auto's valet parking video might be illegal ; from the 8th to the 10th, Xiaomi Auto released "100 Questions from Netizens" in batches.

On the 20th, in an interview with CCTV, Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi Automobile is expected to be officially launched in the first half of 2024 , and that small-scale mass production is currently underway. This car has very powerful configuration and very high cost.

On the 23rd, another Xiaomi spokesperson refuted the rumor about June delivery on Weibo ; on January 30th, in response to the discussion of "Xiaomi car insurance policy price exposure", the public relations manager responded, explaining that in order to test part of the sales and service process, it of course includes purchasing insurance.

So, what can we learn from this rhythm?

Answering netizens' questions is an interactive strategy, and each interaction can enhance user participation; continuous releases and refuting of rumors can cleverly control the direction of public opinion and maintain one's popularity.

Secondly, it was made clear that people should not expect the price to be too low. This kind of expectation management helps reduce the disappointment of consumers after the vehicle is released. As for the exposure of the insurance policy price, I think it was intentional. If you think about it, exposing the insurance policy before selling the car, isn’t this the best way to test users’ reaction to pricing?

Therefore, if you don’t know how to price a product, the best way is to launch the existing product first, wait and see what people talk about, and control the timing while communicating.

By February, Xiaomi had sent out an obvious signal marketing message: bombardment.

What does "street bombing" mean?

The kind of loud noise you hear in the middle of the night when a supercar or modified car speeds past, the sound is as loud as an explosion, so everyone calls it "street explosion".

Xiaomi Auto has adopted a new strategy, driving its cars to crowded places, such as in front of Wuhan University and JD.com; on short video platforms, no less than hundreds of thousands of people have seen it offline, and even I have seen it in Shilibao.

This approach happens to give users a more direct visual impact.

However, online marketing did not stop in February. The possibility of giving a Beijing license plate as a gift when purchasing a car, and Lei Jun’s statement on “Apple canceling its car manufacturing plan” undoubtedly brought huge attention to Xiaomi SU7.

In March, I saw several big beats.

Xiaomi officially announced the listing date, and the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" leaked the price of the top-end version, which once again aroused everyone's curiosity and speculation about the price. In addition, Xiaomi responded to public opinion on whether the closed-loop test on the highway violated the regulations and that it would issue 1,000 Xiaomi SU7F codes.

These major events occurred on the 10th, 15th, 19th and 20th. Therefore, in the past three months, the focus of public opinion reflects that everyone is paying attention to the three aspects of price, technology and design.

04‍

Before the official launch conference, what methods did Lei Jun use to create momentum?

Before the show starts, invite friends to sit in the queue.

It is not uncommon for bigwigs to be secretly photographed and photoshopped by netizens at technology conferences. First there was the Wuzhen Science and Internet Conference, and then there were the famous speeches of Jack Ma and Dong Mingzhu, all of which were made into emoticons by netizens and circulated on social networks.

Lei Jun secretly used his connections at the press conference to create a public opinion effect.

On the day of the press conference, many industry insiders were invited, including Wei Jianjun of Great Wall Motors, Zhang Jianyong of BAIC Group, Li Xiang of Ideal Auto, Li Bin of NIO, and He Xiaopeng of Xpeng Motors.

When these people who were originally competitors sit together, they will naturally become the topic of conversation and entertainment for netizens.

During the meeting, they directly identified competitors and made fun of them.

"Leading" is a relative term. No matter what product you are making, as long as you choose the right competitor, you can always find your leading position.

Xiaomi Auto has locked in Porsche and Tesla as its comparison objects. Indeed, Porsche's Taycan is very powerful, but don't forget that it was launched in 2019.

Tesla is a pioneer in electric vehicles, and compared to domestic electric vehicles, Xiaomi can only be considered a latecomer. Therefore, using Porsche and Tesla as competitors not only shows that Xiaomi can compete with international brands, but also avoids endless competition with domestic cars in terms of performance parameters.

This is precision strategy.

As for acceleration, it is not difficult for electric cars to complete acceleration within 2 to 3 seconds. For example, the Zeekr 007 only needs 2.84 seconds, and the MG Cyberster needs 3.2 seconds. As for the top speed, the Zhiji LS6 has reached 305 kilometers per hour. If it is better than these, what else is there to say at the press conference?

When it comes to numbers, use them to the extreme.

What is the ultimate? Think about it, how to describe the action of throwing a waste paper ball into a trash can?

That is, you stand XX centimeters away from the trash can and throw a waste paper ball with a diameter of XX centimeters at XX speed; in the air, the waste paper ball encounters XX wind resistance and is affected by XX gravity, and finally falls into the trash can at an angle of XX degrees.

Similarly, how many gears does Xiaomi SU7 have, how many driving modes it has, how many speeds it has, how many tons the die-casting machine can carry, can be expressed through stories, which makes it look much more impressive.

Of course, certification from the big guys is essential.

This sounds straightforward, but in practice, there are two key points to note: first, the boss must be so awesome that no one can refute it, and second, the endorsement must leave evidence. The design of Xiaomi SU7 is indeed thoughtful, but netizens have mixed reactions.

In order to avoid its own products falling into the same embarrassing situation as Ideal Auto, Xiaomi invited Chris Bangle to speak on the platform. Who is Bangle? The former BMW design master, he said that Xiaomi SU7 is good-looking, what else can you say?

By the way, attention to details always touches people’s hearts and lowers their guard when buying a car.

During his speech, Lei Jun mentioned many details that other car companies overlooked, such as various practical storage spaces, car refrigerators equipped with roll cages, and mobile phone holders.

It is worth mentioning that Lei Jun not only boldly talks about what he can do, but also fearlessly discusses features that cannot be immediately proven. He even walks on the edge of advertising law and can speak boldly as long as he has the final right of interpretation.

For example, they have always emphasized that they would invest 10 times more to build a good car, invest 10 billion in the research and development of the first car, and become one of the top five car companies in the world in 15-20 years. Can you trace these words back? No. But they are deeply rooted in people's hearts.

There are many more, similar to this, key words should be mentioned more, such as the highest in the world, the only one in the country ; bind the ordinary dream of drinking chicken soup with your own products, for example, it is an impulse that arises spontaneously, the impulse to cheer for ordinary people, etc.

As for the hot marketing after the press conference, you must have seen a lot of it. So, what have you learned from Xiaomi's automotive marketing?

In summary

Be stable and seek radicalism.

New brands and marketing methods are common, but Lei Jun, who has become the "real-life Xiao Nai and the cool guy in the novel", is rare. I wish Xiaomi Auto will get better and better.

Author: Wang Zhiyuan

Source: WeChat public account: Wang Zhiyuan (ID: Z201440)