Mixue Ice City has become a prominent brand of new tea drinks

There is no circle that the Snow King cannot squeeze into. Recently, the popularity of Mixue Ice City has been rising sharply, and the "fancy activities" have been constantly being made. It must be said that this wave of marketing by Mixue Ice City is very popular. In this article, the author has made a profound analysis of Mixue Ice City's marketing routines and summarized the relevant methodologies. Recommended for people who are interested in brand marketing.

Mixue Ice City has been frequently searched recently, building the Snow King Castle and co-branding with China Post. Not only has it done its own work, but it has also been dedicated to helping everyone lower their prices. On social platforms, Mixue Ice City and Luckin Coffee have started a journey of love and hate from each other, and are showing a trend of becoming a popular CP.

“Friendly exchanges” with its sister brands are no longer enough to satisfy Snow King’s ambitions. Suddenly, Snow King is planning to enter the animation industry.

On August 25, Mixue Ice City's first self-produced animation "The Snow King Arrives" was launched. While other tea brands are understanding the second dimension, Mixue Ice City has already become the second dimension. Adding IP animation is a new attempt of Mixue Ice City's content marketing, and it is also a key link in the shaping of the Snow King IP character.

"Dry your tears, take hope with you, the Snow King will always be by your side." As the energetic opening theme song sounded, the Snow King began to have his own new universe, and a more imaginative story unfolded. In the opening theme song, the Snow King fought against the stone giant, traveled through deep mines, and although he had no legs, he could use light skills to walk between cliffs... Everything seemed more serious than we imagined.

What is the quality of this work, which is said to be the first animation of new tea drinks? Is this a new direction for Mixue Ice City's content creation, or is it just a marketing move? Starting from "The Snow King Arrives", how should we review the whole live road shown by Mixue Ice City? What benefits does such whole live marketing bring to the brand? At the same time, can Mixue Ice City's path be replicated?

1. "The Snow King Arrives", how good is it?

The story begins on August 13, when Mixue Ice City officially announced on various platforms that the animation "The Snow King Arrives", featuring its IP "Snow King" as the protagonist, will be broadcast on iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video and Bilibili at 10 a.m. on August 25. As soon as the news came out, a large number of "Snow King believers" were looking forward to it. No one said "different fields are like different mountains", only the fans sincerely said "I wish it success".

Mixue Bingcheng's fans have always been very loyal. They are touched by the 4-yuan lemonade. People always have an attitude of "I will spoil" Mixue Bingcheng. Moreover, judging from the PV at that time, the animation performance was of high quality, coupled with the cute image of the Snow King and the seemingly complete world view design. The production company also created the popular animations "The Great Guardian" and "The Dali Temple Diary", so everyone had high expectations for "The Snow King Arrives".

Image source: B station "The Snow King Arrives" official account

So at a meal time after the animation was released, we clicked on "The Snow King Arrives" and wanted to appreciate this work carefully to see whether Mixue Bingcheng was just playing around or really wanted to become a "secondary" person.

This is not a very innovative story. In the animation poster, the Snow King is in a battle-wounded state, with a determined look in his eyes. It looks like a battle show. At the beginning of the animation, the Snow King lost his scepter in the fight with the rebels. In order to find this skyscraper-shaped scepter, he came to the outside of the ice continent, met new friends, encountered various trials and adventures, and finally grew up on the road to finding the scepter.

"The Snow King Arrives" is a typical instant noodle animation, with an opening song of one and a half minutes and an ending song of more than two minutes. After cutting off the beginning and the end, the main content of the film is only about five minutes. It is a lightweight content format, and the plot of each episode can basically be told in one sentence.

Image source: Station B

This form is actually more suitable for Mixue Bingcheng.

First of all, in terms of production, the short duration can effectively control costs. Under a limited budget, even if the production company is a well-known company in the industry such as Haochuan Animation, it can still control the quality in a boutique manner.

Secondly, in terms of communication effect, instant noodle shows are very suitable for fragmented communication, and simple stories can make brand communication more direct and effective. At the same time, in addition to being broadcast on video websites such as iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video, and Douyin, "The Snow King Arrives" is also broadcast through Mixue Ice City's offline stores. Some store TVs that originally displayed a list of drinks have been switched to broadcast "The Snow King Arrives", attracting some small customers to linger. The volume of content that can be watched in a few minutes is similar to the previous collaboration with the Egg Party.

Low budget cost, low production difficulty, and the need for an overly complicated plot can produce qualified works. Coupled with the voice advantage brought by the dual online and offline communication channels, the Snow King animation has become a very cost-effective marketing method.

Judging from its lightweight form, the brand's move this time is just an attempt and experiment, and it is not obsessed with real "animation content". The core is still the marketing logic of Mixue Bingcheng's usual small-scale wins-big-win strategy.

Image source: TikTok App

As of the evening of August 26, "The Snow King Arrives" was rated 9.9 by nearly 4,000 people on Bilibili. Douban has not yet released a score, but the short review area is mostly 4- and 5-star reviews. On TikTok, the #雪王驾到# hashtag has been played 110 million times.

2. Ruixue CP, a living joke

Mixue Bingcheng making cartoons may sound like a waste of time, but if you think about it carefully, such a move is unexpected and reasonable. After all, as a leader in content marketing, Mixue Bingcheng has gone further and further on the road of whole life.

Especially recently, Hedgehog Commune (ID: ciweigongshe) found that every time Mixue Ice City promoted its products, there was always another brand, Luckin Coffee. Not long ago, in the price war between Luckin and Kudi, the ice cube incident became strong evidence of Mixue Ice City's "yin and yang" Luckin.

Initially, a consumer complained about Luckin Coffee on social media, saying that it only takes two sips to finish a cup of coffee, and that there are too many ice cubes, which take up two-thirds of the capacity. In the comment section, many accounts disguised as Mixue Ice City left messages, including "What's wrong with Xiaorui? It shouldn't be intentional" and "Why did Xiaorui put so much ice? Is it for the customers to eat?"

Tik Tok screenshot

This famous scene was called "one Rui has trouble, eight Xue makes things difficult" by netizens, and the topic #Mixue Ice City Yin Yang Guai Qi Rui Xing# also quickly became a hot search on Weibo. Under the hot search terms, netizens defended Mixue Ice City, "Xiao Xue is so light, what does he know!"

Later, Mixue Ice City was also exposed to have too much ice, and Luckin Coffee naturally would not give up this opportunity and rushed to confront it. Many netizens were eating melons and watching the fun, and they had wild ideas and suggested that the two brands work together to "do something", for example, each of them could add "White Lotus Reina Ice" and "Mi Xue Green Tea" to their own menus.

The "business war" in reality came so directly. In the chatting and interacting with each other, Mixue Bingcheng and Luckin Coffee became acquainted with each other and the feud was formed.

But the love-hate relationship between Mixue Bingcheng and Luckin Coffee is far from simple. Their story is developing into a large-scale TV series (AKA unforgettable in the beverage industry), triggering a carnival written by netizens and created by the entire network.

In early August, Mixue Ice City announced that it would open a milk tea shop in collaboration with China Post. Netizens joked that Mixue Ice City had become the first brand in the new tea beverage industry to have a "staff position". Previously, Xue Wang's image as a miserable worker on Xiaohongshu and Bilibili had also changed, and everyone congratulated Xue Wang on "getting a job".

This time, netizens also did not forget to @Luckin Coffee in the joint marketing, using Wanyu (a character in the TV series "Love Apartment") to criticize Luckin. "Dear Rui, when you see this letter, I've already landed."

With the popular theme of "The first sword you use when you get ashore is to kill your loved one", many people followed suit and wrote short essays. At this time, due to the intrusion of the outsider "China Post", the emotional tension between Mixue Bingcheng and Luckin Coffee reached its peak at this moment, and even formed a weird CP "Auspicious Snow Heralds a Good Harvest" and "Schnauzer".

Since then, Luckin Coffee and Mixue Ice City have continued to stage their love-hate drama on various platforms. On the day when the release date of "The Snow King Arrives", the Weibo topic #Luckin Coffee won't be the villain BOSS of Mixue Animation# became a hot search, and many netizens commented that "this is true love."

When the trailer of "The Snow King Arrives" was released on Douyin, Luckin Coffee (unofficial account) left a message: "Xuexue, can I be the second male lead?" Mixue Bingcheng righteously refused, saying that no, he could only be the villain. It is unknown whether these accounts with brand logos as their avatars are impersonators or franchisees.

In short, with the increase in interactions, this weird CP has become more and more popular on the Internet, turning "mutual attacks and scams" into secret sweetness, and the degree of likability is also increasing.

Putting aside the perspective of "speculating on CP", with the upgrade of Luckin's internal "large latte" strategy, coffee and milk tea have become a general trend. Against the backdrop of "low prices" for coffee coupons, many industry insiders believe that coffee and new tea drinks will sooner or later have a battle, and Mixue Bingcheng, the "king of sinking", will become Luckin's next opponent.

In its previously released Luckin Coffee Investment Research Report, Snow Lake Capital analyzed the market risk factors faced by Luckin Coffee. The report pointed out that "independent coffee brands under franchised tea drink chains are the biggest potential threat to Luckin Coffee."

3. The road to whole life and the hidden line of brand

In fact, the close battle between milk coffee and milk tea is still in the future.

In the current milk tea industry, the market segments are clear, the brand structure is initially determined, and each price range has mature representative products. Cha Baidao, which went public in Hong Kong not long ago, is considered to have "earned the price difference between Mixue Bingcheng and Heytea."

This summer, Mixue Ice City launched two new ice creams, with cantaloupe flavored ice cream priced at 8 yuan and half a melon flavored ice cream priced at 28 yuan. As soon as the news came out, it immediately triggered heated discussions among netizens, who blamed Xiaoxue for being confused, saying "2 yuan ice cream and 4 yuan lemonade can keep you rich for life", and questioned "Who told you to use real ingredients?" Many netizens even told the truth, "Everyone's tolerance and love for you are based on the price, and have nothing to do with your taste innovation."

Tik Tok screenshot

Soon after the public opinion fermented, an insider came forward to clarify that the price increase of ice cream was actually a misunderstanding, and the limited flavors of ice cream were exclusively for the Wuhan Music Festival. At the music festival, a bottle of mineral water was sold for as much as 8 yuan, so the price of ice cream was not outrageous.

Although it was a blunder, it also indirectly proves that consumer loyalty is not about brand but price. Over the past 20 years, Mixue Ice City has chosen its brand positioning and price range, which represents the ultimate efficiency and the ultimate cost-effectiveness. It also means that the brand has no chance of high-end and expensive prices. Blind upgrades and price increases will only consume consumers' goodwill and reputation.

Based on this, the added value brought by brand identity becomes extremely important. The birth of the Snow King IP is the transition of Mixue Ice City from "doing business to doing branding" , and the release of "The Snow King Arrives" is a typical content marketing practice of Mixue Ice City in IP shaping.

As we all know, building IP is an effective strategy for brand building and differentiated competition. Building IP can help brands shape their own characteristics and style, increase brand loyalty and stickiness, and expand brand influence and revenue.

In the new tea beverage industry, due to the high degree of product homogeneity, consumers' needs and preferences are becoming more and more diversified. Creating IP can make the brand stand out from the competition and attract more target consumers.

In 2018, H&H, the marketing agency behind Mixue Bingcheng, created the Snow King IP. Since then, Mixue Bingcheng has been committed to humanizing the image of the Snow King.

In 2021, a theme song adapted from an American country folk song became popular. The fat white Snow King who sang "You love me, I love you, Mixue Ice City is sweet" also became popular. According to the official website, Snow King's position is the chief quality control officer of Mixue Ice City and the brand's lifelong spokesperson. He has an upright, friendly, enthusiastic and enterprising personality. But Snow King's image did not develop as expected.

On the short video platform, Xue Wang is proficient in dancing, disco, and fighting, and his figure wandering in front of various competing milk tea shops has become popular all over the Internet, so he is also given the nicknames "Community Cow" and "Street Drifter".

Snow King stands upside down on the streets of Singapore丨Screenshot from Xiaohongshu

Over the past five years, repeated out-of-circle marketing campaigns such as "Song of the Snow King" and "The Snow King Has Turned Dark" have made the Snow King IP gradually mature from a brand symbol and built it into a "personality" with thoughts, behaviors, strengths and weaknesses.

The launch of "Here Comes the Snow King" is also to make the image of the Snow King more specific and clear, and to showcase the brand's story and values ​​in content.

Mixue Bingcheng hopes to penetrate the brand mindset not only among students and working people, but also among younger children, and deepen the moat of its brand identity with the help of the IP universe.

According to Kamen, on the first day of the broadcast of "The Snow King Arrives", the customer flow of Mixue Ice City stores increased by 20% and sales increased by 30%. This also shows the powerful role of IP in boosting brands.

In the childhood memories of those born in the 80s and 90s, many people are familiar with this song - "When there is thunder, it will rain, Leo. When it rains, hold an umbrella, Leo". This is the theme song of the cartoon "Haier Brothers" produced by Haier Group over a period of eight years. "Haier Brothers" was released in 1995, with a total of 212 episodes, and it took 6 years to complete. In the cartoon, the Haier Brothers, who only wear shorts regardless of wind or rain, experience various adventures and encounters, and convey scientific and humanistic knowledge. Once it was broadcast, it was well received, and many people even got to know Haier Group through this cartoon.

In 2000, Audi Double Diamond toy manufacturer introduced "Beyblade" and "Beyblade" from Japan. The two cartoons greatly boosted the sales of 4WD racing cars, and "Beyblade" brought the 4WD car market to its peak. After that, Audi Double Diamond felt the dividends brought by IP and began to invest in self-made dramas. The success of "Fire Boy King" also made yo-yos popular all over the country.

It can be seen from this that IP marketing can become a content carrier and symbol for the brand's long-termism, and can effectively promote the interaction and conversion of content and business in the short term, thereby promoting product sales and peripheral development.

Although "Here Comes the Snow King" is a bold attempt by the tea brand in content marketing, it is not an innovative breakthrough for the brand in the content field, but rather a nostalgic and retro content marketing practice.

Whether it is quarreling, pairing up, or making animations to start the Snow King's adventure, the road to brand revitalization is the road to IP personality. Making the brand "alive" may become the marketing goal of many new consumer brands in the next stage.

Author: Yi Tong Ouyang, Source: WeChat public account: "Hedgehog Commune",