How to create something new through cross-border activities?

As the co-branding mechanism of major brands matures, brand innovation has become more bold and efficient, and luxury goods have also participated in it, which shows that consumers are looking forward to "effective co-branding". This article introduces several "effective" cases in detail, hoping to bring you insights.

"Different industries are like different mountains" is the consensus of most people, but in today's marketing circle, brands break the limitations of industries by creating freshness through cross-border marketing, attracting users' attention to bring super high traffic to the brand, and stimulating users' consumption to achieve brand-effect integration. At the same time, brands also achieve from entering the circle to breaking the circle in cross-border marketing, making cross-border marketing a common method for many brands to break through the boundaries of marketing.

With the increasing number of brands participating in cross-border activities, the marketing circle has also ushered in a new round of involution. Whether it is the cross-border method or the cross-border content, most of them find it difficult to release more imagination space and generate extremely high emotional value. Involution has also become a consensus among many young people.

As those born after 1995 and 2000 gradually become the main consumers, they are keen on personalized consumption and have a strong interest in the novelty highlighted in marketing. But how can we come up with new tricks for involutionary cross-border marketing and create a new blue ocean with its own traffic? Perhaps, we can get a glimpse of some marketing logic from the following four cases.

01 How can brands create new blue oceans through cross-border cooperation?

Nowadays, when young people prefer health-conscious nights, brands are coming up with new ways of cross-border marketing in order to attract the attention of their target audiences.

1. HEYTEA X FENDI: Exploring the boundaries of marketing by using luxury goods methods

As a "luxury" in China's new tea market, HEYTEA's marketing trends have always attracted much attention. In particular, this year's joint marketing between HEYTEA and FENDI has brought consumers a new experience of luxury and nobility by creating a personalized consumption scene that combines Chinese and Western elements.

In the collaboration between HEYTEA and FENDI, limited products with Chinese Yi characteristics were created, achieving a mutual collision between cultures and broadening the boundaries of brand marketing. The HEYTEA FENDI collaboration quickly became a hot topic and quickly gained popularity among young users, creating a tap-water-like communication effect.

2. Luckin Coffee x Coco Tree Coconut Juice: Controversy is traffic, and visual impact is the key to attracting users

It can be said that the collaboration between HEYTEA and FENDI is favored by more people due to the sense of nobility in the cross-border cooperation. Also popular among the public is the collaboration between Luckin Coffee and Coco Tree Coconut Juice, which is both creative and controversial.

In addition to the authentic taste of the co-branded product Coconut Cloud Latte, the earthy and trendy design used in its cross-border marketing gave the product a social attribute, which attracted users to watch, take photos and post them on WeChat Moments, and successfully went viral on WeChat Moments.

Another important factor that has attracted public attention is the inherent controversy of the co-branded brand. Coco Tree Coconut Juice has always been known as a brand that writes "fines" into its marketing budget. Because of its unconventional marketing style and its courage to play, it can always maximize the marketing effect.

The collaboration between Luckin Coffee and Coco Tree Coconut Juice, on the one hand, attracted users' attention due to the controversial nature of the co-branded brands, and on the other hand, the extremely groundbreaking design brought a stunning visual impact and achieved an upgrade of the brand's creative content. Coupled with the blessing of genuine products, the collaboration between the two successfully broke through boundaries and ultimately achieved the goal of effective conversion.

3. KFC x Blockchain: Riding on the trend, high-level marketing across circles

Often, cross-border marketing is a bold breakthrough. Luckin Coffee’s bold collaboration with the controversial Coco Tree Coconut Juice is truly daring, while KFC’s targeting of the niche yet well-known blockchain is a bolder and more advanced marketing approach launched by the brand.

As blockchain becomes increasingly popular, KFC in Canada has launched a new meal, the "Bitcoin Bucket", and offered a friendly reminder: "Bitcoin prices go up and down, but the taste of KFC remains the same! Come buy a Bitcoin Bucket", implying that KFC is more worth buying.

Just from the perspective of the brand's deep exploration of user preferences and leading market trends, KFC uses the method of riding on hot topics + cross-circle marketing, which effectively connects users, expands the brand's influence, triggers users' impulse to buy KFC products, and achieves effective marketing.

4. ThinkPad × "Transformers": Jointly co-branded popular TV series and movies, expanding IP effect

From a marketing perspective, KFC Canada's way of turning hot spots into brand marketing opportunities is a new breakthrough in brand marketing. What still makes marketing stand out is the way of co-branding with popular film and television dramas to enrich the brand's marketing connotation and expand the brand's influence through the IP effect.

For example, ThinkPad recently co-branded with the popular movie "Transformers: Rise of the Power Warriors" to attract and infect users with a more immersive plot. Based on the technological attributes of the product, the core value of the product was deeply tied to the well-known character IP in the movie, giving the product new vitality and triggering emotional resonance among the public. At the same time, ThinkPad has also become the common choice of many young people through the meticulous presentation of the core value of the product.

02 Cross-border marketing forms: cross-category cross-border, cross-circle cross-border, cross-border content cross-border

Cross-border marketing is a way of gathering together for warmth, a marketing model that breaks conventional thinking, and a common method for brands to establish new cognition and create traffic pools. After sorting out various types of cross-border marketing, Mr. Bingfa found that there are three types of brand cross-border marketing:

First, cross-category products stimulate consumption. For example, NetEase Cloud Music started selling underwear, KFC launched toys, Melatonin started selling clothes, and Xiaodu started selling fitness mirrors...

By launching new products across industries, brands have made their unique products a business card of the brand. While stimulating user consumption, it has also allowed the brand to gain more exposure through sufficiently unique marketing.

The second is to cross circles and give the brand new characteristics. For example, when blockchain was popular, KFC in Canada launched a cross-currency marketing strategy.

Brands create a sense of freshness through cross-border marketing. The cross-border marketing here actually breaks the marketing barriers between circles. While creating a sense of presence in the minds of consumers, it penetrates into the world of young people, changes consumers' inherent perception of the brand, and establishes a brand image that dares to play and knows how to play.

The third is cross-border content to extend the life cycle of communication. For example, in the cross-border cooperation between Luckin Coffee and Coco Tree Coconut Juice, Luckin Coffee abandoned the conventional design of the brand in terms of packaging style and used the controversial design of Coco Tree Coconut Juice, which is colorful and has large fonts, creating connections and associations between the cooperating brands.

It can be said that high-quality content is the best tool to extend the brand communication cycle. From traditional paper media to the new media era of graphics, text and short videos, the marketing circle has always heard the saying "content is king". After experiencing the changes of the times, content is king still maintains its vitality. This also proves that cross-border content has become an evergreen in the cross-border form with its irreplaceable advantages.

Final Thoughts

Cross-border marketing is to interpret the same value concept from different angles. It is a magic weapon to create new product/marketing experience, and it is also an important way for brands to connect with new consumer groups. In today's world with a variety of marketing methods, if brands want their cross-border marketing to stand out, they also need to understand the trends, pay attention to consumers' consumption preferences and living habits, and use them as a guide for marketing ideas and strategies. On this basis, they can integrate brand management concepts and communication demands to give brand marketing a new lease of life and give new vitality to the involuted marketing and consumer market.

Author: Mr. Bingfa

Source: WeChat public account "Marketing Art of War (ID: lanhaiyingxiao)"