What’s the logic behind the new marketing that KFC, Heytea and IKEA are all doing?

Now more and more brands are beginning to focus on "regional marketing", cutting into the market from a more vertical perspective, increasing users' favorability towards the brand and social communication, so as to continuously amplify the marketing effectiveness and seek the possibility of breaking the circle. What is regional marketing? How to do regional marketing well? The author of this article analyzes this and hopes it will be helpful to you.

"When eating tofu pudding, do you prefer sweet or salty?"

In order to solve this "problem of the century", KFC launched tofu pudding with sweet and salty flavors.

This is another Chinese localized breakfast product launched by KFC after century egg and lean meat porridge and Anxin fried dough sticks.

Currently, the three types of salty tofu pudding are available in KFC stores in northern cities, while sweet tofu pudding is only available in southern cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

It has to be said that KFC has really worked hard to "satisfy" the stomachs of Chinese consumers.

KFC is very good at adapting to local customs and will launch products with local characteristics according to local conditions. This may be the secret of its enduring popularity in China for 36 years.

Not only KFC, but also brands such as Heytea and IKEA that focus on consumer experience and innovation have begun to focus on "regional marketing." They enter the market from a more vertical perspective, increase users' favorability towards the brand and social communication, and continuously amplify marketing effectiveness, seeking the possibility of breaking the circle.

So what exactly is localized marketing? And how can brands do it? Through some cases, we will analyze the marketing logic behind it.

01 Product [regional marketing] to seize the user's mind

Compared with general mass marketing ideas, regional marketing is more targeted, but it has a high trial cost for brands. The most effective way is to start from the product, which is mostly suitable for catering and fast-moving consumer goods companies .

KFC has made great achievements in this regard. In fact, it has been insisting on "making Chinese food" for many years.

As early as 2012, KFC launched a product called "Handao Mushroom Rice". Although this product has been removed from the shelves now, it did not prevent it from causing a sensation in the entire marketing industry that year.

A foreign fast food brand that has been selling hamburgers all year round suddenly started selling rice, which shows KFC's determination in "localized" marketing.

The Tender Beef and Five-Sided Dish, which was launched in 2008, is also a representative of the localization of KFC dishes.

The Tender Beef Five-Sided Hamburger abandons the Western hamburger method of pressing minced beef into patties. Instead, it uses the beef tenderloin that is familiar to Chinese consumers. It is marinated to create China's unique Sichuan spicy flavor, so it is deeply loved by consumers and has become another popular product of KFC.

As market competition continues to intensify, KFC will launch the "Good Morning City Taste" plan from 2021. It aims to launch corresponding food products based on the regional characteristics of different cities.

The first product launched under the program is hot dry noodles from Wuhan.

In the following years, KFC also "adapted to local conditions" and launched Hu La Tang in Henan, Xiao Long Bao in Hangzhou, and Luosi Noodles in Liuzhou...

These special products can only be purchased in their respective cities and can be said to be "city limited".

Today, KFC has long been the favorite fast food brand of Chinese consumers. In the final analysis, the reason why KFC's "Chinese flavor" can win the favor of Chinese people is that it fully integrates into China's local culture and grasps the consumption psychology and consumption tastes of Chinese consumers.

02 Scene-based [regional marketing] accelerates the possibility of breaking the circle

If the product is the entry point into the user's mind, then scene marketing is definitely a powerful medicine to accelerate the breakthrough and trigger a social explosion.

Let's take KFC as an example. KFC has more than 8,000 stores in China. Although we are most familiar with its red and white decoration style, in fact, if KFC is ranked second in store decoration, I think no brand dares to claim first place.

As KFC’s most proud marketing campaign, due to the official magical propaganda, many jokes promoting “Crazy Thursday” appeared on the Internet, which were jokingly called “Crazy Thursday Literature” by netizens.

But you would never imagine that the real version of "Crazy Sunday Temple" was actually built by KFC.

This is a KFC store located in Zhuhai Xiangshan Lake Park. Its uniqueness lies in that it is not a temple, but it is better than a temple.

The exterior of the store adopts the ancient Chinese architectural style of carved beams and painted buildings, flying eaves and brackets. The dozens of steps in front of the store make people enter the story in a second, giving them an immersive "temple pilgrimage" experience.

In addition to the "Crazy Sunday Temple" that has become popular on the Internet, KFC has set up stores with unique regional characteristics all over the country.

In Inner Mongolia, there is a "Mongolian-style" KFC restaurant. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the yurts stand in the desert, which looks perfectly natural.

In Suzhou Lion Grove, the "garden-style" KFC blends in with the interior architecture, and looks simple and elegant among the white walls and gray tiles;

At the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, there is a "historical-style" KFC with red walls and yellow tiles, which shows the generous character of the people in the northwest and also makes people feel the profound historical heritage of this ancient capital of thirteen dynasties.

As mentioned above, each KFC in a city has its own unique local cultural atmosphere. The KFC grandpa in Xinjiang can play the dombra, the KFC grandpa in Shandong cosplays Confucius, and the KFC in Lijiang has traditional decorations of the Naxi ethnic minority.

It can be seen that from products to scenes, in order to truly integrate into China and enter the hearts of Chinese consumers, KFC has spent a lot of time learning local cultural customs, even doing better than many of our domestic first-line brands.

It is these efforts that have made KFC's "regionalized" marketing stand out among many brands and become the leading brand of Western fast food.

03 Three dimensions to help brands achieve “regionalization”

From the above cases, it is not difficult to find that brand "regionalization" is not an easy thing.

In traditional concepts, many marketers believe that as long as they set up a pop-up store suitable for taking photos in a popular city or a shopping mall with a large flow of people, organize a marketing event, and invite a few popular celebrities/KOLs to promote it, it can be considered "regionalized" marketing.

This understanding obviously takes a one-sided view of the focus and significance of "regionalization".

In fact, the key to regionalization lies in how brands can deeply explore urban culture, find the angle to integrate with it, and make appropriate expression and presentation.

Below, I have summarized 3 key points of brand “regionalized” marketing for your reference.

1) Deepen your understanding of urban culture

Every city has its own cultural characteristics, it just depends on how you explore them. The premise of "regionalized" marketing is that brands need to be "user-centric" and have a deep understanding of local cultural customs and eating habits.

Only by truly understanding local cultural customs can brands have the opportunity to launch products that consumers love.

Catering companies like KFC can start with the regionalization of product flavors and scenes, and can also start with product packaging in terms of marketing ideas.

For example, in 2018, Coca-Cola launched "city cans" of cola, each of which incorporates characteristic elements of various places, including landmark buildings, special food, etc. Not only is it personalized and fashionable, suitable for collection, it also evokes a sense of belonging to the hometown for workers working hard outside.

In addition to Coca-Cola, the internet-famous liquor brand Jiang Xiaobai is also a master of "packaging marketing."

In 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Chongqing Municipality, Jiang Xiaobai launched the [Chongqing Taste] bottle. The 8 bottle packaging corresponds to 8 popular places in Chongqing - Jiefangbei, Yangtze River Cableway, Hongyadong, Chongqing Grand Theater, Ciqikou, Yikeshu, Huguang Guild Hall, and Great Hall of the People.

The bottle with landmark building elements not only enhances the user's consumption experience, but also makes an ordinary bottle of liquor collectible, which can be regarded as another "masterstroke" of Jiang Xiaobai's marketing department.

2) Explore the spiritual core of the city

Language and culture are the keys to open the door to emotions. In addition to taste, scene and packaging, if a brand wants to impress more target audiences, it must also accurately tap into the spiritual core of the region.

Simply put, brands need to "adapt to local customs". Many brands choose to approach the topic through "dialects" to create a strong resonance with users.

Take IKEA as an example. IKEA has adapted its store layout and design to local conditions in different cities. It also incorporates local dialects into product copywriting, thereby communicating with consumers in a more down-to-earth manner and quickly narrowing the distance between the two parties.

For example, the product copywriting of IKEA's Harbin store uses down-to-earth Northeastern dialect, such as: "What should I do if I have no place to put dirty clothes? I can use a basket to help you." "What can this pole do? I can hang clothes and dry them to dry."

Not only does the copywriting adapt to local customs, but the products also have strong regional characteristics. For example, this big pot with sauerkraut stewed pork ribs as its selling point evokes people's desire for Northeastern cuisine in a second, making people feel as if they are at home in Harbin.

In Chongqing, IKEA chose local dialects such as "Shuigaogao" and "Chimangmang";

In Qingdao, IKEA provides a 1-square-meter beer storage space for Shandong people who love beer.

In Henan, "So affordable" has become a slogan that can be seen everywhere in local IKEA stores.

However, dialects also test a company's understanding of regional culture, and if one is not careful, one may end up making things worse.

For example, two years ago, Cha Yan Yue Se was in trouble because of the incorrect use of dialect. On a certain mug of Cha Yan, there is such an advertisement: There are many beauties coming to Cha Yan Yue Se. If you happen to meet one, you can whisper to our friends: I picked up a basket.

You should know that in Changsha dialect, "挑络子" means to get a bargain. Obviously, it is not applicable to relationships between men and women, so it has been criticized by netizens.

3) Connecting consumers with products

Products are the tools that brands use to meet the needs of local consumers after they understand the city culture and establish spiritual connections with them. Products are the fundamental basis for connecting brands and consumers.

Let’s take Heytea as an example. During the development process of its Shenzhen city-exclusive product, Clay Pot Coconut Chicken, Heytea insisted that the product would not lose its deliciousness due to cross-border products.

After repeated testing of the signature galangal in the coconut chicken dip, we finally developed an optimal way to add the sauce.

The improved cuisine is more in line with Guangdong flavor, thus conquering local consumers and establishing a good reputation for brand communication.

04 Conclusion

As the traffic dividend tends to be saturated, more and more brands are beginning to capture the sinking market. Since consumers in different cities have different concerns, "regional marketing" has become a must.

Of course, "regional marketing" brings not only opportunities, but also many "pitfalls" that brands need to pay special attention to.

International brands need to have a deep understanding of China's regional culture, while local brands need to extract the essence and discard the dross to avoid failure due to lack of understanding.

Author: Yan Tao

Source: WeChat public account "Yan Tao Sanshou (ID: yantao-219)"