Products, the soul of the brand

In this article, the author describes the importance of products to a brand and how to shape the brand around products and promote brand communication.

01

Even the most prestigious or mysterious brands are nothing but empty shells if they are separated from the support of products. This is also the reason why so-called Internet celebrity brands and supernova brands such as Perfect Diary and Huaxizi are gradually abandoned by consumers after investing billions of dollars in publicity and promotion and brand detonation costs. The so-called "big brand substitute" strategy has not been successful.

To become a brand that gains consumer loyalty and repeat purchases , it is necessary to use high-quality products to build their brand kingdom . In today's era, this is beyond doubt. Yuanqi Forest's success, in addition to marketing, has a lot to do with its good product quality.

02

Consumers who have grown up surrounded by Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Zhihu, WeChat, Weibo, and Alibaba are already tired of empty propaganda, conceited swagger, and excessive marketing. They have suffered too much deception and thrown away too many junk products. At the same time, they also understand the consequences of unconscious consumption (live streaming sales on Douyin and Video Accounts have pushed unconscious consumption to the extreme).

More and more consumers are actively looking for truly high-quality products, rather than blindly following the crowd. Consumers are beginning to avoid vulgar things (such as Ms. Zhang Lan, the former founder of South Beauty, who is a representative of vulgar live broadcasts and product recommendations) and look for products that can stand the test of time, or products that are truly worth our money.

03

The reason why good brands can adapt to the new society and new environment has nothing to do with the environmental protection concept of the product. The reason why good brands are popular is that their product quality exceeds that of other competitors. They strictly adhere to quality standards and leave similar products far behind. Therefore, they can stand out from the crowd. As early as five years ago, the so-called emerging brands were useless and badmouthed P&G and Unilever, but a few years later, these big brands are still the ones that really dominate the market.

04

For brands that can win consumer loyalty and repeat purchases, products are the essence of the brand. Products are not only amazingly practical, but also the key to the brand's ability to create legendary stories. To achieve this, brands usually follow the following three ways.

The first way is to turn the brand into a "holy grail". What the brand creates is a "convincing story" rather than a "convincing reason": stories can romanticize consumption, ease the tension in the consumption process, and make the product more attractive.

In addition, these brands also draw inspiration from higher fields, pursue art and craftsmanship, and ultimately transform product transactions into ritualistic behaviors. For example, a brand we once served was called "Xino", which is the number one brand of high-end thermos cups in China. The brand's product quality is first-class, but it lacks a "legendary brand story" that can romanticize the purchase and empower its brand.

What we continue to communicate with its founder is to make such high-quality products a top brand through the creation of a "legendary brand story" and systematic brand management.

The second way is to increase brand recognition. Many top brands have their own unique designs to increase recognition, so that customers can know their products even if they don’t see the brand logo. In the increasingly fierce market competition, a brand can only become a one-in-a-million product if it accurately conveys its own characteristics.

In addition, brands that gain high consumer loyalty must ensure the perfection of their products and keep them in the spotlight, because "heroes need the spotlight." It may not stay at the top of the best-selling list for a long time, but it will definitely occupy the sales market for a long time and maintain its freshness and popularity. Brand icons also need to evolve: they need to appear in the market again and again and become a must-have for the public.

The third way is to set a goal. This requires the brand to do a good job of product positioning and continuously strengthen the product's foundation. But the premise is that a sufficiently stable brand product must be created first, otherwise everything is empty talk.

05

Products are the core of the brand:

Nianzhi has served more than 60 leading brands in different segments in the past, and through our observations of hundreds of top brands around the world, we firmly believe that only by adhering to the product-centric concept can we truly create great brands.

In the process of creating a brand, the founder is very important. The founders of great brands are all great product masters. They don’t just rely on “concepts” to fool consumers. (The founder of Zhong Xuegao is a typical founder who fools consumers and regards concepts as productivity) Many founders who don’t take products seriously ignore that the higher the brand positioning, the greater the expectations of consumers.

Therefore, high-positioned brands must pursue perfection and work hard on product features, manufacturing technology, appearance design, etc. In the traditional and modern brand world, those top brands face people who are willing to pay higher than average prices to buy goods, and the pursuit of perfection is exactly what they expect. Apple's success is a perfect example of this.

06

At the same time, we must also realize that consumers are constantly evolving. They want to buy fewer products, but with higher quality and wider uses. They want to hear less empty words and gain more sincerity. This is why consumers are keen to understand the brand background, brand story and product details, and will not be disturbed by the superficial image of lifestyle.

Based on this, more and more brands are turning advertising into "history lessons". For example, LV has shifted its advertising focus from celebrities to travel records in recent years. Authenticity is a solid foundation, but it alone cannot create a top brand. We should also focus on the overall marketing plan, from production to packaging, from display to sales, and make sure it is perfect.

All factors are based on shaping the brand product, presenting it as an extraordinary product, the ultimate product, and a model of the same category. Only by injecting true love into the product and chasing after it like a star can you truly impress the supporters and create the brand myth.

07

Make the top brand into a "holy grail" like the Hercules Trophy: Dumas, the former director of the Hermès brand, said in an interview: "We are the only company that does not have a marketing department because our first goal is the product." And this is exactly why Hermès is popular: "There is no excessive marketing, only understatement, simplicity, authenticity, nobility, and extremely demanding craftsmanship."

Nowadays, many companies have begun to ignore this important principle, and fewer and fewer brands have achieved this. They ignore the fact that relying solely on products to attract consumers is far from enough.

However, this is indeed the impression that top brands should give. Their marketing must appear to be "disdainful of marketing" in order to use consumers' own desires to promote them. They must make their products "holy grails" so that consumers can receive some kind of enlightenment. They must show enough love for their products to arouse consumers' worship.

08

From believing in the truth to believing in stories: There is one way, and it may be the most important one, which is to apply the concept of storytelling to the brand and product categories. Brands should tell the ingredients, craftsmanship, sources or manufacturing processes of their products, which is what we often say is believing in the truth. Now we should change this approach to believing in stories.

Lei Jun once told the story of "The Artistic Journey of a Steel Plate" at the launch of Xiaomi 4, which is storytelling. We should add some unique and romantic elements to the products and make them into charming stories, so that we can better bypass people's rational filtering system and go directly into their hearts.

09

The marketing model of storytelling can leave a deeper impression, be more unique, and last longer. Its effect is reflected in two aspects: first, it injects emotions into the product and makes you fall in love with it; second, it injects their packaged ideas into our rational thinking. Stories can elevate products above the level of ordinary commodities, make consumers remember them, and spread them by word of mouth, and make other factors, such as price, become less important.

10

Let the brand be rooted in art and craftsmanship: Brands such as Emma Ren, Chanel, Dior and Montblanc are often considered to have extremely high requirements for production craftsmanship.

So it was no surprise that Van Gogh built a beautifully luxurious visual factory in Le Locle, and it made sense that Chanel bought the handcraft workshop when it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Smith & Robb, a high-end eyewear brand, said in its promotional materials that it has built a professional yak breeding farm in Tibet, China, so that yak horns can be used as raw materials for eyeglass frames. This practice is also a common operation. Whether in terms of scope or price level, the marketing industry's love for art and craftsmanship has exceeded people's imagination.

11

Create a unique sense of ritual: In order to avoid clichés and monotony, every brand story and every "holy grail" needs to create a sense of ritual to bring consumers a sacred experience.

The sense of ritual can elevate a simple action to a special experience and create an atmosphere of worship. Top brands have brought this ancient truth into the 21st century, constantly updating and using it to create high-quality modern experiences.

Many newly created internet celebrity brands in China have also realized the secret. For example, DR Diamond’s registration ID card only gave diamonds to one girl in order to create a sense of ritual. However, it was later "faked" and the record was "erased". This operation destroyed the sense of ritual, which was not worth the loss and lost the lasting trust of consumers.

Author: Liu Yichun

Source: WeChat public account "Liu Yichun's Brand Business Innovation (ID: shangyeyiguohui)"