Annual Review Series | Eight bitter lessons, how can brands avoid being caught in the crossfire and becoming a hot topic in 2023?

People are increasingly inclined to voice their opinions to brands, quietly voting with their money and never using brands that offend them again. These changes are reshaping the concepts and methods of brand interaction with consumers, and also determine that brands can no longer handle consumer relationships and market sentiment in the same way as in the past.

2022 is a long and difficult year. For most companies, stability and profitability are more tempting and more urgent than in any previous year.

Among all the difficulties and misfortunes, "failure" may be the one that companies fear the most. The hot searches, inappropriate apologies and continued fermentation of public opinion may knock a company to the ground, thus eroding its sales and profits.

If you review the rollover incidents in recent years, you will find that the number of brand rollover incidents has increased year by year in the past three years. However, behind the various rollover incidents, it is not that there are any problems with the products and services of these companies. On the contrary, the products and services of some leading brands are still steadily improving.

Three years after the pandemic, the market environment and population in which brand companies operate have undergone tremendous changes, involving changes in social structure, market sentiment, and consumer psychology. It is these changes that are currently reshaping the concepts and methods of brand-consumer interaction, and also determine that brands can no longer handle consumer relationships and market sentiment in the same way as in the past.

For example, people are increasingly inclined to voice their opinions to brands, rather than quietly voting with their money and never using brands that offend them again, as they did in the past. In the past, people usually chose the latter, especially when more and more new brands emerged and people were faced with more choices.

These calls can be seen as a passive correction. At the end of the year and the beginning of the next year, Ebang Power reviewed the brand rollover incidents in 2022 and summarized eight warnings, sorting out the social structure and market sentiment changes behind them. 2022 is about to pass, and everything will be turned over. These revelations will also accompany brand companies into the new 2023.

1. The three major trends of thought lead to the biggest crash, and brand marketing tests corporate values

First, consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to issues such as gender equality and women's rights. Behaviors that exaggerate gender stereotypes, objectify, or even insult women will be condemned by more and more consumers. From the shooting angle of a model photo to a line of advertising slogans on a poster, no corner can escape the scrutiny of consumers.

Looking back at the brand failures in 2022, vulgar marketing related to women is undoubtedly one of the hottest keywords. Consumers will not let go of any "mistakes" of the brand and will only send them to hot searches. In 2022, brands that failed on topics related to women include Procter & Gamble, Jieting, Fuyangjie, Weilong, Ulike and 711.

For example, P&G once published an article on its WeChat official account titled "Women's feet stink five times more than men's? Smell it now if you don't believe it", comparing the body odor of men and women; the photos posted by Jieting had a voyeuristic perspective and were accused of insulting women; the outer packaging of Weilong spicy strips was printed with words such as "Do you want to date?", "Very big" and "Tough", and was considered to be "playing a borderline ball"; the advertisement released by Ulike, "Without sapphires, I won't take them off", and the copywriting of 711, "She's not drunk, no chance", were all accused of being vulgar.

Fuyanjie's Taobao flagship store sells a hyaluronic acid rose nourishing wash. In its advertisement, it contains content such as "My skin is getting darker and darker. What should I do?" and "Wash out a girlish pink." The China Women's News commented on this, asking: "You're making money from women, but you still don't respect them?"

Cha Yan Yue Se's new store in Nanjing has an English logo "Sexytea" on its exterior wall. Combined with the image of a classical woman, it inevitably evokes associations. This move is suspected to be Cha Yan Yue Se's way of "playing an edge ball" to attract attention.

Second, everyone likes innocent, cute and natural animals. Should the brand let animals endorse its products or let animals perform? The difference of a verb may lead to a brand failure.

It seems that it is common for animals to appear in advertisements. In 1885, Jumbo the elephant became the first animal spokesperson in the history of advertising. Since Jumbo, more animal images have been used in advertisements to stimulate consumers' emotions and promote purchases. In modern advertising, this is called "animal placeholders."

However, as the public pays more attention to animal welfare and animal ethics, and some animals gradually enter households and become pets that accompany people, the issue of animal protection is also triggering widespread resonance. At this time, talking about "animals occupying a place" may be risky. On the contrary, protecting animals should be a means for brands to establish a positive image.

In 2022, there were at least three brand failures related to animal performances.

Luxury brand Gucci released an advertisement for the Year of the Tiger, using real tigers in the video, which subsequently sparked criticism from animal protection organizations, who believed that it conveyed the wrong message of commercializing tigers and glorifying captive wild animals.

Skincare brand Mofashijia released an advertisement for a dolphin skin bionic mask, in which a dolphin made an anthropomorphic sound. Netizens questioned whether the advertisement was an animal performance, and that the use of a real dolphin as the spokesperson for the dolphin skin bionic mask advertisement could easily make people think of animal cruelty.

Nongfu Spring's tea drink "Cha Pi" has an elephant with decorations printed on its packaging. It was criticized by netizens for "beautifying circus elephant performances" and once ranked fourth on the hot search list.

Third, domestic trends and domestic products are becoming the objects that young people are happy to pursue, but incorrect cultural appropriation, or even using them without explanation and ignoring consumers' emotional identification, will only damage the brand's influence in the Chinese market in the long run.

It has become a trend for young people to pay attention to traditional Chinese culture. Some brands use traditional Chinese elements without indicating them or making mistakes, which has caused widespread controversy.

In July 2022, netizens questioned that a skirt of Dior appropriated the ancient Chinese design of "horse-faced skirt", while Dior claimed in the product introduction that this was Dior's iconic silhouette. Dior did not respond and just quietly removed the product. In August, netizens revealed that in Dior's "2022 Fall/Winter Ready-to-Wear Collection", many products were printed with patterns that looked like traditional Chinese flower and bird paintings, but the introduction did not mention Chinese elements at all.

In November, L'Oreal, Hotel Shilla and private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners jointly launched the luxury skincare brand Shihyo, saying that the brand was inspired by the "24 Eastern solar terms" and that the products use natural ingredients harvested during each solar term, and that these herbs come from Korean farmers. Netizens questioned whether L'Oreal and the Korean consortium intentionally blurred the fact that the "24 solar terms" originated from China.

2. The number of price-sensitive consumers has skyrocketed. Will the next step be a low-desire society?

Fourth, with the increase in price-sensitive consumers, the same product with no price change will suddenly be regarded as a "price assassin"; and inappropriate price increases and improper handling of channels or shelves will also cause the brand to offend public anger.

Three years after the pandemic, the number of price-sensitive consumers has increased significantly. In the summer of 2022, Bain & Company and Kantar Worldpanel released the 2022 China Shopper Report, stating that consumers' price sensitivity to fast-moving consumer goods continues to increase.

In the past three years, the prices of upstream raw materials for fast-moving consumer goods have risen sharply, and many companies are facing the pressure of price increases. However, if companies cannot properly handle the relationship between price increases and price-sensitive consumers, they will be labeled as "price assassins".

On September 22, 2022, "Netizens complained that Haidilao's condiments have risen to 11 yuan" became a hot search on Weibo. Some netizens believed that the price of dishes was also rising, and it was okay to clearly mark the prices. Other netizens complained that the dishes became more expensive, the quantity became smaller, and the service was not as good as before. As early as 2020, Haidilao also raised prices, which caused strong dissatisfaction among consumers. After becoming a hot search, it adjusted back to the original price. Netizens said: "It is hard to accept the price increase during the epidemic. After all, it is a big brand."

On November 11, 2018, an ice cream brand under Zhong Xue Gao was priced at 66 yuan and sold 20,000 sticks in 15 hours, making it a popular ice cream brand. In 2022, consumers and market sentiment have changed a lot. Zhong Xue Gao has gone from being the "glory of domestic products" to the "ice cream assassin" because of its high-priced ice cream.

In fact, when you open Zhong Xue Gao's Tmall flagship store today, the price of a single ice cream among the top five best-selling products is about 15 yuan. After the storm, Zhong Xue Gao began to set up brand counters in offline channels, and will mark the price on the packaging of new products launched in 2023.

Fifth, in the Internet age, ingredient lists can easily cross national borders, and "double standards" have nowhere to hide. A hotly debated "double standard" incident is more likely to stimulate consumers' already sensitive nerves and trigger more anxiety and panic.

"Double standards" is the key word for brand failures in the food industry in 2022. Comparing the double standards at home and abroad, netizens lamented: "Chinese are at the bottom of the food chain. Foreigners sell bad products to Chinese, and Chinese also sell bad products to Chinese." This makes many global brands tremble.

In March 2022, the Korean brand "Orion" became the focus of public opinion overnight. Some netizens questioned that the Orion chocolate pie sold in China used cocoa butter substitute ingredients, while the ingredient list of Korean imported products showed cocoa powder. It is reported that unlike natural cocoa butter, cocoa butter substitute ingredients contain trans fatty acids, which will harm the health of consumers. Regarding the controversy over the "double standards" of ingredients, Orion said that it was caused by the inaccurate expression of the translation software when translating the ingredient list of overseas products, and the different requirements and names of the ingredient list in different countries, which caused misunderstandings among netizens.

In April 2022, Fanta was accused of double standards and became a hot topic on Weibo. A foreign student in the UK found that the ingredients list of the British version of Fanta Orange was different from the product sold in China when he drank Fanta drinks under Coca-Cola. The British version added concentrated juice, and the additives were healthier than the domestic version. Therefore, he believed that Coca-Cola, the company behind Fanta, was suspected of "double standards".

At the end of September 2022, many netizens posted comparisons between Haitian soy sauce purchased in China and abroad. The most widely circulated one was the Haitian soy sauce purchased in Japan, which only listed soybeans, wheat, salt, sugar and other raw materials in the ingredient list. The Haitian soy sauce purchased in China, in addition to the above raw materials, also has a variety of additives, which has aroused public doubts about the "double standards" of Haitian soy sauce.

3. The rollover company should not be guilty of original sin. Ignoring the signals sent is the real danger.

Sixth, traffic stars are sought after by specific circles and generally have a strong personal style. Once they step in front of the advertising platform, a little feather in the star’s life can be a mountain that crushes their reputation.

Stars are exposed to the camera for a long time, and there are more opportunities for them to be found out. Stars who were signed at sky-high prices have their value reduced to zero overnight, and brand termination has become a technical job of crisis public relations. In 2022, Li Moufeng's multiple prostitution incidents became a hot topic, and 13 brands quickly announced the termination of their contracts; once Deng Lun's tax evasion was exposed, 21 brands terminated their endorsement contracts.

Grassroots internet celebrities are not safe either, and may even be more risky. In 2022, internet celebrity "Dian Di La Hai" endorsed Cha Bai Dao, and consumers said frankly that "it's ugly, which reduces the desire to consume." Diao Di La Hai became popular on the Internet for the contrast between her appearance before and after cross-dressing and photoshop, and gained tens of millions of fans on Douyin. However, on Xiaohongshu and Weibo, consumers do not seem to buy it, especially arousing ridicule from female consumers, and the discussion directly ranked first on Weibo's hot search.

Such things are not uncommon in the endorsements of Internet celebrities in the past. In 2021, the hyaluronic acid brand Runbaiyan under Huaxi Biology cooperated with the blogger "Big Brother Daidai" Sun Xiaochuan. Later, Sun Xiaochuan was found to have been banned and insulted women, and was boycotted by consumers. In the same year, Rolls-Royce invited Internet celebrity couples to endorse it. Some car owners believed that this endorsement lowered the brand's grade, and Wang Sicong commented that "I will not buy it in the future."

Real people are bound to be messy, but virtual people are always perfect. In the metaverse era, will virtual people replace real people in marketing?

Seventh, the Japanese style once made the brand gain market favor, but now the water temperature has changed, and consumers are more willing to pay for Chinese stories. More and more brands that started with Japanese style are quietly erasing Japanese elements and instead strengthening the impression of domestic brands.

A netizen once revealed that MINISO's Spanish Instagram account tweeted a "Princess Series Doll Blind Box" at the end of July, saying that the doll wearing a cheongsam was a Japanese geisha. Subsequently, the brand's Japanese style was controversial and related topics became a hot search. Subsequently, MINISO deleted the tweet and issued a notice saying that the Chinese cheongsam doll was mistakenly translated as a "Japanese geisha."

As early as 2019, MINISO had initiated the "de-dailyization" rectification and will complete the rectification of all store decorations and promotional materials worldwide before March 31, 2023.

This is not an isolated case. In recent years, under the wave of "domestic products" and "national trends", the "Japanese style" trend has gradually receded. In November 2022, Nayuki's Tea changed its logo, changing the store sign "Nayuki's Tea" to "Nayuki's Tea", and the letter sign was changed from the Japanese romanization "NAYUKI" to the pinyin "NAIXUE".

Eighth, the comments made by brand executives in private spaces are considered by consumers to be their true words and are more credible. Once these comments are put in public spaces and are significantly different from the brand’s previous comments, they may trigger public opinion. This reminds brands that they need to pay full attention to how to communicate with consumers at all times, and they should also pay special attention to private spaces.

People's comments are captured in screenshots, which can preserve information, extend the life of comments, and blur the boundaries between private and public spaces. The speaker may think that he is expressing his personal opinions in a private space, but the screenshots make these comments have the attribute of open dissemination. Once inappropriate comments are published, onlookers can see the "ironclad evidence".

In October 2022, netizens questioned that Li Ning's new clothing products looked like Japanese military uniforms, but Li Ning did not immediately explain it. Instead, a screenshot of the executives was circulated first, adding fuel to the public opinion. Netizens believed that Li Ning's operation was like "teaching consumers how to do things."

After the "broken knife by smashing garlic" incident, netizens dug out a video of Xia Qianliang, general manager of knife brand Zhang Xiaoquan, in which he said: "Chinese people use knives incorrectly to cut vegetables. All Michelin chefs don't cut vegetables that way." Zhang Xiaoquan was once again pushed to the forefront of public opinion, and was constantly accused of "worshiping foreign things and fawning on foreigners."

Looking back at the brand rollovers that occurred in 2022, we found that it was not because these brands suddenly did something in 2022, but because the environment and consumers they were in changed. The PEST model is a tool for companies to conduct macro-environment analysis. This model points out that the macro factors that affect companies in the industry include political, economic, social and technological.

Especially in the social field, changes are not easy to detect, but they have a huge impact. In the above eight aspects, the awakening of women's rights, the development of feminism, the rise of animal protectionism, cultural appropriation, attitudes towards foreign cultures and media changes are actually social issues. This is a reality that every company has to coexist with.

People who run businesses, especially those who are in charge of specific operations, pay more attention to changes at the micro level, but the general trend of economic development will fundamentally change or affect micro-level operations. In the 1980s, after Japan's high-speed growth ended, market expectations were no longer high, asset prices fell, and Japan entered a low-desire society. The entire society's consumption became more conservative and more sensitive to prices. In fact, the lower classes of the United States have also experienced similar changes in recent years.

Considering the current geopolitical conflicts, anti-globalization and the prevalence of conservatism, the challenges faced by brand companies beyond products, technology and services may increase year by year. In 2022, the companies that have failed are not guilty, but rather a correction. It is a warning to all companies that they should not only make good products, but also pay attention to the environment in which they are located and the consumers they serve.

Author: Yan Fei

Source: WeChat public account "Ebrun Power (ID: iebrun)"