Chapter 9 Yiguan: a dejected World Cup marketing

Be prepared for danger in times of peace, Runtian must develop and grow in order to have a larger living space.Runtian has considered producing beverages such as cola and fruit juice.However, at that time, the competition in the cola and fruit juice market had reached a "fierce" level. As a "latecomer", Runtian was not sure of winning. However, an accidental opportunity created the later "Guangdong Runtian Yiguan Health Products Co., Ltd.". In that year, a leader of Runtian learned about a miraculous drink called "Guarana" during his investigation in Brazil. A magical functional fruit with great efficacy. "Guarana" was brought back to China, and Runtian tried to develop plant-based functional drinks.The subsequent market survey by Runtian Company found that in the early 1990s, the global functional beverage market started with a sales volume of less than US$2 billion.However, in less than 10 years, the sales of global functional beverages in 2001 have exceeded 15 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of double digits. Some experts predict that by 2005, the global functional beverage market will reach 25 billion US dollars .In China, the sales revenue of functional beverages was only RMB 1.2 billion that year, showing how vast the market space is.At that time, the market structure of such beverages in China was that, except for Red Bull, which was thriving and occupied more than 70% of the market share, the combined market share of some other brands was less than 30%. Some people even optimistically estimated that there were at least 10% of functional drinks in China. billion market space.Based on the short development time of functional beverages in China and the lack of market competition, from the perspective of the development trend of the beverage market, functional beverages are likely to become the new favorite of consumers after carbonated beverages, purified water, fruit and vegetable beverages and tea beverages, etc. .Runtian is determined to enter the functional beverage market.

At the beginning of 2001, Runtian Company entered the actual operation stage.In order to develop products, Runtian commissioned the Extraction Center of Hunan Agricultural University to conduct product research and development.After tackling key problems, the new product was successfully developed soon.This drink, endowed with the miraculous effect of "refreshing the mind and replenishing physical energy", is named "Yiguan".One is "Yiguan" and "Yiguan" are homophonic, which is easy to catch; secondly, it means "to refresh the mind and calm the body, and build three crowns bravely".

Later, due to the optimistic market, Guangdong Runtian Yiguan Health Products Co., Ltd. was jointly established by venture capital companies, Shenzhen Anchengxin Investment Company, Jiangxi Yuanyuan Investment Company, the Sports Science Research Institute of the State Sports General Administration, and Jiangxi Fengjiang Industrial Company. Founded. In August 2001, the market was launched.A group of outstanding talents attracted by the popular recruitment advertisements quickly gathered together, including Guan Zhenfu, who was previously in charge of channel construction at Robust and was appointed as the deputy general manager of marketing; the former senior consultant of Hong Kong Junming Enterprise Management Consulting Company , Liao Jianning, who was appointed as the marketing manager, etc.

With everything in place, the great scenery of Yiguan seems to be in sight.And the 2002 World Cup just in front of us may be a good opportunity to enter the market. People from Jinliufu once said: "Choosing sports marketing and choosing Milu in 2001-2002 made us seem to find a bright exit from a long and narrow black box, and suddenly our eyes suddenly became clear. We joked that the length of human vision is It is 8 kilometers away, but our vision should be at least 8 years long."Since Jinliufu's people have eight years of vision, what about Yiguan? As a newly listed functional beverage company, in the functional beverage market it faces is about 1 billion, Red Bull Beverage has been thriving in the past, and has maintained a sales volume of 400-500 million. Yiguan should How to do?Liao Jianning, the company's marketing manager at the time, thought, "First of all, we chose Dentsu as our brand agent, and Red Bull also chose Dentsu. The difference is that they are a Chinese advertising company controlled by Dentsu. During the process, Nippon Dentsu suggested to us that it is best to choose Milu as the image spokesperson of the product. If we say that the combination of Milu and domestic enterprises in the past is still the understanding of domestic planners or advertisers, Nippon Dentsu’s suggestion It does prove from another level the commercial value of Milu and the World Cup behind him today."

This is a conceptual hype, but in terms of the specific operation of the product, Liao Jianning said, "First of all, we don't just hype it and end it. Borrowing Milu is a process of taking advantage of the situation. The key is the operation of the product and the marketing channel. Do, as well as the following series, Milu is a cunning and changeable person like a fox, which can be seen on the court, and the consumers that Yiguan Beverage has to face are those who need to be mentally connected with others. Gaming, so a group that is good at thinking, in this positioning, Milu and Yiguan are interlinked." From this analysis, it seems that the operators of the enterprise are planning before acting.

Guan Zhenfu, the general manager of Yiguan and also the chairman of Shenzhen Anxinxin Investment Company, is a scholar-born academic manager. Regarding market expectations, he said that the conservative figure should be at least 100 million.And what about input?The investment in Milu is about 1 million RMB. "Drink Yiguan, go to the World Cup with Milu", "Yiguan, have a can!", Yiguan beverage, which has just been launched, has been popular in Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jiangsu in a short period of time with the prestige of Milu. , Zhejiang and other places have established more than 20 branches, and the Xi’an Sugar and Wine Fair in March accelerated Yiguan’s market momentum because of Milu’s presence. “One billion is definitely not a problem.” "Join" with full confidence.

In any case, a comprehensive commercial movement around the World Cup was in full swing in 2002. When the World Cup group match was in full swing, Yiguan executives watching the match in Guangzhou were sweating profusely.The most undesirable scene happened. The Chinese football team led by Milu was defeated, conceding 9 goals in 3 World Cup games, and the Chinese football team was disgraced.And all products related to Milu have lost their reputation due to the overwhelming criticism of Milu. Beforehand, Yiguan executives were still prepared for Milu's World Cup results.Once Milu was defeated in South Korea, the Milu series of advertisements were immediately withdrawn and replaced with advertisements that mainly focused on functional appeals; at the same time, in order to save the market, Yiguan’s top management also prepared 20 million yuan in rescue funds.However, to the surprise of Yiguan's executives, Yiguan's functional appeal advertisement needs to be reported to the relevant state departments for approval because it involves the function of health care products.However, after the end of the World Cup, the relevant health care approval documents were not issued. At this time, other advertisements had not yet been produced. In desperation, Yiguan had to stop the advertisement broadcast.

A strong pull for a new product without an ad is like a bird with its wings snapped off.At this time, dealers all over the country could no longer hold back, and there were continuous calls for returns. As the successful planner of Jinliufu Liquor, Ye Maozhong said: "The issue of banning the advertisement is actually not only for Milu, but for foreign stars who are coaxing on CCTV. As for this phenomenon, as far as the harm is concerned, it is the harm of a group, and there is no problem of a certain company being particularly sad. Therefore, there is no way to lose your temper. The only way is to seize the time to think of other solutions way".

How to deal with it?Jinliufu is one of the leading ones. In fact, as far as the business opportunities of the World Cup are concerned, they are generally concentrated in the month before the World Cup, the month in the middle and the month after the end. The first month is the product promotion time.For Chinese companies, due to the entry of the Chinese team and its own special circumstances, the two months before the World Cup should be regarded as a relatively golden time, and Jinliufu started operations as soon as the Chinese team entered the World Cup, and will continue to This time is advanced even more.In this sense, Jin Liufu did not have much to lose.

However, Runtian Yiguan, who only started broadcasting Milu commercials on CCTV in March 2002, had too many injuries. Guan Zhenfu, who had just finished an interview with the Wall Street Journal, was relatively calm: "For Yiguan, our company itself was born out of venture capital, and we have a sufficient understanding of risks. Advertising is not without precedent, such as Zhang Huimei, etc. Therefore, when Yiguan and Dentsu Advertising jointly used Milu as the image spokesperson, we took this into consideration. For example, if Milu’s Chinese team performed too well in the World Cup What to do if it is bad, what to do if you become a dark horse, we all take these factors into the scope of risk.”

Guan Zhenfu also believes that when broadcasting is prohibited, the company has already considered specific marketing practices. Experience is one thing, and it is another thing to integrate experience into the company's product line.First, direct face-to-consumer activities and promotions. Based on the initial success in cognition obtained through the intermediate link of Milu in the first half of 2002, the main task in the second half of the year is to link products with consumers; Second, remove some things related to Milu, and output large-scale event promotions; third, make good use of the hype of Milu's event, become a part of the vortex, and make brand awareness more publicized. However, Yiguan is a new company established in 2002 after all, and a new team was formed on this basis. Then, this brand new team created a brand new brand of "Yiguan". As far as the "three innovations" are concerned, Yiguan is a veritable small and medium-sized enterprise. Since it is a small and medium-sized enterprise, it seems that it is throwing out 1 million yuan at all costs to connect Milu and Yiguan. This kind of "gambling" What will be the consequences behind it? Has Yiguan ever thought about it? "Yiguan, here is a can!" With Milu's hoarse voice, what did Milu bring to Yiguan? Objectively speaking, first of all, Yiguan's popularity has been highlighted.Yiguan had a plan before using Milu. In the first half of the year, they used this influence to increase their popularity. In the second half of the year, with the weakening of the World Cup, they downplayed the influence of Milu in the corporate brand. In fact, they have achieved their expected goal. , After the advertisement came out, a large number of domestic advertising companies kept in touch with them, and the popularity of the product in Shenzhen and other places has reached more than 80%. Second, gain trust within the marketing network.For a new company, team and brand without any reputation, Yiguan can prove too little to the domestic marketing network, but after using Milu, in just 5 months, they established a nationwide Although the operational efficiency still needs time to be integrated, the construction of the entire framework has provided a foundation for the nationwide promotion of products. Again, a marketing team has been formed successfully.At the beginning of the company's establishment, because it was a completely new company and brand, Yiguan was in a second-party position when the company was recruiting, and companies with better talents had to spend a lot of effort to convince them, and they kept talking about emphasizing company's prospects.But after Milu’s advertisement came out, it made them see the prospect of the company and the confidence of the leadership. At that time, even the middle-level cadres and business backbones of some large beverage companies such as Jianlibao began to move closer to this side. In terms of attracting talents, Milu advertising has played an irreplaceable role. Finally, one of the most important factors is that Yiguan has established its own image in front of consumers.Consumers are the most important customers of Yiguan, and it is the ultimate benefit to grasp them. Yiguan’s sales team gathered by venture capital is basically assembled in the form of airborne troops. Such a hastily built team that has been questioned as a "grass team" by the outside world is far from becoming a stable team. The short-term assault for 120 million began under the circumstances, and the communication with the capital side and the market research also took time, and the result of the hasty launch can be imagined.Therefore, as a new company, a newly formed team, and under the pressure of a clear sales task, Yiguan's marketing management believes that compared with other peers or competitors, they are not qualified to compete in endurance , can only compete with the explosive power in the market!Therefore, Yiguan entered the market with a very high investment. In this process, in order to achieve the completion of 120 million sales, Yiguan Sales adopted the method of spreading pepper noodles across the country, and even invested millions of RMB. The price is in exchange for entering major domestic supermarkets, and the purpose is to get it done at once. But only four or five months later, with the disastrous defeat of the Chinese football team and the ban on broadcasting of advertisements, after the capital side invested 20 million, the sales performance in June made the capital doubtful, and the confidence of the capital began to shake, which directly caused capital The compression of investment, the 20 million yuan that was planned to continue to be launched in the second half of the year and rescue the market once the Chinese team lost, was also shelved, which quickly cooled the enthusiasm and confidence of the Yiguan management team, and eventually led to the overall collapse of Yiguan's sales in the domestic market . In July 2002, during the anniversary celebration of Yiguan, all the marketing management of Yiguan resigned! In August, Yiguan held an emergency meeting in Lanzhou and dismissed Zhenfu, the deputy manager in charge of marketing, and Liao Jianning, the manager of the marketing department. At the same time, a large number of branch managers were dismissed. Then it fell apart.From the launch of the product to July 2002, this marketing team gathered from all directions only achieved a sales revenue of less than 20 million yuan, far from the original sales target of 120 million yuan.A quickly formed team was quickly disbanded. Afterwards, Yiguan Company began to clean up the market. Most of the original 21 branches also stopped or transferred. The consequences of various reasons were exposed in this collective resignation incident. , a vigorous World Cup marketing almost in the process of kicking off the curtain call.