Chapter 12 1. Zero distance with consumers

The origin of the word "Wahaha" is still fresh in Zong Qinghou's memory. In June 1988, the first nutrient solution for children was about to be born.What's your name?Through the local media, the company has carried out extensive solicitation from the whole society.There are a lot of applicants.Zong Qinghou laughed off the overwhelming fashion names such as "Su", "Jing" and "Bao".Finally, Zong Qinghou locked his eyes on the three words "Wahaha" submitted by Zhu Songling, then director of the Children's Palace in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, and later vice chairman of the Municipal Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

Lao Zong recalled that there were two reasons for choosing these three characters: first, the final a in the pronunciation of the three characters "Wahaha" is the earliest syllable spoken by any child, and the pronunciation is loud and harmonious, easy to imitate, very It is easy to spread; secondly, literally, "haha" is a common expression for people of all skin colors to express laughter and joy, and it implies health and happiness. Not only children like it, but also their parents. Some experts who participated in the solicitation and evaluation thought that "Wahaha" was vulgar and unbearably vulgar.Zong Qinghou didn't think so.Why do mass products have to be pretentious and insist on drawing a clear line from the masses?

Therefore, "Wahaha" was officially selected as the product trademark and enterprise name, and lively and lovely cartoon characters were carefully designed.Since then, a series of defensive registrations have been made for the words and graphics of more than ten similar or similar trademarks such as "Wawaha", "Hahawa", "Hawawa". Everyone loves "Wahaha" General marketers tend to think that even if it is children's nutrient solution, the purchaser should be an adult, that is, the child's parents are the main promotion targets.However, Zong Qinghou started from the brand symbol of "Wahaha", and tried to shorten the distance with children, the ultimate consumers of products, to achieve full emotional contact.Facts have proved that Zong Qinghou's judgment is accurate.Wahaha children's nutrient solution was first accepted by children and spread widely in their catchy singing, which eventually promoted unstoppable purchase behavior.In the first month of listing, the local sales volume in Hangzhou exceeded 150,000 boxes, and in the second month it reached 200,000 boxes. Since then, it has become an instant hit.

At the end of 1991, another leading product of Wahaha, fruit milk, was launched on the market, and its brand concept also came down in one continuous line. "Sweet, sour, nutritious, delicious, drink every day, really happy. Mom, I want to drink: Wahaha fruit milk", a commercial song has almost become the favorite new nursery rhyme of countless children from all over the country.Although before and after this period, there were many fruit milks for children in the market, but Wahaha fruit milk quickly stood out and unbelievably maintained a vigorous product life cycle of more than ten years.

The brand appeal of being closer to consumers can be said to run through the entire development process of Wahaha.From "I only have you in my eyes" performed by singer Jing Gangshan for Wahaha Pure Water, "Youth is not a failure" interpreted by Taiwanese artist Yu Chengqing for Very Coke, to "Good mood at first sight" promoted by Coco Lee with bright and fresh outfits Wahaha is very lemony, full of plain, lively atmosphere and style. Li Canlan's smile gives consumers the feeling of "good mood at first sight" Du Jianying, Secretary of the Party Committee of Wahaha who followed Zong Qinghou for many years, told us the following story about the "little yellow hat".

One year, after Wahaha Company won the three hot markets of Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in a row, the arrow of new product promotion pointed directly at Zhengzhou, Henan, the gateway to the Central Plains.When deciding to open up the Zhengzhou market, Zong Qinghou visited the front line as usual.He wandered around this ancient battleground for military strategists and merchants for three days, and came across such a piece of news: In the previous month, there were frequent traffic accidents in Zhengzhou, and nearly half of the casualties were children.Therefore, Zong Qinghou did not go to the TV station or advertising company first, but went straight to the local transportation and education authorities.He proposed that each of the 50,000 elementary school students in the city should be given a little yellow hat that serves as a safety warning!

How to make the students passing through the traffic flow have an eye-catching sign to avoid the tragedy is an imminent problem, and now someone has stepped forward and taken the initiative to undertake it, wouldn't it make people overjoyed. A few days later, bright little yellow hats flowed on the streets of Zhengzhou, adding a cultural landscape.The local media reported one wave after another. With only 150,000 yuan spent, "Wahaha" entered the hearts of children and thousands of households.The Central Plains market opened up for it. Former Ford CEO Don Peterson once said: "Our goal is people first, products and profits second.

This created a miracle for Ford. What coincides with this is that people-oriented and mind-centered make "Wahaha" no longer just "identify the products or services of a certain seller or a certain group of sellers, and differentiate them from those of competitors. "A name, mark and symbol" (Kotler's language) that has been developed, endowed the brand with a deeper and more intriguing humanistic connotation. After 15 years of forging and refining, Wahaha, which has already become a well-known trademark in China, strives to deliver to consumers the consistent promise of "health, happiness, and trustworthiness". To the reputation, from the famous brand to the qualitative change of the brand.

However, so far in the advertising industry, Wahaha's advertising strategy is still mixed.The main advertising slogan of Wahaha children's nutrient solution is "drinking Wahaha, eating is delicious".This vernacular-style advertising slogan has been used for many years, and it is quite controversial in the industry. Some people think that it has no artistry at all, and it can hardly be regarded as an "advertisement"; The promotional theme of "Children's Appetite" is directed at the core, not as good as the rest, and has achieved the effect of being deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in a quiet manner.From the perspective of the market's dissemination effect, it is sung in the streets and alleys of urban and rural areas, and popular in general corners, and it has played an indispensable role in promoting sales.

We have also seen many commentary articles. The general point is that Wahaha does not seem to be the leader of China’s avant-garde brand theory. Compared with other products including beverage products, the brand packaging and corresponding advertising images are not fashionable enough. Said it was a bit "earthy". Zong Qinghou has his own idea: the brand is not to be judged, it should be whatever is beneficial to the profit of the enterprise.We are willing to be inseparable and grow together with the Chinese people. We will be "soil" together when we are "soil", and we will be "foreign" together when we should be "foreign".

In Zong Qinghou's marketing thinking, the brand serves marketing, and its value is directly reflected in the creation of benefits. The brand is not the product itself, it is always an attachment and a means of marketing.In this sense, a brand without profitability is a brand without value. In the context of "brand first" theorists, there is a very famous case.A president of the Coca-Cola Company once said very confidently that even if one day the Coca-Cola factories all over the world are burned down by a fire, then, with the Coca-Cola brand, we will be able to stand up again the next day. "Obviously, this is the power of the brand!" - most people will think so. However, Zong Qinghou's explanation seems to be different.He said, "Coca-Cola may stand up, but it may not necessarily stand up." His argument is as follows: Coca-Cola needs capital, equipment, talent and a marketing network to stand up again, and the reason why people are willing to take these things out is because everyone thinks that Coca-Cola can still make everyone money.This is a necessary consensus for marketing, and for this consensus to truly become a reality, it still needs the integration of various marketing resources and means. The brand has created this possibility, but it does not come with inevitability. Zong Qinghou's point of view seems to be able to find a basis in real cases.At that time, Hu Zhibiao, the president of Aiduo VCD in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, spared no effort in shaping the brand image. In just three years, the advertising cost was nearly 300 million yuan. Aiduo also became the most successful home appliance brand in China, and its popularity reached 90%. . In 1999, Aiduo broke out due to shareholder internal strife. Hu Zhibiao once confidently said that as long as the word "Aiduo" exists, we will not fail.According to his estimation, the Aiduo brand is worth at least 500 million yuan.However, as the crisis deepened, the brand value of Aiduo shrank dramatically, and its advertising agency finally obtained the right to use the brand for 7 years with a debt of 20 million yuan.But when this agency company came back out of the arena under the brand of Aiduo, it was found that it had become a ruined thing, and it was abandoned after only half a year. The fate of Aiduo just illustrates a truth: the brilliance of the brand is supported by the product system, talent system, marketing system and credit system behind it. Without any of these, the brand will be like a tree without roots, without source of water. Zong Qinghou's brand and marketing concept has been consistent, and it still deeply affects the growth of Wahaha.