Chapter 38 2. "Milk" Zhanshen State

The "nuclear energy of life" that poured He Boquan's boundless enthusiasm did not bring glory to Robust, but Robust milk is still booming. In 1992, Wahaha entered the fruit milk market, and a formidable competitor was born.This year, Robust's fruit milk has jumped to the first place in the national market share, and this crown will be worn until 1998, six years later.And these 6 years have been the 6 years in which Wahaha has fully attacked Robust.These two young companies competed in the same field, and they insisted on increasing the capacity of a fruit milk market from less than 200 million yuan by at least 20 times.

The mainstream consumer of fruit milk is children under 10 years old.What is particularly interesting is that, unlike other children's products such as clothing and milk powder, according to the survey, more than 60% of children will specify the brand when buying fruit milk. Therefore, what Zong Qinghou and He Boquan are facing is a completely emotional consumer group.In terms of brand power, product power and promotion power, they have conducted a comprehensive competition. In terms of brand image building, Zong Qinghou and He Boquan are undoubtedly masters. Wahaha Fruit Milk's "Mom, I want to drink" and Robust's "Have you drank today?" Implant children's consumption subconscious. In 1992, out of consideration for brand innovation, He Boquan launched another milk yoghurt brand - Anti Dou Xing. Its retail price is slightly higher than Robust, and it is mainly sold in large and medium-sized cities. Baishi is a more high-end and fashionable children's beverage brand. However, because the cultural connotation of "Anti-Dou Xing" is too Cantonese and Hong Kong-oriented, it is difficult to be accepted by consumers north of the Yangtze River Basin. Therefore, only two or three years later, Anti-Dou Xing Then retreated back to the Guangdong and Fujian markets.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, China’s consumer goods market had just stepped out of the planned economy, and consumer demand was unprecedentedly strong, like a long-dry land. As long as you give a "reason to buy", you may win the market's pursuit.That is another market surrounded by "concepts". If anyone invents a new "consumption concept" and makes a difference in marketing, then he may become a temporary winner.In the fruit milk battle between Wahaha and Robust, what we witnessed was this kind of competition mixed with passion, innovation and even a little bit of arbitrary.

Wahaha Fruit Milk's publicity campaign is fierce Although Wahaha is a latecomer in the fruit milk market, it is not inferior to Robust in terms of momentum with its strong market foundation and brand power laid by its children's nutrition solution.Zong Qinghou used changeable and unexpected marketing methods to seize the opportunity repeatedly. In 1994, Wahaha launched a series of fruit milk with 6 flavors. The 6 bottles of fruit milk were arranged in a single letter, occupying a large retail space. Robust was caught off guard, and it was the first time in the market Overwhelmed by Wahaha. In 1995, Robust made a surprise move. He Boquan took the lead in launching Robust calcium milk for the purpose of calcium supplementation for children in response to the problem of insufficient calcium intake of 33.2% of children. It also successfully obtained the approval of the Chinese Nutrition Society. recommendation.

The launch of Robust calcium milk allowed Robust to regain the initiative in the market in one fell swoop.The early milk yogurt was only positioned as a leisurely and delicious drink, while the introduction of the concept of calcium milk introduced functional demands. Since then, the fruit milk market space has been deeply expanded, and the market war has been fully upgraded.In the second year, Wahaha launched AD calcium milk, and its promotion concept is "maintaining health and nutritional balance, which is more conducive to the absorption of calcium".Zong Qinghou's recommended organization seems to be of a higher level: the International Academy of Nutrition.

In 1998, Robust made another surprise move and launched the "Health Express" milk yoghurt, which has almost reached the pinnacle in terms of concept creation: AD calcium milk with bifidus factor, the key scientific research achievement of the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" of the country, the first The country is issued a health food approval certificate by the Ministry of Health. To meet the challenge, Wahaha launched a 200ml large-capacity AD calcium milk, attracting attention by increasing the capacity while keeping the price unchanged. In 1999, Robust also launched similar large-capacity calcium milk, and developed a series of products such as whirlwind calcium milk and grain fruit calcium milk.Wahaha continued to focus on nutrition and launched a new generation of Wahaha Iron Zinc Calcium Milk.

You come and go, and the endless concept war has played at least three roles in marketing: (1) The creation of concepts means the possession of the right to speak in the market.The concept innovation of the two companies makes them always dominate the trend of the market and consumption.It was in this kind of tug-of-war that both Wahaha and Robust's market shares increased rapidly, eventually accounting for 45% of the market, forming a duopoly in the fruit milk market. (2) The rapid concept change keeps the market in a state of excitement, the depth and space of consumption are expanded, and the half-life of fruit milk products is repeatedly postponed.In fact, as early as 1995, some experts predicted that the life cycle of fruit milk products had come to an end, and it was bound to be replaced by new product forms such as puffed food and jelly. However, Wahaha and Robust’s innovative nutritional concept , making this prediction come true several times.Until 2002, in terms of children's beverages, although the growth momentum of fruit milk was not as good as it was then, its dominant position still showed no signs of being replaced.

(3) The concept war also made other fruit and milk companies exhausted, and eventually withdrew from the battlefield because they were unprofitable. According to statistics from the Chinese Nutrition Society, around 1994, there were more than 10,000 large and small fruit milk companies across the country. They carried out low-priced follow-up sales to Wahaha and Robust in various regional markets, which made the leading companies very distressed.However, in the constant change of concepts, these small and medium-sized enterprises had to change their packaging and formulas again and again, which invisibly increased production and sales costs. After a few rounds, they lost their interest in participating in the war. 80% of them have disappeared, and there are no more than 10 companies with strong market coverage.

What makes observers feel interesting is that despite the heavy smoke of the fruit milk war, the two companies have never carried the banner of a price war.On the one hand, this is because the innovation of the concept keeps the retail price at a relatively stable level; on the other hand, it is also the result of self-discipline and self-pity after the two companies share half of the Chinese yoghurt market. Zong Qinghou and He Boquan are almost 20 years apart in age, but they are both introverted in character. They are usually reticent and resourceful, good at absorbing, sensitive to changes, and can make decisive decisions at important moments without being afraid of taking risks.As for the means of competition, both of them like to fight with drums, and they are not good at making small plots, and they are even more dismissive of some dirty tricks and bad tricks.In a sense, it is this kind of professional personality that makes them have the qualities to become top entrepreneurs and marketing masters.

After several years of fighting, Zong and He developed a feeling of sympathy for each other. In October 1995, He Boquan and Zong Qinghou "encountered" in Changsha. This was the first meeting between the two milk yogurt kings.According to public reports: "The two reported their respective situations, discussed the product strategy for the coming year, and jointly expressed their sincere desire to cultivate the Chinese yogurt market." Undoubtedly, Zong and He, who are both quiet in character and leave a little room for behavior, have left a good impression on each other.Relatively speaking, Zong Qinghou admired He Boquan's fashion intelligence and spirit of dragon and tiger in planning and creativity, while He Boquan admired Zong Qinghou's marketing genius even more. In 1998, a reporter named Zhou Hua interviewed Boquan He and asked, "Who is the person you admire the most?" He said, "Zong Qinghou from Wahaha."

There is an anecdote that is worth recording here: One year, a desperado poisoned Wahaha fruit milk in order to extort money from the company, causing two elementary school students to die. However, a domestic newspaper did not thoroughly verify the facts. Under the circumstances, the poisoning news was published without authorization, and five or six media reprinted it in a short time. When the vicious incident happened, Zong Qinghou was investigating abroad. When he learned of the situation, he immediately made two phone calls, one to the propaganda department, hoping to stop the spread of news that could easily be imitated; the other So he called He Boquan.He immediately called the marketing companies across the country and strictly prohibited the dissemination and reprinting of this news.At that time, some small fruit and milk companies thought it was a godsend, and they distributed the newspapers that published the poisoning news widely, or faxed them to the relevant distributors. In the future, a reporter asked He Boquan, why didn't you seize this "opportunity" to attack Wahaha?He Yue said that the spread of such vicious incidents would harm the entire fruit and milk market. If Robust took this opportunity to act hastily, the result would be a heavy punch in the face. Through the rational handling of this emergency, Zong Qinghou and He Boquan's strategic awareness and healthy rivalry can be seen at a glance. In 1996, Wahaha, which was enjoying itself in the fruit milk market, suddenly announced its entry into the drinking water field.Prior to this, China's mineral water market had already taken shape, and the consumption space was activated by some regional mineral water companies, while Zong Qinghou saw a huge room for growth in the water market.In order to avoid being restricted by water sources, Zong Qinghou decided to introduce pure water after careful consideration.Wahaha's move is undoubtedly indicative in the industry.Just over 6 months later, He Boquan also announced the launch of purified water. Compared with the fruit milk war, the market competition of purified water is different.This is a very unique product form. The pure water produced by different companies has almost no difference in product quality, variety and function. The choice of consumers is completely based on the trust and liking of a certain brand and company. .Therefore, it is very difficult to establish a pure water brand, and once the image is established, it is quite irreplaceable.These analyzes determine all the characteristics of pure water marketing. Zong Qinghou, who is very good at opening up the market with functional appeals, chose the path of emotional appeals this time.It was the first time that Wahaha hired a celebrity to be the image of an advertisement. The well-known domestic singer Jing Gangshan was selected as the endorsement of Wahaha Pure Water, and Zong Qinghou’s advertising line was also the main line of a love song by Jinggangshan: "I only have eyes for you." Youth , Avant-garde, Passion and Enthusiasm, this is the brand tone of Wahaha Pure Water.In order to give full play to the effect of singers, Wahaha arranged Jinggangshan to hold fan meeting tours across the country. The venues were mainly small and medium-sized cities, which caused a sensation almost every place they visited. Wahaha Pure Water has captured one after another in such singing and dancing. a market. But He Boquan chose the way of rational appeal.The advertising slogan he created for Robust purified water is "27 layers of purification".For this reason, he invested more than 2 million yuan to shoot a commercial: In the silence of all sounds, a drop of water falls down, passes through layers of filtration, and finally "purifies" into the purest and purest Robust pure water.This commercial and its appeal positioning have been debated in the marketing circle so far.Some people think that it has reached the extreme of rational appeal advertising. Although it is not warm and sensational, it touches the heartstrings of consumers without words; while others think that it is too "academic" and too cold to be remembered.Its advantages and disadvantages cannot be explained in one word, but there are two facts that are unavoidable: First, the concept of "27-layer purification" is really difficult for urban and even rural consumers to understand, so the promotional effect in these markets Obviously not ideal; second, in 2000, Yangshengtang suddenly launched an attack, accusing pure water of being too "pure" and lacking the minerals necessary for the human body, causing an uproar inside and outside the industry.Although this debate ended in vain, and the pure water market did not shrink because of this, the concept of "27-layer purification" was cast a specious shadow in the minds of consumers. By 1998, He Boquan also began to try the star route. He invited Liming, one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" in Hong Kong's variety show industry, to be the image spokesperson, and increased the intensity of advertising in various central cities; Wahaha invited Taiwan Sunshine Boy Wang Leehom... Wahaha and Robust once again "copied" the competitive effect of the fruit milk war in the purified water market. The two companies' bombardment of brand advertisements has completely magnified China's drinking water market and left local brands almost helpless Power. In 1997, Robust's sales soared to 1.7 billion yuan, and Wahaha's sales reached 2.1 billion yuan.Since then, the Chinese beverage market has entered the "Baby-Le Century" where the two heroes competed from the Warring States Period.