The product life cycle refers to the whole process of products from entering the market to finally being eliminated from the market. A typical product life cycle includes four stages: introduction period, growth period, maturity period and decline period. The promotion strategies adopted by enterprises include advertising, public relations, personnel promotion and sales promotion, among which advertising has been recognized as the most commonly used and effective tool for modern enterprises to expand the market and sell products. Advertising strategy refers to the countermeasures and methods adopted to achieve advertising goals in advertising activities. Products at different stages of life cycle have different characteristics in terms of market demand, market competition, consumer psychology and marketing strategies. Therefore, advertising strategies at different stages should be different according to the characteristics of different stages.

product lead-in period

The product lead-in period is a period when new products are officially put on the market and sales grow slowly. Its characteristics are as follows: the performance and quality of newly developed products are not stable enough and need to be improved gradually; Consumers are unfamiliar with new products and lack comprehensive understanding and trust. Because consumers often have to go through a slow trial process to accept new products, it takes some time to establish trust in products. Therefore, the market demand of products at this stage is small, and the sales growth is slow; Enterprises have invested a lot of money in product R&D and production, but also invested a lot of money to publicize this brand-new product concept, in order to cultivate product market awareness and enhance product visibility. Promotion channels and product promotion costs are relatively expensive, and the marketing cost is very high at this stage, while the profit of enterprises is very low, so there is no profit or even a loss. However, it should be pointed out that when new products first enter the market, there are fewer similar products and the market competition environment is relaxed. During the lead-in period, due to the high risk and high cost, the shorter the duration, the better. Therefore, we should pay attention to two aspects in the advertising strategy during the introduction period:

aiming at creating brand, improving the popularity of new products, consumers' understanding of product concepts and brand trademark memory; Open up the market, induce consumers to have a preliminary impression and demand for new products, and be willing to try new products and gradually accept them.

Informed advertising strategy is adopted, and the advertising appeal focuses on rational education, emphasizing the specific benefits that the new product concept brings to consumers. By introducing the performance and characteristics of the product, the consumer pioneer of the product, that is, the early buyer, is cultivated. The theoretical basis of this period is USP theory, that is, unique sales proposition. The key point of this theory is that every advertisement must tell consumers a proposition, so that consumers can understand the specific benefits they can get from buying products; It must be something that competitors can't do or can't provide, and it is unique in brand and rhetoric; Must be strong, focus on impressing and attracting consumers to buy products. Its core is to make use of the most unique and attractive place of this product compared with other products for advertising. For example, Procter & Gamble's advertising campaign, Head & Shoulders to remove dandruff, make hair smooth and supple, Pan Ting's deep nutrition and health care, etc., emphasize the unique efficacy of products, so as to quickly improve product visibility, attract consumers' attention, arouse their desire to buy, and urge them to buy. Advertising adopts all-round intensive communication and makes full use of different media combinations to make advertising information reach the widest consumer level, so as to achieve the purpose of quickly occupying the market, affecting product cognition and initially enhancing brand awareness, laying a good foundation for the future development of products. We should pay attention to the cooperation with other promotion strategies, so as to better achieve the advertising objectives, shorten the lead-in period and enter the growth period as soon as possible.

product growth period

the product growth period is a period of rapid product sales growth and a large increase in profits, which is characterized by the fact that the product is gradually or quickly understood and accepted by consumers, early buyers like and are willing to continue to use the product, most consumers begin to follow it, and product sales increase rapidly; In order to further expand the market, enterprises continue to expand the scale of production, production costs have dropped significantly, and profits have increased rapidly; Due to large-scale production and profit attraction, new competitors enter the market, market competition becomes fierce, and product prices drop.

at this stage, we should pay attention to two aspects: first, we should strive for competitive objectives, improve the market competitiveness of products, and further expand the market share; Guide consumers to recognize the brand and purchase, and improve the rate of named purchase. The second is the image goal, to strive for a correct and comprehensive understanding of this product by the public, to improve the reputation of the product, and to pay attention to the brand and establish a good brand image.

adopt persuasive and competitive advertising strategies, highlight brands, focus on brand advertising, and consolidate product concepts. The appeal focuses on the difference between this product and competitive products, especially highlighting the Excellence of this product, stimulating selective demand, and making more potential consumers name their products to further expand market share. At the same time, enterprises must have a strong sense of brand competition, quickly enhance brand image, occupy a favorable market position and gain a larger market share. In the process of establishing a brand, it is very important to establish a relationship with consumers emotionally. If the brand fails to establish emotional connection with consumers, consumers' attitude towards it is cold. On the contrary, if the brand establishes some kind of emotional connection with consumers, then consumers will be slowly influenced. The theoretical basis of this stage is the brand image theory, and the key point is that the main goal of advertising is to serve the brand; Every advertisement is a long-term investment in the brand, and short-term economic benefits can be sacrificed to maintain the brand image; The differences of similar products have narrowed, and it is much more important to describe the brand image than to emphasize the specific functional characteristics of the products; Advertising should attach importance to the use of images to meet the psychological needs of consumers. For example, Marlboro uses brand image strategy to establish emotional connection with consumers through brand image, thus making it the first cigarette brand in the world. Because of the large-scale advertising in the early stage, consumers have become familiar with the product, so the advertising cost has been reduced. In order to enhance the brand status and enhance the word-of-mouth effect, the investment in public relations activities has increased slightly. Because of the brand effect, consumer word-of-mouth plays an important role, new customers continue to join the ranks of buyers in the word-of-mouth information transmitted by old customers, product demand maintains a natural growth trend, the role of various promotion methods is weakened, and the promotion expenses are relatively reduced.

product maturity

product maturity is a period when product sales growth slows down, marketing expenses increase day by day and profits decrease in order to compete and maintain product status. Its characteristics are: products have been widely understood and accepted in the market, consumer groups have further expanded, product sales have reached the maximum, and market share has increased; The market has entered a relatively saturated state, potential customers are few, and product sales growth is very slow; There are more competitors in the market, the market competition is more intense, the sales price of products is slightly lower than before, the promotion expenses are increased, and the profits are reduced.

at this stage, there are two problems that need to be paid attention to. One is to protect the brand, increase consumers' consumption habits and preferences for products, deepen consumers' goodwill and confidence in products, stimulate repeated purchases, establish brand loyalty, ensure the existing product market and increase market share; Second, pay attention to improving the overall visibility and reputation of enterprises and establish a good corporate image.

adopt maintenance, reminder and competitive advertising strategies, with the emphasis on the promotion of brand and corporate image, so as to improve the reputation of brand and corporate, cultivate brand loyalists and attract more consumers to buy the product repeatedly. Establish a good corporate image, pay attention to maintaining the feelings among enterprises, brands and consumers, and lay a good foundation for new product development and listing. Advertising should pay attention to showing and highlighting the differences between brands. Its theoretical basis is: advertising positioning theory, positioning is to position products in the hearts of potential customers in the future. Entering consumers' minds and occupying the position first has become the most important advertising means. Competition in the mature period is extremely fierce, the original brands expect to maintain and expand the market, advertising costs increase, and it is extremely difficult to enter new products. For example, the American beverage market is almost dominated by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, but the "non-cola" positioning of 7-up soda has established its first position in the non-cola market in the eyes of consumers, and its sales volume has been rising, making it one of the three major beverages in the American market. Promotional advertising has increased, with more expenses and various forms. Using all kinds of social public relations and sales public relations to promote product brand development and enhance corporate image, the form and cost of public relations activities at this stage reached a climax. Strict quality management, reliable and high-quality products to win the continued trust of consumers. Strive to improve the service level and improve the service network. Try to extend the maturity time of the product and avoid the product entering the recession period early.

product decline period

the product decline period is the period when the sales of products gradually increase, the profits keep falling and finally tend to zero, thus withdrawing from the market. It is characterized in that: the products are already very saturated in the market; The product is in an aging state and can no longer meet the new needs of consumers; With the continuous development of science and technology and the improvement of consumer demand level, new products or new substitutes appear on the market, and consumers' needs and interests shift rapidly; Product sales have changed from slow decline to sharp decline, profits have dropped sharply, and products are in the process of being eliminated and withdrawn from the market; The original market competitors gradually withdrew from the market. During this period, the advertising strategy should be paid attention to: try to maintain the existing market share, maintain a certain level of consumer demand, and delay the decline of sales; Or shift the focus of advertising to other products with more potential.

adopt the reminding advertising strategy, focus on promoting the brand, maintain the preference and buying habits of brand loyalists, that is, old users, so that they don't give up the product easily. During this period, the advertising expenses will be greatly reduced to the level of maintaining the demand of staunch loyalists. Attract late buyers through low prices, promotional activities, good after-sales service, brand effect and corporate reputation. At the same time, enterprises should develop new products to replace old products in time, and invest advertising expenses in new products, gradually give up old products, and guide products to replace the old with the new in a planned way.