The marketing power of sub-brands

When you walk into the mall, you will find a dazzling array of home appliances. Haier refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, color TVs, washing machines, etc. are particularly eye-catching. This is not only because of the lively and lovely Haier brothers, who make people feel close to them, but also because of their nicknames such as "handsome prince, little prince, little superman, little champion, little prodigy", etc., which give people a strong visual impact.

Haier uses a successful brand as its main brand to cover a series of products manufactured by the company. At the same time, it gives different products a lively and charming name as a sub-brand, using the main brand to display the series. The social influence of products, and the business decision of using sub-brands to highlight the different personalities of each product, is a sub-brand strategy that is regarded by more and more internationally renowned companies as a modern management coup.

Chinese companies have not been on the road to branding for a long time, and most of them have learned and imitated some specific practices of Japanese and other Asian companies. The most obvious point is that Chinese companies, like Japanese companies, mostly use one brand to cover all the company's products, but rarely adopt a multi-brand strategy.

Among Chinese companies, Kelon was the first to implement a multi-brand strategy, with brands such as Kelon, Huabao, and Rongsheng. However, this was also a helpless move after Kelon merged with Huabao. In recent years, Senda, Kangbo, etc. have also embarked on the multi-brand road. It is foreseeable that the number of companies taking the road of multi-brand development will continue to increase, but the vast majority of companies will still adhere to the established unified brand strategy, especially those companies that have a certain reputation domestically and internationally, such as Haier, Changhong, Lenovo, and Little Swan. wait. For these enterprises, with the expansion of scale, especially the continuous extension of the product chain, such as Haier's expansion from white appliances to black appliances and beige appliances, and Changhong's development from black appliances to information products, the limitations of the unified brand strategy will Then it became highlighted. The mindset of “Changhong is a color TV”, “Haier is a refrigerator” and “Little Swan is a washing machine” has caused obstacles in brand extension marketing. Choosing a sub-brand strategy can effectively guide consumers to break through their original consumption patterns, accept and recognize new products, and quickly transfer their trust and loyalty to the main brand to new products.

The function of sub-brand

The sub-brand strategy between one brand for multiple products and one brand for one product is, in essence, still a brand extension strategy, which uses Consumer trust and loyalty to existing successful brands drive sales of sub-branded products. Judging from Haier's practice, the sub-brand strategy has indeed effectively supplemented the unified brand strategy and successfully avoided the traps of multi-brand strategy and unified brand.

Sub-brands are helpful in finding differences among products. A corporate brand is like a person’s name. If the “main brand” is compared to a “surname”, a “sub-brand” is like a “name”. There is a surname and a first name. Easier to differentiate products. For example, Haier has a wide variety of home appliances, and all of them are called Haier, which makes it difficult for consumers to distinguish and makes people’s impressions vague. Haier calls its 0.5kg small washing machine Instant Wash, its TV set Pathfinder, and its beauty humidifier Little Monroe. Consumers understand them clearly. For the same product, sub-brands can also be used to distinguish specifications, tastes, grades, functions, etc. For example, Haier refrigerators use "Little Prince", "Handsome Prince", "Little Prince", etc.

Sub-brands highlight the beauty of product personality. It is often difficult for the main brand to fully demonstrate the personality of each product category, and sub-brands can just make up for this shortcoming. For example, "Hua Wang Jiaying" vividly expresses the advantages of the picture tube of the "Panasonic-Hua Wang" color TV using revolutionary technology, realistic and natural pictures, and bright colors; "Prodigy" flexibly demonstrates the computer control of the "Haier-Prodigy" washing machine, Fully automatic, intelligent and other product features and advantages.

Sub-brands reserve space for future development. The main brand image is often inconvenient to make major changes in competition. Sub-brands can make corresponding changes with time, location and product characteristics, forming a unified main brand image. Brands continue to introduce new products leaving space and leeway.

Sub-brands also have product promotion functions. Sub-brands often summarize product features and are close to the aesthetic concepts of the target market. They can create new excitement, establish new concepts, create new selling points, and have a greater effect on market promotion. obvious. Products such as "Instant Wash", "Healthy Express", "Beautiful Voice", "Calm King", etc. can easily tie the hearts of consumers and shorten the time and space distance with consumers. Encourage consumers to turn their purchasing desires into actions.

Sub-brands build new competitive advantages. Sub-brands continue to enter consumers' horizons, which not only deepens the impression of the main brand, but also wins the fresh feeling of large scale, strong strength, fast innovation, full of vitality and excellent service. , enhance the trust and reputation of the main brand. In this regard, Haier has an advantage over Kelon and Chunlan.

Sub-brands circumvent some regulatory restrictions. For example, the Trademark Law stipulates: "Trademarks shall not use product quality, main raw materials, functions and other characteristics, such as ships, as trademark names." The use of sub-brands can effectively circumvent this regulatory restriction. For example, Hisense can advertise "Hisense - Smart King" but cannot register the "Smart King" trademark.

Naming of sub-brands

To sum up, the sub-brand strategy does have a huge impact in marketing. But how to endow the "sub-brand" with wisdom and spirituality is very particular.

Pay attention to the coordination of the main and sub-brands. The main brand is the foundation of the sub-brand, and the sub-brand is an extension of the main brand. The two are interconnected organisms. For example, "Changhong - Red Sun", "Changhong - Double Happiness", "Konka - Fulinmen" and "Panasonic - King of Painting" all echo each other, giving people a sense of natural harmony.

Sub-brands must have associative functions. The main brand often does not express the functions and characteristics of the product, but the sub-brand can produce the finishing touch through high refinement. Rumei's air conditioners are named after the "constellation" series - "Calm Star", "Super Quiet Star", "Smart Star" and "Healthy Star"... After a rough consideration, I found that this nomenclature has the following benefits: 1. Connected with stars , highlighting excellent products; 2. The star represents the universe and technology, highlighting the leading quality; 3. The star is a cold color, representing night, quietness and coolness, highlighting the effectiveness of functions.

The "Three Easy" and "Three Modernizations" of the sub-brand: easy to read, easy to recognize, easy to remember, colloquial, popular and personalized, are the important principles for naming the sub-brand. For example, "Haier - instant wash (washing machine)", "Robust - Healthy Express (beverage)" and "Red Heart - Little Chef (rice charcoal)" sound pleasant to the ear, are easy to remember and are quick to pass on.

Sub-brands highlight the sense of the times and impact. The connotation of the main brand is relatively simple, or even meaningless, such as Haier, Sony, etc., which can be used in a variety of home appliances without any cognitive and association barriers. Sub-brands are the product of competition. Reflecting the characteristics of the times, catering to consumer fashion, and embodying product characteristics are their basic missions. When designing sub-brands, they must give consumers a strong auditory and visual impact, which is conducive to the success of many brands. stand out from the crowd and create a huge shock in the market. For example, "Hisense - Smart King", "Konka - Mirror", "Toshiba - Rocket Launcher", "TCL - Ace", etc. are all "sub-brands" with great impact.

The operation of sub-brands

The following aspects should be paid attention to when operating sub-brand strategies.

Grasp the relationship between the main and sub-brands. First of all, it is necessary to highlight the core position of the main brand, and the sub-brands are only in a subordinate position. Enterprises need to make efforts to promote, recommend, discover, and allow consumers to identify, remember, and generate brand recognition, trust, and loyalty. The subject must be the main brand, not the sub-brand. The sub-brand is only an effective supplement to the main brand and is in a subordinate position. Its promotion must be dependent on the main brand. The sub-brand must not be allowed to surpass the main brand or be separated from the main brand. As for Haier, as a comprehensive home appliance brand, Haier has high visibility and reputation. When people mention Haier, they don't associate it with single products such as refrigerators and air conditioners, but think of Haier as an international home appliance brand with "superior quality, leading technology, perfect after-sales service, rich culture, and scientific management." Brand personalities such as "Haier is sincere as far as the water goes", "Haier sells reputation, not products", "Users are right as far as the water goes" have been deeply rooted in the hearts of consumers. Without these, sub-brands such as "Pathfinder", "Little Prodigy" and "Handsome Prince" have lost their souls, and no matter how beautiful they are, they cannot convey their charm. Only when gathered under the banner of "Haier-Made in China" can these sub-brands shine brightly.

Distinguish between corporate brand and product brand Secondly, correctly grasp and distinguish the relationship between main and sub-brands and the relationship between corporate brand and product brand. "Haier-Double Prince" refrigerator, "Samsung-Famous Brand" color TV, Haier and Samsung are corporate brands, which are also directly used in products and are the focus of product brand identification. Therefore, the relationship between Haier and "Double Princes" and Samsung and "Famous Brand" is the main and sub-brand relationship.

GM and "Cadillac" and "Chevrolet" belong to the relationship between corporate brands and product brands. Consumers' cognitive admiration for Cadillac is mainly established through the information that Cadillac is extremely luxurious, smooth and comfortable, and makes you feel like you are sitting at home, without resorting to the image of GM. "Toyota" and "Crown", "Camry" and "Lexus", "Procter & Gamble" and "Rejoice", "Head and Shoulders" and "Safeguard" are also typical relationships between corporate brands and product brands.

The sub-brand is consistent with the target market. Thirdly, any brand that enters the market and participates in competition must understand its target consumer group. The taste and artistic conception promoted by the sub-brand must be closely consistent with the target market it competes for and be appropriate. As far as color TVs are concerned, Changhong launched "Changhong - Red Double Happiness" and "Changhong - Red Sun", and its target markets are mainly small and medium-sized cities and rural areas. Haier launched "Haier-Pioneer" and "Haier-Pathfinder", and its target market is obviously different from Changhong's.

The sub-brand strategy is very powerful in the hands of Haier people, but not every company can play it well. It must be warned that when implementing a sub-brand strategy, the main brand must be the core, and the focus of creativity must not be misplaced. Otherwise, it will put the cart before the horse and violate the original intention of the sub-brand strategy. What will be lost is not a sub-brand, but the main brand for corporate development.

Case:

Haier was developed based on the introduction of German refrigerator production technology in 1984, and began to produce mainly refrigerator refrigeration equipment. People know that Haier started with Haier refrigerator = air conditioner. Now Haier products include more than 10,800 varieties in 69 categories such as refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, washing machines, color TVs, computers and mobile phones. It has become a company with white appliances, black appliances and beige appliances. The number one brand of home appliances in China. In terms of refrigerators, Haier has successively launched "Haier-Little Prince", "Haier-Double Prince", "Haier-Big Prince", "Haier-Handsome Prince", "Haier-Golden Prince", etc.; in terms of air conditioners, Haier has successively launched "Haier-Double Prince". - Little Superman" inverter air conditioner, "Haier - Little Champion" healthy air conditioner, "Haier - Little Talent" window air conditioner, etc.; in terms of washing machines, Haier launched "Haier - Prodigy", "Haier - Little Prodigy" and "Haier - Instant Washing " and so on; Haier also launched "Haier-Pathfinder" color TV, "Haier-Little Walrus" water heater, "Haier-Little Princess" air heater, "Haier-Crystal Princess" air freshener, "Haier-Little Monroe" Beauty humidifiers and other products. Over the past 16 years, Haier's sales revenue has continued to grow steadily at an average annual rate of 82%. In 2000, its sales exceeded 40 billion yuan, making it one of the top ten home appliances in the world. The reason why Haier has achieved such impressive results is closely related to its successful implementation of the sub-brand strategy.

I am analyzing a case of Neptune Biotech

On April 15, 2003, Neptune Biotech’s 2002 annual report was released. The data showed that in 2002, Neptune Biotech’s main business The revenue is about 830 million, the realized profit is 42.22 million, the earnings per share is 0.13 yuan, the yield is 2.5%, and the advertising investment is about 133 million. Compared with 2001, the main business income was approximately 765 million, the realized profit was 69.65 million, the earnings per share was 0.31 yuan, the rate of return was 4.21%, and the advertising fee was 187 million yuan. The main financial indicators in the first quarter of 2003 showed that the earnings per share was -0.036 yuan and the return on net assets was -0.73%. It was actually a loss?

The 2002 annual report also shows the sales performance of its main products, such as Yindefei approximately 118 million, Jinzun 93.04 million, and Ginkgo leaves 88.32 million. What do the numbers say? As far as YinDeFei is concerned, its share in the cold medicine market does not exceed 3%, and its ranking is not among the 10th. It cannot be compared with "Contac". In 2001, SmithKline's sales were about 1.1 billion. ; As far as ginkgo leaves are concerned, it is a ginkgo preparation product among cardiovascular and cerebrovascular traditional Chinese medicines. Compared with similar products (Tianbaoning and Shuxuening), the sales of the latter two in 2001 were 600 million. If we only look at the products it advertises, 1 yuan invested in advertising in 2002 only produced 2.25 yuan in sales, that is, 132 million advertising fees were invested and sales of about 300 million were produced. That is to say, If it weren't for the sales profits of Neptune's other products, it would definitely be a loss as far as the above three major products are concerned.

From a purely numerical perspective, Neptune's brand project in the past two years has been unfavorable, and has been called a "brand project with no sales" by many marketing consultants.

But what is puzzling is why, as a listed company with a lot of money, after introducing a brand strategy, in today's marketing environment in China, where the market is not yet segmented, the competition is not yet fierce, and consumers are far from mature, Under a perfect media plan, a huge amount of advertising was launched nationwide in just 2 years, but a familiar brand failed to become an instant hit? As a counterpart of Neptune, there are less beautiful creative expressions, and even vulgarity, and the media plan is just like picking up the missing parts. With the same advertising bombing, Harbin Medicine succeeded, Melatonin succeeded, and Melatonin even created it within a week of the 2003 New Year. With a sales miracle of 700 million, why is Neptune the only one with such a fate?

We believe that Neptune’s branding is correct, and the brand cannot be the scapegoat for Neptune’s problems. The root of all this is not the brand strategy itself, but whether it can correctly understand and rationally use the brand strategy. The root of Neptune's problem lies in the failure to understand brand planning and implementation from a strategic perspective.

What is brand strategic planning?

It can be said that today’s Chinese enterprises generally lack brand strategic planning centered on brand identity, lack a consistent direction of brand building, and communication and promotion are often "Xintianyou", so that it is always difficult to accumulate brand assets. Under such circumstances, many well-known domestic companies are prepared for danger in times of peace. From the early Shenzhen Runxun, Sanjiu, Haier, and Kelon, to the recent COFCO and Putian, they have introduced external brains and brand strategic planning with the intention of building a strong brand. brand.

But what exactly is brand strategic planning? What exactly is it about? Steps and levels? Purpose? How to import? Regarding these issues, even within the consulting industry, there is little or even a mixed response. Some equate "brand model" with "brand strategy", and even equate "brand positioning" with "brand strategy".

In fact, brand strategy is to establish a corporate strategy with the core of building a strong brand. It elevates brand building to the level of corporate business strategy from a high position. The core is to find brands that match the company and have reliable support. Brand identification sets goals, directions, principles and guiding strategies for brand building, and formulates a "Constitution" for specific brand building tactics and behaviors in the future. It solves the fundamental issues of the brand, including the attributes, structure, scope, connotation and vision of the brand.

Brand strategic planning generally includes branding decisions, establishing brand vision, selecting brand models, brand identification and extension planning, management planning, integration with CS, CIS and other strategies, and strategic introduction. It is programmatic, guiding, and competitive, rather than a specific tactical execution plan, let alone a simple brand slogan and core value.

Neptune’s Brand Strategy Journey

Neptune, as one of the few listed companies in the domestic pharmaceutical industry, has emerged from the diversification trap and successfully completed capital operations. Established the direction of brand management. First, let us do a scanning review:

l (Introduction period) In September 2000, the planning company spent 2 months conducting rigorous internal and external investigations and came up with targeted Brand diagnosis;

l (Planning period) At the end of 2000, the planning company completed the "21st Century Neptune Group Brand Strategy Implementation Plan" based on the brand diagnosis, establishing the core value of the brand and its future becoming The strategic goal of a strong brand in the health industry.

l (Climax Issue 1) At the beginning of 2001, there was a large-scale brand communication campaign. Four famous celebrities such as Yin Defei appeared on the stage after brand integration. With exquisite, unique and precise and orderly communication strategies, It suddenly emerged and quickly became a well-known brand among women and children.

l (Trough period) In April 2002, the long-awaited 2001 annual report revealed that profits were less than 50% of expectations, and the board of directors publicly apologized to investors. For a time, everyone's opinion was unanimous, and Neptune's brand strategy began to be questioned by the media.

l (Climax Phase II) In 2002, the year of "entry into the ground", large-scale "aerial bombing" continued, assisting in ground battles such as store advertising and terminal promotions. The interactive effect between brands and products is beginning to show.

l (Crisis Period) In April 2003, the 2002 Neptune Annual Report and the 2003 First Quarterly Report were released, with performance declining and even losses. Suddenly, discussions such as "three common sense mistakes" and "eight major crises" were rampant, and Neptune's brand strategy was deeply questioned.

Neptune, if you have a plan, you will have a brand?

Looking back on Neptune’s brand strategy journey, it can be said that Neptune’s introduction of brand strategy has many successes, and we won’t go into details here. We believe that "the best learning is from failure." Learning from failure is not only easier, but also leads to a more thorough analysis of the factors that lead to success or failure.

In the author’s opinion, brand strategy solves the problem of “doing the right thing”, brand communication is “doing things correctly”, and brand strategic planning sets the basic direction and principles for brand communication. , and brand communication is nothing more than effective implementation in accordance with the planning of the brand strategy. Whether Neptune's brand communication is correct or not is not the root that determines Neptune's fate. The key to why Neptune's brand project is a project with no sales is caused by flaws in brand strategic planning. This is reflected in the following aspects, which are worthy of discussion. .

(1) Hasty and one-sided brand diagnosis

The so-called "brand diagnosis" simply refers to the three aspects of brand equity, the relationship between the brand and consumers, and the relationship between the brand and competing brands. Tests and investigations conducted. It uses qualitative and quantitative methods and means such as association, projection, personification, comparison, etc. to target consumers and other groups to test their perception and feelings of the current brand. It is the first step in formulating a brand strategy. It aims to clearly depict the reality of the brand and lay the foundation for future brand strategy and communication planning.

It is reported that between July and August 2000, Neptune first conducted several days of internal interviews and questionnaire surveys among its employees, and then launched a consumer survey in Shenzhen, where the base camp is located. In terms of the survey objects and regions, it is obviously insufficient, and the "diagnosis" is also suspected of being "one size fits all", such as "cluttered brands", "inconsistent brand identification" and "outdated marketing models", especially since the later " The core value of "Health Achieves the Future" comes from the creative thinking of "locking in a room", and there is no causal connection with diagnosis.

In the author’s opinion, before investigating and diagnosing, it is not only necessary to come up with the specific problem that you want to solve, but also to design specific solutions to the problem. The purpose of diagnosis is not only to discover the problem, but more importantly, to verify The solution is not to identify the problem and then "work behind closed doors". Judging from the later selection of main and sub-brand models, this diagnosis showed insufficient understanding of Neptune's brand equity. Neptune, which is only a corporate name, was mistakenly chosen as the main brand to drive sub-brands, and the comparative study of competing brands was ignored. , lack of awareness of consumers' "health" awareness. It can be said that Neptune's brand diagnosis work seems serious and rigorous, but it is one-sided and fails to lay the foundation for subsequent strategic planning.

(2) Rough and simple strategic vision

The correct strategy starts with establishing the correct goal. The essence of strategy is to make choices, trade-offs and appropriate positions. It means that you must Set boundaries for goals you are prepared to achieve. The so-called "brand strategy vision" is to design detailed development goals, implementation stages, and specific measurement indicators for the brand strategy, and to clarify the direction, process, and steps for the implementation of the brand strategy. It roughly includes defining levels and connotations, designing ladder development stages, and formulating clear and measurable specific indicators.

In September 2000, on the basis of brand diagnosis, the planning company completed the "21st Century Neptune Group Brand Strategy Implementation Plan", the core content of which involves a "trilogy" of brand achievement and three years of Goals (brand planning in 2000; large-scale communication in 2001; intensive market cultivation in 2002; in the future, strengthening the core value of the brand) and "team theory" (initially launching several star players, identifying "Jordan" (Yin Defei, Jinzun, etc.), pursuing the largest sales volume of composite products and forming a “strong team”). So, what are the specific time, stages, and steps to achieve the goal? What are the measurement indicators that can be used for future evaluation? Who is the most profitable Taurus brand? What about potential star brands? None of them are known.

As we all know, a successful brand is built on one or several representative products, and Neptune made the mistake of choosing the carrier to build the brand. Yindefei, Jinzun and Ginkgo leaves cannot play the role of "Jordan". Cold medicine is a traditional mature product. It is in the mature stage of the market, with extremely fierce competition and slowing market growth. Despite the PPA incident, it is not easy for Yindefei to break into the top three in one fell swoop, and it is very likely to become a profitable Golden Bull brand.

"Jinzun" is limited by the size of the market and cannot make a big difference; Ginkgo biloba leaves are medicines and are not determined by consumers but are more influenced by doctors and are not suitable for mass communication. It is difficult for them to assume the role of star brands.

It is no wonder that Neptune and the planning company have these problems. After all, they are not specialized in brand strategy research and implementation. Maybe they are not obsessed with these seemingly "empty" and "boring" but they can be used as a reference for the future. The gray “theories” and “numbers” of measurement are more eager to focus on the evergreen tree of reality. In fact, these seemingly "innocent" but "useful" things have made a rigorous feasibility analysis plan for strategy implementation, and established specific review standards for reference during the implementation process.

(3) Empty and confusing core values ??

The so-called "core values ??of the brand". It is the key center of brand identity and the soul of the brand. It allows consumers to clearly and clearly identify and remember a brand. It is the dominant force driving consumers to identify, like and even be attached to a brand. Therefore, the core value has become the starting point of brand identification and communication activities, that is, all communication behaviors of the brand must be centered around the brand's core value, specifically embody and interpret the brand's core value, and enrich and strengthen the brand's core value. For example, Volvo's core value is "safety" and Haier's core value is "sincerity."

However, the "core value of the brand" is not necessarily a perceptual spiritual proposition. It may also be a rational functional appeal, or a mixture of rationality and sensibility. For example, the core value of Safeguard, a subsidiary of P&G, is " "Effective sterilization", Head and Shoulders "anti-dandruff", Rejoice "smoothness" and "confidence", Xizhilang's core value is "jelly pudding" plus "family affection". The key to refining the core value of a brand is to reflect the company's strategic thinking and values. At the same time, at least one aspect can differentiate it from competing brands and create a buzz with consumers.

After completing the diagnosis and establishing the strategic vision, in October of the same year, through a "not a rigorous logical thinking process, but a highly divergent image thinking process", he created a concept that was known as Neptune at the time. The excitement is deeply rooted in the core value of "touching, contagious, and shocking": "Neptune, health will shape the future!".

According to the thinking of the planning company, the phrase "health creates the future" gives Neptune a clear industry positioning: health industry. It reflects the ultimate goal of Neptune: to promote the development of the national pharmaceutical industry and benefit human health. It is also Neptune's expectation for himself after experiencing the troubles of success: In addition to human beings having health needs, enterprises also need to be healthy. Health can achieve the future, and health can achieve glory. It does sound logical and touching.

But you must understand that we are doing brand strategy consulting rather than CIS planning, rather than engaging in artistic creativity. What we are facing are not Neptune and advertisers but consumers. The brand ultimately belongs to consumers. . It is completely understandable why "Neptune, Health Achieves the Future" won the recognition of all Neptune employees at that time, because it catered to Neptune Enterprise's own development expectations and catered to the wishes of Neptune people. After careful consideration, it is not difficult to find many misunderstandings:

1. Mistakenly equating corporate slogans with brand slogans

"Health creates the future" is a corporate slogan, not a brand slogan. It is the same as the power and spirit appealed by the Sun God and the strength and momentum of Hongta. They are all flaunting their own corporate missions and are a popular and universal corporate pursuit. Brand slogans centered on the core values ??of the brand, such as Naisi's "Don't buy expensive ones, only buy the right ones" and Meters Bangwei's "Don't take the ordinary path" are very classic. They seem to be consumers themselves. The language speaks for itself, rather than what the company instills and guides. It reflects their voices and pursuits. "Health creates the future" is more of the company's own declaration. Whose future does it achieve? Probably Neptune himself.

In fact, brand slogans are based on the communication process of internal and external interactions between enterprises and consumers. Enterprises should not only care about "what do they want to say?", but also pay attention to "what do consumers want to hear?", and finally Take the initiative to give way to consumers, so that consumers can express the company's philosophy as owners and transform language patterns. At this time, the corporate slogan can be unified with the brand slogan.