Companies have invested heavily in market cultivation. Once it takes effect, how to prevent following brands - Global Brand Network - from stealing the fruits of success. On this topic, combined with the "category exclusivity" theory proposed by the author before, I summarized some basic methods and viewpoints, which may provide some inspiration to companies with similar problems. Before entering into the discussion of the so-called methods, let me first say a few "off-topic" words related to the topic. The emergence of following the trend is not always a bad thing. We should look at the joining of competing products in the form of following the trend from a longer-term perspective. The potential capacity of the market requires more companies and products to develop, and consumption requires many brands to cultivate and mature together. Failure to follow the trend may be the least optimistic phenomenon. What competitors can follow must be tactical practices and external performance. We must understand that a company's overall strategy cannot be followed. In other words, success in the form of fresh tricks and ideas will be easily diluted due to being followed. Preventing following the trend essentially requires the company's systematic marketing strategy and brand strategy. Under the unification of strategy, various business methods To achieve symmetry and unity. There may be many specific ways to prevent following the trend, but there is only one way of thinking, which is to think from others’ perspective: If you were a follower, what would you do? What are you most worried about? When we know how to follow the trend, we will naturally find ways to prevent it. 1. Be fully prepared before promoting products on the market, establish barriers to follow suit, and plug the most obvious loopholes. 1. Patent protection: Advertising service companies may be laymen in this area and dare not say much. In the context of the current increasingly perfect national laws, we should effectively use the law to apply for patents in advance to protect intellectual property rights, core technologies, product appearance, etc. Many small and medium-sized enterprises do not pay attention to this method, but innovative enterprises must pay enough attention. Maybe one day, the industry will mature and there will be many manufacturers, and in addition to occupying a place, you will also be the "rent collector" of the industry that is struggling to maintain revenue. 2. Brand naming and trademark protection. The usual tactics of followers are to have products with similar appearance, similar functions, similar names and lower prices. Brand naming and trademarks play a great role in consumer identification and are a simple but important way to avoid following trends. They should be effectively protected before products are launched on the market. The simplest level is to register trademarks, names and similar images and names (images and fonts that are homophonic, have the same meaning, and have similar shapes) to build a defense network for following the trend. Another level is the skill and possession of naming. The so-called technicality means that the brand/product name must at least meet the requirements of being memorable, meaningful, easy to understand, and consistent with the positioning concept. It directly determines whether the brand can be clearly remembered by customers, such as "Compiled" cold medicine, "Shangri-La" red wine is very successful in terms of naming. Possession is even more clever. The essence of the category is revealed through naming or consumers’ perception of the category is captured, for example: Determined to be Beautiful 8226; Baby Gold Water. In fact, "Baby Gold Water" was already a generic term for the category of children's toilet water before the company was registered. The company directly and successfully used it as a product brand, leaving similar products in despair. The "anti-electric wall" named by Haier for its electric water heaters directly points to the safety "key points" that consumers are most concerned about, highlighting the core appeal of the brand. Innovative products often have the opportunity to "represent" the category from the beginning, and special attention should be paid to exploiting the large opportunities and space in naming. 3. Find the best communication concept and unique identification method. Many times, companies overly believe that there is a good product or a new product. Once the advertisement is launched, everyone will know about it, and everything will be fine, waiting for payment. This just provides space for followers. You spend money on advertising to educate consumers, and I sell the goods and capture the profits. Before launch, a complete set of systematic planning plans and contingency plans must be developed for product positioning, core concepts, brand propositions, brand identification, advertising creativity, etc. To sum up, on the one hand, it is the occupation of the brand concept, and it must be clear in advance what position the brand hopes to occupy in the minds of consumers; on the other hand, it is the unique identification method of the brand, and how the brand can clearly remember and be remembered by consumers in terms of advertising performance. Identify and achieve these two points, then there will be no room for followers to exploit, and it will be difficult for them to become successful.

Each of these items has specific implementation expertise and the degree of implementation. Success is a reflection of the reasonable fit of the system and the integration of details. Reflecting on the cases where innovative brands become “martyrs”, they often fall into traps at some point in the above-mentioned development process. As one of my country's largest comprehensive advertising companies, United Trends can only provide strategic advice to companies and help clients do better in every detail. I believe that with their own wisdom and judgment, enterprises will be able to successfully respond to the trend, achieve marketing goals, and achieve great things.