Strategic Warfare - Practical Case Analysis of Brand Competition Strategies

Author: Zeng Zhaohui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: All communication and promotion for top-chain theory brands must revolve around a core. Because a brand's individual advertisements, promotions, PR, sponsorships, and other activities, if not tied together by a unified theme, are at best just pearls. Only by threading all communication efforts with a single main thread can a sparkling necklace be formed. The value of pearls and necklaces is incomparable.
Fruit Tree Theory: If a brand is considered a fruit tree, then products are the fruits on the tree. If a consumer picks a fruit from a brand tree and finds it sweet, they will also believe that other fruits on the same tree are sweet. Therefore, companies must focus on building their brands, and after the brand succeeds, they can launch new products—just label them with the brand name.
Flowing Water Theory: As the saying goes, "The camp is unshakable, but the soldiers are in constant flux." Here, the "unshakable camp" represents the brand, and the "fluxing soldiers" represent products. Only when products keep flowing can the brand remain vibrant.
Brand Personification Theory: Brands are like people, and people are like brands. Viewing a brand as a person is the simplest way to understand it. Just as people have personalities, brands have character; people have temperaments, brands have individuality; people have thoughts, brands have depth; people have faces, brands have images; people get sick, brands face crises, and they also need regular check-ups.
Button Theory: Conducting diagnostics and research for a brand is like buttoning a shirt—button one wrong, and the rest will follow. Since the implementation of a market economy, the Chinese market has experienced two eras: the Advertising Power Era and the Marketing Power Era. In the Advertising Power Era, advertising was the most important and effective means of communication. Due to the nascent stage of the market, companies did not need every plank to be long—just a long plank in advertising was enough to dominate the world. In fact, many companies became famous overnight with a single outstanding advertisement, such as Kongfu Home Liquor. In 1993, the advertisement "Kongfu Home Liquor, Makes You Think of Home," featuring actress Wang Ji, was broadcast on CCTV and quickly rose to prominence, selling nationwide. Distributors often had to queue up to take delivery.
In the Marketing Power Era, as the market matured, the role of advertising was no longer glorified. Advertising became a conventional tool, working alongside channels, pricing, PR, promotions, and other methods to contribute to the company's integrated marketing. With the entry of international brands into the Chinese market, Chinese companies witnessed world-class brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald's sweeping the market with their brand power, as if entering an empty field. Amazed and inspired, some insightful individuals took up the weapon of branding, attempting to compete. The era of brand power has arrived!
In the era of brand competition, how can companies adjust their strategies according to the ever-changing market conditions? How can they engage in more effective communication and promotion than competitors? After in-depth research into hundreds of domestic and international brands, the author has summarized over a dozen strategies for companies to solve competition. This book also provides detailed insights into the competitive strategies and winning formulas of well-known companies in China, such as Procter & Gamble, Master Kong, Jinliufu, and Uni-President, offering significant reference and inspiration for Chinese enterprises.