News Marketing in Practice

Author: Sun Jiti
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features:
(6) Leveraging Competitors' Crisis for
Highlighting one's capabilities during a competitor's "time of crisis" and creating momentum can be a great opportunity to gain fame, but it can also reflect an enterprise's character.
1. from the Negative Side
On November 13, 2001, Guangdong Wanjiale Co., Ltd. (0533) issued a lawsuit announcement stating that a case involving the former major shareholder, Guangdong Xinli Group, which had guaranteed $5 million and 66 million in liability, had entered the enforcement stage. Some assets of Wanjiale, including its trademark, had been frozen. If the guaranteed debt was not resolved promptly, the company faced the risk of being seized and assets being liquidated. Meanwhile, two other competitors in Guangdong seized the opportunity to hype. On November 16 and November 28, Guangdong Zhongshan Changqing Group Co., Ltd. and Shunde Wanhe Group Co., Ltd. respectively held press conferences, claiming to purchase Wanjiale's trademark and equity. Both companies took the chance to twist the narrative, turning the temporary freezing of Wanjiale's trademark into a "public auction" of the trademark. Both companies also set a timeline for the acquisition. One said the "deadline" for Wanjiale's trademark was the end of November, while the other claimed the merger with Wanjiale would be "almost by the end of the year, with all merger matters completed." In the end, their true intentions were revealed—"boasting." Changqing Company claimed to be the "industry's export champion," "Asia's ," and "with an annual output value of 500 million yuan"; Wanhe Company claimed to be the only "National Advanced Enterprise in Quality Management" in the gas appliance industry in 2000, and its investment company "had hundreds of millions of yuan in cash flowing." Therefore, acquiring Wanjiale "did not require loans." In reality, Wanjiale's announcement did not prove its decline. As the leader in the gas appliance industry, neither Changqing nor Wanhe were as strong as Wanjiale in terms of. However, the real intention of these two companies to take advantage of the situation and hype was evident.
2. from the Positive Side
In the same year, the Asia Middle East Business War also had a classic move of "bringing warmth in the snow" to hype from the positive side. At the time, one of Asia's competitors, Huale, suffered a fire, causing certain losses and forcing it to close. Instead of gloating, Asia sent comfort gifts, which became a talking point in the business world. Although it was also a "performance," it was done with a strong sense of humanity.
(7) How to Create Momentum in an Unmature Market
When a company faces an immature market, how to create momentum for its products is a question: should it wait for the market to naturally ripen like a peach tree before picking, or should it stand up early and spend time and effort like a gardener to cultivate the market? Different industries face different environments, and their approaches vary accordingly.