Similar to HengYuanXiang’s branding strategy, Naobaijin, a health supplement product adopted a “repeat annoying commercial 10,000 times” strategy to great success. What’s interesting is that this actually seems to be a valid strategy when dealing with FMCG products in China. While online Chinese buzz is generally against the ad, sales tell a different story.
When I look at this ad, it seems cute, but to Chinese, it ranks as one of the most sickening ads in all of China TV history; this is likely due to showing the commercial 3-4 times in a row repeatedly during prime time. That sounds bad, but gets downright confusing when considering Naobaijin set sales records to the tune of several billion RMB. How in the world did they do this?
Key insight into Chinese Health Market
It goes a bit beyond the annoying commercial’s ability to seep into the mind and replace useful information with it’s insane theme song. There is also a very intelligent brand positioning based on extensive research on how and why Chinese buy health products.
Due to China’s economics, health products can be a bit of a luxury item. Therefore most health products are not bought for the buyer, but as gifts for parents, elderly relatives, bosses, etc.
By taking advantage of this key insight, Naobaijin’s relentless repetition ad campaign drummed into the Chinese subconsciousness that 1. We know why you’re buying this product, and 2. we fit your buying intent. Constant reminders push competitors out of mind at that crucial point of purchase.
Branding the gamut
Beyond positioning, Naobaijin follows through with its insight by providing top quality packaging, suitable for… you guessed it… giving away as gifts. The product packaging gives Naobaijin a distinctive “high class” feeling, seemingly conflicting with its commercial message, though in reality perfectly conforming to the brand “gift” position.
The funny thing is, most people don’t even know what Naobaijin does… they just know its the perfect gift to give those they respect (btw, its melatonin). It’s an interesting question; had Naobaijin focused on brand benefits rather than positioning the brand based on purchase intent, would sales have been as spectacular? At several billion RMB in sales, my feeling is “who the hell cares, we just made 1,000,000,000++ RMB!”.
Comments from Baidu.com and Tianya.com:
不言语
Objectively speaking, the problem of the ad is not very prominent, its originality, content and slogan can only be described as OK. It is not the most vulgar and crude ad in China. The reason why it is offensive is that the ad was put on TV too frequently. For a 5-15-second-TVC, the company put several thousand millions on media budget every year. How frequent will its broadcast be? You can see this ad from various television channels. You can see the same ad for nearly 20 times a day. What will you feel?
查查
Because of its repetition, direct advertising appeal and foolishly bombastic way of advertising, the ad made people feel sick.
显示
The appeal of the ad is too emotional and direct. The ad is aimed to promote the product through repetition. But the repetition caused repulsion.
小熊维尼
The slogan of the ad is so repetitive. And the TVC lacks originality. They always use the images of 2 elderly cartoon characters singing and dancing. I am tired of it.
lemon83921
The images and slogan of the series of TVC are all very simple. There is nothing but one or two characters. Pictures of the product occupied most of the ad. However, the company seems to like this very much.
Since the advent of Naobaijin, the company has been using this kind of TVC. It does make some changes sometimes, but it is a change in form but not in content. Using cartoon characters instead of human characters. The ad is flashing in front of people’s eyes and nagging beside their ears every day. Even just repeating the name of the product, it is effective for people to remember it.
There is nothing about originality or creativity. The ad is using the weakness of human memory system to do the indoctrination of buying it.
倒走的聪明鸭
The TVC has no originality at all. It is just making people feel sick. Tele-viewers will break out in revolt sooner or later.
一醉抱云眠
Naobaijin is very successful. The target consumers of Naobaijin are normal citizens. They don’t have a strong capacity to discriminate. Moreover, although you know it clearly that the ad is mouth-filling, you buy it as a present when visiting your friends and folks. Being clearly of their target consumers, using simple and direct way of expressing, putting huge budget on media, the ad which seems vulgar works like a charm in China. Even a parrot has learned to say, I won’t take any present on festivals this year……
sky-walker
No matter how vulgar it is, the ad has kept itself in your mind, it’s successful.
CSSUI
I will never buy the product of Naobaijin. It’s crap.
avatar
The reason why Naobaijin never changed its ad style is because that is one of their sales strategies. It is occupying personal unconscious. I can’t stop feeling sick of it.
cyh504
Every time I saw the TVC, I would change the channel immediately.
板牙飞扬
The ad positioned Naobaijin product as presents. So people who buy it are not ninnies, they just following the majority.
tonyart
The product is just Melatonin. It has no good for health care.
i5china
Naobaijin ad is typical crap, there is no originality at all. When I see it, I feel sick. I’m afraid that Naobaijin ad win the sales record through sickening it’s audience.
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Agency: YeMaoZhong Marketing
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
As usual you have a way of presenting intriguing questions which beg for followups. Logic (?) would suggest that only a limited number of early users of annoying tactics will achieve success. Sometime audiences will outright revolt and then they will likely stop. Nonetheless, among the early achievers, will their initial successes simply spike and plummet or will they continue to sell (especially if and when their presentations change tact)?
@Mao – good point, perhaps this strategy only works for the first few who use it – however, I think when considering China’s rural uneducated populace, which is about 700 million (give or take), messages like this are effective because they break through the clutter. I’m sure this strategy will be worse for wear sooner or later, but I think that will happen only after the silent majority becomes educated enough to care. Until then the constant messaging is probably a good strategy, as it insures memory retention, though at a loss of the pleasing aesthetic. But for the rural majority, pleasing aesthetic is likely not high on their list of priorities.
That is interesting. I thought the old Naobaijin advertisement was made up of an old man telling a boy how good Naobaijin is? Must have been a long time since I last watched TV commercials.
{ 3 trackbacks }
Naobaijin; Pissing off Chinese people achieves 1 billion in health product sales. http://tinyurl.com/cqpdp6
April 27, 2009[Google Shared] Naobaijin; Pissing off Chinese people achieves 1 billion in health product sales... http://bit.ly/gZbfk
April 27, 2009Naobaijing: This is why.... http://tinyurl.com/cqpdp6
October 16, 2009