Text | Joey
Chinese mobile phones are up again!
Just last week, Redmi announced that it had teamed up with AMG's F1 team to launch a flagship esports phone called the K50. Obviously, for Xiaomi's Redmi mobile phone, the purpose of this joint operation is very clear, that is, to create a strong performance and fast label of e-sports flagship mobile phone. More importantly, such a joint name really captured the attention of two groups of people at once, the game otaku who loves the red rice cost performance, and the ghost fire teenager who loves AMG. So, the benefits are obvious.
This is not the first time that Chinese mobile phone brands have joined hands with foreign car brands. At the earliest, what impressed more people was the combination of Huawei and Porsche Design. After that, before Redmi, iQOO and BMW's M, OPPO and Lamborghini, OnePlus and McLaren, which are top and even super luxury car brands, have also been co-branded at different points in time.
However, you must have found a very strange phenomenon like me, that is, why do these car brands that enjoy a global reputation choose mobile phones, why do they choose Chinese mobile phone brands for cross-border cooperation? In fact, regardless of whether it is proficient in the mobile phone market, anyone who uses a mobile phone will know that the absolute "shoulder handle" of the mobile phone world today is actually Apple and Samsung.
According to the sales ranking of global mobile phones in 2021, the global shipments of Apple and Samsung have reached 36.1%, and the three followed by Xiaomi, OPPO and VIVO have only reached 34.5%. Why cross-border, do not find big brands, but to start from the back to pick?
Has the way car companies find cross-border partners changed?
The logic of cross-border car companies has changed?
What is the core of the business logic of cross-border cooperation, I searched through ancient books and found some statements that seemed to be more reliable:
1, jump out of the inherent impression to create a sense of freshness: that is, let the brand temporarily get rid of the long-term inherent image, so that consumers who have been accustomed to the brand appearing in a certain way can get a different form of stimulation and attract attention.
2. Enhance attention through a new model: Through the model of co-branding, it will trigger more communication, so as to spend the least amount of money to attract more people to pay attention to the brand boom caused by co-branding.
3, drive consumption to enhance the sense of participation: after triggering a boom in attention, let more consumers who are usually limited by the budget and cannot buy a certain brand, buy products with brand elements, and meet their sense of participation in a certain brand of goods (for example, a brand's bags used to sell tens of thousands, but after the joint launch of a coin purse of several hundred yuan, it will drive a lot of purchase demand).
However, such a joint brand logic does not conform to the previous joint cooperation model of cars as bulk consumer goods, especially luxury and top car brands. After all, everyone is a person with an identity, who can not choose a brand that can afford to cooperate well?
For example, one of the collaborations that impressed me the most was the famous British off-road vehicle brand Land Rover, which had a cooperation with Paul Smith, a big British fashion design brand. In this collaboration, Paul Smith designed a new, stylish colour scheme for Land Rover's classic model, the Defender. But first of all, not to mention that in fact, a limited edition model, it is not easy to buy. Even if it is easy to buy, it is not too easy to have large-scale attention, and large-scale rush to buy occurs, because the core element that blocks consumer participation is still the ability of more people to match the value and price.
There is more than one such example. Previously, the Japanese luxury brand Lexus had also crossed over with nuvolari Lenard, a famous Italian yacht design company. This crossover turned the yacht-style cockpit design, which car brands like to play, into a truly ultra-luxurious flagship yacht LY 650. Obviously, such cooperation reflects the exquisite materials of the automobile brand, the fine workmanship, and the promotion of the value and reputation of the brand luxury. But again, this is still not a joint cross-border for more people.
Therefore, it is undoubtedly a good idea to find products that are more likely to be paid attention to, such as choosing electronic products with younger audiences and stronger purchasing power as cross-border joint brand partners. But a new problem also arises.
What to choose for electronic product drawings?
Maybe the future!
The basis of cooperation is that both sides can find their own points of interest, and there is no doubt that in the cross-border cooperation between luxury and ultra-luxury car brands and Chinese mobile phone brands, Chinese mobile phone brands are obviously the ones that get more benefits. After all, even if it is analyzed purely from the perspective of brand power, both sides of the cooperation are not at the same level. From the perspective of purchasing power, the gap between the two sides is obviously even greater.
Although the customized, limited- and exclusive mobile phones launched after the joint name, even if the price rises again, it is still not so difficult for ordinary people to spend five thousand or even ten thousand to buy a mobile phone. But cars, especially cars with more than a million, first of all, their status is still standing, and more importantly, they will not launch lower-priced models for the sake of joint names. This may be a kind of harm to their brand image accumulated through years of high-performance word of mouth.
Therefore, there will be a classic comment: people who buy these mobile phones will not buy such cars, and people who buy such cars are not the target user group of these mobile phones. So, what are the brand diagrams of these cars?
If we take a longer-term view, we may be able to try to find a more eclectic answer – for the future.
In fact, if the most successful cross-border marketing in the automotive industry, there has always been a non-conspicuous, but very successful example - Lego.
Lego has long been dubbed a "car company delayed by toy production". Presumably, all car fans and LEGO fans will know that an engine built with Lego bricks can really catalyze a car that is also built from Lego bricks. In addition, almost all the classic models of good brands can be found in LEGO products. For example, Porsche's 911 GT3, Volkswagen's Beetle, Mercedes-Benz's G500 convertible and so on. They are the favorite of every collector, and they truly help the company to pass on the brand culture and glorious history well. Calling Lego the most successful cross-border marketing of cars is obviously not an exaggeration at all.
Of course, the purpose of different types of cross-border cooperation is also different. For example, the cooperation with mobile phones, obviously car companies are more interested in sowing the seeds of the brand in the hearts of young consumers, which will not hesitate to come up with the M and AMG brand lines that best reflect the brand's technical strength and cultural heritage to invest.
Such a youthful attempt actually began very early. The same Mercedes-Benz, which had already entered the game earlier. In 2020, it has been announced to be the exclusive automotive industry partner of the global tournament of the global battle game , League of Legends. Combined with the entry-level models that are constantly being launched today, more and more easily reached by young consumers, it clearly forms a very reliable marketing strategy. Like Mercedes-Benz, Maserati, with a higher brand positioning, has invaded the gaming industry.
Coincidentally, Maserati has long cooperated with Tencent's mobile game Peace Elite, introducing Maserati cars as a means of transportation in the game. Therefore, people who may not be able to buy Maserati in reality for a while will obviously be more likely to approach their dreams in the game.
After all, the recognition of the brand can not only be limited to the inheritance of luxury and high-end concepts, but also needs to be truly in line with the preferences of young people. And today's young consumers with red rice will buy an A-class car tomorrow, and who knows if they will come to an AMG in the far future? After all, today's A-class AMG models already have a price that is easier for people to touch.
Now, let's go back to the joint name of luxury car brand and mobile phone industry, especially domestic mobile phone industry. At a glance, such cooperation seems unprofitable for these car companies, but it may receive more generous returns in the future. After all, missing out on young people may miss far more than a hundred million.
However, back to the beginning of the article, for Redmi's cross-border joint name this time, I will think one more step. After all, Rebbs is already building cars, maybe...