Source: New Marketing
"Madness is the norm, madness is the state! The whole world is out! It's hard to imagine that such an "advanced" mental state is what netizens use to describe the daily routine of the "part-time job" of the spy role in a spy war drama of the Republic of China.
The twin underground workers turned danger into danger step by step, the eldest lady of the late Qing Dynasty survived the brutal killing and became the leader of the spies, the twin lurkers met the villain "crazy criticism", and the collision of wits and courage and emotional entanglements made "Harbin 1944" not only successfully captured the favor of traditional spy war drama fans who are mainly 40+ years old, but also gained a strong resonance from a group of young audiences who are keen to think and reason. (Data source: Drama Star Media)
This year, the popularity of spy warfare has increased significantly. It is worth noting that in the past, spy war-themed works often encountered a situation where the TV ratings were long popular but the Internet was not very popular, and the recent hit "Harbin 1944" and the previously popular "Wind Chaser" have performed well on the Taiwan network, especially on the Internet, both the broadcast popularity and the topic popularity remain high. According to the data of Maoyan Professional Edition, "Harbin 1944", which is still being updated, has exceeded 700 million effective broadcasts on the whole network as of May 6, and the show is also ranked TOP1 on the Yunhe Data Screen Domination List. Behind this is its strong breakthrough in integrating "high-energy dark fighting" and innovative expression under the framework of the classic spy war theme, combined with the current mood of the times and the preferences of young audiences.
From the start of the series to today, this scarce sense of high quality has also continued to bless the brand. It can be seen that when the advertising of Estee Lauder and Pulse appears at the beginning of the film, the barrage will float over user voices such as "Congratulations on discovering the treasure drama" and "Estee Lauder on Oita", which is the charm of high-quality content - users will praise and agree with the brand's insight.
In the past two years, "reducing costs and increasing efficiency" has become a key word in brand marketing. With the past era of spending money to buy big exposure, weight is not quality, and every budget must be carefully calculated and the benefits must be determined. Then for brands, "good eyesight" is very important. In the face of a wide variety of high-quality dramas on the market, how can we effectively identify good content with marketing potential?
At the same time, "being able to play" is more important. If brands want to gain users' continuous attention, they not only need to integrate brand differentiation into high-quality content to attract users' attention, but also need to provide emotional value and long-term companionship to seize users' minds.
In this process, long-form video content has a natural subtle quality, which can make the brand story gradually penetrate into the hearts of the people as the plot unfolds. "Harbin 1944" provides a high-quality content fertile soil and a broad cultivation space for brand marketing.
Classic themes innovate narratives, crossing time and space to hit contemporary emotions
Really good content can stand the test of time, attract people of different ages, and at the same time have a continuous topicality, giving the audience room to discuss. Such a long-term and broad source of vitality lies in its ability to meet the mood and social issues of the times at different times, and resonate with audiences of different generations.
"Harbin 1944" takes the classic spy war theme as the background, pays attention to the feelings of the family and the country in the special historical period, but at the same time collides the twin brothers with the life-oriented narrative, and opens up a new idea of spy war drama with vivid expression, so it can attract a younger and wider audience, and generate hot topics at all levels.
1. Unfold an innovative narrative with small incisions, and create a content ignition point with emotional resonance
With the development of the industry and the changes in user aesthetics, what can touch the hearts of users the most is always the content that can show the fate of the little people under the big historical proposition, and this has sufficient room for expression in the theme of realism.
The reason why "Harbin 1944" was able to quickly ignite the audience's emotions after its launch is that it shows the uniqueness and scarcity under the background of the big era and the classic narrative framework. By breaking the stereotypes of spy war dramas and historical characters, so that spies and police officers also have a "part-time job mood", whether it is an open fight or a werewolf killing, the audience can quickly follow the characters into their daily lives.
For example, Pan Yue, a senior "worker" of the secret service department in the play, although he is talented, is too eager for quick success, and often breaks the defense after forcing a smile, and is even ridiculed by netizens as "Harbin 1944 has its own An Lingrong", and even the official account has produced a series of posters of "I blew up" for netizens to play and discuss, so that the inner activities of the foursome in the play are closely connected with the mental state of contemporary young people, so the hot stalk continues.
Echoing the content of the series, "Harbin 1944" also achieves a natural integration between the brand product value and the characters in terms of brand placement, so that users can quickly get the product characteristics without departing from the immersive drama tracking. For example, Estee Lauder integrated the long-lasting makeup characteristics of the foundation liquid with the breakthrough of the spokesperson Yang Mi as the villain Guan Xue and the character itself's "face does not change" personality, and called Yang Mi on the official blog, thus successfully arousing the support of fans and wide range of users.
2. The quality assurance of the golden team, telling a good spy war suspense story is fundamental
In addition to innovation, "Harbin 1944" also shows a solid "basic skill" of high-quality spy war dramas.
On the one hand, director Zhang Li, who has directed historical dramas such as "Ming Dynasty 1566" and "The Right Way in the World is the Vicissitudes of Life", and Wang Xiaogun, the chief screenwriter who is quite good at spy warfare, have joined forces. The solid creative team and golden cast have attracted the attention of the outside world from the beginning, and also laid the foundation for the high-quality presentation of the series;
On the other hand, "Harbin 1944" fills the sense of rhythm at the beginning, and uses pictures and lines with a sense of life to let the audience "second" substitution. As iQiyi users expressed in the barrage: "I was nervous at the beginning until now, and there is not a second wasted", "I am excited to watch"...... Northeast dialect, sense of contrast, down-to-earth expression and detailed portrayal full of emotional temperature make this drama break through the theme limitations of previous spy war dramas, and every audience can find resonance from the unique group portrait characters: For example, Guan Xue, as the head of the secret service section, is cold-blooded and ruthless on the surface, but in fact, he will secretly worry that he will not be able to wear a cheongsam with a scar on his wounds; Even though Song Zhuowen and Song Zhuowu are dressed exactly the same, there are many subtle differences in their daily behavior and communication with others, which can only be discovered by the audience observing from the perspective of God......
"Harbin 1944" integrates genres, has high energy and fireworks, thus establishing a more three-dimensional expression field than previous spy war dramas, and also allowing brand marketing to narrow the psychological distance with users in a more natural way, open up a sense of identity with social platform discussions, and break the growth ceiling with social core issues.
We have found that when a content IP combines "time, place, and people", it can help brands play a huge role in marketing. that is, it can aggregate hundreds of millions of high-quality users to achieve the widest reach; The location is advantageous, that is, it can be grounded, and it hits the core issues of the current society, which has attracted a lot of attention; When the time comes, it can trigger a long cycle of fermentation and compound interest, so that users can have the deepest recognition.
From this point of view, although "Harbin 1944" is still on the air, it has already shown the appearance of a big IP with profound content marketing value.
Just as many netizens had a heated discussion on the historical details of the play after watching the play, this drama uses delicate expression to integrate patriotic values into the life course of the little people, so that a wide range of audiences involuntarily have value identification and desire to express themselves in the process of watching the drama, and it also allows the cooperative brand to follow the popularity of the drama to increase the attention.
Make good use of content: How can brands tap into the centralized influence of good content?
Nowadays, most audiences, especially young users, have understood very well that good content needs to be supported by good commercialization in order to go further. They are not averse to advertising, but they have higher requirements for the fit between brand and content, brand advertising creativity, brand marketing innovation, etc. With high-quality content as a foundation, brand marketing has a discourse foundation. So, how to empower brands with the centralized influence of high-quality content?
Focusing on "Harbin 1944", we have summarized several opportunities and ways for brands to take advantage of good content to exert greater marketing value, hoping to give some inspiration and reference to brands in need:
1. Use the highlight plot characters to explore the possibility of content extension
Originality is the key to content marketing and an advantage over other marketing methods. Let the brand's marketing content have a real association and interaction with the content of the series, so that a marketing will not become a "one-man show" for the brand to be self-congratulatory, and users will be more willing to accept the message that the brand wants to deliver.
Therefore, the brand combines the plot and character characteristics to carry out creativity, which is more likely to arouse the audience's attention and discussion. For example, in "Harbin 1944", the main female characters are clearly hierarchical, in addition to the bright and moving Guan Xue, there is also a female student Xie Yue who often shows the characteristics of youth and ignorance.
Especially in today's beauty marketing, users are distracted, and it is becoming more and more difficult for brands to keep pace with market changes. However, the audience who mentioned "Harbin 1944" at the beginning of the book very much agrees with the Estee Lauder implanted in the play, and even warmly welcomes and interacts, in addition to the fan influence of the spokesperson Yang Mi, it can also be seen that the fit between this brand and Guan Xue, the chief of the special service section who focuses on beauty and wisdom in the play, makes the brand story and the plot naturally integrated.
For example, Jiabei Aite in the play "good absorption, better nutrition, better protection of Erbin" customized advertising slogan, the tone of playful narrowing the distance with the audience, the follow-up can be further according to the plot direction, derived from more demonic brainwashing copy, by the brand official joint play Song Zhuowen, Lao Qian and other positive characters who have always fought with the villain to launch interesting topics, not only can get a wider range of mental reach in the product target user group, but also can stimulate the interactive enthusiasm of young users, so that the brand product concept is further deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
2. Take advantage of the popularity of content to open up multi-field marketing
Since the Spring Festival this year, the topic of Harbin tourism has not decreased, and during the past "May Day" holiday, Ctrip's "2024 "May Day" Holiday Travel Summary data shows that air ticket orders destined for Harbin increased by 15% year-on-year. With the popularity of "Harbin 1944", its historical background and patriotic themes and regional characteristics are intertwined, and the content value is extended beyond the plot, so that the popularity of online content is gradually transformed into offline tourism popularity.
"Harbin 1944", which has almost all the Northeast accents, aroused a new round of attention from users to "Erbin", and Harbin Cultural Tourism immediately released the video "Harbin 1944 Takes You to the Mountain", recommending many local scenic spots with the popularity of the series; After Song Zhuowen was tested by Guan Xue's "Hongmen Banquet" in the play, the Northeast pot wrapped meat aroused the strong curiosity of netizens around the world, and the official quickly followed up and launched a Weibo interactive topic #一菜proves that you have seen Harbin 1944#, and Amway Northeast food will be given to more audiences......
The integration of culture and tourism not only drives tourism, but also includes a region's characteristic culture, representative brands, and related products. "Harbin 1944" portrays the details of the characters' daily lives and highlights the characteristics of cultural tourism, inspiring many regional brands and FMCG brands to take advantage of the popularity of the drama series in the future, relying on many specific scenes and plots in the play, combining the brand concept with the urban attributes and cultural characteristics of Harbin, integrating brand elements into different plots, and presenting the brand concept in more scenes. For example, Harbin Beer, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, Sunflower Pharmaceutical, Feihe Milk Powder and other well-known brands in Harbin and Heilongjiang have a natural relevance, and the popularity of this wave of dramas should not be missed in vain.
3. Leverage the values of dramas to deepen the resonance of brand and user value
Forrester found that 51% of Gen Z (18-23 year olds) make sure a brand's social image aligns with their values before making a purchase. Encountering the brand in the content that matches the values invisibly enhances the value resonance between users and the brand, and the user's long-term identification with the brand comes from the superposition of the resonance of values and aesthetic orientation.
Just as after signing Wang Yibo as the global spokesperson of this front desk bell, he created the interactive topic of #Wei Ruolai Poor Boy Explosion Reform Shanghai Elite #, on the one hand, it aroused the emotional resonance of users with the topic of beating workers, and at the same time, it further showed the change of mentality of the characters in the play in the face of the uneven world, and inspired users to firmly embrace the resonance of faith, and finally allowed the brand to deeply reach users and realize the transformation and precipitation of private domain traffic.
"Harbin 1944" focuses on the feelings of family and country in the special era, provides a positive background of values, and at the same time, takes the fate of the little people in the big era as the incision, and provides a link for the brand to connect the emotions of users. Brand content marketing can combine the brand concept with the positive energy in the hot plot, for example, through the key choices faced by many small people such as postmen and restaurant owners in "Harbin 1944", interactive topics or creative gameplay can be thrown out to show the fit between the brand and the user's values and emotional points, effectively shorten the psychological distance with the user, and ultimately maximize the marketing effect.
It can be seen from the phenomenal discussion caused by the launch of "Harbin 1944" that content creation needs to grasp the pulse of the times and perceive the changes in users' mentality in order to achieve unexpected results, and brand marketing is even more so. In the new era, it is more important to understand users than to "influence" them.
At the same time, we see that in terms of content marketing of drama dramas, "slow half-beat" is becoming a trend, and more and more high-quality dramas will be reassured to invest after receiving positive market feedback after the broadcast, and the brand's cautiousness is understandable, which to some extent also forces the improvement of content quality. However, in the context of the homogenization of the content market, high-quality and scarce content will undoubtedly become a new battleground for brands that urgently need to complete content marketing at a higher cost performance and seize the minds of users. When it's time to make a move, you still have to make a timely move.