I learned brand marketing with Ye Maozhong (II): Conflict Theory

Ye Maozhong has created a lot of classic advertising slogans, filmed many impressive advertising films, and helped many enterprises to achieve great achievements in brand building. Many advertising planners will repeatedly study their advertising cases and try to find a shortcut for Ye Maozhong in brand marketing creation. If you simply start from its advertising cases, I am afraid that you can only learn the skin, and you cannot get its essence. So is there a way, or a shortcut, to learn the essence of Ye Maozhong's advertising and marketing? The answer is definitely yes, and that is the conflict theory. This is the theory that Ye Maozhong summed up based on his more than 30 years of marketing experience.

"Conflict" Ye Maozhong

Before I joined Ye Maozhong's team, I had already been exposed to conflict theory and repeatedly studied his book "Conflict", but I had never found a way to do it, and I always kept circling outside the door and could not enter the door. During my time in the company, I constantly consulted the cases and speech materials that Ye Maozhong had done before, and combined with the conflict theory, I gradually got some tips and experiences.

Conflict theory is still different from Trout's positioning theory and Hua and Hua's super symbol theory, which are the three most influential theories in China's marketing industry. Whether it is super symbols or positioning theory, I personally feel that they all belong to methodology and instrumentalism, whether you are a professional or a non-professional, you will understand it at a glance and learn it, which is also the advantage of methodology and instrumentalism. And I think the conflict theory is a bit of a primitive theory, it is a theory that explains the principle of method from the essence, which is why I read the conflict theory many times at the beginning, but I still don't know anything about it. The original theory is indeed difficult to understand and difficult to learn.

Each of the three theories has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Positioning theory is the hottest theory in brand marketing theory at present, and many companies and brands have benefited greatly from the use of positioning theory. Like Procter & Gamble, its Haifeisi positioning to remove dandruff, soft positioning soft and smooth, Pantene positioning nutritional hair care, although their use of effects, functions and prices are similar, but through advertising appeals, so that each sub-brand occupies the consumer's demand in the field of shampoo psychological cognition, in the fierce shampoo competition industry, so that other companies are daunting. The Banu Mao belly hot pot in the hot pot industry is also through positioning theory, so that it breaks out under the strong brand of the giant Haidilao and obtains a huge brand influence. However, there is also a popular saying in positioning theory: positioning theory, once learned, once used is wrong. There are also some brands that use positioning theory to give themselves to death, if the positioning theory is not used well, it will make their brand's road narrower and narrower, losing a lot of market opportunities.

Hua and Hua's super symbols, Hua and Hua is also an excellent representative of China's local advertising companies, its founder Hua Shan's super symbol theory is a must learn theory for all marketers, the past two years in China's advertising and marketing industry has had a huge impact. I have also been learning various theories and methods of Hua and Hua, which have been of great help to my work. Hua and Hua's methodology is indeed useful, but I find that Hua and Hua's cases in the past two years are very "Hua and Hua", what does it mean? It is hua and hua's case that hua and hua do at first glance, which is basically a routine.

In contrast, although Ye Maozhong's case also has strong Ye Maozhong characteristics, each case has its own style, whether it is a creative point or a brand strategy, although there are traces to follow, but it is not obvious. In recent years, Ye Maozhong has vigorously promoted his conflict theory, the purpose is to let more people understand, learn, and use their own methods and experiences, many people should have brushed on the headlines and vibrato. Imagine that a person who has been in the Chinese marketing industry for more than 30 years has a name and a profit, then he will inevitably consider what to leave for this society. Theories, doctrines, and writings are undoubtedly the best ways and choices. This is also the reason why Ye Maozhong invests heavily in promoting the conflict theory every year, without asking for anything in return.

Conflict theory is more to tell you how to find where to let consumers, customers buy your product where the switch, how to find, how to find, although there are some methods, but there is no too much elaboration, so that you can maximize everyone's brain hole, which is also the essence of marketing planning. The Chinese market is not the same as the market in developed countries, each industry is very competitive, there are many enterprises, many brands, want to break through, you have to do different from others, have their own characteristics, which is also what we often call differentiation. Brand differentiation, product differentiation, core value differentiation. Methodology and instrumentalism can easily make everyone fall into homogenization. You will me too, you use me, you learn others are easy to learn, you feel good to use others also think it is easy to use, in the end, everyone is the same again.

I am not disparaging any of the theories here, but I just want to explore the characteristics of each theory. The three major theories have their own advantages, and they are flexible in their application, so as to make excellent plans and truly help enterprises and brands not take marketing detours on the road of development.