Donkey meat is a traditional food in Guangrao, Shandong, with a history of more than 800 years. Donkey meat with exquisite materials, "dish medicine" formula is unique, fine production, meat is smooth but not greasy, solid but not hard, delicious and delicious, favored by the majority of consumers. However, in recent years, due to the mixed fish and dragons of donkey meat brands in Dongying City, Shandong Province, the benign development of categories has been seriously endangered. As the leader in the local industry in Dongying, how can "Chizhong" donkey meat better seize the user's mind and stand out from the dilemma of homogeneous competition?
Based on this demand, "Chizhong" has reached a strategic cooperation with deep-dimensional brand positioning consulting. Through the comprehensive investigation and analysis of Chizhong donkey meat, the deep dimension uses category and positioning theory to leverage brand equity, establish a clear brand recognition for Chizhong, and make the development of Chizhong brand gradually enter a better state.
Industry dilemma: deeply involved in the category dispute
In the early stage of market research, the deep dimension team visited a large number of local supermarkets and stores of various brands, and found a major homogenization phenomenon of donkey meat - almost all brand packaging boxes are red tones, with a large "donkey meat" three words, in addition to the price, almost no difference can be seen. The competitive situation of the entire category is "there is no category without brand", and all brands are "eating" the regional mental resources of the donkey meat category. Moreover, there are many shoddy brands, which will inevitably deplete the assets of the category in the long run, which is not conducive to the long-term development of the category.
Packaging for various donkey meat brands on the market
After in-depth research on donkey meat products, it was found that donkey meat is a more high-quality meat product. Under the general trend of consumption upgrading, there is a large room for this category to rise. But at the same time, this regional category lacks a strong leading brand that can endorse the category and lead the category out of the local area and expand the market space.
The deep dimension team conducted in-depth research on chizhong's products and development. In recent years, data show that the annual sales of the local donkey meat industry are about 150 million, and the sales volume of chizhong brands accounts for about 35% of the entire industry, but in terms of market share, chizhong is definitely the boss of the category. It is only such an advantage that the company itself has not made good use of it, nor has it been recognized by consumers, but it has been deeply involved in the price dispute of the category.
In the face of the current situation of the category with no leader and trapped in a corner, as the invisible leader of the category, how should Chizhong break the situation, get rid of the price competition in the category, and open a new pattern not only for himself, but also for the category?
The way to break the game: seize the first place, representing the category
Combined with the competitive situation of the category and the strength advantage of the brand, the deep-dimensional team concluded that the most effective way to break through the status quo in Chizhong is to seize the brand position of the first donkey meat. The first step is to become the first brand in the donkey meat category in the regional market, as a local specialty; the second step is to go to the foreign port market and become a representative brand of the donkey meat category, cultivating and driving the development of the donkey meat category.
So, how can such a goal be achieved? Combining many years of practical experience in positioning in the deep dimension, the four major rules of "category boss" design are proposed.
Rule 1: Highlight the brand and take the lead. In industries and categories where there is no leader, collective silence and high dispersion, whoever speaks out first is the boss. When many brands are still staying in the "donkey meat" category promotion, Chizhong should take the lead in showing its own brand and form a bundle of categories and brands.
Rule two: seize category resources for my use. For Chizhong, using the advantages of the origin resources, the brand is bundled with the category, which not only occupies the category, but also establishes the brand, so that consumers' cognition of "the most authentic donkey meat" is transferred from the name of the place of origin to the brand name.
Rule Three: Strengthen unique strengths and establish divisions. In addition to building from a high vantage point and seizing the public resources of the category, Chizhong should further refine its own unique advantages to establish a brand segmentation.
Rule 4: Systematic packaging, the formation of product echelons, to enhance the brand premium. For Chizhong, in its own product structure, it is necessary to ensure moderate richness, while also considering the improvement of category value, making a layout on the price system of the product, and communicating it through the packaging system.
Positioning strategy: step by step, build advantages
According to the four principles of the "category boss" design, the deep dimension is to gradually seek the best solution in Chizhong, step by step, and build up the unique advantages of the brand.
First, reveal your brand identity. For the local specialty product category, "authenticity" is its first feature, and to become the leading brand in the category, it is necessary to seize the first feature of the category. Therefore, the deep dimension has created an "authentic" brand positioning for Chizhong, and the core communication slogan has been determined as "Guangrao donkey meat, look for chizhong brand", so that consumers' cognition of "the most authentic donkey meat" has shifted from the name of the place of origin "Guangrao" to the brand name "Chizhong".
Secondly, in order to make chizhong's "authentic" brand identity more credible, the deep dimension proposes to borrow category resources and history to tell the story of the brand, the specific practice is "three preemptive": seize historical resources, that is, the historical origin of Guangrao donkey meat, celebrity allusions; seize the origin of the resources of the place of origin, that is, the recognition of the authentic origin of Guangrao donkey meat; seize the craft resources, that is, the traditional production process of Guangrao donkey meat. Finally, through combing and summarizing, the deep dimension will be "Sun Wu donated donkey", "Cixi loves to eat ejiao donkey meat", "phase, slaughter, pickling, brine, repair" ancient technology and "Chizhong" brand binding, preemptively occupying the commanding heights of donkey meat category, forming a brand competition potential.
Third, further refine your own unique advantages to establish brand differentiation. Through the overall inspection of Chizhong, the four unique advantages of the Chizhong brand are sorted out in a deep dimension: only the grassland free-range donkey is selected; the circulating old soup, the medicine and food are homologous; the shandong time-honored brand; and the national key leading enterprise of agricultural industrialization.
Finally, the formation of a product layout covering "high-end, mid-end, low-end", respectively, through the "Chizhong Ejiao donkey meat Yugong 1873" "Chizhong donkey meat" and "Chizhong rare donkey meat" three major products to operate, and establish a price echelon, the formation of a strict market layout, to resist the attack of other brands in the category.
Packaging design: upgrade the file and lead the market
Packaging is the strategic expression of the brand. Around the positioning strategy point, the deep dimension has been upgraded for the packaging design of Chizhong, which has undergone layers of deliberation and layer by layer.
In the design of the brand area, we focus on highlighting the brand and forming a bundle with the category; in the design of the key points of the public resources of the category, we make full use of the five steps of the five steps of the brand such as history, place of origin, and technology to build a brand; at the same time, fully refine the unique advantages of several major brands such as "only using grassland free-range donkeys", "circulating old soup, medicinal food homology", "Shandong time-honored brand", "national key leading enterprise of agricultural industrialization", etc., so that Chizhong can form a distinction with other brands and establish brand barriers.
In addition, the deep dimension team also excavated the brand story behind Chizhong. In order to support the operation of the high-end series, Deep Dimension divides Chizhong products into two different stalls: high-end Ejiao donkey meat and mid-range Chizhong donkey meat, excavates the two stories of "Cixi Yugong Ejiao Donkey Meat" and "Su WuXian Donkey", and forms a visual version of the product story.
Doing design is like cooking, the above design elements are equivalent to the preparation of raw materials, and then we must use these elements to build a packaging visual system for the three major products in Chi.
High-end: Ejiao donkey meat packaging design
Mid-range: Chizhong donkey meat packaging design
Cheap: Rare donkey meat packaging design
Through layers of analysis and research, the development of brand-exclusive strategic positioning and visual design, the deep dimension successfully transforms the market advantage of Chizhong brand into cognitive advantage, establishes the brand identity and leadership position of Chizhong "authentic donkey meat", and at the same time, builds a high-end and low-level product echelon for Chizhong brand, and uses high-end products to enhance the value of the category, leaving room for the development of the category. (Lin Lu)