Section 3.8 Special observation on marketing.
Editor’s note: This article is from the micro-channel public number “number of stars BRIGHT DATA” (ID: BRIGHTDATA), Author: fish, editor: Zhong Rui.
After the “sister” trend in 2020, the drama of the twin heroines, which was once high hopes, accidentally went silent, but at the same time, Yang Li, Yi Lijing, Zhang Yuqi and other celebrities with strong independent femininity were controversial More fans have been gained in the tide. How does brand marketing that need to go along with the wind to absorb public feedback and make new ideas in female marketing?
On the occasion of Section 3.8, CBNData Consumer Station (hereinafter referred to as Station C) launched a special observation on female marketing. From this perspective, Station C will start with the brand marketing endorsement and gameplay, and discuss the changes in female marketing in the new environment. Which categories prefer to use female celebrities as endorsements? What are the focus of different brands of female marketing gameplay?
Which categories prefer female stars?
In order to expand the voice, celebrity endorsements have always been an important part of brand marketing. Simply sorting out the status quo of female celebrity endorsements can provide a broader perspective for female marketing. At the end of 2020, the topic of “how to treat male celebrities endorsing cosmetics” aroused heated discussion due to the talk show “Sisters’ Tea Party”. Do brands really prefer male stars? Perhaps we can get some hints from the changes in the commercial endorsements of male and female celebrities.
Station C analyzes the changes in the number of brand endorsements and categories of female celebrities on a monthly basis. On the whole, in the time dimension of the past year, the number of endorsements by male celebrities is more than that of female celebrities, and the dominant position is obvious. But there is no shortage of surprises in the steady trend. In July 2020, female celebrities will overtake 72 items for the first time.
The dominant performance of female celebrities in July last year was largely derived from the broadcast of variety shows “Sister Riding the Wind and Waves” and “Youth Has You 2”. In the female celebrity endorsements of the month, female stars from these two variety shows The proportion is as high as 56%. It can be seen that the feminine content has an overall blessing effect on female celebrities.
In addition to the absolute value of the quantity, if the time axis is moved forward by one year, some changes are already happening quietly. Station C sorted out and calculated the difference in the number of monthly endorsements of male and female celebrities in the past two years and found that compared with 2019, the overall difference in 2020 is lower overall, and it shows a significantly lower and lower trend. Whether it is because of the trend of the times or the direction of the content, this is still a joyful thing for female stars.
There have also been some changes in the use of male and female celebrities in different categories of brands. Take the beauty category that has been criticized by public opinion and preempted by male celebrities as an example. In the Q1 and Q2 quarters of 2020, female celebrities are indeed at a disadvantage, but in Q3 and Q4 quarters, female celebrities have performed well, and they have recovered their home court advantage in this category. .
Comparing these numbers with the basic data of the category reveals some information. The fundamentals of the brand’s overall higher usage rate of male celebrities have not changed, but the brand favor of female celebrities has indeed increased.
For example, in the two categories of daily chemicals and travel, the number of endorsements of female celebrities has shown a weak but visible upward trend. Especially in the field of travel, the upward trend of female celebrities is particularly obvious.
From the category point of view, traditional beauty, clothing and other fields are still the dominant areas of female celebrities. In some categories that do not have gender advantages, the brand’s use of female celebrities is also increasing. The dynamic adjustment of the number of endorsements of female celebrities and categories also affects the update of brand female marketing gameplay. How to use endorsements correctly to maximize the voice of female marketing?
How to use suitable female endorsers for marketing?
Successful female marketing often uses fashionable female celebrity spokespersons as the stepping stone. For certain brands of certain categories, cooperation itself means a natural source of topics, and the superposition of female celebrities’ personal charm and brand temperament may also produce unexpected long-term feedback.
From the perspective of the brand, the number of stars has selected some representative cases with “new feminine power”. A rough inventory is not difficult to see, from clothing, shoes and bags to daily cosmetics to beauty and personal care, high-quality endorsement cooperation is stillFocus on the areas of gender advantage of female stars.
Among them, the underwear brands in the apparel sub-category and the personal care brands in the daily chemical household cleaning category have many notable cases. Among them, Zhou Dongyu, Liu Yuxin, and Yang Li have become representative figures of different marketing methods.
Pioneer marketing of anticipation violation: Dongyu Zhou X Victoria’s Secret, Librese Weier
As a leading figure among actresses born in the 1990s, Zhou Dongyu’s distinctive media image and the career path that constantly breaks expectations have become important symbols in her commercial value, which provides a lot of convenience for the brand’s female marketing. In April 2020, underwear brand Victoria’s Secret (hereinafter referred to as Victoria’s Secret) announced that Dongyu Zhou has become the brand spokesperson for Greater China. After the official announcement, the outside world was in an uproar. The slender and petite Zhou Dongyu and the “sexy” Victoria’s Secret, at first glance, seemed too mismatched.
But looking back again, it is not difficult to find that this is a brilliant collaboration. There is a common technique in talk shows called “anticipation violation”, that is, to achieve contrast effects by creating unexpected turns. Victoria’s Secret has not only gained a huge discussion through the choice of spokespersons, but also passed the brand concept of breaking the old sexy label to a wider audience.
One month after endorsing Victoria’s Secret, Zhou Dongyu became the spokesperson of the sanitary napkin brand Librese. This time out of the circle is a blockbuster commercial with the theme of “menstruation not hidden”. The advertising film uses red for breakthrough expression, through Zhou Dongyu, clarified the outside world’s inherent impression of menstruation, and issued the proposal that “menstruation is an important commemoration of red life and does not need to be hidden”.
Whether it is redefining sexiness or facing “menstrual shame”, Zhou Dongyu, as a brand spokesperson, has played a role in breaking through stereotypes and conveying pioneering values, and has achieved a win-win situation for the brand and itself.
Idol marketing that breaks the circle: Liu Yuxin X CK
Liu Yuxin, who made his C-place debut through the audition variety show “Youth with You 2”, is a female idol who has attracted much attention in 2020. New yearThe addition of 14 endorsements can be said to be hot, and its cooperation with Calvin Klein Underwear (hereinafter referred to as CK underwear) is particularly eye-catching.
In December 2020, Liu Yuxin became the spokesperson for CK underwear in Asia, and for the first time appeared in front of the public as underwear. Such exceptional behavior has also won the imagination of the heat for the brand. #刘雨昕CK服装代言人# has a reading volume of 2.15 billion.
In recent years, with the popularity of variety shows, idols have entered the public eye as a type of work that relies on personal image and singing ability. Compared with ordinary stars, the public pays more attention to idol individuals. Therefore, they are more adventurous than other celebrities in endorsing and shooting underwear ads. In addition, Liu Yuxin has always shown a neutral style. When this cooperation is reached, it has the symbolic meaning of breaking the circle and gender stereotypes.
Personalized “offensive” marketing: Yang Li X Hailan House, Blank ME, HELIUS
The popular broadcast of “Talk Show Conference” brought the actress Yang Li, who often “offended” the male group in performances, to the fore. Although she has been controversial, it does not prevent her from appearing more and more frequently in the band. In marketing events with gender issues.
Yang Li’s latest commercial cooperation was Hailan House. Although it was only a simple cooperation promotion, it still caused dissatisfaction among many male netizens. In addition to Hailan House, the cooperation between Yang Li and domestic beauty brands Blank ME and HELIUS is well received.
In the commercial film of the base makeup brand Blank ME “Let the world see my face” as the interviewee, Yang Li conveyed the encouragement for women to stick to their hearts, brave doubts and rebuttals; skin care brand HELIUS Heliers crown In the famous female emotional healing program “How about She Has Emotions”, Yang Li turned into a voice speaker for women’s emotions.
The gender “offensive” trait created by Yang Li through talk show performance has become a powerful tool for female brands in gender marketingWith the help of her own “halo” of gender issues, it is easy to gain attention and support from female consumers, but at the same time it may also cause dissatisfaction from another group. This kind of “offensive” marketing of A’s Honey and B’s Arsenic even tests the standard of brand use.
Besides celebrities, can brands still do a good job in female marketing?
In 2021, the trend of female marketing seems to be even greater. Female spokespersons are no longer the core of marketing events, but they are also highly concerned. Regrettably, whether it is the “picking basket” copywriting of tea and the beauty of the cotton era, or the makeup remover advertisement of the cotton era, they are all famous for their suspicion of “insulting women”. In an increasingly sensitive public opinion environment, is it possible for brands to do a good job in female marketing?
Judging from some recent high-quality cases, the answer is yes, and some methodology can be summarized that can be copied.
Removing body and appearance anxiety: inside and outside XNO BODY IS NOBODY
A recent questionnaire survey conducted by the China Youth School Media on the topic of facial anxiety to college students shows that 59.03% of college students have a certain degree of facial anxiety, while female students have a stronger sense of anxiety and are more evaluated in the unexpected world. At the same time, the expression of women who resist this anxiety is also growing on social networks. In 2020, the topic of anti-look anxiety only triggered 12.59 million views on the Xiaohongshu site, and the number of most popular videos reached 8 likes. Million.
Under this situation, encouraging women to work hard to get rid of the marketing of figure and appearance has the potential to impress people and gain good impressions. In February last year, the underwear brand neiwai launched the “NO BODY IS NOBODY” marketing project inside and outside, with the intention that “no body is insignificant”. On the official website, women of different ages and figures show off their imperfect figures in a secular sense.
After being widely acclaimed, the English slogan has been continued inside and outside this year, but the Chinese translation has updated the connotation-“Small and full, no distinction between you and me”.
Whether from the perspective of creativity or social influence, the marketing of body anxiety inside and outside is worthy of high scores, and it also provides other female brands with a reference point of view.
Respect and expand the connotation of female identity; Procter & Gamble X “Mom’s Salary”, Apple X “Respect for You Behind Mac”
In addition to appearance, women’s social identity has always been the focus of feminism. In traditional advertising and marketingThe role of becoming a wife or mother can no longer resonate, and the brand needs to keep up with the times to respect and expand the identity of women.
On Mother’s Day in 2020, P&G released a themed advertising film, with the idea of ”paying mothers” as the creative point, emphasizing that mothers’ contributions in the family will become the highest-paying job if they are paid according to work. When society tends to ignore the contribution of women to the family, P&G emphasizes the daily greatness of the role of mother to the public by respecting and presenting this identity.
Similar examples include a tribute to women film “To You Behind Mac” released by Apple last year and Pantene’s recent advertisement for women in the workplace under the pseudonym “Panting”. At a time when women’s consciousness is constantly awakening, women’s different identities in the family and social fields need to be more understood and recognized. Brands start with it, which is also conducive to gaining wider public favor and value recognition.
Output the values of independent women: Fujia Rose Red Beer X#woman should have what looks like#
In female marketing, the most difficult and most challenging way is to convey the multiple values of independent women through the connection of brand and creativity. On the one hand, the values of independent women have not yet formed a universal cognition in a broader dimension. On the other hand, it is necessary to express complex connotations in a simple and simple way, which requires higher marketing techniques and forms.
Fujia Rose Red Beer initiated a controversial topic on Weibo on Weibo, and in conjunction with “Red Show” magazine, invited 7 atypical women active in all walks of life to shoot advertisements. Some of these have been controversial because of the “excessive” dressing style, some have almost missed their dreams because of physical defects, and some have been criticized for doing “things that shouldn’t be done at this age”. .
Real life stories add a lot to female marketing, and the independent value orientation of “being beautiful and living beautiful” fits social public opinion more appropriately. Related topics have received nearly 170 million readings on Weibo the amount.
From women who pass on the brand through well-fitting female celebrity spokespersonsConcerned about it, to break female stereotypes and output the diverse female values with the help of advertising films and magazine cooperation, the trend of female marketing has become more and more popular. In addition to beginning to break away from specific festivals and forms, the connotation of women’s marketing is gradually spreading out in terms of the expression of values.
On March 7, Proya and the rapper Yu Zhen starred in a themed advertisement, slogan “gender is not the boundary line, prejudice is”, from “voicing for women” to “focusing on gender equality.” The value of marketing is no longer limited to women themselves.
In the eyes of gender scholar Ling Jun, through the efforts of many female brands to keep pace with the times, female marketing has shown some new characteristics.
First, the images of women in marketing are more diverse, and there are more “cool girls” who are not so tender and gentle and other female images that are different from the mainstream aesthetics; second, the gender awareness conveyed is more equal, such as ” “NO BODY IS NOBODY”, “Gender is not a borderline”, etc.; Finally, the more brands or products that female consumers have, the greater the intensity of change. The lessons learned from Audi, the cotton era, and the beauty of tea have more or less reflected: women are no longer the object of derogation and ridicule, women’s aversion to gender discrimination has a powerful force, and companies lacking gender equality will lose the large-scale market.
But Xiao Ye also emphasized that female marketing currently has very limited breakthroughs in images and concepts, and the image of some marginal women is still absent. It is not difficult to foresee that the future female marketing will also become an important direction of brand marketing. Compared with the current marketing cases that focus on traditional female categories such as apparel, beauty, and daily chemicals, “her economy” is looking forward to more breakthroughs in gender boundaries. Category brands have made innovations in marketing.