Seasonal Sameness: Can Marketers Forge a New Path?

In marketing, brands often leverage holidays or major events as opportunities to enhance brand exposure and stimulate product sales growth. This strategy cleverly utilises social hot topics and public emotions to establish a deep emotional connection with consumers. However, within the constraints of fixed event timings, marketing content often suffers from limited creativity, leading to a dilemma of content homogenization.

For example, take Christmas. When mentioned, most people can easily envision the typical brand advertisements focused on gift-giving, family, and warmth. Yet, the excessive repetition and imitation of these themes make it difficult for brands to stand out among numerous competitors.

Similarly, the Olympic Games, as the premier international sporting event, attract countless brands. The marketing content here often revolves around sportsmanship and celebrity endorsements, which also faces the challenge of content homogenization. When consumers encounter a large amount of similar marketing information, it naturally becomes difficult for them to form a deep memory and recognition of a specific brand.

Breaking the Mould Through Consumer Insight

To escape this cycle, brands must genuinely adopt the consumers’ perspective and identify their pain points during these periods - directly addressing their core needs. Meeting these needs can quickly capture consumers' attention and establish emotional resonance, thus fostering a deeper connection between the brand and consumers. When a brand integrates its unique value proposition with consumers' pain points and provides unique tailored solutions, the information conveyed becomes more targeted and memorable. These distinctive messages help differentiate the brand from competitors, making it easier for consumers to remember the brand and prioritise it when needed.

Case Study 1: Taiwan FamilyMart’s “Devour Your Pudu Nightmare” Campaign

During Taiwan’s 2023 Ghost Festival, a period rich in cultural significance, FamilyMart faced significant competition from numerous retailers. The Lunar Ghost Month requires traditional offerings to appease spirits, a time believed to invite misfortune if not observed. FamilyMart, typically not considered for purchasing festival offerings, needed a strategy to attract more consumers and change this perception.

The Ghost festival, characterised by unique taboos and restrictions, often leads to uniform marketing strategies that commonly include traditional elements or elements of horror for entertainment value. 

Recognising this, FamilyMart, with the help of the team at BBDO Taiwan, sought to innovate by focusing on a specific, overlooked consumer need. They identified a significant consumer pain point: the anxiety of younger generations unfamiliar with ritual intricacies.

This particular emotion predominates among young adults around 30 years old, who are stepping into household responsibilities and find themselves overwhelmed by the ritual intricacies of the Ghost Festival. These elaborate traditions often seem more daunting than the ghosts themselves! In response, FamilyMart simplified the ritual process, helping these young consumers in navigating these traditions more easily and encouraging them to adopt the habit of purchasing their festival offerings at FamilyMart. 

FamilyMart and BBDO Taiwan rolled out a series of online films, styled like supernatural mini TV shows titled “Devour Your Pudu Nightmare”, playfully depicting the Ghost Festival rituals as haunting nightmares for the protagonists. Cleverly tapping into the anxiety felt during the preparation process. 

The campaign was further amplified by the collaboration of popular illustrator Cherng, who has a following of over a million fans in Taiwan, predominantly young adults in their 30's. By leveraging the 'dream-eater' – a figure from classic horror films - helped reach a wide audience. The dream-eater, the legendary beast, symbolised Taiwan FamilyMart's brand-new blessing box and services, designed to streamline the Ghost Festival preparations, helping young people find all necessary offerings in one convenient location, thus “devouring” their anxieties related to the Festival.

The campaign’s strategic use of this consumer pain point led to impressive results, with a significant uptick in sales and consumer engagement during the festival period, demonstrating the power of addressing specific consumer anxieties with tailored solutions. 

Similarly, Harbin Beer recognised a consumer pain point during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Case study 2. Harbin Beer and the World Cup - A Space-Saving Solution 

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Harbin Beer addressed the spatial constraints faced by young urban dwellers. Their campaign, the “Harbin Sit-Pack” showcased how brands can stand out in a sea of celebrity sports endorsements and marketing by instead focusing on addressing consumer pain points. 

Noticing that many young people, who often live in small spaces, seek to host fun gatherings with friends during major sports events like the FIFA World Cup, Harbin Beer with the help of BBDO Shanghai introduced a packaging solution that made it possible to host home parties regardless of limited space. This solution – a portable extendable accordion fold built into a multipack beer format transformed into a portable, extendable bench capable of accommodating up to eight people.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Harbin Beer achieved remarkable sales performance. There was a significant growth in brand attributes, reflecting increased level of recognition and favorability among consumers. Additionally, in-home sales surged by 51.4%, indicating that consumers preferred Harbin Beer as their beverage of choice while watching the World Cup matches at home, underscoring the effectiveness of targeting the specific pain points of young consumers. 

In today's fiercely competitive holiday or event marketing arena, whether its sports events or holiday festivities, brands must re-examine and adjust their strategies. Capturing consumer pain points, providing emotional value, creating personalised interactive experiences, emphasising brand values, and continuously innovating marketing tactics are key to standing out in the sea of homogenised holiday marketing. Only by truly focusing on consumer needs and emotions can a brand establish an unbeatable position in the intense market competition.