Header image from: Visual China.
Newcomers look at business, veterans value relationships", this is a well-known common sense in business cooperation, and the same is true in retail brands and shopping malls - bothEssentially, it is all about the relationship with the customer, not just the transaction with the customer。From this basic point of view, the customer operation of brands, especially those of cutting-edge brands, has a very important reference for the membership operation of shopping malls in China, which is still in its early stages.
Recently, Louis Vuitton co-branded Manner launched a limited-time bookstore, Fendi Heytea co-branded a limited product experience, and Helena & Tesla co-branded an electronic music party ......A series of co-branded swipes have triggered a new wave of attention and heated discussions in the market, and brand co-branding is actually a common way for international brands, which can be called a marketing action with small cost + big benefits. It can not only attract the attention of users, improve the best and bring actual sales, but also open up the circle and inject fresh blood into the brand.
In the stock era, the core grasp of improving the operational efficiency of shopping malls is the operation of members, and the key goal of membership operation is to continuously expand members, improve member stickiness, and promote the frequency of consumption. By tapping the full life cycle value of users, brand co-branding continues to expand the growth space for the brand by driving profits, using fun chains, and gathering with feelings。The problems it solves are the same as those of shopping mall member operation, and the method and principle of brand cross-border co-branding also provide vivid inspiration for the operation of mall members.
1. "Break the circle" to attract traffic and expand the user pool.
When the brand's own traffic reaches a bottleneck and the customer acquisition cost continues to rise, many brands begin to use co-branding with other brands to introduce new traffic, gather their target consumer groups together, and achieve mutual attraction and conversionto get more traffic entrances and expand the brand circle
In recent years, with the continuous reduction of the "age of first-time luxury consumption", "young" has become an important "password" for luxury brands to achieve growth. The popular Fendi & Heytea co-branded "Joy Yellow" limited tea drink, which can be achieved through low prices of "luxury freedom", has won the favor of more young people for FENDIExpanded the age range of its own customers, but also preemptively occupy the minds of potential young customers.
Co-branding is also an important lever for brands to leverage new markets。The French designer brand mugler, whose tights products have a high reputation abroad, but because of the high **, non-Chinese mainstream aesthetics, it is unknown in China. Through the co-branding with the popular fashion brand H&M, it has opened up the Chinese market and gained continuous popularity.
Globally, McDonald's has long been the inspiration for fashion brands such as Moschino and Vetements, and has gradually become a young fashion culture. Through various cross-border cooperation, McDonald's not only satisfies the taste buds of Generation Z, but also expands the cognitive boundaries of trendy players with enough "tricky" aesthetics and taste in an interesting and creative way, and establishes a deeper connection with Generation Z.
Partnering with external sources to expand the number of its own members is also an important way for shopping malls to develop members。In the future, we can try to expand the boundaries of membership rights and interests, new ways to play membership activities, and open up new consumption scenarios in the "third living space" through cooperation with various platforms. Offline expansion and multi-brand, multi-institution, multi-scenario linkage cooperation with transportation, education and training, culture and art, urban history and other multi-brand, multi-institution, multi-scenario linkage, with greater member benefits, greater member events, expand member traffic growth.
2. Improve the "tonality" of the brand and maintain fresh and attractive.
Brand development requires a steady stream of vitality, and co-branding provides an opportunity to continue to enrich the brand image. Volkswagen brands can be invisibly co-branded with luxury brandsEnhance the tonality of its own brand and consumer favorability.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Levi's 501, Heytea has strengthened the label of high-end, fashionable and exquisite life in the hearts of consumers, and the brand itself has also stood out under the involuted coffee and tea track.
And many luxury brands have also co-branded with street culture and art IP across bordersEnhance the youthfulness of your brand and get closer to the new generation of consumers。Louis Vuitton is a cross-border artist, working with Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama to transform its stores around the world in New York, Paris, London and more.
At the same time, Yayoi Kusama's art is integrated into all product categories such as handbags, clothing, fragrances, shoes, etc., creating a complete art world, so that brand consumers can also become art consumers. The integration of elements such as "faces", "flowers" and "pumpkins" has added a childlike youth, fashionable and mysterious, and naughty ...... to the LV brandNew brand impressions and artistic tension.
HR Helena and the car brand Tesla linkage flash mob, changing the traditional luxury brand impression favored by women, by exploring the brand concept and value commonality between the two sides, injecting a sense of science and technology into the brand image, the attitude of the trend pioneer, but also attracting millennials and Generation Z, and young people to do a deeper communication.
To maintain the relationship between the mall and its members, it is necessary to make them feel that the style of the mall matches them, and even improves themselves and makes them feel honored. Specific shopping mall operators can use high-end brand special sessions, fashion lifestyle**, art training and appreciation and other forms to increase the frequency of delivery with customers, while constantly showing consumers the continuous growth of taste and charm.
3. Create "improvised" surprises and build a social magnetic field for fans.
In the era when everything can be socialized, brands play co-branding to attract the attention of exclusive consumer groups in a new and interesting wayRespond to young people's lifestyles in the form of "social currency".to complete community communication, precipitate brand equity, and enhance brand stickiness.
According to the distribution industry, Starbucks Korea will cooperate with BLACKPINK to launch the product. The collaboration between the two brands with a large fan base will not only give BLACKPINK fans the opportunity to get closer to their idols, but also allow coffee lovers to enjoy unique BLACKPINK-style merchandise. Such cross-border collaborations bring fresh surprises to fans, and at the same time bring the brand closer to the lifestyle and cultural interests of young people.
The co-branding of HR Helena and Tesla, known as the "most unexpected marketing event in the first half of the year" in the beauty and automobile circles, did not stop at the "short-term co-branding effect" of product packaging, but further took advantage of the world's top EDC electronic music festival, which not only stimulated the check-in interaction between brands and users, but also allowed electronic music lovers and hipsters with the same interests and hobbies to gather offlineThe brand field has become a "social interaction field" at the circle level.
Whether it is the popular Prada "Wet Market", the trendy luxury lifestyle art space "Chaoyi Buer" by Coach and White Rabbit, or the Call Me Happy "Trendy Makeup Pop-up Store" created by Lancôme and Berbrick, all of them have stimulated consumers' desire to participate and share through high-value check-in venues and diversified interactive gameplay, and even secondary creation.
"Low frequency" is the "killer" of relationships. High-frequency link interaction is the core of improving the relationship with each other. What does a shopping mall rely on to deepen its relationship with its members?It's a high-frequency interaction with members. It is necessary to continue to create freshness to attract members to participate, enhance the in-depth communication between members and shopping malls, and even become a community where like-minded people gather. Drawing on the way of brand co-branding, we will introduce cross-border experiences, such as the first store and the first show, and the linkage with well-known brands to customize the theme market characteristic blocks, and launch a limited ** festival to create an exclusive space ...... for camping sportsEvery interaction is an opportunity to break down business boundaries and strengthen relationships
Fourth, create brand "samples" to expand the penetration of brand experience.
Like the advance screening of a movie, brand co-branding is often like a special experience of brand "sample". When cooperating with brands, they usually choose "super IP" or "ace products" for co-branding, which means that some new elements are added on the basis of the original popularity, forming a new creative product, bringing new purchase demand, tooLet users generate the perception of one purchase** and get two values, which can stimulate consumers' desire to buy and promote transaction actions.
It is not difficult to understand that the LV canvas bag of 580 was robbed madly in the LV limited-time bookstore, and the 290 yuan city travel guide was sold out early;With the help of the Jeepli studio "Howl's Moving Castle", Loewe sold out the knitted cardigan priced at 95,000 yuan.
At the same time, the timeliness of the co-branding and the limited edition are createdThe sense of scarcity and the sense of cultural and artistic acquisition have installed a value amplifier for the brand, it is easier to trigger consumers' onlookers and purchases, and the attention is realized. As we all know, the secondary market is the highest standard for testing product sales. Many co-branded peripheral products that have become popular are also hard to find in the secondary market.
Not only single products,The long-tail effect of co-branding can even drive a long-term increase in brand profits。According to LVMH's 2022 financial report, since the acquisition, Tiffany & CoThe brand is becoming increasingly attractive, and "recurring business profit will exceed 1 billion euros for the first time". The success of Tiffany's rejuvenation is largely due to the way it talks with young consumers through co-branding.
If the purchasing power behind traffic represents the brand value, then the stickiness of traffic is the core driving force for the sustainable development of the brand. The shopping mall is committed to building a membership system, which is also to maximize its purchasing power. Staying the same can be boring, and customers love something "new". Driven by creativity, through the connection between scenes, brands and activities, the vitality of the offline space is activated, and the "traffic" is transformed into "retention".Through cross-border cooperation, a membership ecology of "you have me, I have you" has been formed, which enhances the activity of members from multiple angles and drives the consumption stickiness and consumption orders of main members.
V. Conclusion. Philip Kotler once said that marketing 4The 0 era is an era of branding based on building deep relationships. The focus of brand management has gradually changed from operating products to managing customers. The same goes for shopping malls. The cross-border co-branding of "wow moment" seems to have a short-term effect, but it points to long-term user operation. In the unstable changes, we will create opportunities to continue to be liked by users, activate user value, and make the "current asset" of passenger flow become a "fixed asset" for sustainable business profitability.
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