Ancient Tribute Gelatin, Modern Ejiao
The Path to Becoming a Customer-Value-Led Brand
A Brief Discussion on the Dong'e Ejiao Brand Regrowth Case
2019 was a difficult year for the people of Dong'e Ejiao. Data shows that sales revenue fell from over 6 billion to 2 billion, net profit turned negative, and inventory piled up to as much as 3.3 billion. Faced with a cliff-like negative brand growth and such violent turmoil, any brand would undoubtedly encounter a catastrophic disaster.
Ejiao is a treasure of China for nourishing blood and maintaining health for thousands of years. Ejiao has always been a royal tribute, and the brand that modernized its large-scale production and market-oriented operation to bring it into thousands of households—Dong'e Ejiao—enjoyed all the advantages of favorable timing, geographical location, and human harmony during its years of development. It is deeply rooted in the minds of the people, especially high-net-worth mothers and quality silver-haired groups, and even gained strong brand salience in the professional medical system. But the fact that such a well-known brand suffered a Waterloo inevitably leaves many with helplessness and regret.
After China Resources Medical Group took over, growth became the most important goal for Dong'e Ejiao. Not only must the brand be restored to its original level, but more importantly, the Dong'e Ejiao brand must radiate new vitality. The group proposed a new strategy to build Dong'e Ejiao Group into a health consumer goods company with a pharmaceutical foundation, allowing a brand with stories, culture, history, and heritage to nurture new life.
We saw the challenges: the Dong'e Ejiao brand is severely aging, its business model and channels are relatively traditional, its focus on consumers is insufficient, and its digitalization level is also very low. But we also saw opportunities: the awakening of national health awareness, the state's strong support for the revitalization of traditional Chinese medicine, and various favorable policies. Against this backdrop of coexisting opportunities and challenges, we deeply understand that only by reconstructing brand loyalty growth and transforming into a customer-value-led business can there be hope to break through and enable this storm-tossed brand to be reborn as a new brand on a 10-billion scale.
Part.1
Broaden New Brand Salience, Nourish You, Me, and Her
To stabilize the existing customer base
But more importantly, to bring new incremental growth
Ejiao has always been known as a holy product for nourishing blood, so it is favored by elderly health enthusiasts. In our user research, there are many silver-haired TCM enthusiasts who spend tens of thousands of yuan a year on Ejiao products, and once they use it, they have extremely strong loyalty. Every year at the turn of autumn and winter, they buy large quantities of classic Ejiao block products to prepare and store. This group has deeply and firmly loved this brand.
But for new incremental growth, we found that on one hand there are new mothers who need blood nourishment, and on the other hand there are elite male and female groups, both of which have the trend to become the mainstream Ejiao groups. Let more and more younger groups fall in love with this brand and become its new core user groups. The biggest challenge in making traditional Chinese medicine products into fashionable health products is to both preserve the feelings of old Dong'e Ejiao users and satisfy the brand preferences of young people. Therefore, new brand salience requires new connotations, new content, new forms, new topics, and new channels.
Palace dramas played a part here. Through channels favored by young people such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin for seeding, including signing Ren Jialun, Li Yitong, Song Yi, Li Xiaoran, etc. At the same time, we cooperated with the original cast of "Empresses in the Palace" to create content and do live streaming, seizing the minds of young groups. We also enhanced brand discourse power among highly educated groups through activities such as study tours and promotion of traditional Chinese medicine. It can be said that we firmly grasped the core groups, systematically planned across all channels, deeply rooted in key cities, and gradually broke through at the edges step by step. This laid a solid foundation for brand reshaping in the minds of new incremental user groups.
Part.2
Establish New Relationships, Satisfy All Scenarios
Through products and services
To establish connections with users
With a clear user positioning, we found that traditional Dong'e Ejiao did not meet users' needs, and many scenarios were not satisfied. For example, scenarios of business trips, storage, gift-giving, etc. We also found that many customers do not dislike the product, but they have not received professional advice on usage. For example, in customer research, we encountered a core potential user who bought Dong'e Ejiao, ate it, and got excessive internal heat, so she stopped using it decisively, left a very bad impression of the brand, and told her friends around her. Good news never goes beyond the door, while bad news spreads far and wide. There are many similar situations.
For the brand to radiate new energy, it needs to start by establishing new relationships with users. Therefore, for the above-mentioned users, we actively designed service products to help users understand their physical condition before using the product. During the period of taking the product, if they encounter any discomfort or similar problems, they can consult by calling the hotline. Even at the time of purchase, we inform users of possible problems and solutions.
The design and launch of the "Little Gold Bar" product is an important move to establish new relationships with users. Traditional consumption methods limited the expansion of the user base. For young people who want convenience, diversity, and self-defined value, the Gold Bar undoubtedly became a bridge to the young group, breaking the constraints of time, space, and scenarios. It can be eaten with yogurt, taken as a convenient pack when tired, or used in soup for the whole family, making the application scenarios of Dong'e Ejiao more extensive and diverse.
Part.3
Enhance New Capabilities, Brand Digitalization
Keep the brand continuously connected with users
Reinterpret DTC
With a clear positioning of core user value, through research on relationship development across the entire journey and all scenarios, the brand growth strategy becomes increasingly clear, letting Dong'e Ejiao know where it is and where it should go. As the business implements the value positioning one by one, it knows how to get there. The improvement of brand digitalization capabilities has become the core driving force for brand growth, promoting high-speed brand development and building a brand moat.
The key to brand digitalization lies in legally and effectively collecting user data to lay a digital foundation for brand growth. In the past, brands that relied heavily on the dealer system were very weak in connecting with users, almost relying on dealers for offline sales. The result of long-term disconnection from users is that the brand says one thing and users say another. Blindly relying on dealers ultimately leads to many problems such as overstocking and stagnation. DTC does not mean direct sales, but rather establishing connections with users, allowing the brand to better understand users, and also letting users get closer to the brand and maintain interaction with it.
The establishment of brand digitalization has three key points: data application based on scenarios, data processing based on user promotion and construction, and data collection that matches the user journey. Complete planning and effective data strategies are the core of digital brand application. Under the structure of the entire user journey and all scenarios, complete detailed content design of brand touchpoint platforms for brand activities such as communication seeding, marketing interaction, order transactions, and service consultation.
The semi-annual financial report of Dong'e Ejiao for 2024 has been released. The growth of multiple financial indicators shows that the expansion of brand salience, the establishment of relationships, and the enhancement of capabilities have brought strong growth momentum to the brand, and the energy of a customer-value-led business is gradually being unleashed. I believe that in the near future, Dong'e Ejiao will soon break through the 10 billion mark.
Text / Shanding Dongren
Editor / San
Images / Clay
Layout / Sanfay