The more you draw, the darker it gets. In the past few days, Zhong Suisui, who has been plagued by negative public opinion, wrote in the article "Two Three Things with Zong Lao": "I still insist that the mineral elements in water are crucial to human health, which is why I insist on producing natural water."
More than 20 years ago, he embedded this point of view into the marketing of Nongfu Spring and initiated the "water war of the century" on the topic of the advantages and disadvantages of pure water and natural water. He won the support of many professionals and defeated many pure water manufacturers such as Wahaha.
More than 20 years later, many netizens angrily complained on social platforms: "I don't lack your minerals." "It's just an advertising gimmick." Many of the same views as today's netizens are also professionals.
In 2015, the China Drinks and Drinks Association pointed out in its "Safety Statement on Drinking Purified Water": "There is currently no authoritative research to prove that daily drinking of purified water will endanger health. It is generally accepted that the main source of daily intake of minerals is food, not drinking water."
Who would have known that this marketing controversy back then would lay the foundation for Nongfu Spring’s negative public opinion today.
What made Zhong Suisui even more unexpected was that after the publication of "The Second and Three Things Between Me and Zong Lao" on March 3, negative public opinion soared further. "Zhong Suisui denies that the first pot of gold came from Wahaha", "Nongfu Spring official flagship store sales fell by more than 90% in 5 days", and other topics have been on various hot searches and hot lists.
In public opinion, corporate stock prices have suffered repeated setbacks - on March 6, "Nongfu Spring's stock price fell for three consecutive days" itself became a hot search topic on Weibo...
Marketing is not guilty
When traveling, would you rather go to Qiandao Lake or Xin'anjiang Reservoir? Friends from out of town may choose the former, but fellow villagers in Chun'an County smile and say nothing.
Because Qiandao Lake is the Xin'an River Reservoir, and the Xin'an River Reservoir is Qiandao Lake.
The Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station in Zhejiang is my country's first large-scale hydropower station with self-designed and self-made equipment. The construction of the reservoir started in 1955; the hydropower station was sealed and stored in 1959, and Premier Zhou Enlai visited and wrote an inscription; the reservoir was completed in 1960.
Twenty years later, Yu Senwen, a consultant to the Zhejiang Provincial Urban and Rural Development Committee, suggested renaming the Xin'anjiang Reservoir "Qiandao Lake". In 1982, Chun'an County established the Xin'an River Scenic Area Planning and Construction Office. In 1984, the reservoir was officially renamed Qiandao Lake.
Later, it became the first batch of key scenic spots and the first batch of AAAAA tourist areas in the country.
In the early 1980s, marketing concepts were not as deeply rooted as they are today. But if Yu Senwen's proposal was intentional, today's people would not criticize it, but would appreciate his foresight - naming the scenic spot after "Thousand Island Lake" is obviously more poetic than "Xin'anjiang Reservoir".
As a marketing tool, if nomenclature is attractive, thenMarketing is also attractive.
Nongfu Spring started here and still uses Qiandao Lake as its core water source.
Brand positioning expert Gu Junhui once said at the 2023 China Brand Festival Annual Figure Summit that Nongfu Spring sells “reservoir water” and “We must learn from Nongfu Spring, that is, we must learn to tell stories. "
Any company, including Nongfu Spring’s competitor Wahaha, will try to do good marketing. For example, Zhejiang's local mainstream media "Chao News" reported:
"'Water is water, let water return to purity.' In 2020, Wahaha launched a new pure water advertising slogan.
“Purity, not only the accuracy of data, but also the temperature of responsibility and care.
"In September 2021, Wahaha officially launched the 'Laboratory Water Support Plan', specifically sponsoring laboratories of some universities and major research institutions across the country, providing free pure water for one year of experimental water, and wrote in the official release that it 'helps academics and contributes to the development of scientific research.'"
Wahaha’s 2020 advertisement was hardly a successful marketing at the time. Because many people have not paid special attention to the advertising slogan and have not heard of the "Laboratory Water Support Program".
sometimes,Marketing needs a little time to age.
It is a pity that Mr. Zong Qinghou could not see this scene. However, Wahaha has recently been out of stock in many supermarkets online and offline. Who can say that the "return to purity" advertising and marketing did not have some merit?
On the other hand, some successful marketing may be criticized many years later, or even become part of negative public opinion. Zhong Suisui and his Nongfu Spring have unfortunately verified this, although the brand marketing industry generally believes that he is a marketing master.
"Nongfu Spring is a bit sweet" has accompanied the growth of a generation. According to some media reports, this sentence was drafted by Zhong Suisui himself. He himself had been a journalist—a porter of words. But even more powerful is that he convinced people that natural water is better than pure water.
Li Guowei, a senior brand marketing expert and president of Wenyuan Dacheng Management Consulting Company, said to Huxiu: “The ‘battle between natural water and pure water’ around 2000 is worthy of being written down in China’s business history.
"'Long-term drinking of pure water is not good for health' was the core issue of the year. To this end, Nongfu Spring held many press conferences, found many experts and scholars to endorse, and even cooperated with the education department to let students use two kinds of water to water plants to see which pot grows better. These marketing methods are very clever, putting peers at a disadvantage in the business war.
“Lao Zong was very angry at that time and united many companies to sue Nongfu Spring, but he failed to sue.
"Zhong Suisui became the richest man not through marketing alone, butThe battle between natural water and pure water in 2000 can be said to have established Nongfu Spring’s unique industry status."
Marketing guru encounters Waterloo
There is a loud voice in the public opinion field: Zhong Suisui violated business ethics in the "Water War of the Century" and was suspected of excessive marketing.
Indeed, in the national drinking water standards, there are only three categories: natural mineral water, purified water and other drinking water. The first requires that the mineral content reaches the standard, and the second requires that it is pure enough; if the minerals are not enough and the purity is not enough, it can only be classified as the third "other drinking water".
It is classified as "other drinking water", but Zhong Suisui calls "reservoir water" "natural water", which is completely legal. This is his brilliance and the reason why some people dislike him.
What deserves the attention of the Huxiu ESG team is whether Nongfu Spring’s risk management in public opinion is appropriate or not.
Zhong Suisui and Nongfu Spring Vice President Zhou Li issued an article on March 3 in response to some public opinions. In the brand marketing industry, some people in the industry believe that the content and timing of the two people's posts reflect a certain degree of coordination and are most likely planned.
But the reality is very harsh: instead of calming public opinion, the response only increased the popularity of the topic. That night, "Zhong Suisui denied that the first pot of gold came from Wahaha" and "Nongfu Spring Vice President responded by praising Wahaha for stepping down on Nongfu Spring" were trending on Weibo.
Netizens did not approve of "Two Three Things with Zong Lao" and they contributed various negative comments. For example, it seems that Boss Zhong is Zong Lao’s master. Without him, there would be no Wahaha Rice Bowl Porridge. Another example is an article that wants to inspire sympathy by remembering an old friend, and finally takes the opportunity to imply that natural water is better than pure water.
Obviously, Zhong Suisui's story is only one-sided, and people doubt its credibility. The more severe criticism is that many people think that he disrespected the deceased and bullied Zong Qinghou, who was unable to respond.
Zhou Li's essay even received more attention than his boss. This is not surprising: describing netizens as "melon-eating masses" and accusing others of having a dark mentality and being driven by interests does seem to be a harsh attack on the public. “The vice president of Nongfu Spring responded by praising Wahaha and stepping down from Nongfu Spring” was ranked first on the hot search list by netizens.
"The vice president of Nongfu Spring responded by praising Wahaha and stepping down from Nongfu Spring" was sent to the top of Weibo's hot search list by netizens.
The public opinion is so strong and there are so many comments from the outside world that Nongfu Spring cannot respond to them all. Or perhaps placing hope in the future and letting products speak for themselves is a better solution.
Brand marketing is important, but it is not the only element of business success, nor is it the most important one.
In a brand marketing class at the Ecole Supérieure des Econémies et d'Businesses, a teacher said to his students: "Although this is our major, don't forget,All marketing is inseparable from the core of product quality. "
Li Guowei told Huxiu: "I tend to believe that this public opinion does not constitute a major crisis for Nongfu Spring. It does not involve product quality or the company's basic values. The decline in sales is most likely temporary. Hot spots on the Internet come one after another, and the impact will soon be diluted by new hot spots."
But Zong Qinghou may disagree.
In a sense, quality control of products such as beverages is not that difficult, and marketing and public relations may be more important than other products.
In an interview with the media before his death, Zong Qinghou admitted that Wahaha had been in decline for several years, and believed that the main reason was due to the influence of rumors - as the company's two flagship products at that time, Nutrition Express and Shuang Wai Wai were rumored to "turn into gel after drying", "cause leukemia" and "contain botulinum toxin", etc. In 2017, he publicly said: "Originally, our Nutrition Express could sell 400 million boxes, but now it sells 150 million boxes."
It has to be said that in the storm of public opinion encountered by Nongfu Spring, rumors also appeared and disappeared.