High-Level Forum Review | The Path of Advancement for Outdoor Brands ― New Media Marketing ①

 

It is well known that the impact of the internet on the retail industry has been earth-shattering. If sales have been so profoundly affected, then brand building — as the forefront of products — has been impacted even more. The traditional path to brand development can no longer keep up with the pace of progress. In an era where brand image is increasingly valued, how the outdoor industry can enhance its brands is a challenge faced by every leader.

Let’s review together the exciting content from the 14th Asia Outdoor Exhibition ― the Asia Outdoor High-Level Forum. Titled “The Path of Advancement for Outdoor Brands ― New Media Marketing,” it was jointly presented by Mr. Cai Tengchang, General Manager of Xingying Travel, and Mr. Ren Mo, General Manager of Longshi Trading. Let’s first hear insights from Mr. Cai Tengchang.

 

Xingying — A New Internet-Based Travel Brand 

Mr. Cai Tengchang mentioned that Xingying is positioned as a new internet-based travel brand. The company focuses on three major business segments: independent travel, specialized tour groups, and travel e-commerce. With high-quality content and premium services at its core, Xingying helps users quickly match their needs, reduces customer acquisition costs, improves repurchase and sharing rates, and captures user mindshare. By establishing a core competitive barrier, it is rapidly becoming a future giant in the new travel market.

Xingying boasts a new media fan matrix of over 10 million, including platforms such as WeChat official accounts, Zhihu, and Weibo. In 2018, Xingying ranked No.1 nationally on the WeChat charts. In the future, Xingying plans to expand into airline, hotel, and attraction ticketing services. However, its current core business remains specialized group tours and self-guided travel based on guides, along with a growing partnership with Xingzhuang to provide a centralized supply chain for outdoor gear.

 

What Are New Consumer Groups Paying Attention To?  

Paying attention to new media means paying attention to new consumer groups. Today’s post-90s, post-95s, and even post-00s generations actually know very little about outdoor gear — they may be more familiar with general sports brands. Therefore, for them, we need to guide their interest through content marketing and “plant the seed” for outdoor products.

1. First, we need to understand what they’re focusing on?

Let’s look at some authoritative data from an official Tencent-affiliated organization — Penguin Intelligence. As a source of information for users, WeChat official accounts account for 64.9%, WeChat Moments for 50.3%, Weibo for 40%, Zhihu for 20%, and platforms like Douban and Tieba make up the rest. Therefore, Xingying’s main channels are WeChat, Weibo, and Zhihu.

2. Where do new consumer groups focus their spending?

Let’s look at some interesting data: for instance, our post-95s, representing new consumer groups, allocate 55% of their spending to purchasing equipment and gear. Many are willing to pay for more personalized consumption. This is a very positive indicator that gives us strong confidence — consumers are not unwilling to buy sports and outdoor products, but they need a channel where content can show them the product highlights and how those align with their needs. Of this, 39% relates to what Xingying has been doing: organizing travel activities and interest-based events.

3. New Consumer Groups ― Love to Buy, and Love to Show Off

Traditional users might only care about their outdoor gear purchases themselves. But if we capture these younger users, the efficiency of conversion through sharing can be extremely high. This is something we highly value. For many young people, why are they willing to share? Because they’re not just buying a pair of shoes — they’re buying a story: perhaps the brand story, the product philosophy, or the founder’s vision. We need to get them to pay for our product culture.

4. Official Account Consumption Has Become Mainstream

Here’s some data: 81% of people are willing to share articles to their Moments, 38.7% leave comments under official account posts, 17% engage and join WeChat groups. Above is engagement, below is consumption — consumption via official accounts accounts for about 12.2%, and this figure is expected to grow as a trend.

WeChat official accounts remain a key battleground. For brands, an official account is like a brand’s official website. Don’t let your brand image fall behind — users who buy your products may turn to the official account to learn your brand’s story.

How to Build a Content Operations Team?  

 

First, build your team with roles such as Marketing Director, Content Chief Editor, Content Editor, and Graphic Designer.

Then comes content operations, which mainly includes four areas: community operations, user operations, event marketing, and content marketing.

We’ve reviewed the insightful presentation by Mr. Cai Tengchang, General Manager of Xingying Travel. Do you now have a deeper understanding of new media marketing? On the path of advancing outdoor brands, besides learning how to build new media and operate content, it’s also essential to master how to craft brand content. Next time, we’ll bring you the brand operation insights from Mr. Ren Mo, General Manager of Longshi Trading.

June 18–20, 2020

The 15th Asia Outdoor Exhibition looks forward to meeting you again

Nanjing Xinzhuang National Exhibition Center

Asia Outdoor Exhibition & “Ziranpai” Outdoor Carnival ― Mount Tai Station

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Date: September 5–8, 2019  

Venue: Mount Tai International Convention and Exhibition Center

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