Zhang Bangxin on multi-brand strategy: sub-brands should die without self-reliance

In the middle of last month, learning to publish its 7 brands, the establishment of multi-brand strategy. Zhang Bangxin, in an interview with "entrepreneur" magazine, spoke of his understanding of the brand, which he believes should die if the child's brand cannot be self-reliant. Here's the dictation: I really don't know the brand. The original study and think of No name, only a website called Olympiad Network. The company is called Orsay Culture Communication Company. Probably do thousands of students after everyone imitate us, then came out of the Beijing Olympiad Network, China Olympiad network, such as a number of Olympiad network. At this time the parents often call to ask us which organization, I said we are the Olympiad net. He said, "know that you are the Olympic network, you are the number of Olympic network ah?" This time we are not clear, this time to realize that we still need to have a brand, so at that time from the corporate culture of the two words: "Learning to change the fate of the future to think about achievement" in each extract a word, began to learn and think of this brand. First branding attempt at that time we only do maths, 2006 years to do a little English, because the other founder Cao Yundong he particularly want to do English, but I am particularly opposed. Think that the time is not mature enough, we have not done a good job, do a second thing may not be able to provide the industry's best quality. It was 10 years since the new Oriental. It is impossible for us to become the second new Oriental in the English field. So we are determined not to do English in New Oriental. I insist on doing the math well. I think we have to have a different place than other people, not to copy others, do not do English we also go to do English, we do big class we also go to do big class. Only by doing their own things adhere to innovation to produce original value, imitation will only copy the value of others, the value of others spread and amplification just. For this problem I with the east has been PK discussion, once also noisy very intense, disputed for six months. Then I thought the team couldn't fall apart and I compromised. You do it, but you have to have a name instead of learning and thinking, and thinking about science. Yoon-tung said no problem. Later, I could not think of a good English brand name, and then said not to be called English Internet cafes. So we started out as an English net. At that time did not understand the concept of trademarks, brands. Until when do we have a real sense of the English brand? The acquisition of Shanghai's English brand school music and music, Legale This brand is also very strange the president has been doing for nearly ten years, time than the study and think longer, he even did not register the trademark, we later acquired after the acquisition, we just realized that this thing, before registering. This is our first child brand. Group renamed, afraid to cover up the growth of the brand to tell the truth learn and think this brand has not been how to promote. Before the listing, we do not know our brand. Because the company has no market costs and no marketing department, basically do not advertise. Why do you do it? or because it's more about brand reputation than popularity. Suppose you desperately to play ads, popularity up, you recruit a lot of people and then the teacher teaching quality can not keep up, this is a disaster, the more strokes, the more disaster.Because you cheated in the beginning, to see in your class, the teacher said that the discovery of learning and thinking so bad, our brand is really ruined. So for us, it's really not necessary to do a lot of publicity. What's more important? Come on, man. We should find a way to really make the child understand, and then let him learn. This is where our brand may be different from others, is not based on the social visibility to do more than brand this thing, more is the study of our products its internal business logic is what it is, the target users who, each child brand value proposition is what, how can we good to provide customers to meet this demand products , this is the core of our research. As for the external visibility, we have not thought about it. A brand can exist necessarily because it really creates value for users, so I do not want each brand has a very strong social visibility, want to give its target group a better positioning. Just like we do learning and think school, is to serve this part of the network needs of the crowd. Zhi Kang One-on-one is also the idea that it should be personalized. Another example Mobby, it's customer groups are not the same, it is 3-6 years old, is such a child, it is the quality of education to go the route. Because personalization and small classes as well as schools and Mobby management team and users are not the same wave of people, so he should be different beliefs, different value propositions, so we hope that they are a separate brand. As for why the group wants to change the name of learning, because if you learn to think that it has been the group's name rather than the science of the brand will not be able to make other subjects. Our English and other teams will always be inferior. When learning and thinking so strong, it represents a group, English brand is not to do. Although today's music and music English in Beijing Word-of-mouth, scale, influence are good. However, because science is strong, it is concealed. Another point is to avoid having to talk to some organizations about investing in shares that they have concerns about how a science and primary school institution has a strategic match with me. Actually, to be honest, we changed our name. For a parent, he doesn't have to pay attention to what our group is called. Like we eat Pizza Hut, we don't need to know Parkson. Who did you change the name to? More is to give investors to the media to the community to see. At first I told the brand department that it would be better to change the name. If necessary, send a press release to the capital market disclosure. And they said, No. I said no, I am not professional, listen to the opinions of professional people, is such a logic. Learning and thinking in this respect there is no concept, indeed is not much experience. The idea is simple. Sub-brand: You should die if you can't do it on your own. The implementation of Multi-Brand strategy will also have a lot of questions: one is to question why not call learning and thinking of language or learning and thinking of mathematics but directly independent brand. Second, we do not have the ability to operate multiple brands. First of all, to say that learning and thinking of Chinese or learning and thinking of mathematics is good and bad. The good thing is, if everyone callsLearn to think what, may be to his initial enrollment, the continuation of his source of students, behind the credibility of the brand is good, learn to think it is a trustworthy brand. But why didn't you do it in the end? Do one thing, values to present to the customer, to be pragmatic to innovate. Do a thing itself does not have a unique value proposition, a business learning to rely on learning and think to its endorsement to get up, without these three words it can not get up, it itself should die. If the independent brand itself can not live very well, it shows that our own innovation is very little, he should not live in our system, do such a product we think is wrong. If a thing is good, it must be its own innovation, it has a unique value proposition, it has a unique positioning, it has a unique brand, it is up to their own skills, do not need the value of our Mother brand output. Of course, in fact, other brands are still a certain extent to the use of the mother brand to do. But I hope it can be done independently, to "revolt". Learning and thinking about the style has always been like this, like open classes, through my own trap to open the classroom, I have no retreat, I can only have a good class, because the parents are watching. The division is the same, I independent brand, I do not give you support, is to let it feel that there will be power. Then I give you our values capital, ideas, these soft support. Admissions hard support we don't give. In this context he can make it, he can't. In this case can also be achieved to show that our son brand innovation more solid. There is the value of continuing to do it. The second problem is that after multi-brand, there will be some ridge and resource infighting, in order to prevent the emergence of internal friction between brands, the company will have its own leadership college, all the general manager of the Division is sent from the group, weekly week, every two weeks within a senior management share, Exchange. Including the establishment of an executive committee to manage and coordinate the entire company, but these are not the most core, the core is that different brands can be personalized in the customer, but in the values need to be absolutely consistent, values in our here is included in the assessment, now can account for 20%, so that each division can play a very good effect To prevent the eventual flood of the last big company from destroying the company.