On March 15th, CCTV’s March 15th Gala revealed that the international patent of Tinghua Wine sold for more than 50,000 yuan has not been recognized. The “high-tech” cooling agent is actually a common mint extract, which “enhances immunity, improves sleep, and regulates physiology.” The publicity of its effects such as "disorders and anti-aging" has also been questioned. At the same time, Tinghuajiu’s many exaggerated propaganda methods over the years have also been revealed one by one.
Tinghuajiu has been accompanied by controversy and high attention since its inception. Its high popularity is inseparable from overwhelming advertising. In recent years, Tinghuajiu has published advertisements on the Internet and many media to promote the value of its products and claim that the brand has broken the circle. The advertisements have even appeared on central media platforms such as People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and CCTV. On the afternoon of March 16, New Yellow River reporters searched for publicity reports previously released by many Tinghua partner media and found that most of the reports had been deleted. On the same day, sources close to the advertising management department of China Central Radio and Television revealed that in 2023, Tinghuajiu briefly appeared in advertisements on some CCTV channels, and the channel promotion itself complied with the requirements of the advertising law. Later, during daily monitoring, the advertising department of the main station discovered that there were many false promotions of the wine offline and the price was abnormally high. It decided to terminate its advertising in April 2023.
In this regard, Ouyang Qianli, a researcher in the beverage industry, said that the risk of extensive publicity by a company is that when most people think it has reached the level of madness or even barbarism, it will be difficult to gain public sympathy once it is caught in a public opinion storm, thus exacerbating the risk of expanding public opinion. .
"Immortal Guidance" Tinghuajiu has been endorsed by many media
Tinghuajiu was launched in 2020. It is a brand of Yibin Tinghua Liquor Development Co., Ltd. and is distributed by Qinghai Spring Medicinal Resources Technology Co., Ltd. , the chief designer is Zhang Xuefeng, chairman of Qinghai Spring. At present, Tinghuajiu has opened experience stores in Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Chengdu, Jinan, Yantai, Weifang, Dongying, Dezhou, Liaocheng, Suzhou, Jinhua, Yulin and other cities, and most of them are invested and operated by dealers. Among its products, the 750ml bottle of Tinghuajiang-flavored white alcohol is priced as high as 58,600 yuan per bottle, and the standard 750ml bottle is priced at 5,860 yuan.
Zhang Xuefeng said in a previous interview with the media that his inspiration came from Taishang Laojun writing a word "living" on the palm of his hand, which gave Tinghuajiu a mysterious color. Tinghua’s official website also has a detailed description of the story of what Zhang Xuefeng calls “a dream entrusted by an immortal”.
New Huanghe reporter noticed that Tinghuajiu has been accompanied by controversy and high attention since its inception. Some people in the industry believe that Tinghuajiu’s popularity is inseparable from media endorsement and overwhelming advertising.
As early as April 2021, not long after the launch of Tinghuajiu, Xinhua News Agency published a report entitled "New Enterprise Actions at the Beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan丨Focus on the Comprehensive Improvement of Liquor Taste and Drinking Value", stating that "Tinghuajiu is The liquor industry has opened the door to spring." The article also stated that "'Tinghua' is actually the highest expression of traditional wine-making skills. It means that people can mobilize other senses besides the mouth, nose, and eyes to understand Wine. Opening up perception is the spiritual connotation of Tinghua Wine.”
A reporter searched Tinghua’s official website and found that Tinghua has been selected into the People’s Daily brand power plan, and advertisements for Tinghua products have been published on the pages of People’s Daily many times. The People's Daily published on January 20, 2022, once published a full page of "Tinghua Wine Innovative Manufacturing and Gaining Technology".
According to media reports, the "Brand Power Plan" aims to "uphold authority and credibility, represent China's position, and support national brands". It is committed to injecting vitality into the innovation and upgrading of Chinese brands, safeguarding the global reputation of Chinese brands, and realizing the transformation of Made in China into China. The transformation of creation, the transformation of China’s speed into China’s quality, and the transformation of Chinese products into Chinese brands provide inexhaustible driving force. Tinghua's selection this time signifies that the new process of manufacturing gain it pioneered has been recognized by the authoritative media. It will lead the industry's common technological breakthroughs as a leader, empower the high-quality development of the liquor industry, and help the renaissance of China's manufacturing.
Public information shows that on November 11, 2023, Tinghuajiu held the "Opening the Era of Chinese Liquor Re-Brewing·Tinghua Liquor Body Setting Conference" held in Chengdu, People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and China Central Radio and Television Representatives from 45 media organizations, including Red Star News, Cover News, and Daily Economic News, as well as Tinghuajiu partners from Beijing, Shandong, Guangzhou, and Zhejiang, gathered at the banks of Xinglong Lake in Chengdu to witness the development of Tinghuajiu, the “upstart liquor brand” A loud declaration.
At the above-mentioned press conference, representatives from People's Daily, China Central Radio and Television and other representatives signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Qinghai Spring Co., Ltd. The parties will strengthen cooperation in multiple dimensions such as Tinghua brand expression and marketing promotion, and promote Tinghua wine to take the lead. Go deep and go big.
Reporters noticed that the People's Daily client has also published "Why is Tinghua Wine So Tasty?" ” endorsed Tinghuajiu, and Tinghuajiu’s series of advertisements have also appeared on many CCTV channels. Tinghuajiu was also present at the "China City International Communication Forum" jointly organized by Reference Newspaper and Xinhua News Agency News Information Center. Last year, the Beijing Business Daily even published a report saying, "Behind the 'sky-high price', Tinghuajiu has made unimaginable efforts in product quality."
On the afternoon of March 16, the reporter searched for many Tinghua partner media Previously published manuscripts found that many promotional manuscripts had been deleted. According to a report by Xinhuanghe on March 16, sources close to the advertising management department of China Central Radio and Television revealed that in 2023, Tinghuajiu briefly appeared in advertisements on some CCTV channels, and the channel promotion itself complied with the requirements of the advertising law. Later, during daily monitoring, the advertising department of the main station discovered that there were many false promotions of the wine offline and the price was abnormally high. It decided to terminate its advertising in April 2023.
In addition, many netizens said that they often see advertisements for Tinghua Wine in airports, aviation magazines, building elevators and other outdoor places. Xinchao Media Group issued an article on January 24 stating that Tinghuajiu brand advertisements have been fully featured on Xinchao elevator posters, ranging from high-end office buildings to high-end residential communities, targeting high-net-worth individuals for brand communication. "Tinghuajiu Brand believes that elevator poster advertising has the media attribute of 24-hour stable exposure and is particularly suitable for presenting more and more detailed brand information. For example, the elevator poster advertisement released by Tinghuajiu this time provides a more comprehensive interpretation from a product perspective It explains why Tinghuajiu, known as the 'sky-high-priced liquor', is so expensive, reveals the delicious taste and ultimate brewing process of Tinghuajiu, allowing the audience to better understand the brand when riding in the elevator, and with the uniqueness of its products Sex forms a place in the minds of consumers and forms brand memory. When you think of a bottle of "sky-high-priced liquor" priced at 5,680 yuan or 56,800 yuan, you will naturally think of Tinghuajiu, and letting the audience remember the brand is itself the purpose of advertising. One of the important purposes."
financial report data shows that in 2022, of Qinghai Spring's 123 million yuan in sales expenses, 74.1362 million yuan was advertising expenses, a year-on-year increase of 200.8%. Among them, 19.65 million yuan was spent on flower advertising at airports and on CCTV; 9.15 million yuan was spent on paper media advertising; and 5.15 million yuan was spent on advertising on flower wine elevators and smart screens in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
A major manufacturer of high-priced wine has further heated up the popularity.
It is worth mentioning that the last time Tinghuajiu was on the Internet hot search, it was sued by Kweichow Moutai and Luzhou Laojiao for unfair competition.
In the second half of 2021, when Tinghuajiu used Baidu search to promote "keyword bidding ranking", it used keywords such as "Feitian Moutai", "Moutai" and "Guojiao 1573", and was questioned for its "porcelain" marketing. In 2022, Kweichow Moutai and Luzhou Laojiao took Tinghuajiu to court.
On May 27, 2022, Tinghua Wine Industry responded on its official Weibo that it was sued by Moutai and Luzhou Laojiao, saying that it is currently learning the details and preparing to respond to the lawsuit, and believes that the law will make a fair judgment.
Tinghuajiu said in a statement that Tinghuajiu had signed an agreement with Chengdu Baidu Technology Co., Ltd. and conducted a two-week promotion service test on the Baidu platform in early September 2021. According to the agreement with Baidu, the promotional information provided by Tinghua Wine does not contain any content that violates relevant national laws and regulations and complies with Baidu's relevant policies and regulations.On May 20, 2022, I learned about the lawsuit by Moutai and Luzhou Laojiao on the Internet, and immediately took the initiative to go to the court to collect relevant documents. Prior to this, the company had not received relevant communication documents or legal letters and was completely unaware of this.
In August 2023, Tinghua Wine Industry released a statement on the final results of the above-mentioned prosecution matters on its official website. The statement stated that on August 18, the company received the (2023) Sichuan Zhiminzhong Civil Judgment No. 185 and 186 issued by the Sichuan Provincial Higher People’s Court. The court held that the above-mentioned behavior of Tinghua Liquor did not constitute trademark infringement, but was an act of unfair competition stipulated in Article 2, Paragraph 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China.
According to the provisions of Article 17, Paragraph 4, Kweichow Moutai and Luzhou Laojiao did not provide evidence to prove the losses they suffered due to the infringement and the benefits gained by the infringer, but combined with the corporate reputation of Kweichow Moutai and Luzhou Laojiao and other factors, the final decision The court ruled that the company should pay Kweichow Moutai 300,000 yuan and Luzhou Laojiao 200,000 yuan.
It is worth mentioning that in this statement about the case, Tinghua Wine Industry specifically "apologized, thanked, and reflected", thanked Wuliangye for its tolerance and understanding, and announced the list of 77 other "tested" companies and apologized. Tinghua Winery explained its "innocent mistake" on the grounds of "short-term testing". After the statement was issued, it caused widespread controversy and was called "refreshing and shameless offline" by the industry and netizens.
Industry insiders said that Tinghua Liquor Industry is well versed in marketing. Although it apologized, it has kept the brand extremely popular. "Saved a lot of advertising costs."
Expert: Over-marketing is a "double-edged sword" that may make consumers feel disgusted.
Beverage industry researcher Ouyang Qianli told the New Yellow River reporter that there is a possibility of over-marketing in Tinghua, and the company may not be disseminating it at the company level. Excessive marketing is used on the website, but in actual implementation, the staff may conventionally use words such as "efficacy" and "health" that are not allowed by law in order to sell more quickly.
"The risk of widespread publicity is that when most people think it has reached the level of madness or even barbarism, it will be difficult to gain public sympathy once it is caught in a public opinion storm, thus exacerbating the risk of expanding public opinion." Ouyang Qianli said.
Xiao Zhuqing, an independent commentator on the Chinese wine industry, said on social media that Tinghua Wine is a very obvious product that charges an IQ tax. The hype is greater than the reality. Even such an IQ tax product is almost difficult to harvest leeks in the market. The process and formula information of liquor are open and transparent, and the selling price of Tinghua Liquor is much higher than the cost. The most important factor in promoting the sales of high-end liquor is the social attribute, but Tinghuajiu does not have cultural genes, and the story in the dream cannot build the brand's heritage. Tinghuajiu's marketing model with asymmetric information in the field of health care products cannot be used in the liquor industry. long.
Some netizens have questioned that Tinghuajiu may be over-marketed. Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, believes that if a product is over-marketed, it will first make consumers feel disgusted with the product, which will have a negative impact on the brand image and reputation. Influence. Additionally, over-marketing can lead to customers becoming fatigued and bored with the brand. If the over-promoted products are inconsistent with the actual products, it will not only cause a psychological gap among consumers, but may also involve false advertising.
Fu Jian said that during the marketing process, companies should abide by relevant laws and regulations and truthfully promote the performance, functions and effects of their products. Excessive marketing behavior not only violates the principles of market competition, but may also violate relevant laws and regulations and bring legal risks to enterprises. Once investigated, companies will face serious consequences such as fines, compensation and even the revocation of business licenses.
New Yellow River reporter: Liu Haikui Editor: Sun Feifei Proofreading: Tang Qi
