China had been an expensive and dismal failure.
New Product Launches can be costly if not done correctly - New Market research is vital before entering a country or market. 3 points to improve the chances of success.
Importance of understanding the local culture (not imposing Western values)
Local market will have a ‘Taste Preference’
Developing the right proposition & taste for the market.
Two spectacular failures at launch and third time ‘Lucky.’ Yet there was no luck behind the third iteration – it was based on consumer insight of what mattered and why. We showed what the water should taste like and how they should feel – the mood shift delivered and what subtle, subliminal messages should be present in the comms.
Danone - Chinese Water, Pas Encore!
That was the cry in Danone HQ in the 18th Arondissement in Paris. It had happened again – how can this be? Yet another launch in China had been an expensive and dismal failure. Let’s give it another go but do it differently – call EP!
The Dilemma
Danone know water – they own Evian, Volvic and even Badoit (you know, the really good stuff that is only easily come by in France.) From the early part of the new millennium Evian had grown exponentially in....China. The local emerging trendy middle classes were buying increasing amounts of Evian which was shipped ready bottled (it is bottled in Evian, France.) This is obviously a nightmare in environmental and commercial terms – shipping bottled water around the planet. What the Chinese consumer was doing was buying a bottle of Evian and then, when empty, refilling it with a local water. Thus the Evian bottle retained its image, the consumer was seen to be stylish and trendy but Danone made only the initial sale. They knew that the consumer would continue to refill the Evian bottle – they just wanted theirs to be the (local) water chosen to refill the empty. They needed a local water.
So they sourced a local bore hole. No easy task since approx.. 100 square miles of run off is also needed to be controlled to ensure no contamination. A number of bore holes were selected and ‘Pierre’ the head Danone Water tester was flown in from Paris to choose between options. Once chosen the bore hole lease was negotiated (and a price agreed with the Chinese government – not cheap!), local farming practices etc were curtailed and the Danone had a local Chinese water to launch.
It failed.
Not (overly) discouraged Danone went through the process once again – though this time they also had to unravel their commitments to the first bore hole – giving the control of the land back to the government. Ouch! An expensive task. When the second launch occurred – along with its attendant marketing spend – and also spectacularly failed they decided a different approach was required. Hence ‘Call EP'.
Our phone rang: ‘Can you map the palate for water in China and help us?’
The Decode
It transpired that, when mapping and decoding the water preferences in China, something completely alien to ‘Pierre’ and the classic Western palate was at play. In Mandarin there are circa 24 words to describe the quality of sweetness in the mouth – particularly focused on the mid to rear of mouth. A translation of the words is not what was required – we needed our techniques to interpret and culturally understand the idiomatic resonance and emotional significance of these terms – work we had to do in market with both consumer and interpreter together working with our tools. This is subtle but powerful work – remember we are working with plain water!
What transpired was the Chinese preference for water was driven by what we would describe as a brief (v. brief) ‘Green Note’ just in the transition of the mid to rear of mouth. This taste note (or taint to a Western palate) was anathema to the target waters that Danone were used to sourcing around the world – it was a long way from Evian and Volvic in taste terms.
The Definition
The cultural significance of water is powerful in any country. In China, as a mark of respect across the generations, the senior person in the household traditionally has the first draw from the well in the morning. Whilst few in China live in the countryside in family compounds any more there remains a mythical image for them of this is what defines the ideal Chinese household. In short therefore the ‘Best’ water has been stationary in the well for over 12 hours and this hint of green – stillness or even stagnation as we might define it – is a key signifier. At the very limit of conscious recognition it is a indicator of quality in their market but to a Western expert it is a sign of a sub optimal water. No bore hole exhibiting that would have made the cut with ‘Pierre’. Yet when we worked with the Chinese consumer there were value differences and emotional changes we could spot and then work backwards to the drivers for these in the water taste and understand their significance. This note wasn’t a ‘Taint’, it was a signifier of quality.
The Delivery
We drew up a target taste curve of what the ideal Chinese water would look like (err taste and feel like actually) as well as the key qualities it would deliver and reinforce. This allowed Danone to know what they were looking for and be able to differentiate on the key quality differentiators for their target consumers. This became the map for Danone to choose its new bore hole against. The rest, as they say, is history.
Two spectacular failures at launch and third time ‘Lucky.’ Yet there was no luck behind the third iteration – it was based on consumer insight of what mattered and why. We showed what the water should taste like and how they should feel – the mood shift delivered and what subtle, subliminal messages should be present in the comms.