'Second place is just the first loser' for Hisense
Hisense marketing at the Euros has confused marketers with its ‘No.2 Globally’ strapline.
It’s not coming home; not for the next couple of years at least, until England heads to North America in 2026 for what will likely be another instalment of national heartache. Who knows, maybe even the cows will have come home by then.
Or, maybe that’s unfair; perhaps the side is building towards immortality after what will have been 60 years of hurt. I’m sure some will even be counting down the 692 days until we go again. Not Gareth Southgate though; at least not in a managerial capacity. But this isn’t the forum for Kloppists to vie against another Brit to lead the national side; I’ll leave that for those who actually know something about football.
Personally, an intriguing moment of the Euros was seeing the advertising campaign of Chinese TV manufacturer Hisense, an Official Partner of the Championship.
In the wake of the Summer Olympics of 1992, a study demonstrated how bronze medalists were more satisfied with their achievements than the athletes who took home silver, because ‘the most easily imagined counterfactual, or alternative outcome, for the silver medalists was the gold; in contrast, the most easily imagined alternative for the bronze medalists was failing to medal at all.’1
In short, being on the podium in third is better than falling short and not winning outright. Enzo Ferrari may have been onto something when he coined the phrase ’Second is the first of the losers’ – subsequently popularised by American NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt; ‘Second place is just the first loser.’
In a similar vein, Hisense opting to self-style itself as the ‘No.2 Globally’ is a bizarre move, and one that has confounded much of the marketing community, especially in front of such an enormous audience. In the UK alone, England’s semi-final boasted ‘a peak audience of 20.3 million on ITV, [making it] easily the most-watched television programme of the year’2, while the final ‘drew a combined peak UK television audience of 24.2 million viewers on both the BBC and ITV.’3
That the Chinese TV manufacturer went on to essentially encourage people NOT to buy their products – with the slogan ‘Never settle for No.2 Globally’ – added fuel to the already perplexed fire.
Of course, the campaign is up for interpretation in different ways, but that is precisely the point of this here little article thingamabob; it shouldn’t be. Hisense marketing at the Euros will have been pointing to its aspirations to be No.1 but, whether it was down to the translation misfiring or simply poor phrasing, the confused messaging has led to a consensus that the campaign backfired.
Hisense has sponsored the last three European Championships and two previous World Cups, and its Germany executive vice president, Sühel Semerci, ‘says sponsorship has played “a very big part” in helping the brand gain greater market share globally.’4
That’s all very well and good but ‘Hisense; aiming higher’, or something along those lines, would have intrigued an audience with what else the brand was hoping to achieve, conveying that there was more to come from the Chinese behemoth. As it is, the brand’s TV presence in Germany has, among marketers, seemingly only served to spark an interesting debate on the importance of relevant campaign messaging. Hisense is China’s leading manufacturer and, while the Chinese market may celebrate the message that it is looking to take on the rest of the world, everyone else was more than a little befuddled as to why they should settle for second best. As someone quipped on Reddit, ‘Ok then, I’ll buy an LG.’
The learning for other organisations, ultimately, is to know your customer. (And the variances of parlance and phrasing in different international markets, but I feel that could be a separate blog entirely.) Customers increasingly want a warm, fuzzy feeling when buying or engaging with their preferred brands; they want to be listened to and cherished, as if the brand would crumble into insignificance without their purchase. They want a story behind the products and to know that the brand is trying to save the planet, not take it over. And it’s a simple fact that Gen Z customers don’t act, think, behave, or – most importantly – buy in the same way as Millennials or Gen Xers. Nor do people within generations, for that matter; Gen Zers were born between 1997 and 2012, but can you honestly say that a 27-year-old acts, thinks, behave, or buys the same way as someone half their age? If so, let me break it to you as gently as I can; you shouldn’t be working in marketing.
My point is that marketing and PR must be targeted, whether you’re Hisense marketing at the Euros or not. Organisations that are able to sell an element of personalisation are the ones about whom audiences are making the most noise. Think customisable Nikes, Nutella jars with your name on them, Nectar offering you bespoke offers each week, and … [thinking of another example beginning with ‘n’ …] nuts … there it is … even subscription snack boxes containing your preferred protein source.
For those who might not be able to offer such luxuries, conveying that you understand your audience’s preferences and buying behaviours, and can tailor content appropriately to make it relevant, is the first port of call. With so much data available, it’s inexcusable not to have at least an overview of your marketplace and the trends unfolding within it, and for your PR stories, blog content, social media posts, and more, to be adapted accordingly.
If you would like help defining and telling those stories, please contact me on james@clearlypr.co.uk.
References:
1. https://time.com/6145596/2022-winter-olympics-bronze-silver-medals-happiness/
3. https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/euro-2024-final-tv-viewership-bbc-itv-rtve/
