On May 10, the result of “People’s Favourite Chinese Brand” initiated by China National Brand, Xinhuanet and HNTV was published on the 2nd “China Brand Day”. Liby surpassed strong opponents and won the championship.

From single washing powder to green and healthy products, from a small factory to a domestic famous enterprise, from an agent to a daily chemical brand most popular with Chinese consumers, Liby tells a brand story of creating a “blue” sky through innovation in 24 years.

Brand History

Chen Kaixuan, the founder of Liby, was a washing powder agent. Having made a little success, he realized that owning his factory and brand was a permanent way of management. Then, Liby washing powder developed by him was produced in 1994 in Guangzhou. However, the market environment was not optimistic. On one hand, local brands Lonkey and GFL had geographical advantages. On the other hand, P&G was settling in Guangzhou, and Tide and ARIEL was prevailing there. In spite of high quality, Liby washing powder was born in face of threats and challenges and had difficulties in sale.

Under the fierce competition, Liby started to popularize its products. Chen Kaixuan engaged GDTV to the first advertising film with 5000 Yuan. From then on, Liby gradually came to light and grew stronger.

Within a few years, Liby achieved annual sales revenue of above 100 million Yuan and gained a firm foothold in Chaoshan. After that, it drew on advantages and avoided disadvantages using unique franchising strategy during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and grew into a business group with annual sales revenue of 1 billion Yuan.

In the 21st century, Liby became a domestic famous cleaning product brand and started to implement “the big daily chemical” strategy by virtue of industry status and brand influence. It acquired and reorganized Tianjin Blue Sky Group and pocketed Liu Bi Zhi, a time-honored brand of Chinese medicinal toothpaste, in 2005 and acquired and established Shanghai New COGI Cosmetics Co., Ltd. in 2006. Through a series of acquisition and reorganization, Liby expanded to related industries orderly with daily chemical and cleaning products as the core. So far, Liby had upgraded to an industrialized group brand from a single washing powder brand.

Liby became a supplier of Beijing Olympic Games and after that it became a sponsor of 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Through deep cooperation with such world-renowned sports events, Liby gave full play to the promotion effect of sports event marketing on brand influence.

Liby officially released “green health strategy” in 2016. Driven by technical R&D of Green Life Research Institute, Liby builds green factory and leads green consumption through mobilizing upstream and downstream industry chains from the aspect of green material, green formula, green technology, green manufacturing and green product. Additionally, Liby becomes a drafter of national standard Evaluation of Green Products-Cleaning Products and ushers in a green revolution of the cleaning product industry with a strong sense of social responsibility.

In the aspect of entertainment marketing, Liby succeeded in sponsoring Singer, a famous variety show of HNTV, which can be called as a typical case of entertainment marketing. In the wake of Singer and its phenomenal topic effect, Liby produced a rich harvest in brand awareness and reputation. Acting in deep cooperation with Chinese Restaurant, a popular life variety show, and interpreting the green & healthy concept together with fashion media, Liby is passing “green & healthy” positive energy to consumers through diversified scenes, open ways and new channels.

Nowadays, Liby realizes sales revenue of 20 billion Yuan, in which detergent ranked first nationwide and fourth worldwide, and pays taxes of above 1.5 billion Yuan. Besides, it won more than 100 world-class and national-class honors such as “National Civilized Unit”, “Top 100 Tax Payers of Chinese Private Enterprises”, “China Quality Award Nomination” and “The Best Example Award for Chinese Green and Efficient Enterprises” and become a pioneer of Chinese daily chemical industry.

 

The Truth of Brand 

From a small local enterprise to a leading daily chemical enterprise valued 10 billion Yuan, Liby has a development history not exactly simple as “celebrity endorsement and advertisement”. The sensitiveness of Liby to consumer demand, proficiency in product innovation, input in marketing propagation. The most important is the persistence in positive energy of Liby, which deserves to be emulated and mirrored by all Chinese brands.

Discover potential demand: Win the trust of consumers by “free of harm to hands”

Consumers watched an advertisement of Liby washing powder acted by Chen Peisi: Chen Peisi who carried a bulging black travelling bag in an American airport was mistaken by the police as a drug dealer. After chasing and searching him, the confused police found a bag of washing powder. “It is Liby washing powder. My wife asked me to take it to America”. Chen Peisi pointed at the police’s collar, saying: “It can be used to clean clothes and is free of harm to hands.”

Through a series of advertisements acted by famous comedian Chen Peisi, people remembered “a fool” who loved his family and wife and what he repeated “Liby is free of harm to hands” in cheers and laughter. In the 1990s when clothes were mainly washed by hand, Liby distinguished itself from other cleaning brands by “free of harm to hands” and excavated the real demand which consumers did not realize so that the brand of Liby was quickly recognized and accepted by consumers.

 

Make breakthrough of product variety: Catch up with consumption upgrading

How to judge an excellent brand? See what others cannot see and produce what others have never seen.

As the benefit of “free of harm to hands” concept gradually vanished with “skin-friendly” and other concepts proposed by other brands, Liby launched new types of detergents. Chen Kaixuan saw a long-lasting trend of the times-consumption upgrading.

China’s economic development and people's living standard advance quickly. Basic necessities of life and consumption consciousness trigger fast and intensive upgrading. Those who can satisfy consumer first can seize the initiative of the brand times.

Consumers directly pay for products. Social and individual needs for green health must be satisfied by products first. By virtue of strong technical R&D strength, Liby carries out “green production” and all cleaning products are developed in accordance with “green & healthy and green cleaning” concept. In recent years, Liby launched detergent free of flourescent whitening agent, skin-friendly washing powder, dishwashing liquid available to wash vegetable and fruits directly and other “healthy, safe and environment-friendly” products and passed the man-friendly and environment-friendly concept. As a result, Liby is well received in the market and set up an example of green and environmental protection.

As to sense of social responsibility based on which an enterprise lives and works in peace, Chen Kaixuan, President of Liby Group said: “Loving the motherland and the people and protecting the earth, Liby offers you a green and healthy home.” Liby Group not only responds to the government’s call for sustainable development, but also unconsciously raises people’s awareness of environmental protection and performs social responsibility.

Way of brand communication: Adapt to the development of the times and realize integrated marketing 

Many people credit Liby’s success to “spend money on a good reputation”. Nevertheless, there are countless enterprises “daring to spend money”. Why didn’t Liby play ducks and drakes like most enterprises?

A main line has always run through the seemingly dazzling brand marketing of Liby, adapting to the development of the times, responding to changes of consumer and consuming behavior and keeping abreast of consumers.

Market, consumer and consuming behavior are all changing. From Chen Paisi, an artist who pursues both professional excellence and moral integrity, to Singer, a phenomenal variety show which the generations after 80s and 90s love to see and hear, Liby not only adapts to change of the consumer society, but also unremittingly pursues brand innovation.

With acute brand awareness and commercial awareness, Liby gained the naming right of Singer for three consecutive years and got great benefits from it. With the development of the times, channels of information acquisition become diversified, information is fragmentized and there is a wide variety of brand marketing modes. Simplex program exposure can no longer penetrate into people’s concern and cognition of brand. Therefore, Liby realizes that integrated marketing is the key to raise brand awareness and reputation and effectively promote sales conversion.

Since “green & healthy strategy” was proposed in 2016, Liby has started a green revolution of the cleaning product industry as a pioneer and implemented the “green & healthy” concept through cooperation with column, celebrity and media.

Through embedded advertising in Chinese Restaurant, Liby carried out scenario marketing effectively. Liby Greenstyle, which was launched through cooperation with MC Jin, a famous rap singer, spread the green & healthy concept in a way popular with young people and Liby gained the favor of young people due to such bold and resolute marketing mode. In 2018, Liby took the lead in integrating such communication means as television, outdoor advertisement and public relation and comprehensively conveyed the attitude towards “green and healthy” life and the pursuit of “family culture” quality in the form of teaser advertisement, special advertisement, knowledge interaction, deep communication with fashion insider and offline sharing session. This marketing mode makes the concept “offer you a green and healthy home” vivid, substantial and powerful rather than an empty slogan.

It is worth mentioning that Liby, as a laundry cleaning brand which acts in deep cooperation with ELLE, an authoritative fashion media, conveys the brand concept level by level and refreshes the brand image through listening to and passing the understanding of stars, debutantes and top designers of “green and healthy” fashion life attitude. Popular star Sheng Yilun becomes a brand experience officer of Liby and the fan effect enlarges the influence. More and more audiences feel that “green &healthy” is more than a slogan but a fashionable and positive life attitude. Liby is more than a laundry cleaning brand but a practitioner and pioneer of such life attitude.

Through cooperation, not only is the fashion attribute of Liby highlighted, but consumers really feel Liby’s perseverance and communication of green & healthy concept and acknowledge it. We have to say that in the information-based and selective era, with a 24-year history, Liby is always determined to refresh brand image and convey and infiltrate brand concept.

In short, to seize development opportunities in the brand economy era, Chinese brands must always realize the truth like Liby: Facing the rise and rejuvenation of nation, all diabolic tricks and falsifications will have no place to hide, except for the original intention to satisfy people’s pursuit of a beautiful life. Only the way built on quality, innovation and morality can lead to the ultimate dream of brand.