HONGXING ERKE: The Bankrupt brand that was bought out by netizens

On July 21, 2021, Hongxing Erke, a local sports brand in China, posted on its official Weibo account that it had donated 50 million suppliers to Henan Province, China, which is being hit by heavy rain.

Many netizens left comments “You donated so much when you were going out of business.”

With the public opinion gradually fermenting, this local sports brand that has been forgotten by the public ushered in its shining moment on the Internet. Both online and offline stores suffered a frenzy of buying, and hongxing Erke was bought out by netizens in just a few days. This incident itself may be an accidental event without predicted results, but Hongxing Erke’s quick response, hot manufacturing, and continuous drainage are worth a lot of thinking for the industry.

Supporting local brands is a form of emotional consumption. In addition to relying on marketing, brands can quickly accumulate reputation by assuming social responsibilities. Hongxing Erke lets us see the consumption potential brought by value identification.

After experiencing “wild consumption” online, Wu Rongzhao, chairman of Hongxing Erke, advised consumers to consume rationally and shared his own entrepreneurial story in the live broadcast. When Wu rongzhao, who is not good at facing the camera, repeatedly stressed the need for ideal consumption, he once again ignited the enthusiasm of netizens. This makes the trust established by consumers on the basis of value identification more solid.

Suddenly, Hongxing Erke boarded the hot topic of the headlines of each network platform. It’s a reminder that the live broadcast is not just a consumer scene, but also a social one. It is more PR platform for brands to establish deep communication with users, which should be jointly operated by the brand department and the e-commerce department. If Hongxing Erke does not have a live broadcast room, then the popularity of this wave of patriotic complex will have no place to undertake traffic.

Overnight, Hongxing Erke incubated at least ten live broadcast rooms on the Platform of Douyin alone, with sales of over ten million yuan in two days. Even the official flagship store has sold 100 million.

A heavy rain in Henan province caused the fire in Hongxing Erke. This Newsjacking was undoubtedly a success.