Yan Palace x Hua & Hua Million RMB Super Marketing Competition

Asia’s Leading Marketing Event! Yan Palace x Hua & Hua Million RMB Super Marketing Competition Crowns Its Champion in Singapore.

Asia’s Leading Marketing Event! On 6 December 2024, the 11th Hua & Hua Million RMB Super Marketing Competition, exclusively title-sponsored by Yan Palace, was held grandly at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. The event also featured the China-Singapore Entrepreneur Forum and the 1st Hua & Hua Super Sign Sculpture Art Exhibition. Over 500 distinguished guests gathered to witness the Hua & Hua Million RMB Grand Prize unveiling!

▲ A group of Hua & Hua clients attended the event. (Partial display)

▲ Huang Jian, Founder and Chairman of Yan Palace, delivered the opening speech for the competition.

▲ Sam Hua, Chairman of Hua & Hua, delivered a keynote address.

The 11th Hua & Hua Million RMB Super Marketing Competition, exclusively title-sponsored by Yan Palace, featured outstanding case entries from brands such as Haidilao, D.KADI Thermal Bottle, Yuehui Silkie Chicken Roll, Zhi Yan Curtain, Mlily, Star Charge, Dian Xiao Er, and MIXUE (International).

Eight project leaders took the stage, delivering English presentations to demonstrate how their projects solved business challenges and delivered measurable outcomes.

After intense competition, the Dian Xiao Er project team emerged as the champion of the 11th Hua & Hua Million RMB Super Marketing Competition, exclusively title-sponsored by Yan Palace, winning the grand prize of 1 million RMB!

The MIXUE (International) project team secured second place, earning a 300,000 RMB award, while the D.KADI Thermal Bottle project team claimed third place with a 200,000 RMB prize. The remaining five project teams each received a finalist award of 50,000 RMB.

At the event, Sam Hua also delivered a full-English keynote for 2024 titled: The New Definition of Brand: Brand Trinity. Below is a summary of the speech.

The new definition of a brand: BRAND TRINITY

Sam Hua: Good afternoon, Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us today. Wow! those performances were outstanding and now the time has come for me to deliver my keynote speech.

First and foremost, I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to Yan zhiwu Bird’s Nest for being the exclusive title sponsor of the Hua & Hua Million RMB Competition. This is the first time we’ve had a corporate title sponsor for this competition, and I hope they will continue their support next year. Additionally, I am proud to serve as the brand ambassador for Yan Zhiwu Bird’s Nest, I have eaten a bowl of bird’s nest just before coming on stage, and I feel empowered now!

I’d also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Marina Bay Sands for sponsoring tomorrow’s venue. As you may know, This is the most exclusive hotel in Singapore, without their support, this event may not have been possible. So, thank you very much Mis.Qian.

Before diving into the main part of my speech, let me first introduce Hua & Hua.

Hua & Hua was founded in 2002 and has now been in business for 22 years. This year, Euromonitor International certified that Hua & Hua ranks No. 1 in China for the number of comprehensive brand marketing service contracts, this you will agree is quite an achievement.

When my brother and I founded this company, our ambition was to make Hua & Hua a milestone in China’s advertising history, and today, we did it.

Presently as I stand here, I declare our new vision: to make Hua & Hua one of the most sought-after companies in the global advertising industry.

We’ve already established ourselves as playing an integral part in China’s advertising history, shaping a generation’s familiarity with iconic Chinese brands—including many of those present here today.

In China, the younger generation grew up watching Hua & Hua’s ads. In the early years of the company, we created many of the most well-known TV commercials in China at the time. For 22 years, we’ve been at the forefront of brand creativity in China. Now, here in Singapore, people are familiar with the brand images we crafted for Mixue, Haidilao, PUTIEN, and Dian Xiao Er.

I am proud to showcase a few examples of Hua & Hua’s early successes, three iconic brands from 10 to 20 years ago:

· 2003: Tianqi Toothpaste – “Say ‘Tianqi’ when you take a picture!”

· 2008: Sunflower Pharmaceutical – “Little Sunflower Mom’s Classroom is in session!”

· 2010: Chubang Soy Sauce – “Sun for 180 days.”

These brands embody Hua & Hua’s two core principles:

1. Super Sign is Super Creativity.

2. Everything is One Thing.

Hua & Hua is renowned for our Cultural Matrix and Super Sign Theory. Our branding and communication methodology is systematically built on semiotics and philosophy of language. These three cases each use a different type of sign as the core of their brand:

· The first one, Auditory Sign: Tianqi Toothpaste – The cultural matrix here stems from people saying “cheese” when taking pictures. We adapted this to the brand name, “Tianqi.”

· The second one, Character Sign: Sunflower Children’s Medicine – The cultural matrix involves people framing children’s faces with sunflowers when taking pictures. We transformed this into a brand symbol by creating the “Sunflower baby” character.

· The third one, Pattern Sign: Chubang soy source – The cultural matrix is the universally recognized checkered tablecloth, which evokes ‘appetite upon sight.

The first principle of Hua & Hua method is: Super Sign is Super Creativity.

The second principle of Hua & Hua method is: Everything is One Thing, which means that from company strategy to marketing strategy, brand strategy, product development, brand design, packaging design, and advertising creativity, everything is interconnected. At Hua & Hua, everyone works together on everything…in unison.

When all these tasks are handled by one team within one system, in a single integrated process, that’s the Hua & Hua method—that’s the essence. Fragmenting these tasks into different departments, teams, or phases, will lead to false hope and failure. If the beginning is not right, there is a risk that success may be eluded.

In 2007, Sunflower Pharmaceuticals went to Hua & Hua for advice, their original intention was to get an advertising big idea, as they did with the other advertising companies previously. However, instead of delivering on their request, HUA & HUA provided comprehensive planning which included company strategy, product development, marketing, and branding:

In line with “Everything is one thing”, Hua & Hua implemented 5 key aspects for Sunflower:

Firstly, developed the corporate strategy to establish Sunflower as a specialized brand for children’s medicine and entered the children’s healthcare market.

Secondly, planned a product structure that included medicine, health supplements , personal-care products, and infantile food.

Thirdly, created the Little Sunflower doctor baby as a brand image, hence “the super sign”.

Fourthly, designed all of the product packaging.

Lastly, shotted the iconic TV commercials that we all have come to know and love.

This is the best practice of the “Everything is One Thing” principle and Hua & Hua’s one-stop service model. It also embodies our working philosophy: we provide our clients what they need, not just what they ask for. We don’t merely respond to the client’s request, but help them uncover the real question. When a client pays Hua & Hua, he might not know exactly what he's getting.  And when we begin to work, we don’t know what our issue is. All ideas, the target, the strategy, the creativity, the idea of design, are figured out in the process. Just like in the case of Sunflower Pharmaceuticals, Our client never thought about building a Professional children's medicine brand, We came up with the idea through market insight and reviewing their product list.

Strategy is not a fixed plan, but a process of constantly discovering inspiration. So, Hua & Hua’s service model is not just one off; but rather subscription-based.

The subscription-based model contrasts with order-based or project-based models.

Subscriptions involve continuous, long-term actions. I always emphasize that order-based consulting doesn’t work, because whether it’s strategy, marketing, or branding, these are all ongoing management processes. inspirations emerge over time. I hope all of you can be a Lifelong customer of Hua & Hua. In fact, our pricing structure is relative to the subscription model, it’s quite cost effective for the large corporates, and highly affordable for smaller companies.

These are the main points of my introduction to Hua & Hua. The combination of three principles:

First, Super Sign is Super Creativity.

Second, Everything is One Thing.

Third, subscription-based consulting services.

Earlier, I mentioned that I aim to make Hua & Hua one of the most sought after companies in the global advertising industry. By “sought after,” I mean theoretically important and academically important. I aim to rebuild brand theory for the world, starting with redefining the very concept of a brand.

Next, I will explain the two key components of the Hua & Hua Brand Theory:

1. The new definition of a Brand;

2. Brand Trinity Theory.

The new definition of a Brand

At Hua & Hua, we recognize that while numerous great brands have been established globally over the past century, the underlying brand theory has remained incomplete. This stems from an etymological misinterpretation of the term "brand," which has diverted brand theory from its proper course for nearly one hundred years.

In light of this, we have introduced a new definition of a "brand" to realign and reconstruct the brand theory framework.

Let’s examine the traditional Definitions of a "Brand"

According to the American Marketing Association, AMA, the definition of a brand is:

“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or service as distinct from those of other sellers.”

This definition is widely used in University textbooks around the world. However, it contains two fundamental philosophical short coming’s.

I. Purpose Error: When we talk about purpose, we mean ultimate purpose, and the ultimate purpose of a brand is not to identify and differentiate but to get customers to buy my product and spread my name.

II. Category Error: A brand is not an ‘external label for a product; rather, it is intrinsically linked to it. A brand and a product are interdependent: a brand encompasses the product, and the product inherently includes the brand.

The purpose of a brand is fundamentally a philosophical question. The great philosopher Aristotle stated that everything has a primary concept, which is the concept of "telos", which means ultimate Purpose. What is the ultimate purpose of this thing’s existence?

Aristotle stated, “Telos is the highest good, it is beauty.” Another great philosopher, Kant, stated, “Purpose transcends aesthetics”

Mastering the philosophy of purpose means that every action is always aligned with the ultimate goal.  Remember these words: every action is always aligned with the ultimate goal, This is Hua & Hua’s operating principle, We never make a useless move.

The philosophy of necessity follows closely behind the philosophy of purpose. Once I understand the purpose of something, the question becomes: What must I do to inevitably achieve that goal? These are the scientific methods and processes.

So, is the purpose of building a brand merely to differentiate it from competitors? If the goal is to stand apart, then as long as I achieve uniqueness, I’ve supposedly fulfilled the brand’s mission. But is that truly the case? Clearly, it is not.

People easily accept the idea of differentiation ,” much like how we often strive to be unique. However, is being different our ultimate goal? Of course not! Our goal is to become successful, wealthy, or make meaningful contributions to society—not only standing out from others.

Apple’s famous slogan, “Think Different,”—is that Apple’s ultimate goal? Of course not. Its real objective is to create value and sell products. That’s the true ultimate goal. Think Different, to be unique, we just enjoy the slogan, we don't live that way.

Therefore, when we build a brand, the goal isn’t to differentiate ourselves from others or to show that we’re unique. The real purpose is to sell. Our ultimate objective is to sell products. Everything we do must always serve this final goal—getting consumers to buy our products.

Hua & Hua has summarized this into two key objectives: “Buy my Product, Spread my Name”.

First is to encourage customers to buy from me; Second, to promote my brand, essentially contributing to sales. These two goals can be unified under the overarching aim of driving sales. 

We need to focus on how to ensure that customers not only purchase from us but also promote our brand. Understanding these two objectives—driving purchases and encouraging brand advocacy—leads to a fundamentally different brand theory and approach.

Once the concept of purpose is clarified, it leads to the idea of necessity. The question becomes: how can I act in a way that ensures customers will inevitably buy my product and spread my good name? If I can figure out the answer to this question and build a theory around it, then I have the right approach. This is what I am presenting to you today.

But why does everyone, all over the world, believe that the purpose of a brand is differentiation and identify? I think this stems from a linguistic misunderstanding of the word “brand.” The English word “brand” comes from the Old Norse word Brandr, meaning “to burn.” Originally, it referred to marking one’s livestock or private property with a hot iron to distinguish them from others’.

As a noun, “brand” came to mean “a mark used to show ownership, serve as a quality mark, or for other purposes,” essentially something used for differentiation and proof. As a verb, it means “to brand or to mark.” This is the ‘origin of the word “brand.” Over time, trademarks and branding evolved around this idea of identify, and this etymological meaning has shaped the global understanding of what a brand is, without being corrected.

Now, I am introducing Hua & Hua’s new definition of a brand:

① The definition of a Brand should include both product and its brand, encompassing the inseparable Trinity of Discourse, Products, and Signs, which could be called BRAND TRINITY—a unified entity with three dimensions

② The purpose of building a brand is to help the public to discover, purchase, identify, remember, preference, repurchase, and spread the brand.

③ At the same time, a brand also reduces the costs of social supervision for enterprises, and serves as a risk mitigation ‘mechanism for consumer rights protection.

This is the Hua & Hua’s new definition of a brand.

① Firstly, the meaning of a Brand should be the product and its brand, not just the brand of products.

The meaning of a Brand should be the product and its brand, en’compassing the Trinity of discourse, products, and signs — a unified entity with three dimensions, which I refer to BRAND TRINITY.

For example, Yanzhiwu Bird’s Nest.

Can this product be separated from the name “Yan Zhiwu”?

Consider a philosophical question: The term “sun” refers to a celestial body in the sky. Can the word “sun” be separated from the physical entity it represents?

Some might argue that they can be divided into “sun” as a term and “sun” as an object. However, even when discussing “the object called a ‘sun,’” the term “sun” is still necessary. This illustrates the fundamental philosophical issue of “the inseparability of the word and the object.”

The philosopher Heidegger stated, “Language is the house of being.” Without speech, nothing exists. If you disagree, try to declare existence without speaking. You have to say it. Existence is words.

In gospel of John, the King James Version states: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” However, The Chinese translation uses TAO instead of word. It says “太初有道，道与神同在，道就是神。” 

A lot is lost in translation. Word is not TAO，the word is speaking. The Chinese might think that TAO is the highest, but in fact, the word, the speaking is exactly the God, and the power of God. The Bible interpret the “Word” as God’s creative power, drawing parallels to Genesis where God speaks the world into existence. “God said, Let there be light, and there was light”, That’s the way God created the world, by word, by speaking.

In the Tao Te Ching: “无名天地之始，有名万物之母。” “The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of all things” A name is a mother of a thing; with a name, there is existence, no name, no existance, and a name is a word, just like without the name of Marina Bay Sands, the hotel would cease to exist, without the name of HUA & HUA, I couldn’t stand here.

The words, In Hua & Hua’s BRAND TRINITY, is the discourse, and the name of the brand, is the beginning of discourse.

Let’s consider Yan Zhiwu Bird’s Nest with its packaging design as an example. The packaging design is a symbolic representation of the product. The package and the product are inseparable. The concept of " discourse, product, and sign" being ’integrated—known as the “Brand Trinity”.

Trinity, borrowed from Christian terminology (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), can be imagined as: discourse as the Father, product as the Son, and sign as the Holy Spirit.

Since brands often encompass a range of products, the discourse, products, and signs evolve into discourse systems, product structures, and sign systems, respectively. This forms the core framework of Hua & Hua's “Brand Trinity Theory.” Just like what we see here with Yan Zhiwu’s bird’s nest bowl, it belongs to a larger product range, each embedded within a broader discourse and sign system.

Now, let’s move on to the next point: the purpose of a brand. The purpose of building a brand is not merely identification and differentiation but primarily sales and spread the brand.

② Building a brand aims to help the public discover, purchase, identify, remember, preference, repurchase, and spreading the brand.

The sequence of these steps are crucial. We place "identify" as the third step, with Discover and purchase preceding it; remember is followed by preference, and repurchase; and finally, we emphasize "spread.” This is the key difference between the brand definition we are discussing today and the traditional definition. The traditional approach always placed identification as the primary focus, but we don’t, we focus on the element of being discoverable.

Let me give you an example to highlight the differences between these two approaches and their outcomes, using a familiar case—MIXUE.

let’s look at the store signage for MIXUE from 2018. Was it identifiable ? Yes, it had brand identity, but did it work hard to draw the attention of passersby and engage them? Clearly, it did not. 

This is a case of poor “Brand Visual Identity Design.” Notice the color scheme—gray background with white text. For the past decade, such gray-and-white signage has been a trend for storefronts on Chinese streets. When asked why, they would say it’s "high-class gray," aiming to make their brand seem upscale. But based on what we've just learned about the purpose of a brand—should the goal be to look upscale? No, the goal is to sell products. we are here to sell. I’m only selling ice cream and lemonade for 4 RMB—why does it need to look upscale?

After Hua & Hua partnered with MIXUE, we redesigned all of their stores to give them a much stronger signal energy. For instance, we used vibrant colors for the storefront, filled the windows with product posters, and made sure bold text highlighted “Lemonade for only 4 RMB.”

I used two key terms here: signal and energy. This relates to psychologist Pavlov’s stimulus-response theory, which boils down to two principles:

1. All human behavior is a response to a stimuli.

2. The stronger the stimulus signal, the stronger the response.

After we made these changes, Mr. Zhang, the founder of MIXUE, approached to me , “Mr. Hua, when I first started the business, this is exactly how I was doing things.”

Now let’s take a look at MIXUE’s store design from 2001—doesn’t it look almost the same as Hua & Hua’s design? It had the products displayed, prices listed, and even repeated the same message in the event customers didn’t get it at the first time. The slogan “Free Ice with Purchase” was posted both above and below. Even the steps were utilized for messaging.

Notice how, 20 years ago, the design had strong product and price signals, but its brand identity was weak. Why? Because back then, the brand wasn’t important, and no one recognized MIXUE’s name. A brand only became crucial after the company succeeded. 

This reveals an important truth: A brand is the result of a business's success, not the cause. Coca-Cola, for instance, wasn’t an important brand in the beginning; it became significant only after the company’s success.

That’s why we emphasize Discover and purchase first, followed by identify, memory, preference, and repurchase.

What we want to emphasize is: Always prioritize "Discover".

Traditional brand theory starts with “Identify”, aiming for preference or even loyalty.

Firstly, it’s a issue of business ethics, customers have no obligation to be loyal to us; instead, we have the obligation to be loyal to our customers.

Secondly, this theory is practically ineffective.

Why is that? In the era of traditional advertising, there is some key data I’d like to share with you.

More than 70% of purchasing decisions are made at the shopping site.

According to the 2012 Shopper Engagement Study by POPAI (国际零售营销协会(Point of Purchase Advertising International)),  76% of purchasing decisions are made in-store, where consumers frequently make their choices on the spot.

At the point of sale, people frequently change their purchasing decisions due to new stimuli or end up buying items they had not originally intended to purchase. This type of on-the-spot decision-making accounts for 76% of all purchase behaviors.

Think about it in terms of your own life. When men go shopping, they typically have a goal in mind—get what they need and leave without wasting any extra time. On the other hand, women often shop without a specific target in mind and tend to browse.

In other words, if our brand theory focuses on “Identify” and “Brand Loyalty,” it only applies to 24% of the situation, and this theory is incomplete.

A theory that only covers 24% of purchasing behavior can only be the solution of 24% of the situation. We should be working on the remaining 76%. Therefore, in the Hua & Hua Method, we always prioritize discover and winning over.

In recent years, with the advent of the internet era, a saying has emerged: "Young people no longer care about brands when shopping."

Is it true that young people no longer care about brands? Certainly not!

What actually happens is that shopping on mobile screens is more efficient than in physical stores, with more stimuli and opportunities for impulse decisions, potentially exceeding the 76% threshold

Therefore, we prioritize “Discover” and “Purchase” first, that’s the objective of the product and the packaging of item, inclusive of everything, not “Identify” the name of a brand.

And, why do we place “Identify” and “Remember” after “Purchase”? Because with the vast number of products we use, we don’t pay attention to what brand they are.

We should always assume that every customer has never heard of our brand—it’s our first contact, and we’re surrounded by numerous competitors. My primary task is to ensure they discover my product first, then immediately be moved and make a purchase. After the purchase, comes memory, then preference, and eventually repeat purchases.

Why is that? We can reflect on our own shopping experiences. How often do we buy something, and then forget what brand it was after we’ve used it? For example, I can't recall the brand of my fridge at home! If you ask me about my frequently used TV, I might be unsure if it's a Sony or Samsung. Even my daily-use coffee machine—I've never paid attention to its brand. I have asked a lot of my friends, most of them couldn’t tell me the brand of their TV, fridge or washing machine. The only brand which everyone can remember is their car, and their phone!

Not every product has a high level of brand awareness, which is why this sequence is so important.

Brands and consumers have a weak connection, not a strong one. We often forget the names of our acquaintances, let alone remember brands!

Therefore “Identify” and “Remember” need to be treated as distinct tasks! Mostly after the purchase, not before, it has been said that purchasing is the beginning of marketing, not the end.

Another case study from HUA & HUA:

J-LOONG Foods is a brand primarily focused on spicy strip snacks. When they approached Hua & Hua earlier this year , the boss, Mr Li aimed to establish the brand and make it famous. He was also prepared to invest considerably in advertising.

Our suggestion was to hold off on advertising for the time being. When people purchase snacks in supermarkets or on their phones, they don’t necessarily recognized which brand is an “high-end snack” and stick to it. Most purchases are spontaneous , and once the packaging is discarded, they don’t notice what brand it was. Our first priority was to make sure that when customers accidentally try our product, they can remember our brand. 

That’s why Hua & Hua came up with a creative and memorable idea: a dragon design at the tear strip of the packaging, with the dragon’s mouth open to the tear notch, and the body reading, “tear open this loong, Tasty in J-LOONG!” The first action a customer takes when eating a bag of snacks is to locate the tear notch. By placing our brand’s sign and slogan at this touchpoint, we ensure that customers interact with our brand billions of times a year, creating a powerful memory trigger of our brand’s sign and slogan.

After “Identify” and “Remember” comes “preference” and “Repurchase”, which are easy to understand. However, Hua & Hua emphasize the final step—"Spread the Brand”!

So, what do we need to ensure it spreads? Two principles: "a memorable experience" and the "willingness to brag."

For something to spread, it needs to be memorable—something that sticks in people’s minds—and enjoyable to talk about, so that people are inclined to share it.

Think about today’s Hua & Hua Million RMB Competition, and my speech. Is there something that sticks in your mind? Will you go back and tell your friends, “When I attended Hua & Hua’s Million RMB Competition in Singapore……”? If you do it, then each and every mention of Hua & Hua is a part of spreading our brand.

Take the experience of opening the J-LOONG packaging as an example. It’s not only memorable and engaging but also something people enjoy talking about with their friends. This generates free word-of-mouth promotion for our brand.

Ladies and gentlemen, this boils down the sequences of a brand: discover, purchase, identify, remember, preference, repurchase, and spread.

Finally, within Hua & Hua’s brand definition, there is one more key concept: ③ At the same time, a brand also reduces the societal cost of supervising a company and serves as a risk mitigation mechanism for consumer rights protection.

Back to Aristotle's philosophy, the primary concept of things is the concept of purpose.

The concept of purpose is divided into two levels—external purpose and internal purpose. Achieving the external purpose is a prerequisite for realizing the internal purpose.

This is the philosophical foundation of "altruism." Just like an employee who joins a company with the internal purpose of getting a promotion and a raise, he must ful’fill the external purpose as well which is creating value for the company, to achieve his internal purpose. Similarly, a company's purpose is to make a profit to survive and to realize its internal purpose, it must meet the external purposes of society, customers, and employees.

The external purpose of a brand is to serve society and customers too. So, when we redefine the concept of a brand, we do not lose sight of this: A brand reduces the societal cost of supervising a company and serve as a risk mitigation mechanism for consumer rights protection.

At this point, I believe you now have a clearer and refreshed understanding of what a “brand” truly is, and it’s the foundamental of Hua & Hua Brand Trinity Theory.

As you know, HUA & HUA is the birthplace of the super sign theory, and when we rebuild the brand theory, we base it on semiotics, we believe that semiotics is the foundamental science of advertising and communication.

BRAND TRINITY is also a semiotic Theory. In Chinese context, we refer to BRAND TRINITY theory as the “Brand Triangle Theory” ,because the triangle is easier to remember by Chinese, and aligns with the semiologist Peirce’s “semiotic triangle”. In English, “Trinity” conveys a deeper understanding of the concept.

Charles Peirce was the founder of semiotics, and introduced the concept of the “semiotic triangle.” This triangle consists of the sign, the object it represents, and the interpretant, which is the understanding or meaning derived from the sign. For example, the sign “sun” refers to the object in the sky, and everything we know about the sun forms its interpretant.

therefore, every brand can be seen as a semiotic triangle, and that is BRAND TRINITY.

This is what I want to share with you today, subsequent to my speech, my brother, Nan Hua will present the final speech for today. I guarantee you will be presently surprised. He will show you a new area we are working on, Super sign sculpture art. The sculptures are on display here, in the foyer, I’ve spoken about signs and branding, he will share with you the insight relating to signs and art.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time today. That concludes my annual speech for 2024. Next year, we will host the 12th Hua & Hua Million RMB Super Marketing Competition in Shanghai. I look forward to seeing you all there! Thank you very much and have a lovely evening!