在2013年开设的品牌战略专题课程中我们曾明确提出：企业增长切不可形成对公域流量的路径依赖，只有构建差异化品牌资产，才是穿越周期的核心抗风险底牌，同期学员对此应当有清晰认知。该结论底层逻辑基于流量市场的基本规律：公域流量本质是平台统一运营的有限注意力资源，所有参与者在同质化流量池内竞价获客，稀缺性必然驱动流量采购成本持续攀升。此外，流量运营的核心逻辑是用户需求适配导向——即根据用户偏好调整供给策略，本质是注意力讨好型逻辑；而品牌运营的核心是身份锚定导向——通过明确的品牌价值主张筛选目标用户，本质是心智占领型逻辑。二者差异可类比社交关系中的行为模式：流量运营类似无边界的迎合，放弃自身价值锚点最终只会丧失用户信任；而品牌则保持清晰的价值底线、差异化的产品主张、明确的服务边界，鲜明的品牌人格反而能实现高粘性用户的精准聚集。
当前依赖流量采购、曝光投放的获客模式已经面临投入产出比的刚性约束：用户注意力被海量信息碎片化切割，单次曝光留下的记忆点留存度不足3%，多数投放无法形成有效认知沉淀。行业侧的最新数据更能直观反映流量困境：2025年国内主流内容平台千次曝光成本（CPM）较2024年同比上涨15%-40%，其中字节跳动系平台涨幅尤为显著，2024年CPM区间为12-20元，2025年已攀升至20-30元，同比涨幅达50%。与成本上涨对应的是转化效率的持续下滑：全行业平均转化率同比下跌20%-40%，竞争红海品类跌幅更高，以抖音电商广告投放平台千川为例，线索有效率已从之前的5%-10%跌至当前的3%-6%。拆解投入产出模型可以发现：此前100元营销投入可获取20条有效线索，当前同等投入获取的线索量不足5条；从ROI维度看，此前多数行业ROI峰值可达4，仍有合理利润空间，当前普遍只能维持在1-1.2的盈亏平衡点附近，基本无法实现盈利。这就是当前公域流量的真实经营现状。
反观品牌资产沉淀带来的长期价值，已有多个消费品牌验证了该路径的可行性。运动生活方式品牌lululemon并未采用顶流带货、价格补贴等流量运营手段，却能支撑千元价位瑜伽裤的持续热销，核心原因在于其品牌认知已经与"自律、健康的都市精英女性"身份标签深度绑定，用户付费购买的并非产品本身的面料价值，而是品牌带来的身份认同感。国产香薰品牌观夏，产品定价直接对标国际香氛品牌蒂普提克，单款香薰蜡烛售价达数百元，其增长核心并非直播间低价促销，而是通过线下体验空间、东方文化叙事构建出"高审美、懂生活"的品牌联想，使用户在消费过程中获得审美品位的自我认同。
这类案例并非个例，其背后反映的是商业底层逻辑的不变性：企业竞争的终极战场是用户心智，只有完成认知占领，才能构建最坚实的竞争壁垒。正如可口可乐前总裁伍德拉夫的经典论断："假如可口可乐的所有工厂在一夜之间被大火烧毁，只要品牌还在，我第二天就能重建整个商业帝国。"这正是品牌认知价值的核心体现。
In our specialized brand strategy course launched back in 2013, we clearly stated that enterprises must avoid developing path dependence on public domain traffic. Building differentiated brand equity is the core asset to fend off risks and weather market cycles, a viewpoint that all participants at that time should well recognize.
This conclusion is rooted in the fundamental rules of the traffic market. Public domain traffic essentially refers to limited user attention resources operated uniformly by platforms. All market players bid against one another to acquire customers within homogenized traffic pools, and the scarcity of such resources inevitably drives continuous hikes in customer acquisition costs. Furthermore, traffic operation is guided by demand adaptation — adjusting supply strategies according to user preferences, which is essentially an attention-pleasing approach. In contrast, brand building centers on identity anchoring: brands select target users by delivering clear value propositions, which is fundamentally a strategy to capture consumer mindshare.
The difference can be illustrated with interpersonal relationships. Reliance on traffic operation is like boundless pandering to others. Abandoning one’s own value positioning will ultimately lead to the loss of user trust. A strong brand, however, upholds distinct value principles, differentiated product propositions and well-defined service boundaries. Its unique brand personality precisely attracts high-loyalty user groups.
Nowadays, the customer acquisition model based on traffic purchasing and exposure placement is confronted with rigid constraints on input-output efficiency. User attention is fragmented by massive volumes of information, and the retention rate of impressions from a single exposure stands below 3%, meaning most marketing placements fail to form solid brand recognition.
Latest industry data clearly reveals the predicament facing traffic-driven growth. In 2025, the Cost Per Mille (CPM) across mainstream content platforms in China rose by 15% to 40% year-on-year compared with 2024. The increase was particularly drastic across ByteDance’s platforms: the CPM ranged from 12 to 20 RMB in 2024, and surged to 20 to 30 RMB in 2025, representing a 50% year-on-year growth.
Rising costs are accompanied by a steady decline in conversion efficiency. The industry’s average conversion rate dropped by 20% to 40% year-on-year, with an even steeper fall in fiercely competitive red ocean categories. Taking Qianchuan, the advertising platform for Douyin E-commerce, as an example, the valid lead rate has plunged from the previous 5%–10% to the current 3%–6%.
A breakdown of the input-output model tells the full story. Previously, every 100 RMB invested in marketing could generate 20 valid leads, while the same amount of investment now yields fewer than 5. In terms of Return on Investment (ROI), most industries once hit a peak ROI of 4, leaving ample room for profits. Today, the figure generally hovers around the break-even point of 1 to 1.2, barely generating any earnings. This is the harsh reality of public domain traffic operations today.
On the flip side, multiple consumer brands have proven the long-term value of cultivating brand equity. Lululemon, a sport and lifestyle brand, has never resorted to top-tier influencer live sales or price subsidies. Yet its high-priced yoga pants priced at over 1,000 RMB remain consistently popular. The core reason lies in its brand image being deeply tied to the identity of self-disciplined, health-conscious urban professional women. What users pay for is not merely the fabric of the product, but the sense of identity embodied by the brand.
To Summer, a domestic Chinese aromatherapy brand, prices its products on par with international fragrance label Diptyque, with a single aromatherapy candle selling for several hundred RMB. Its growth does not rely on low-price promotions in live-streaming rooms. Instead, it builds brand associations of refined aesthetics and a tasteful lifestyle through offline experience venues and oriental cultural storytelling, enabling consumers to gain a sense of self-identification with their aesthetic taste during consumption.
These are not isolated cases. They reflect an unchanging fundamental rule of business: the ultimate battlefield of corporate competition lies in consumer mindshare. Only by securing a solid position in users’ minds can enterprises build the most formidable competitive moat. As Woodruff, former President of The Coca-Cola Company, famously put it: "If all Coca-Cola factories were burned down overnight, I could rebuild the entire business empire the next day, so long as the brand survives." This perfectly demonstrates the core value of brand recognition.