Can the "joint initiative" of car companies change the current situation of the proliferation of network water forces?

The network water army can be described as "the public enemy of the whole people", and everyone should be punished, but everyone can do nothing about it.

On March 23rd, CB20, a subsidiary of China Automobile Industry Association, issued the initiative of "calling for boycotting the network water army of automobile industry", which was immediately supported by many China brands.

By noon on March 24th, 12 and 14 mainstream car companies, including China FAW, Dongfeng Motor, Changan Automobile, SAIC Motor, Beijing Automobile, Guangzhou Automobile Group, Chery Automobile, Jianghuai Automobile, Great Wall Automobile, Geely Automobile, BYD Automobile, Weilai Automobile, Li Automobile and Xpeng Automobile, responded to the call and issued a joint initiative.

We can see that several contents in the initiative basically hit the pain point of "black public relations" in the automobile industry, among which negative comments were not involved; Resist unfair competition by fabricating, attacking and provoking peer relations; As well as appealing to users for rational comments, are very pertinent and constructive.

The gold content of this joint initiative is obviously self-evident, and it has also aroused widespread concern inside and outside the industry. However, many people believe that the industrial chain of the network water army has existed for so long. Can it just disappear by relying on a joint initiative?

The answer is obvious, the "water army" will not disappear, at least not at this stage. We should know that since June last year, the Network Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security has carried out a series of special work to crack down on and rectify the "network water army". It is understood that by the end of 2022, the network security department had investigated and dealt with more than 550 cases related to the "network water army", closed more than 5.3 million accounts, closed more than 530 illegal websites, and cleaned up more than 564,000 illegal and harmful information on the Internet.

We have seen that although the relevant departments have attacked the "water army" with heavy punches, the pervasive phenomenon of small online advertisements, false billing in live broadcast rooms, malicious brand slander and so on is still common, and the network environment does not seem clear.

The problem of water army can't be cured, largely because of the integrity of its industrial chain and the distribution of benefits. At present, the network water army has formed the characteristics of specialization, industrialization and synergy. Automobile industry, consumer goods, real estate, entertainment circle, almost all industries are full of water army.

In other words, where there is a dispute of interests, there is a market for the water army.

Especially in the fierce competition in the automobile market, it is inevitable that the dominant enterprises will increase their marketing investment and seize consumers' minds in order to maximize their interests, or the weak enterprises will not let themselves be eliminated.

And marketing investment, according to brand positioning, is nothing more than two kinds: one is to spend money to advertise yourself; The other is to hire the water army to discredit competing products. People with business ethics often choose the former, but they are in the whirlpool of market competition. When one's own brand has been attacked, who can be rationally immune and not "add fuel to the fire" when he is in deep public opinion dilemma?

But as the saying goes, "When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks at you."

The vicious circle of "revenge" and the ubiquitous network water army have created an increasingly deformed competitive environment. Vicious competition will only lead to the development of enterprises in the end, and even the person in charge of car companies lamented: "The' water army' is almost a' navy'".

Therefore, we can see that on 20 18 and 10, eight China automobile companies, including Great Wall Motor, Chery Automobile, BYD Auto and Dongfeng Shen Feng, also jointly initiated the establishment of the "China Automobile Industry Self-discipline Alliance". In the early years, companies including Geely, Great Wall, BYD, etc. all set up online reporting centers to crack down on false information that damaged the brand image on the Internet, and rewarded clue providers with 1 10,000 to 5 million yuan.

But in retrospect, the effect is obviously not ideal.

Then, since we know that the effect is not good, why do so many car companies issue joint initiatives? To this end, we interviewed some car company leaders who participated in this joint initiative.

"The effect will not be immediate, but we must take action and consider the path of healthy and sustainable development." As Yang Xueliang, senior vice president of Geely Holding Group, said in the question of Huashan on Sword V, "China brand will eventually take the right path and cannot be regarded as a joke by the outside world to solve problems in development."

Chen Zhuo, general manager of public relations department of Changan Automobile Brand and senior executive vice president of Obieta Science and Technology, also said, "At present, China automobile brand is grasping the transformation opportunity of new energy and intelligent networking, promoting product upgrading, and is welcoming the best opportunity for upward development and brand breakthrough. It is also common sense in the industry for China automobile brands to join hands. "

At the same time, he also said, "As for the joint initiative, it will not work. At least we have conveyed to the outside world the determination of automobile industry associations and manufacturers to maintain the overall image of China automobile brands, and the attitude of vigorously cracking down on behaviors that undermine the healthy ecology of the industry. There is always a process for any result. "

Li Yunfei, general manager of brand and public relations of BYD, also said, "I can say for sure that we have never hacked others. I think it is impossible to do such a thing in the end, but if you pay someone to hurt others, it will eventually be exposed. BYD is also the first car company to start a million-reward, and will later increase the reward amount to 5 million. "

Judging from the dialogue, enterprises basically hate the network water army, and at the same time think that boycotts can't destroy the water army in a short time. For brands, this joint initiative is more of a declaration of self-discipline, so as to show their brand image to the outside world and form a good norm for themselves.

This is also the reason why CB20, a subsidiary of China Automobile Industry Association, issued the Joint Initiative with domestic head enterprises.

Of course, the effect will not be immediate, but it has already produced an industry influence that cannot be ignored. There are three main reasons.

One is timing. If the competition of independent brands was a public opinion war in the past, China brands in the era of new energy and intelligence have established a "technical highland" and can compete with international brands by virtue of their technical advantages and system capabilities. In this case, the automobile industry needs a healthy competitive market environment and a cooperative spirit of coordinated development, and the network water army has naturally become a "public hazard."

When the market share of China brand has exceeded 50%, and it has officially gone abroad to compete on the world stage, it is even more necessary to show the unity and enterprising power of China brand. As Yang Xueliang said, invalid involution will only make outsiders look at jokes. It's time for the world to see the true strength of China brand.

The second is the sponsors and participants. Different from the previous cases in which some enterprises made their own voices or several enterprises set up "self-regulatory alliances", this "joint initiative" was jointly voiced by CB20 and 14 China mainstream automobile groups under the China Automobile Industry Association.

Both the height of the industry and the scale of participating enterprises are different.

According to the data, on May 1 20265438, CB20 United Association was established, which belongs to China Automobile Industry Association, and is composed of the chief brand officer or the main person in charge of brand marketing of China automobile enterprises, with the aim of condensing the knowledge of automobile marketers, promoting the overall promotion of China automobile brands and helping China automobile brands win-win.

Article 5 of this joint initiative clearly states that "CB20, the Joint Association of Chief Brand Officers of China Automobile Enterprises, will assist member units to take legal measures to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests against enterprises and corresponding service agents who employ the network water army to commit the above malicious acts".

In August of 20021year, CB20 once joined hands with Hongqi, Geely and Great Wall to take legal measures against the "black media" that spread malicious rumors. Ada, deputy secretary-general of China Automobile Industry Association and CB20 manager, the initiator of this "joint initiative", also said in an interview with Huashan on Sword V, "I said to all enterprises participating in this initiative,' If you want to participate, you must ensure that you can't hit your face in the future'."

Third, the popularity of cars and the cognitive level of users have improved. With the rapid development of economic level, the new generation of consumer groups have a basic understanding of automobile products and public opinion, and are not easily influenced by the network water army. Coupled with the crackdown on the "water army" industry by relevant government departments, more and more users can look at the automobile market and automobile brands more rationally.

In fact, not long ago, due to too many rights to upgrade 00 1 products, the extreme krypton brand was organized to complain about rights protection, and finally had to open the unsubscribe channel to "prospective car owners".

In the middle of the month, Changan Automobile's deep blue brand was also deeply troubled by the "water army". It is understood that at first, only some old car owners were dissatisfied with the "official reduction of 22,000" and voiced on the Internet, but they were provoked by a caring person and told them to complain to the car quality network on the grounds of "quality problems", which could get the attention of the brand. At the same time, the water army also poured a lot of water on major online platforms, and the influence of public opinion was once very bad.

However, in practice, we can see that such an operation has not caused substantial damage to the brand, and can only be said to be "harming others and not benefiting themselves". Whether it is Tesla, which was defended by the whole country before, or the extreme krypton and deep blue mentioned above, the sales performance is the best in its class.

This means that the improvement of users' cognitive level has gradually weakened the influence of the "water army".

Of course, we use these cases to prove that we have no intention to speculate on the "story" behind every rights protection incident. We do support users to safeguard their rights and interests through legal means, but we don't want users to be used by people with a heart and become accomplices of consumer brands.

Of course, due to the huge industrial chain and too many vested interests in the automobile industry, it is not just car companies that use the "water army" to create public pressure.

A staff member of a well-known brand new energy vehicle in the industry told Huashan Lunjian V, "The situation of the water army is very complicated, and some dealers may violate the rules, but in fact there is organization behind the dealers. This kind of behavior is definitely strictly prohibited at the group level. Once found, it will be dealt with seriously. "

In addition, the recommendation mechanism of the network platform also gives the "black water army" the opportunity to grow. Anyone who has worked in automotive media knows that the recommendation mechanism of major platforms is the place that attracts people's attention. Eye-catching headlines like "UC body" often get traffic no matter how outrageous the content is. The "price war" scandal in March is the best example.

In our opinion, Rome wasn't built in a day. It is not a cluster to fundamentally eradicate the "network water army". It is not enough to have the participation of government, enterprises and trade associations. It is necessary for all participants in the industrial chain, including the upstream and downstream of the automobile industrial chain, network platforms and consumers, to have the knowledge of resisting the "water army" in order to completely "clean the net".

As far as this joint initiative is concerned, it is a historic leap for the association and car companies to reach an agreement to create a benign market competition environment. Through self-discipline, fulfill the responsibility of standardizing the behavior of downstream suppliers, and further help China brand to become bigger and stronger.

This article comes from the author Hao of Huashan on Sword, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author if reproduced in any form. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.