The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 673 Unfair Competition

On the way back, Liu Shishi asked, "What did Xu Weifeng say on the phone just now?"

"It is said that a large number of internet trolls suddenly appeared online, questioning whether PPS's use of lottery marketing is false propaganda, claiming that the grand prize was an internal operation and that the winners were just agents of the lottery company or PPS." Lu Yuan pinched his brows.

Liu Shishi quickly took out her phone and flipped through it: "Isn't this a rumor? We paid more than 30 million yuan in real money, and it's destined to be a loss."

Lu Yuan said: "There is no need to be afraid of online public opinion. How can human nature be influenced by the words of the Internet trolls? It's just that the Industry and Commerce Bureau may come to your door in a few days."

"Industrial and Commercial Bureau?"

"Well, I just received a phone call informing me that someone reported that we used the welfare lottery to set up huge prizes to promote PPS, which is suspected of unfair competition."

Liu Shishi wondered: "How can this constitute unfair competition?"

Lu Yuan answered skillfully: "According to Article 13 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, sales with prizes refer to the act of an operator promoting its products (including services) by offering money, goods or other benefits (collectively referred to as prizes) as an inducement."

"Whether providing prizes to buyers of goods or other relevant parties, as long as the operator's purpose is to promote goods, it can constitute sales with prizes and be regulated by Article 5000 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. The amount is yuan."

"This time, PPS bought all the lottery combinations of the Shuangseqiu lottery on August 2013, 8 and gave them to platform users. In fact, it set the highest prize and other awards contained in all the lottery tickets of the Shuangseqiu lottery as the reward category of its own prize sales. To some extent, it is enticing consumers to open PPS membership business."

Liu Shishi was worried: "Will the impact be big? Will the higher-ups stop it?"

Lu Yuan's expression was calm: "Don't worry. When planning this marketing campaign, we discussed it with the legal department. The core of prize-winning sales is sales. The literal meaning of sales is that I give you money and you give me products or services. Our gift of lottery ownership is actually a hidden sale. Currently, the law has no clear definition of this, and the regulation is vague."

"Besides, PPS has been operating in Shanghai for many years and has paid so much tax. It has also communicated with relevant departments in advance. In addition, SMG is one of our shareholders, and the relationship behind it is complicated. It is nothing more than a quibble. If it is delayed for half a month, after the list of winners is announced, the attitude is sincere, the initiative is taken to admit the punishment, and some fines are paid, the matter will be over."

At this point, Lu Yuan paused for a moment and said, "But I guess similar lottery marketing won't be able to continue in the future. It may just be a flash in the pan."

Liu Shishi pursed her lips, still worried: "Do you know who is behind this?"

Lu Yuan shook his head. "Thanks to this marketing campaign, the number of PPS's paid members has skyrocketed by more than four million, and the total number of members has reached five million, far surpassing several other streaming companies on the market. It is inevitable that they will be regarded as a thorn in the eyes. As for who the whistleblower is, it could be one person or multiple people. The only news I received is that it was from Beijing."

"Beijing?" Liu Shishi tilted her head. "LeTV, iQiyi, Sohu, and Youku are all headquartered in Beijing. Who is the most suspicious? Or are all of them involved?"

Lu Yuan looked out the window and squinted.

After watching too many TV dramas and reading too many novels, I always have this kind of imagination about business wars.

A group of workplace elites in suits and ties, some are engaged in verbal sparring, some are showing off their IQs, some are commercial espionage and engaging in conspiracy.

Or there may be intrigue, open fighting, covert fighting, and even testing the edge of the law without getting involved. What's more, there may even be a bloody love entanglement in it.

The imagined business wars are always so brilliant, with both offense and defense, and the victory is won thousands of miles away through planning and tactics.

But imagination is just imagination after all. The essence of business war is ultimately a war between people, and one can never escape human nature. In reality, business wars often use the simplest methods.

For example, physical stabbing, chemical drugging, or directly reporting to the higher-ups.

This is not the first time PPS has been reported, nor is it the first report he has experienced.

This was reported before "New World" was released last year.

Although there is no direct evidence, the technical department subsequently captured several IP addresses that were relatively close to iQiyi.

It is impolite not to reciprocate. Counterattack is inevitable.

Beijing, international airport.

Huang Zheng walked out of the cabin and took out his mobile phone to check Weibo.

At the beginning of the year, he suffered a sudden otitis media and rested at home for several months.

During this rare leisure time, he began to think seriously about the direction of his life: should he continue to start a business or invest?

He is only 33 years old, and it seems a bit early for him to start investing. He has some ambition in his bones and vaguely feels that the current opportunity may allow him to do something with a greater sense of accomplishment.

Last year, Lu Yuan went to vivo to discuss cooperation. He and Duan Yongping were present. The two exchanged contact information. Out of curiosity, he also paid close attention to the other party.

But the development of PPS still exceeded his expectations.

A year later, PPS has made steady progress. Thanks to this lottery marketing, the number of paying members has soared by millions overnight. It is so popular that it has the potential to firmly establish itself as the leading domestic streaming media.

In contrast, he couldn't help feeling a little frustrated.

He had been going back and forth to the hospital during this period, and he felt that the process of seeing a doctor was "too painful", so he considered starting a hospital.

However, after researching, he felt that a good hospital was far less reliable than eating well.

At the same time, a large number of micro-businesses began to appear on WeChat, and their scale was quite considerable.

Huang Zheng discovered that there were many chaotic phenomena in the micro-business industry and no standardized business model had been established.

A bold idea took root in his mind to start a large social e-commerce company.

When I told Duan Yongping about this idea, I received his recognition and support.

He came here today mainly to find Lu Yuan.

To be precise, the PPS lottery marketing plan, which was a stroke of genius, deeply touched him, and he wanted to talk about the experience.

Once upon a time, he might have had some prejudice against Lu Yuan and regarded him more as an actor.

But Lu Yuan's courage to spend tens of millions this time completely changed his mind.

In his heart, the other person has quietly stood at the same height as him, and a feeling of mutual appreciation arises spontaneously.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, a sudden noise caught his attention.

"Oppa, sarangheyo!!"

“Ahhhh, Lee Min Ho oppa, sarangheyo!!”

"Kim Ji-won, welcome to China, Salaamheyo!"

Huang Zheng looked and found that the airport exit was crowded with hundreds of fans and many reporters.

The girls in the front row were the most exaggerated. They held up posters and pulled red banners with "The Heirs" written on them. They shouted until their faces turned red and they almost fainted.

Before he could recover, several bodyguards in black roughly pushed him aside and he almost lost his balance.

Huang Zheng was quite annoyed after being pushed for no reason.

When he stood firm again, he looked at the banner and remembered that this was the Korean idol drama that iQiyi was promoting recently, and it would compete with "My Love from the Star" starring Lu Yuan.

Inspiration flashed like lightning. Huang Zheng smiled and walked straight towards the reporter, with a plan in mind.

He wants to give Lu Yuan a big gift.

Coincidentally, the PPS reporter also noticed him and came over with a photographer, smiling.

"Sir, are you available for an interview?" The female PPS reporter approached with a microphone in hand.

Huang Zheng was stunned for a moment, and keenly sensed some intention of causing trouble. Could it be that the other party had the same idea as him?

"Sure!" He nodded. "But can you mosaic it for me after it's broadcast?"

"Of course no problem, we would have done it even if you didn't tell us." The PPS reporter was delighted.

Yesterday morning, a colleague in Shanghai revealed to her that the company was being targeted.

The relevant departments went to the headquarters for inspection. There were dozens of people there, and they looked very powerful. It was said that they were not from Shanghai.

Many employees thought that the company was doomed, but fortunately it was just a false alarm.

As a result, that afternoon, many PPS reporters, including her, received a notice asking them to give iQiyi some eye drops.

Knowing that the main creators of "The Heirs" arrived at the airport today, she came here early to wait.

Seeing Lee Min Ho and others leaving the airport.

When he was thinking about how to apply the eye drops, he saw Huang Zheng being pushed away and an idea came to his mind.

She looked at Lee Min Ho and others who were surrounded by enthusiastic fans, and asked Huang Zheng: "Sir, I just noticed that you were pushed by the bodyguard. Are you okay?"

Huang Zheng frowned, sensed it for a moment, and took a breath of cold air with an exaggerated expression: "Hiss, it's over, I think my ankle was twisted, why am I so unlucky."

The PPS reporter grinned and planned to cut this part out later, it was too fake. But then he thought, mosaic is not a big deal.

She then asked, "Sir, do you know who they are?"

"Not sure, he doesn't look Chinese, but his fans are calling him Oppa, is he Korean?"

"Yes, the male star wearing a black mask is called Lee Min Ho. He is very famous in South Korea. It is said that iQiyi invited them to hold a media meeting in Beijing this time."

Huang Zheng was furious: "Korean stars are so great! They can push me without any manners and put on such a big show, with dozens of bodyguards clearing the way. I only heard that these Korean stars were very grand and acted like big shots, but I didn't believe it. I didn't expect it to be true."

He looked at the venue, as if he saw something, and said with heartache: "They actually pushed the fans. These fans went through so much trouble to come to the airport to pick them up, and they treated them like this. If I were a fan, I would start scolding them."

The photographer beside the two men pointed the camera at the crowd. The actions of the twenty or so bodyguards were indeed very brutal, and those fans were really speechless.

Even after being pushed to the ground, he was not angry at all, and instead shouted "Oppa, Sarangheyo" foolishly.

Well, Huang Zheng didn’t understand. There was a profession called airport extras. They were paid, so it was no problem to make them kneel down, let alone push them.

The PPS reporter smiled and said, "These bodyguards were actually arranged by iQiyi. It is said that the cost of inviting him here this time reached 600 million RMB, and they also chartered a plane to arrange his itinerary in China."

"600 million? My goodness, I can never make that much in my lifetime." Huang Zheng was shocked, like a country bumpkin who had never seen money before. "Why is it so expensive? Then, how much is the appearance fee of our domestic first-line stars?"

The female reporter was surprised at how this guy could be so sensible. She hadn't even brought up the topic yet, but his expression was a little too fake.

She replied: "As far as I know, the appearance fee of the first-line stars of the same level as him in China is probably only one-third of his."

"Two million, such a big difference?" Huang Zheng was puzzled and indignant: "Why is there such a big difference? Are the stars in our country not as good as them?"

"Uh, you'll have to ask iQiyi about that."

Huang Zheng tried to hold back his laughter in his heart, Lu Yuan, your men are quite sinister, but he likes it very much.

He raised his eyebrows, facing the camera, standing on the moral high ground: "Why does iQiyi do this? Why are Korean stars superior? Why should they enjoy cosmic treatment? How are our domestic stars inferior? Is iQiyi flattering Korea?"

The PPS reporter blinked. This was a bit hurtful, but she liked it very much.

Ziyu Villa, in the pavilion in the courtyard.

Lu Yuan laughed out loud: "Old Huang, you are really brave. If you become rich someday and this interview is dug up by netizens, they will probably die of laughter."

"What am I afraid of? Isn't that reporter your man? Don't forget to blur my photo when you publish it."

Huang Zheng drank herbal tea, crossed his legs leisurely, and didn't care at all.

"I'm sure there's no problem on my end, but have you ever thought about what to do if someone else secretly filmed the scene and sent the video out?"

"Oh, this can't be such a coincidence," Huang Zheng was embarrassed.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan smiled again and waved his hand: "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. Did you say you wanted to start a social e-commerce business?"

"Yes." Huang Zheng became very excited when talking about this.

"The way information is spread on the Internet has changed. It is becoming easier and easier for people to contact each other. Whoever can make good use of the relationship between people to trigger communication can open up a new world."

"Any business, in the end, is building its own community. PPS's membership service is essentially a kind of community, but its interactivity is not as strong as WeChat's."

Lu Yuan nodded, generally agreeing.

Huang Zheng gushed: "In fact, in addition to your lottery marketing this time, I think the social fission marketing model is also a good model for PPS members."

"Social fission marketing model?" Lu Yuan was puzzled.

"Yes, I don't know if you have paid attention to it, but for about 10 years, there is a way to play on Weibo that never fails to work."

"Specifically, it is to post a lucky draw-related Weibo, asking users who want to participate in the lucky draw to follow, forward the Weibo and @ three friends."

“Retweeting a Weibo post will give it greater exposure. @ three friends will allow your friends to see it as well and have a chance to repost it. If you participate in an event and @ your friends, your friends will also participate in the event and @ your friends’ friends after seeing it. This way, the Weibo content will be continuously multiplied in a short period of time.”

“Currently, micro-businesses on WeChat are also using this strategy.”

Lu Yuan seemed to have some ideas, but Huang Zheng suddenly realized that he had said too much, so he quickly changed the subject.

"PPS is under investigation, how are you going to fight back?"

Lu Yuan took a sip of tea, and the cell phone on the table happened to ding dong.

"Here I come, check Weibo!"

(End of this chapter)