You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 520

How to whitewash is a very difficult thing, and it is particularly important.

Apple's reputation on the Internet is quite bad right now, and it can be said that it is being criticized overwhelmingly as a "plagiarist."

This is still a relatively neutral statement. Many people directly call Apple a thief.

Jobs also felt aggrieved, because he clearly did not copy or plagiarize, and the designs were the hard work of Apple's designers.

How did I inexplicably become the one who plagiarized?
Jobs was angry for a long time because of this incident, and Apple was also deeply troubled. The two sides fought the lawsuit for a year, and the situation became more and more hopeless.

Apple has long realized that if it continues to waste time like this, it will not only lose in public opinion, but also lose in law. The only solution is to stop the loss in time.

Otherwise, Jobs would not have come out to negotiate in person and offered many favorable conditions just to resolve the matter quickly.

Now that Qin Shaoyan has agreed to reconcile, how to restore his image in public opinion has become the most important issue.

For Apple, public opinion is more serious than losing a lawsuit.

If Qin Shaoyan hadn't launched the public opinion offensive from the very beginning, the matter wouldn't have become so serious.

If there were no criticism from the public, Apple would be confident that it could handle the infringement lawsuit in a low-key and "quiet" manner, and it would not matter even if it lost.

If Qin Shaoyan's identity was not so special, Apple might even have a way to win the lawsuit.

Unfortunately, there are not so many ifs. Qin Shaoyan made full use of his identity as the founder of Facebook and YouTube.

The American Internet was used to create a huge public opinion, which allowed the incident to ferment rapidly and led to one-sided criticism and accusations against Apple.

Even though Apple spent a lot of money on public relations in the media, it still couldn't change public opinion on the Internet, including a large number of Apple's loyal users.

This incident seriously disrupted Apple's smartphone promotion plans, forcing them to repeatedly postpone the launch of new products.

For Jobs and Tim Cook, the settlement was mainly to address public opinion issues, so they had to make major concessions.

In response to Tim Cook's question, Qin Shaoyan smiled and said, "What PR plans do you have? Tell us about them."

"The proposal from the PR team we hired was relatively conservative," Tim Cook said hesitantly. "The PR team suggested that both parties issue a statement to clarify that there was no plagiarism and it was just a coincidence."

"We need your cooperation on this point."

"That's it?" Qin Shaoyan frowned, feeling a little unbelievable. "Isn't your PR plan too...conservative?"

Qin Shaoyan didn't have the courage to say directly that this plan was rubbish. How could Apple come up with such a bad public relations plan?
Tim Cook was also a little embarrassed, because there were actually many details of the plan that he did not mention.

The PR team suggested that they write more soft articles on the Internet in private, and make up some small stories to slander and discredit the other party, making everyone believe that the other party had stolen the secrets from some channel and registered the patent for Apple mobile phones in advance.

This kind of details definitely cannot be told. If you tell it, the other party will definitely get angry, and then all the previous talks will be in vain.

Currently, Apple’s reputation in this matter has collapsed, and it is extremely difficult to whitewash it. The public relations team has come up with more than a dozen plans, but none of them were satisfactory.

Qin Shaoyan pondered for a few seconds, "The plan of both parties clarifying that there was no plagiarism is too conservative. Even if we cooperate and issue a statement, it will not have much positive effect on Apple's public opinion. On the contrary, it will have a negative impact. Do you think this is a good idea?"

Tim Cook was stunned for a moment. He and Jobs looked at each other in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

"If reporters first find out that we have reached an out-of-court settlement and then issue a joint statement, they will make unnecessary associations," Qin Shaoyan said calmly. "They will think that Apple has shown weakness and confirmed the plagiarism. The settlement is just a waste of money on public relations, and the credibility of the statement will be greatly reduced."

Tim Cook couldn't help but ask back: "So what should be done?"

"We might as well continue the lawsuit and then start building momentum on the Internet." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "We can continue to debate each other on the Internet, from aesthetic design to industrial design concepts, and then gradually show each other our sample machine design drawings and the entire design process."

"This will allow everyone to directly see how the appearance of a smartphone is created, and then we will invite some famous design masters to comment on it from a side perspective."

"In the end, we asked a third party to give their opinions. Our designs were just the result of convergence under the same concept. There was no such thing as plagiarism or theft."

"A third party's explanation is more credible than the parties involved. It is easier for people to believe an explanation from a third party who has no interest in the matter than from us."

Jobs' eyes lit up. This was a good idea!

Tim Cook was cheered up and thought Qin Shaoyan's proposal was quite good. He quickly asked, "Then what should we say in the end? Should we continue to issue a statement?"

"We still have to issue a statement." Qin Shaoyan pondered for two seconds and said slowly, "It should be said in a reluctant tone. Out of respect for the design master, we agree with this statement of design convergence."

"The inspirations of the designers from both sides collided with each other inadvertently, resulting in a tacit understanding. The appearance of the Apple phone is the best phone appearance design, resulting in a convergence of design concepts."

"Yes, yes, that's what we want!" Tim Cook happily applauded on the spot. "This is a great way to put it. Mr. Qin, you are really a PR expert."

"We'll go back and have our PR team re-plan the plan based on your design, and then we'll refine the details."

"Wait a minute." Qin Shaoyan waved his hand, "This is just the first step. The key is the second step."

“This PR is to deal with the crisis, but it is also an excellent publicity opportunity.”

Jobs said excitedly, "Mr. Qin, please continue. I am very curious about your second step."

"We want these design masters to explain our design concept in an authoritative tone and absolutely affirm this design concept." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "We want to instill a concept in everyone, an unbreakable impression."

"That is, our design concept is absolutely correct, it is the most suitable design for smartphones, it is the most scientific, practical and beautiful, and it is the best appearance design."

"Only this form factor can be called a smartphone. If there is a smartphone with a design that is different from ours, it must be low-end and ugly."

"The best example is the computer keyboard layout. The current QWERTY keyboard layout originated from typewriters, which was originally designed to prevent malfunctions caused by typing too fast."

"So the inventor separated the commonly used letters on the keyboard, so that the keystroke speed would be slightly slower, which would reduce the occurrence of malfunctions."

"The letters were arranged in a strange QWERTY order. In order to avoid malfunctions, the letters had to be arranged in a disorderly manner. In order to cover up this purpose, the inventor cleverly played a trick, saying that this arrangement was the most scientific and could speed up people's typing speed, so we have the keyboard layout we see now." "In fact, later everyone found out that this was a lie of the inventor, but this layout is still used."

Hearing this, Jobs couldn't help but start applauding. "Mr. Qin, you are really a PR master. This plan is great, really great! You are really a genius."

This plan is so brilliant that it directly elevates this matter to the level of brand cultural promotion.

Imagine if this public relations plan really succeeded, it would be an invisible blow to Apple’s competitors.

Everyone has a preconceived idea that the design of Apple phones is the most perfect. So if other competitors want to promote and market their own phones, they must first overcome this obstacle and gain consumer recognition.

Thinking and perspectives are not formed overnight, nor can they be changed overnight.

If competitors’ designs are not recognized, it will be difficult for consumers to choose their products.

If they want to use the same appearance design as Apple phones, then patent lawsuits are waiting for them.

This inadvertently creates a cognitive barrier.

Both Jobs and Tim Cook were knowledgeable people. The more they thought about it, the more they felt that this plan was great. If it was implemented well, it could become a classic marketing case.

The two of them immediately threw themselves into the discussion excitedly, discussing the specific details with Qin Shaoyan, such as which famous designers to invite and what tone to use for the designers to speak.

Qin Shaoyan was also very happy, and he agreed on the spot that Facebook and Twitter could cooperate in public opinion.

At this moment, Qin Shaoyan is an absolute master expert in how to manipulate Internet public opinion. Even Steve Jobs and Tim Cook combined cannot catch up with him.

The three of them were having a lively discussion, getting more and more excited as they talked, and even asked someone to bring a whiteboard, on which they wrote a mind map to deduce the whole process.

Qin Shaoyan also made a simple PPT on the spot and showed it to others.

This scene made Zhang Pingyi dumbfounded.

The two parties quickly reached an agreement and finally took out their wine, starting to drink while boasting to each other.

The plan and the main points have been decided, and what remains is to perfect the details, which will naturally be done by a professional public relations team.

Before leaving, Jobs promised that once the detailed public relations plan came out, it would be sent to Qin Shaoyan for review, and that it would only be officially implemented after he confirmed it.

This meeting gave Jobs a sense of mutual admiration. It was a pity that the other party would become a rival in the future, otherwise they could definitely become good friends.

After seeing off Jobs and the other man, Qin Shaoyan laughed out loud with joy.

Zhang Pingyi couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so happy?"

"I just feel very happy when I think that Apple will join hands with me to set traps for our competitors in the future." Qin Shaoyan said happily, "That's Apple, and I have to bow down to it."

"What's wrong with Apple?" Zhang Pingyi was a little confused.

The current Apple is not the giant company it will be in the future. Although Apple is also considered an old technology company and has produced many classic products, its influence has always been average.

Apple had a hard time before the rise of smartphones, and it only truly rose after the release of iPhone 4.

"Apple." Qin Shaoyan thought for a moment, "Do you know why I want to make a mobile phone?"

"I don't know much." Zhang Pingyi shook his head. "You told me that the future will be dominated by mobile Internet, so you have to bet on mobile smart devices."

"The concept of mobile smart devices has been around for a long time. Nokia developed the Symbian mobile operating system, but Nokia was unable to lead the trend of smart phones."

"This trend will be started by Apple, the iPhone, the pioneer of the future smartphone trend."

"Huh?" Zhang Pingyi was a little surprised by Qin Shaoyan's words, "Your evaluation is so high? Are you sure you are not wrong?"

Qin Shaoyan smiled and said, "You will know in two or three years that Apple will become a giant company in the future."

Zhang Pingyi has always believed in Qin Shaoyan's vision, but he just can't imagine the current Apple company as big as Nokia.

After all, the future overlord of smart phones had previously begged Qin Shaoyan not to apply to the court for a product sales ban.

After thinking for a long time without any clue, Zhang Pingyi simply stopped thinking about it and changed the subject directly, "Giant Network has sent people to the United States."

"What are they here for?" Qin Shaoyan was a little surprised.

"It was about YP Technology. They wanted to talk to Facebook." Zhang Pingyi sighed, "Then they found me first."

"Why should I look for you to talk?" Qin Shaoyan felt even more confused.

"They have never dealt with Facebook, so they came to me to ask about the situation first." Zhang Pingyi was also a little amused, "asking me whether I should send some gifts, and whether there are any taboos or rules."

Qin Shaoyan was not surprised at all, and said casually, "Didn't YP Technology and Facebook connect smoothly? Just operate as usual."

"If Giant Network is worried, they can ask someone from Facebook's operations department to take them there to have a look."

Zhang Pingyi shook his head, "They are not just here to take a look, they have other ideas."

"Liu Wei, vice president of Giant Network, told me that they felt that the number of online Texas Hold'em users was not growing enough, and they wanted to communicate with Facebook, hoping that Facebook could provide more user resources."

"Are they dreaming?" Qin Shaoyan frowned. "Traffic is money. The operations department has their own arrangements on how to give it. Why are they meddling in this?"

"It's mainly for the purpose of going public. Liu Wei wants to make YP Technology's project data look good as soon as possible." Zhang Pingyi explained, "Liu Wei said they can spend money to buy a resource and hope we can give some discounts."

"Huh?" Qin Shaoyan was a little surprised, "They are so anxious."

(End of this chapter)