I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 517 Joint Brand Craze (5k views, please vote!)
The Fanghua "Spring Blossoms" series sold out quickly, attracting the attention of many brands.

But Jinli is all alone.

No matter how capable she is, she's still just one person.

The brand can't put all its bets on her, nor can it wait for her alone.

As a result, many brands have turned their attention to other celebrities, hoping to create a more affordable alternative.

Among the celebrities these brands sought to collaborate with, Marchday was the most popular.

the reason is simple.

March Band is a team of four people. When a brand partners with March Band, it means that the brand can launch four co-branded products.

Once the number of collaborations increases, there will inevitably be some items that sell out quickly, right?
And what if it's not just one product that gets leaked?

Since there are four members, and the brand launches four collaborations, neither fans nor netizens will say anything, nor will they feel that the brand is exploiting its customers.

Originally, March Sky was negotiating a contract renewal with Tianding Entertainment, and many of their appearances and engagements were temporarily suspended so they could focus entirely on the negotiations.

However, because Jinli's collaboration was a huge success, many brands came knocking on their door, specifically requesting to collaborate with March Sky.

This prompted Zhang Guang, who had been gradually retiring, to return to the business.

He had already delegated a lot of March Sky's business to them, letting them make their own decisions. But because of this, the higher-ups had to bring it up again and let him take over the management.

The executives at Tianding Entertainment actually wanted to delegate the negotiation business to other agents.

However, since the designated agents for each member of March Sky are still being negotiated, and the brands that have come to them are all big brands, Tianding Entertainment can't possibly push out the director's son (a newcomer).

Co-branding is also a form of advertising endorsement, and advertising business accounts for a large proportion of the entertainment industry's business.

This is Tianding Entertainment's core business, and Tianding's top management doesn't want the money to slip away.

To put it bluntly, the change in management and the appointment of a new team is simply to make Tianding Entertainment develop better and better, not to cause Tianding's business to decline and the interests of the board of directors to be harmed.

"Okay, I understand. I'll remind them."

Zhang Guang was holding the phone and had been talking to the president for more than five minutes.

"Well, I'll be more selective about the brands, since I'll be going solo in the second half of the year and might not be able to attract as many brands."

If they can secure collaborations with major brands in the first half of the year, that would be their last big cash grab during their collaboration period.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'm just wondering if I should bring the newcomer along when we're negotiating?"

Zhang Guang smiled and said, "Okay, I'll get back to work now. Several brands just called."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Guang didn't rush to call back the brands that hadn't called. Instead, he turned to look at March Sky sitting on the sofa.

He tossed his phone aside, rubbed his slightly sore wrist, and said, "Tell me your thoughts."

Inside the villa.

The four of them sat casually in March, some still wearing pajamas, having just woken up.

During this period, their announcement business decreased significantly.

Some members have accepted personal business assignments and still need to go out and run errands.

However, some members did not accept any personal engagements and instead comfortably slept in their villas, treating it as a vacation for themselves.

Chen Lin, still wearing his pajamas, rubbed his sleepy eyes.

He was taking a nap when the captain suddenly burst into his room, pulled him up, and said that Brother Guang had arrived and they needed to have a meeting.

Chen Lin asked blankly, "What idea? Do you mean signing a contract? Wasn't this issue already discussed? Or do you want us to each open a company instead of personal studios?"

Zhang Guang looked at him silently and tossed him a pillow.

"Forget it, just go back to sleep."

"Okay!" Chen Lin understood what he meant, smiled and replied, then took the pillow and lay down on the sofa.

There were plenty of sofas, and they each had one.

Yan Xingdong gleaned something from Zhang Guanggang's conversation and asked, "The company wants us to do collaborations, the more the merrier, to make a final profit while our team is still in its group phase?"

Zhang Guang didn't keep anyone in suspense and straightened his expression.

"Yes, I've gradually stopped taking over your schedules. This time, the company urgently called me in to take over, just in case a newcomer makes a mistake."

After all, the people in charge of those brands are not easy to fool. They are extremely sensitive to changes in their positions, and since I often communicate with brand managers, they have memorized what I look like.

If Tianding were to send a newcomer to communicate, even if it were the son of a board member, they would still perceive Tianding as unprofessional.

Zhang Guang added, "Professional matters should be left to professionals."

Luo Yi thought for a moment and said, "Co-branding mainly relies on the influence of celebrities. If the celebrities don't have enough sales power, the collaboration won't produce a huge effect."

Zhang Guang looked over and nodded.

"That's why those brands want to collaborate with you. You've already endorsed so many luxury brands and achieved good sales, proving your ability to drive sales."

Gu Cheng asked the most crucial question.

"In the second half of the year, each of us will be going solo and doing our own thing. If we collaborate on this project under the name of the team, there will be contract disputes."

Zhang Guang's expression was slightly solemn.

"So when signing the contract, I plan to include the clause about your solo disbandment."

Yan Xingdong shook his head: "This is not a good thing. The brand signed us because of the influence of the four of us together. If we want to disband, they won't be so easy to talk to."

Gu Cheng smiled gently: "No wonder the company asked Brother Guang to come and talk to the brand. It would be difficult to negotiate this with any other agent."

Zhang Guang felt a headache coming on when he thought about this.

But what can be done even if it's a headache? This matter must be resolved for Marchday, at least to prevent any breach of contract issues after the members go solo.

Zhang Guang: "You will be going solo in the future. In order to secure joint collaborations, the company will make some concessions on your interests."

Luo Yi said nonchalantly, "I'm fine with anything, it's all free money anyway."

"If it weren't for the phenomenal success of Jinli's collaboration products, these brands wouldn't even want to launch a collaboration with a celebrity. Collaborations involve profit sharing, and those brands are very stingy."

Yan Xingdong chimed in, "Yes, if it weren't for the fact that Jinli's collaboration was selling so well, even just a small portion of the profits would be a blockbuster that could boost the brand's overall sales, these brands probably wouldn't want to pursue collaborations so deeply."

As Chen Lin lay there, he suddenly asked, "But if this collaboration specifically includes clauses regarding our individual careers going solo, what if the brand leaks the news and our fans find out beforehand..."

Zhang Guang felt even more troubled after hearing what he said.

After several years of transformation, March Band has shed the label of "idols," but they are still undoubtedly top-tier celebrities.

Their every move attracts a lot of attention.

This is both a driving force and a pressure that spurs us on.

March Band is the most lucrative and outstanding group produced by Tianding Entertainment.

Because each member is capable and competent on their own, the company, for greater profit, is considering splitting them up so they can develop independently under their own names.

Maybe four top-tier celebrities will emerge!

But this is only the ideal situation.

It's very likely that there won't be any top-tier (super-first-tier) teams, but instead, there will be four first-tier teams with decent traffic.

From the company's perspective, four currently popular A-list celebrities bring in more profit than a combined team.

Tianding Entertainment's biggest concern right now is that if March Band is split up, it will cause dissatisfaction among fans, leading to resistance.

Fans criticized the company, saying they lacked planning skills and dismantled their most popular boy group, thinking they could acquire four top-tier talents, but ended up with none, ultimately losing more than they gained.

The fighting spirit of March Band's fans is quite strong in the industry.

Not to mention that many of March's fans are wealthy, and the high-end products they endorse sell thanks to these rich fans. If March weren't so talented and hadn't increased their fame, they would have been controlled by these wealthy fans.

What roles they can take, what films they can shoot, and which celebrities they can interact with... will all be decided by these fans.

Therefore, celebrities who rise to fame based on their fan base, without the support of real talent, will quickly disappear from the public eye once their popularity collapses.

Tianding Entertainment is still hoping that March Sky will continue to generate revenue, so it naturally won't let its stars rely too much on the fan economy.

In the past two years, all the gigs and endorsements that March Sky has taken on have been steadily moving towards becoming a force to be reckoned with, without exploiting their fans.

This is also Tianding Entertainment's strategy: to transform itself in advance in preparation for the eventual split-up.

From this perspective, it must be said that Tianding Entertainment has indeed provided March Sky with very good resources and treatment.

If it weren't for the change in leadership, neither the members of March Sky nor Zhang Guang would have had the idea of ​​starting their own business.

Zhang Guang rubbed his temples and said, "I'm only responsible for negotiating contractual issues. As for the crisis in public opinion, that's up to the company's public relations department. I'll communicate with the head of the public relations department in advance."

Chen Lin then blurted out, "The current head of the public relations department is He Yan. That kid is arrogant and only wants to make money off us without thinking. Do you think he cares about this kind of thing?"

These words reminded Zhang Guang, who said with a serious expression, "This matter is not for him to interfere with. I will tell the president directly."

Unless the CEO is foolish enough to cut down his own cash cow, he will assign someone to handle this matter.

-

Time flies, and March is here soon.

As the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year gradually fades in February, everyone enters March, a month of hard work and struggle.

What's new in March?

That starts with the numerous collaborations between celebrities and brands.

On March 1st, March Band officially announced collaborations with 5 brands!
It covers five industries: beverages, snacks, frozen foods, bags, and bracelets, and each brand is a leader in its respective industry.

The collaboration between March Sky and the brand has not yet been released, but the official announcement of this collaboration has already caused a stir in the industry.

Opinions within the industry vary, while netizens and fans feel proud.

[I knew the brand would increase its collaborations with celebrities this year after Jinli's three co-branded products achieved great success, but I didn't expect March Band to follow suit so quickly!]

Wow, is March Sky aiming specifically for summer sales? I can't wait to know about their products!

[Hopefully there will be more collaborations; it's much easier than endorsements. We almost never saw March Band doing food advertising endorsements before (grinning face)]

The official announcement of the collaboration between March and other brands seemed to have set a precedent, as in the following days, a number of celebrities announced their collaborations with other brands.

Let alone five, even if it's just one collaboration, the celebrity will still promote it.

Under the influence of this trend, brands and celebrities alike became excited.

Brands are eager to collaborate with celebrities and are willing to offer discounts, while celebrities are also making things easier and lowering their requirements for collaborations.

Some celebrities are worried that with the increasing frequency of collaborations, their own collaborations might get lost among the many others, so they are urging brands to release their products quickly.

"If we sign the contract today, can we launch the product next week?" an agent of a top celebrity asked the brand.

The brand manager replied, "From design to finalization, then sampling, and production, the entire process takes at least a month."

What the person in charge didn't mention was that if quality checks were to be conducted on celebrities, the process would be delayed even further.

The agent urged, "You're releasing too many co-branded products too slowly. Do you have any other co-branding options? We don't need to design a completely new product. Just take one of your upcoming new products and use it for a co-branding."

The brand manager said helplessly, "But the new products that are going to be launched next are not specifically for the collaboration, and the quality standards are different from those of the collaboration. The company will not agree to it."

Launching collaborations already benefits celebrities, but now they want to take away even their exclusive new products. Isn't that going too far?

The agent said with dissatisfaction, "There are collaborations everywhere now. If you don't release new products quickly enough, who will remember you?"
If you don't want to use your newest products for collaborations, then quickly design another item. The design and quality don't need to be great; just release merchandise featuring photos of our celebrity. That would also count as a collaboration.

"Okay, I'll ask." The brand manager hung up the phone.

Due to pressure from celebrities, many brands had to abandon their previous ideas and instead compress the timeframe to the extreme.

Among them, milk tea brands were the quickest to launch collaborations.

The milk tea brand launches new products every month, and this new product has been tested internally many times to ensure that the taste is good before deciding to launch it.

In addition, there are some delicious products that have not been launched for various reasons and have been shelved by the brands.

Therefore, as soon as the trend of collaborations started, milk tea brands responded the fastest.

They launched new co-branded products with various celebrities in just one week.

These flavors may be launched as new products in the next phase, or the brand may have taken out its best-kept stock, repackaged it, and turned it into a new product.

Collaborating with a bubble tea brand is simple; all you need to do is provide cup holders printed with celebrity photos and corresponding takeout bags to represent a collaborative product.

The more collaboration milk tea you buy, the more free merchandise from the brand and celebrities you'll receive, such as small fans, photos, posters, and character illustrations...

“Okay, I will have Baozhi fully cooperate. But has your new herbal health tea really undergone all the tests? Is there any problem with its quality?” Lu Shanjie asked.

The person in charge replied, "Don't worry, this was originally a new product we were going to launch next quarter, but we decided to launch it this month first to grab some attention."

Lü Shanjie: "Okay, I'll send out the message tomorrow."

That evening, when Lien Po-chi returned from her work engagements, she was somewhat surprised to see the contract handed to her by her agent.

I never expected that she could also catch this wave of collaborations!

Lian Baozhi glanced at the contract. "Traditional Chinese medicine health tea... Could this tea brand have specially launched a traditional Chinese medicine health tea called 'Baozhi Tea' just because of my name?"

Lu Shanjie smiled and said, "This isn't a product specifically designed for your name; it's a new product the brand plans to launch next quarter."

They originally wanted to call it "Chinese herbal health-preserving Ganoderma lucidum tea," but since collaborations have become very popular recently, they thought of you and immediately changed the name from Ganoderma lucidum tea to Baozhi tea.

Recently, other brands have approached me about collaborations, but I feel that those collaborations are all rushed. After considering all the options, this one is still the most suitable for you.

The brand didn't try to fool you with old or substandard products; instead, they launched a new product using your name, which shows great sincerity. The combination of your name and the brand should drive a surge in sales.

Lian Baozhi trusted her agent's judgment and signed her name with a wave of her hand.

Milk tea collaborations are arguably the least valuable of all collaborations, but they sell very well, and once they become a hit, the profit sharing is decent.

Lian Baozhi asked curiously, "Besides this milk tea collaboration, what other collaborations would you like to take on?"

Lu Shanjie didn't hide anything from her: "There's a leather bag collaboration that I'm very optimistic about. I'm currently communicating with the brand. The brand wants to launch it next month, but I want to extend the time."

Lian Baozhi looked over, her expression puzzled.

Lu Shanjie said, "Other celebrities rush to get collaborations, but it's just a publicity stunt with the brand. I don't want you to get caught up in controversies like 'the quality of the collaboration products is too poor' in the future."

We don't follow the route of relying on popular celebrities; we'll take a more down-to-earth approach. You see, neither Jinli nor March Sky's collaborations have been launched so quickly.

We strictly control the quality of our collaborative products, and we are accountable to our fans and customers.

Lian Baozhi nodded in agreement, "Products that rely on gimmicks to generate hype will eventually fail because of those gimmicks. Netizens aren't stupid, and neither are customers."

If the product doesn't work well or the quality is too poor, regardless of which celebrity is involved, I will request a refund.

-

In the crew of "Mediocre Life".

While celebrities outside were vying for resources due to collaborations, Jinli lived a peaceful life in Pond Village.

Sui Lingfang had called once before about forming a business team, but hadn't called again to avoid disturbing Jinli's work.

Although internet access was not restricted on set, Chitang Village was a remote and scenic place.

The crew members felt isolated from the world after spending so much time together, and they spent less time on their phones.

So even though the crew knew that the collaboration was very popular outside, they didn't mention it loudly within the crew.

Jinli was unaware of the situation outside and focused solely on filming the final scenes.