Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 525 They're coming for us
There was only one Marxist-Leninist political class that morning. Xu Chen strolled over to the company after leaving the north teaching building.

I had a conference call scheduled with "Red Star Winery" at noon, and Nie Fei also said she had something to attend to during a meeting.

The weather was quite hot; I was already sweating a lot before I even reached the south gate.

……

Company main conference room.

Xu Chen knocked on the glass door and went in, only to find Nie Fei, Jiang Yuze, Sun Linfeng, and Chen Xinyi. No other young subordinates in the team were called.

The discussions likely revolve around some important matters.

Before Xu Chen could even sit down, Miss Nana followed behind him, carrying several cans of chilled soda water.

"Young Master Xu" couldn't help but praise him, saying he was truly gentle and considerate.

"Thank you, Nana!"

"You should do it, boss."

Xu Chen took a can of soda water and sat down next to Nie Fei:

What are we going to discuss today?

Nie Fei held a thin cigarette burning in her hand.

“Our competitors have made some moves, and they’re targeting us.”

However, so far these have all been minor incidents with little impact, but I'll still keep you updated.

Xu Chen took a sip of soda water: "Oh?"

Nie Fei: "Zhou Junjun heard that 'Amrex Investment' has gone to talk to Wanrong Materials again."

"We want two to three times the price, and we want to give Anta the exclusive license to use our midsole TPU material."

Xu Chen: "Two to three times the price... they're really willing to spend money."

Nie Fei: "They've already listed us as a key competitor, and in this targeted attack, they'll definitely be willing to invest heavily."

However, Zhou Junjun received news that Su Qitai had already decided to reject it.

I confirmed through other channels that 'Amrex' did indeed run into a snag with Wanrong.

However, Wanrong Materials still paid a price for it.

Xu Chen: "What's the price?"

Nie Fei: "We lost some of Anta's original orders."

They originally had some raw materials for the outsoles and uppers supplied by "Wanrong," but now those orders have been cancelled.

Xu Chen: "..."

Nie Fei: "I had Zhou Junjun assess it, and she said that the order shouldn't be too big, so it didn't cause too much loss to 'Wanrong'."

But Wanrong Materials didn't inform us about this, so they silently swallowed the losses..."

Xu Chen: "Is it my dad who's protecting Su Qitai's connections?"

Nie Fei: "Yes, the contract for Wan Rong was also signed directly by President Xu with Su Qitai."

Xu Chen: "Then I'll tell my dad to make a trip to Jiangsu Province and express his gratitude to Su Qitai in person."

He paused, then said, “'Amray Investment' underestimated the relationship between Wanrong Materials and us.”

Or rather, they underestimated the importance of our Miss Su.

Nie Fei nodded, and then continued:
"After this incident, I asked Zhou Junjun to check all the raw material supplies again."

Other materials have good alternatives and suppliers, so 'Amrexy' cannot interfere behind the scenes.

"We have complete control over our production, so there aren't many problems on the production side."

Xu Chen: "Sister Fei is still the most meticulous."

Nie Fei took a drag of her cigarette and continued:

"There are also some public opinion issues; Jiang Yuze, please keep me informed."

Jiang Yuze responded and projected a document onto the screen:

"In the past week or two, a lot of content comparing the 'Anta xRun series' and 'Ranbing 001' has appeared on several sneaker resale BBS forums and sports-related communities."

And it's clearly meant to put us down; it's obviously something a competitor did..."

As he spoke, he flipped through the documents on the projected screen, which contained a compilation of relevant posts and content.

Jiang Yuze continued:
“We have assessed the situation with Sister Fei, and it is currently under control.”

Firstly, the number is not particularly large, and secondly, many genuine users of 'Ranbing001' and 'RanbingX' have already come forward and taken the initiative to expose the other party.

Sun Lingfeng and I also planned to post some content, but since the situation is still under control, we've held off on making any plans for now.

Nie Fei continued:
"At present, they are all minor incidents, and there are no major problems."

What's worrying is that this is just the first wave, and there will be more negative content coming out to criticize us.

I've asked Jiang Yuze to work on a defense plan, and we'll prepare some defensive measures in advance.

Furthermore, I know the senior management at Tianya Community and Mop, so if any uncontrollable posts come up, I can use my connections to find ways to handle them.

Xu Chen nodded: "It's good that Sister Fei is on guard."

He thought for a moment, then reassured her:
"Don't be too anxious. I don't think it's a big problem. These are all stages that we have to go through."

We're not food, beverage, medicine, or health products, so it's difficult for us to fabricate so-called "dirt" that could kill us.

It's simply a comparison of the quality and cost-effectiveness of the shoes on both sides, and there are real user reviews to back it up.

Consumers aren't stupid.

Nie Fei nodded: "Yes, that's what I mean."

We took precautions and even prepared an online army...

In short, we'll step in when needed; these are all minor issues, like flies and bedbugs.

Xu Chen: "So, was it 'Anta' or 'Amrex' that did this?"

Nie Fei: "It's hard to assess at the moment. It looks like Anta's 'xRun' product line is creating competitive content, but it's very likely that it's backed by Anta's capital firm, Amway."

She paused, then continued, "Zhou Junjun has better connections and has gone to investigate through various channels."

I'm also asking people I know in the industry if I can find out who's behind this, so I can take precautions in advance.

Xu Chen remained silent, still assessing the potential risks he might face.

……

……

At 11:30 a.m., a project demand conference call was held with "Red Star Winery".

Gu Xinxin was on the phone. Also present were Sun Aimi, Zhuang Lei, Ma Lingyao, and Pan Mengting.

Tang Xiaowei has been busy with the daily design orders for "Kunlun Mountain" these past two days, so I haven't asked him to participate yet.

The call connected, and on the other end was Xia Mengxiang, the marketing manager of "Red Star Winery," and naturally, Meng Huiyang, the director.

Meng Huiyang greeted Xu Chen and once again expressed his approval and gratitude for the previously "difficult to explain" project.

"We've encountered a competitor's promotional project, which presents a significant challenge."

The first person I thought of was Mr. Xu!

Xu Chen was polite, but as someone in the industry, he knew that Meng Huiyang's statement was probably not entirely true. Normally, large advertising projects involve a round of pitches; it's unlikely they'd only hire one company.

After all, advertising creativity has its own "creative attributes," and no one can guarantee that the continuous output of a certain company or team will be reliable and surprising.

Perhaps "Red Star" had already consulted other advertising companies for proposals before approaching "Dongchen Advertising"...

On the other end of the phone, Meng Huiyang asked Xia Mengxiang, the person in charge of the project, to provide some background information.

Xu Chen listened silently, which actually confirmed his earlier guess.

As expected, this is a promotional project targeting Niulanshan, a competitor of Beijing Erguotou.

The "advertising war" between these two Erguotou distilleries has been going on both online and offline for many years.

But in fact, these two wineries are from the same lineage and have a common origin.

Xia Mengxiang shared the project background and then specifically talked about the entanglement between "Red Star" and "Niulanshan".

"Red Star Erguotou" was founded in 49 and was a "gift" for the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Influenced by the policies and tasks of the planned economy era, around 65, the "Red Star Distillery" taught Erguotou brewing techniques to more than a dozen distilleries in Beijing, including "Niulanshan".

In this sense, "Red Star" is indeed the "master" of "Niulanshan".

Unexpectedly, thanks to its comprehensive investment and innovation in product development, distribution, and promotion, Niulanshan Winery achieved sales in the 1990s and 2000s that even surpassed its mentor, Hongxing, nationwide.

Especially in recent years, many consumers outside of Beijing have come to believe that "Niulanshan" is the more authentic Erguotou liquor...

Xia Mengxiang briefly explained the background before getting to the main topic of the competing project:
"Last month, 'Niulanshan Erguotou' launched a new advertisement. I wonder if Mr. Xu has seen it."

This advertisement actually used the slogan "Authentic Erguotou, Genuine Beijing Flavor".

This is really disrespecting us 'Red Star'! We are clearly the most authentic ones, and the originators of 'Erguotou'..."

Xia Mengxiang's words were clearly tinged with emotion, leaving Xu Chen speechless.

The project background is actually quite simple.

After Niulanshan branded itself as "authentic Erguotou, genuine Beijing flavor," Hongxing Winery felt it had to step forward to "set the record straight."

Otherwise, in the future, many consumers will really only recognize "Niulanshan" as a brand of "Erguotou".

Meng Huiyang paused slightly, then added:

"I think Mr. Xu can understand the pressure and importance of this project."

For us "Red Star Erguotou", this is a life-or-death battle.

If this battle is lost, "Niulanshan" will always be above "Hongxing" and firmly establish its market position as "authentic Erguotou".

This is something that our group's leadership and all the winery employees cannot allow to happen..."

He spoke with righteous indignation, clearly getting a bit carried away after being outmaneuvered by his competitor in advertising.

Xu Chen could easily imagine that after the "Niulanshan" advertisement went live last month, the management of "Hongxing Winery" must have been cursing.

Meng Huiyang composed himself and continued:

"It must be admitted that Niulanshan's advertising campaign was very clever in both strategy and execution."

Strategically, the goal is to establish the brand positioning of "authentic Erguotou" and suppress other Erguotou brands, including "Hongxing".

In terms of execution, they hired actor Wang Gang as their spokesperson. He plays Heshen, which perfectly matches the theme of "authentic Beijing flavor".

Most importantly, Wang Gang enjoys high consumer awareness and preference; since the advertisement went live last month, Niulanshan's sales at retail outlets have already skyrocketed.

He paused again:
"Mr. Xu, I really have to ask you for help with this project!"
This is truly a life-or-death battle for us, 'Red Star Erguotou'.

If this wave of "Niulanshan" firmly establishes its position as the "authentic Erguotou," it will be very difficult for "Hongxing Erguotou" to catch up in the future.

His words were sincere, and they also revealed the market pressure faced by Meng Huiyang and the entire "Red Star Winery".

After a moment's thought, Xu Chen realized that the "Red Star" project was actually quite stress-free for him.

But he wouldn't make any absolute statements:

"Don't worry, Mr. Meng, the Dongchen Advertising team will definitely do their best to prepare the plan."

Although this project presents enormous challenges, we will not back down, much less slack off.

I will assemble the core team to produce a solution and submit it as soon as possible!

Meng Huiyang: "Thank you very much, Mr. Xu and my colleagues at Dongchen Advertising."

When Mr. Xu came last time, I didn't have a chance to give him a special welcome.

"Now that you've arrived in Beijing, I'll host a banquet to welcome you..."

……

The conference call has ended.

Xia Mengxiang sent over another project requirements document, along with the minutes of the recent conference call.

The project requirements document also contained the latest advertisement for "Niulanshan Erguotou" (a type of Chinese liquor).

Xu Chen asked Gu Xinxin to open it and take a look together. Just as Meng Huiyang had just said, this advertisement, which might seem ordinary to the average viewer, actually had a very clever strategy and execution.

The positioning of "authentic Erguotou" is like "hitting the snake at its vital point" for "Red Star".

The choice of Wang Gang as the spokesperson was indeed ingenious and fitting.

It matches the product attributes of Erguotou and aligns with the theme of "authentic Beijing flavor".

It seems that there are also experts managing the "Niulanshan Distillery".

Xu Chen leaned back in his chair, looked at the team members in front of him, and said with a smile:

"Let's all brainstorm a bit first, and then we'll all have a clear understanding of the project background."

I'll come over tomorrow afternoon, and we'll have several rounds of intensive discussions.

The team members all nodded, but their expressions showed that they were still under a lot of pressure.

In particular, Sun Aimi, Zhuang Lei, and Ma Lingyao from the creative department have all worked in the advertising industry and have done many pitch projects, so they naturally know the difficulty of this project.

The requirements for this project are based on the moves made by the "opponent," which imposes several clear limitations.

The key point is that the "opponent's" moves are already very clever, so the "Red Star" moves must be even more clever, otherwise it will be a complete defeat.

Ma Lingyao blinked, not daring to speak, and secretly glanced at Sun Aimi and Zhuang Lei beside her.

Zhuang Lei frowned slightly, clearly under immense pressure.

Sun Aimi paused for a moment, then spoke up:
"We'll be working overtime tonight, so let's have a small group discussion first."

This project and the client are extremely important; we must win them over!

Sun Aimi was somewhat aware of the background of the "Red Star" project and the importance of Meng Huiyang.

At this moment, I genuinely wanted to share the burden for "General Manager Xu".

Xu Chen smiled calmly:

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, I'll take care of things!"

Sun Aimi adjusted her round-framed glasses, a hint of discouragement in her eyes, and said:
"We can't always rely on the boss to bail us out; that would make us too useless..."

Xu Chen: "Don't say that, we just have different roles!"

……

(End of this chapter)