Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 546 Drawing a Line and Cutting Ties...

On the afternoon of the 8th, news of Chen Lan winning gold in Jordan instantly filled the pages of major news media.

Xie Bingran, who was almost certain to win the gold medal, was not mentioned in any news reports from major official media outlets.

The media outlets naturally received a unified message: given the current deluge of negative public opinion surrounding Xie Bingran, they should proactively avoid addressing the issue.

While media outlets can avoid making statements, the online discussion continues unabated.

Xie Bingran's withdrawal from the competition in Jordan, coupled with Chen Lan's unexpected victory, and even her apparent ambition to "aim high for the Olympics," instantly ignited the enthusiasm of a group of "haters."

Despite Xie Bingran's silence and lack of new information, the insults and attacks against her have only intensified.

In addition to the previous accusations of "bullying L and bullying younger players", it has gradually evolved into purely emotional venting of insults and criticisms.

As for the renowned general Chen Lan, he was naturally elevated to an unprecedented level by public opinion.

Xu Chen quickly glanced through these public opinion reports and realized that there was a corresponding public relations strategy behind them.

The online public relations company behind "Amrex" and the marketing promotion of "Anta xRun" have combined their efforts to maximize Chen Lan's reputation and influence.

These were all part of their planned scheme.

In addition to online public relations and media hype, the offline advertisements for "Anta x Run" were also spread across commercial streets, bus and subway stations in first- and second-tier cities in just one afternoon.

Clearly, preparations were made well in advance to capitalize on this wave of popularity, with media buying costs estimated to be no less than 20 to 30 million.

That's a really big deal.

This further demonstrates just how certain the other side was about Chen Lan winning the championship.

In other words, they were extremely certain that Xie Bingran would "withdraw from the competition."

This also suggests that there may be individuals or forces within the Beijing team, the national team, or even the General Administration of Sport who cooperate with external commercial organizations.

Otherwise, the coordination would not have been so exquisite, everything proceeded in an orderly manner, just like the second hand of a clock.

……

……

After the afternoon competition results came out, Su Rong and Wu Feifei left messages for Xu Chen, asking, "How did Bing Ge do?"

The two girls were very worried about Bing Ge's absence from the competition in the afternoon, fearing that something bad might have happened to him.

Xu Chen tried to reassure him, saying that "Bing Ge is fine" and that "the matter is still being communicated and processed, but Bing Ge's innocence will be cleared soon."

In addition, Xu Chen left a message for Wu Feifei separately, asking her to check on Su Rong.

Wu Feifei replied immediately: 【I'm on my way to your school. I'm meeting Su Rong for porridge tonight.】

Xu Chen: [Okay, thank you very much, Miss Wu!]

Su Rong: [If you have any news from Bing Ge, let me know. My dad has also been asking me about it privately!]
He also said that he had sent Director Gao from the Municipal Sports Bureau to the Provincial Sports Bureau for a meeting last night...

However, there has been no news back yet.

Xu Chen thought for a moment and replied:
Don't panic, the General Administration is still investigating, but they will definitely help Bing Ge repair her public image, after all, she is innocent and an important athlete for next year's Olympics.

There's probably no news from the provincial bureau yet; everyone's waiting for notification and arrangements from the General Administration.

Wu Feifei: [Okay, I feel more at ease knowing you're in Beijing.]

If you can communicate and hold meetings with the General Administration over there, I feel the matter can be resolved.

Xu Chen remained silent, thinking to himself that Miss Wu really had high emotional intelligence and knew how to speak well.

These two seemingly casual remarks, though spoken to herself, were actually meant to comfort and encourage Xu Chen.

……

……

As evening approached, Xu Chen was about to go downstairs to get something to eat when he received a message from Nie Fei.

It was a link to an announcement. Xu Chen clicked on it, glanced at it, frowned, and sighed helplessly.

[Statement regarding the cancellation of business cooperation with Xie Bingran for Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water...]

Just by looking at the title, you can tell what the main content is.

I glanced at it briefly, and there were no surprises.

Based on the increasingly heated negative public opinion surrounding Xie Bingran, "Kunlun Mountain" has chosen to proactively distance itself from her.

This announcement even went so far as to righteously criticize the behavior of "bullying" and "bullying" others, and call for "true love in the world," which is embarrassing and speechless.

Xu Chen felt helpless; this was really "too hasty".

Jeep, Louis Vuitton, and Omega were also affected by negative public opinion, but they only temporarily removed Xie Bingran's materials and did not immediately sever ties with their spokesperson, nor did they rush to "smash her."

Meanwhile, those in the Kunlun Mountains couldn't wait any longer.

Xu Chen was speechless, thinking that if you had just waited a couple more days, things might have taken a dramatic turn for the better.

Nie Fei called directly and briefly briefed Mr. Xu on the situation.

Gong Ming, the vice president of the client, contacted Nie Fei directly.

Nie Fei and Gu Xinxin focused on comforting Xu Chen, and they had briefly discussed the language used to comfort him beforehand.

Without leaking confidential information from the General Administration of Sport or the national team, we can give our clients confidence.

But Gong Ming was still anxious and even spoke harshly.

According to this "General Manager Gong," Kunlun Mountain's offline sales channels have been "severely" negatively impacted by the incident.

Not only did the sales data reported from the distribution channels plummet, but the promotional materials displayed in offline supermarkets and stores also met with public resentment and resistance.

Therefore, under "unavoidable" circumstances, Kunlun Mountain decided to quickly sever ties with its spokesperson Xie Bingran and give up its endorsement rights, which still had about a year left.

Of course, endorsement contracts in those days were not as comprehensive as they are in later years. Kunlun Mountain gave up on subsequent cooperation and could not ask the national team for compensation.

Moreover, it's unlikely that Jiaduobao, a private enterprise, would dare to ask for compensation from the national team and the General Administration of Sport.

Nie Fei added:

"In addition to this public announcement, they also sent a formal communication letter to Director Li Yue, with a copy to Dongchen Advertising."

I guess you haven't seen it yet.

Xu Chen: "That's good too. There are too many complicated things to do in Kunlun Mountain, and they don't make any money."

It's better if we don't place any more advertising orders with them.

Nie Fei: "Amy is still working on the draft on the 8th floor. I just went to check with Tang Xiaowei, and he doesn't have many design orders for Kunlun Mountain left."

How about we stop next month? I'll go tell Gong Ming that we won't be taking any more orders.

Since they've terminated Xie Bingran's endorsement, there's really no need for us to continue providing services.

Xu Chen: "Yes, let's finish all the design orders here. It just so happens that Tang Xiaowei can free up manpower to do more things for 'Burning Ice Sports'."

Nie Fei: "And 'Youlemei' also asked about it this afternoon."

Gu Xinxin's response was also reassuring.

Xu Chen: "I understand. I'll call Kuang Lili again later. They're definitely more anxious about their new product launch."

Nie Fei paused, seemingly hesitating for a moment, before finally asking:
"How are things on your end?"

Xu Chen: "Don't worry, the higher-ups are still debating, but the general direction has been set."

We definitely need to help Bing Ge regain public support.

Nie Fei smiled:
"Amy showed me the manuscript she was working on."

It's really great, I loved it!
If these two sets of articles are published, they will be a huge boost to Bing Ge's image and the image of 'Burning Ice Sports'!

Xu Chen smiled confidently and said, "With Mr. Xu personally involved, these must all be case study examples!"

Nie Fei: "Then you should hurry up and arrange for the advertisement to be released, so that Gu Xinxin can also apply for a few more advertising awards."

"These advertising awards, you'd be better off giving them to 'Ranbing' (a fictional company) than helping external clients like Jeep or Vanke get them!" Xu Chen smiled ingratiatingly.
"Sister Fei is right! I'll do more good advertising for 'Burning Ice' in the future!"

Nie Fei remembered something else and said:

"After Chen Lan won the championship this afternoon, the 'Ranbing Sports' online store was attacked by a wave of negative reviews."

It appears to be an outlet for netizens' emotions, but it cannot be ruled out that it might be a network of online trolls orchestrated by competitors.

After all, 'xRun' is being heavily promoted right now.

After Chen Lan won the championship, it is said that they temporarily added nearly ten million yuan to their promotional budget.

Xu Chen remained silent.

He was thinking to himself that the additional budget he was now adding would probably all go down the drain later.

……

After hanging up with Nie Fei, Xu Chen took the initiative to contact Kuang Lili, the marketing director of "Youlemei".

Kuang Lili looked extremely anxious:

"My dear Mr. Xu, I heard you're handling some business in Beijing, so I haven't dared to call and bother you..."

Xu Chen chuckled and offered Kuang Lili a long speech of reassurance.

He understood that "U-Love-Me" was under immense pressure, given that the planned launch today had been postponed, and the subsequent launch and promotion dates had not yet been finalized.

The biggest challenge for Kuang Lili is that she doesn't know a specific and feasible subsequent listing date, so she can't work backwards to deduce all the listing plans and resources.

Xu Chen considered for a moment and then reassured him:

"I expect to have definite news in the next day or the day after."

If Ms. Lily really can't wait, the listing can be scheduled for September.

A month has passed; by then, all the problems that needed to be solved should have been solved.

Kuang Lili paused:

"I asked Director Li Yue privately, but he kept beating around the bush and never gave a definitive answer."

Mr. Xu, tell me the truth, is it really possible to solve this?

Xu Chen: "I assure you, it really can be solved."

At least the continued use of Xie Bingran in the promotion of 'Youlemei' will not bring any negative associations.

Kuang Lili sighed with relief:

"Okay! I feel much more at ease knowing that you said so!"
"Then I'll wait a bit longer and update our General Manager Li on the situation later."

Xu Chen: "How is Mr. Li doing?"

Kuang Lili: "President Li was more composed than me, appearing confident and unhurried."

……

……

It was already dark, but Xu Chen's stomach was still empty and started to rumble.

Xu Chen was really craving it, so he took a taxi to "Liqun" and ordered a whole roast duck and a bowl of plum juice to cleanse his palate.

I was happily eating when I happened to see a news report about Chen Lan winning the championship that afternoon on the large TV set up in the restaurant lobby.

This should be the evening news on Beijing TV, which also features many words of praise for Chen Lan, such as "newly crowned Asian female sprinter" and "female hurdling Olympic athlete".

Xu Chen stared at it for a while, but Xie Bingran was not mentioned at all.

Meanwhile, some conversations at the next table drifted into Xu Chen's ears:

"Where's Xie Bingran?! Wasn't she the Asian Games gold medalist?"

"Xie Bingran got into trouble."

"what?"

"Didn't you see the news? This is a bad kid. He bullies his teammates and even hits them!"

"Really? That can't be true, can it?"

……

"Chen Lan is really impressive; she's brought honor to the girls of Beijing!"

"Yes, that's almost the same result as the gold medal at last year's Asian Games."

If Chen Lan had run at last year's Asian Games with her current abilities, she might have broken the record!

"That's not quite it, Xie Bingran's grades have also improved."

In that world race I ran before, I beat all the foreigners.

There's still a significant gap between Chen Lan and Xie Bingran!

"Then why isn't Xie Bingran participating this time?"

"Who can say for sure..."

However, it's all for naught if you don't have good character. National team athletes represent the country and should have a positive image.

That's our storefront!

……

Xu Chen was speechless for a moment, quickly finished a plate of roast duck, and then strolled out.

In the height of summer in Beijing, the evenings are relatively cool, but there are quite a few mosquitoes on the streets.

Xu Chen didn't want to take a taxi, so he strolled towards the hotel.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Hua Shaojie in Tiancheng, mentioning the current situation of "Chenfeng Electric Vehicle" channel stores.

Xu Chen was too lazy to type, so he made a phone call directly.

Hua Shaojie got straight to the point, providing an update on the current situation at "Chenfeng Technology":
"The channel stores secretly removed Xie Bingran's materials."

None of our directly operated stores have changed...

So far, this wave of public opinion hasn't had a strong impact on our offline store sales.

Electric vehicles should still be sold.

Xu Chen nodded: "It's still related to the user audience."

Electric bicycle users are still relatively localized, and many of them may not pay attention to information online.

They mostly shop at physical stores, and if they see something they like, they buy it without hesitation.

Hua Shaojie:
"Yes, so Xie Bingran's wave of public opinion has a completely controllable impact on 'Burning Ice Sports'."

However, without subsequent public opinion guidance, they will still encounter some trouble when they try to leverage the Olympics next year.

Xu Chen: "Yes, Nie Fei and I are handling this, but we'll have to wait a bit."

Hua Shaojie: "There's something else."

The official announcement of our "designated vehicles for the Olympic Village" was originally scheduled to be made by the Organizing Committee, but it was released to the public today.

However, after communicating all day, they only notified us this evening that it would be temporarily put on hold.

The person in charge was quite blunt, stating that it was still influenced by Xie Bingran's recent public image, and that 'Chenfeng Electric Vehicles' were endorsed by Xie Bingran.

……

……

(End of this chapter)