Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 562 Invitation to Join the Mall

Thursday.

After finishing her afternoon classes, Xu Chen hurried to the company.

Sun Lingfeng convened a meeting regarding the operation of the "Ranbing Sports" store. Nie Fei felt it was quite important, so she specifically called General Manager Xu to attend.

When Xu Chen arrived at the meeting room, the group had already begun their discussion.

Upon seeing Mr. Xu enter, Sun Lingfeng re-synchronized the situation.

It turns out that Taobao wanted to create a B2C platform called "Taobao Mall" and extended an invitation to Ranbing Sports to join.

Nie Fei, Sun Lingfeng, and others are still assessing and processing this matter, especially the traffic rules subsequently introduced by "Taobao Mall".

As someone who has been reborn and previously worked at Alibaba Group, Xu Chen is naturally very clear about the subsequent development of "Taobao Mall".

"Taobao Mall" is the later "Tmall".

The so-called "official flagship store" is a concept launched by "Taobao Mall" and "Tmall".

Simply put, Taobao is a C2C e-commerce platform where anyone can open a store.

Taobao Mall, on the other hand, operates on a B2C model, and only official brand stores can open "flagship stores".

Therefore, when "Ranbing Sports" opened a store on Taobao, it was actually already an "official flagship store," although this name did not exist in 2007.

The launch of "Taobao Mall" by "Taobao" was a necessary move.

At that time, the problem of counterfeit goods on the Taobao platform was still very serious, including the sports category, which was filled with a large number of counterfeit Nike and Adidas products.

Because "Ranbing Sports" has only been on the market for a short time and the product itself is already very cost-effective, there have been no cases of counterfeit or substandard products so far.

The launch of "Taobao Mall" is to invite official brands like Nike and Adidas to open stores, with the platform providing "authentic" and "official" certifications and traffic support.

This is naturally a good thing for platforms and consumers, but for some small and medium-sized C-stores, it could be a fatal blow.

Sun Lingfeng spoke up:

"Sister Fei believes that 'authentic products' and 'official' stores will be the major trend in the future."

Now that the platform has launched 'Taobao Mall', it's only natural that 'Ranbing Sports' should also join.

There are three main benefits: first, there is 'authentic' and 'official' certification; second, there is preferential traffic allocation from the platform; and third, there are supporting platform-related services.

Xu Chen didn't say anything, but simply nodded to Nie Fei.

Mr. Xu naturally knew that joining the B2C platform "Taobao Mall" now would be a huge benefit for "Ranbing Sports".

Although there are no counterfeit "Burning Ice" shoes yet, there's no guarantee they won't appear in the future.

Once they join Taobao Mall, they have an additional layer of "official genuine product" certification protection on the platform.

In the future, online shoppers will find it easier to identify the official store of "Ranbing Sports".

Nie Fei began to speak:

"The problem now is the rights and benefits offered by Taobao Mall. Naturally, we want to get as many as possible."

The most important part is the traffic.

More traffic means more customers entering the store, which directly impacts sales.

Sun Lingfeng nodded, opened a document, and then explained:
"This is a planning document I obtained from within Alibaba."

The first wave of store invitations from Taobao Mall were divided into three tiers: S, A, and B.

The corresponding rights, traffic, services, etc. are all different.

Currently, 'Ranbing Sports' can only achieve an A-level rating.

Xu Chen frowned:

"Can't get an S?"

Sun Lingfeng nodded:
"I've communicated with them several times, but Taobao's operations team won't budge and can only give us an A grade."

Their stance is that S-level benefits are currently only available to 'international big brands'.

Among sports brands, only Nike, Adidas, Puma, and others can obtain it.

"Our 'Ranbing' brand, like Anta and Li-Ning, can only achieve an A grade."

Xu Chen was speechless, thinking to himself that this was "worshiping foreign things and fawning on foreigners".

But after thinking about it again, it's actually relatively easy to understand.

Unlike the rise of domestic brands in later years, 2007 was not the year in which domestic brands emerged.

Currently, domestic brands do indeed lag far behind international and overseas brands in terms of product quality and brand strength.

Nie Fei had Sun Lingfeng demonstrate the benefits of several ratings before speaking:
"The main issue is traffic. They give S-level users almost twice the traffic of A-level users."

Their goal was very clear: to use these international brands to first establish the image of 'Taobao Mall' and the concept of 'official genuine products'.

But for us, it's really a disadvantage. Not getting an S rating means missing out on the initial traffic bonus for new users.

Sun Linfeng nodded, and then added:

"Anta and Li Ning may not really care, since they still mainly rely on offline stores for sales."

But our "Burning Ice Sports" primarily operates through online e-commerce channels.

Nie Fei turned to look at Xu Chen:

“I asked Sun Lingfeng to arrange a meeting with the operations director of Taobao so we could visit Alibaba’s headquarters together.”

You can come along then.

Xu Chen nodded, then leaned back in his chair and pondered for a moment.

Nie Fei lit a thin cigarette and held it between her fingers:

"I called you here mainly to discuss this matter."

The other party's current rating system is fixed. If we try to communicate with them, we need to use certain techniques or offer some conditions to see how we can get an S rating.

Sun Lingfeng and Jiang Yuze exchanged glances, both looking troubled, clearly feeling that this matter was rather difficult to resolve.

Sun Lingfeng naturally had the most say, after all, he had been working with Taobao for a long time and was quite familiar with their business situation and working style.

Xu Chen pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and turned to say:

"Please call Xinxin for me."

Gu Xinxin quickly jogged over, knocked on the conference room door, and entered.

"What's up, boss?"

Xu Chen: "Among the advertising project invitations I received this month..."

I think I glanced at it; isn't there an Alibaba project in there?

Gu Xinxin thought for a moment:

"Yes, there is a 'Taobao Mall' project. They are launching next year and need to develop an advertising and promotion plan."

"It was Taobao's public relations department that contacted us. They saw the ad we did for 'Baidu Search' and wanted to invite us to participate in an advertising pitch."

Nie Fei gasped:
"What a coincidence?"

Xu Chen: "That's quite a coincidence."

He thought for a moment and asked Sun Lingfeng:
Is there a timeline for the "Taobao Mall" rating and onboarding process?

Sun Lingfeng: "It's not in a particularly urgent situation. Their 'Taobao Mall' is still in preparation, and they are currently in the initial stages of communication with various brands."

It won't be implemented until after the Spring Festival.

Xu Chen nodded and looked at Nie Fei, saying:

"Then let's have 'Dongchen Advertising' handle the advertising project for 'Taobao Mall' first."

As for the subsequent arrival of 'Burning Ice', it probably won't be so troublesome..."

Nie Fei naturally understood what Xu Chen meant:
"It's still thanks to Mr. Xu that we can handle this. Thank you for your hard work."

Sun Lingfeng and Jiang Yuze exchanged glances again, still not quite understanding the situation. Gu Xinxin, however, looked delighted.
"Boss, should we take this project?"

Xu Chen: "Go ahead and do it. This afternoon, you can go for a meeting and get a preliminary update."

Gu Xinxin: "Okay!"

Xu Chen then looked at Nie Fei:
"Then let's have Sister Fei participate in this project from start to finish."

Especially when I went to Alibaba to present my proposal, Fei Jie was going to come along, which was a good opportunity to expand my network.

Nie Fei smiled and said, "No problem, I would have come even if you hadn't told me!"

……

Gu Xinxin quickly convened a meeting regarding the advertising project for "Taobao Mall".

Besides Xu Chen and Nie Fei, there are also Sun Aimi and Zhuang Lei.

Xu Chen wanted to get this project done quickly, so he didn't drag too many people into brainstorming and discussing solutions.

After all, Mr. Xu already had a "standard answer" in his mind.

Gu Xinxin shared a brief document, which was a preliminary requirements document sent by Alibaba.

The content wasn't very detailed, but it was roughly about the launch of the new B2C platform Taobao Mall, and the need for advertising slogans and advertising packaging solutions, etc.

Xu Chen looked at the document and pondered how to push the plan forward.

In its previous form, "Taobao Mall" was launched in 2008, while the name change to "Tmall" occurred after 2010.

Xu Chen was pondering how feasible it would be to sell the "Tmall" plan to the other party now...

After briefly syncing the brief, Gu Xinxin said with a smile:

"I just had a preliminary conversation with Alibaba's public relations department, and they were very happy to hear that Dongchen Advertising was willing to participate in the pitch."

It seems that our previous project with Baidu also received very high praise from Alibaba's marketing and public relations department.

Their boss specifically asked for us this time.

Xu Chen smiled:
"Let's schedule a time with them, have a conference call first, and discuss the needs in detail."

……

……

The next day, Friday morning.

Xu Chen happened to be free from class, so he came to the company early in the morning for a meeting.

At 11 o'clock, a project meeting was held with Taobao.

Gu Xinxin was in charge of managing the situation, and both sides first introduced their teams.

Across from me is Qian Yue, the director of public relations and marketing at Taobao, whose nickname is Yue Ling.

Alibaba has a culture of using nicknames, which was originally invented by Ma Yun.

Because Ma Yun likes martial arts, the nicknames of Alibaba employees are also in the style of martial arts.

For example, Ma Yun's own nickname was "Feng Qingyang," and her successor, Zhang Yong, had the nickname "Xiaoyaozi."

However, these three-character nicknames with historical allusions are usually reserved for "big shots".

Most employees use two-character nicknames they choose themselves, like Qian Yue's nickname "Yue Ling" in the phone call.

Qian Yue didn't rush to introduce the project, but instead exchanged pleasantries and got to know each other for a long time.

"Thank you to the Dongchen Advertising team for being willing to join us. We have been waiting for your feedback."

To be honest, it was Wang Shuaishuai, the Chief Marketing Officer of Taobao, who specifically requested that we send the project invitation to Dongchen Advertising.

Mr. Shuai saw the advertisement your company did for Baidu and thought it was very creative…

Xu Chen naturally recognized this "General Manager" Wang Shuai.

Wang Shuai, a former journalist and one of Alibaba's "partners," has always held the highest level of influence in Alibaba's marketing and public relations field.

The product name "Taobao" was chosen by Wang Shuai.

Wang Shuai's nickname is "Thunder Hand," but it sounds too strange, so internally everyone is used to calling him "Boss Shuai"...

Qian Yue laid a lot of groundwork but hadn't yet mentioned any specific projects.

The following long paragraph goes on to explain how important this project is, how it aligns with the company's strategy, how it relates to the company's vision, and how it will bring about profound changes in the industry.

Xu Chen found it amusing; it certainly fit Alibaba's style perfectly.

In everything they do, they always prioritize "value," "brag," and "elevate the status quo."

Qian Yue also mentioned the decision-makers involved in the project, which caught Xu Chen's attention.

It's surprising that Zhang Yong, also known as "Xiaoyaozi," would be the decision-maker for this advertising project.

Zhang Yong currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Taobao.

Xu Chen naturally knew in advance that Zhang Yong would succeed Ma Yun as "Chairman" many years later.

Zhang Yong's "foundation project" within Alibaba was the "Taobao Mall" business, also known as "Tmall".

He was also the earliest inventor of the later "Double 11" shopping festival...

As Xu Chen listened to Qian Yue's "rambling" on the other end of the phone, he already knew what was going on.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to meet with senior management for this project, but with Wang Shuai and Zhang Yong involved, I can rest assured.

Zhang Yong must also be a decision-maker in the "Taobao Mall" merchant rating system.

So, it seems that there has been some progress in communication regarding "Ranbing Sports'" desire to achieve an S-level rating.

……

Qian Yue rambled on for a long time before finally getting to the specific project requirements.

"Currently, the B2C e-commerce platform is named 'Taobao Mall'."

This is just a tentative name, mainly because we haven't found a particularly suitable name that all the leaders would be satisfied with.

Therefore, while submitting suggestions for a new name is acceptable in this packaging plan, it's not a mandatory requirement.

"The most important parts are two sections."

The first is the visual packaging solution for 'Taobao Mall', which includes logo design and the entire VI system.

Secondly, the positioning and advertising slogans of 'Taobao Mall'.

"I will send over a document outlining the overall business strategy later."

The most crucial part is to differentiate the positioning of 'Taobao Mall' from 'Taobao.com'.

This lets consumers know that the two are not the same thing; going to 'Taobao Mall' means browsing brand stores, buying genuine products, and receiving official guarantees of authenticity and better after-sales service.

……

Qian Yue explained things in great detail, and her needs were stated very clearly.

During the final Q&A session, Sun Aimi first asked two design-related questions, which Qian Yue patiently answered.

Finally, she asked again:
"Mr. Xu, do you have any further questions?"

Xu Chen thought for a moment:
"The tentative name is 'Taobao Mall,' so what is the English name?"

Qian Yue: "My English name is Taobaomall."

Xu Chen said tentatively, half-jokingly:
"That's a really long name..."

Qian Yue: "Actually, our teacher Ma also thinks it's too long, but there's no more suitable solution at the moment."

"Teacher Ma" refers to Ma Yun.

Before founding Alibaba, Ma Yun was an English teacher, and within Alibaba, people still habitually call him "Teacher Ma".

Xu Chen remained silent for a moment, but he had a better understanding of the situation.

(End of this chapter)