Generation Z Artists

Chapter 141 Another Level

"How should we write the next news story?"

Lie Yanshan placed his hands on the table, his head bowed, and his voice carried a lingering weariness.

Cheng Dayi opened his mouth, subconsciously wanting to respond, but the words got stuck in his throat and he closed his mouth silently after a few seconds of blank silence.

Xiong Yun leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and remained silent.

The atmosphere in the room was stagnant and damp, and the old tables and chairs gave off a musty smell that was almost rotting away.

a long time……

Xiong Yun opened her eyes: "How about we stop writing about Fang Xinghe? There's really no way to target him anymore now."

"Get out of the way..." Lie Yanshan stiffly looked up, somewhat bewildered. "What about the popularity? Should we give up completely?"

"No way!" Cheng Dayi's sharp voice rang out urgently, his bloodshot eyes wide. "Sales are our livelihood, how can we not write them?!"

Yes, if we don't write about him, what should we write about?
Right now, the most talked-about person is Fang Xinghe, and the most talked-about thing is his conquest of South Korea.

As a leading figure in the media industry, known for both professionalism and entertainment, it's not a problem for him to avoid Fang Xinghe for a day or two. But can he really stop writing about him forever?

"Let's try finding another angle..."

Lieyan Mountain spoke heavily: "Let's see if it can continue..."

The room was quiet for a while.

What he meant by "continuation" was the continuation of his stance of relentlessly criticizing Fang Xinghe.

Prior to this week, the media and Japanese trolls launched a massive attack on Fang Xinghe, accusing him of selfishness, affecting the overall situation, exacerbating conflicts, and hindering development. The main force behind this attack was these three chief writers, whose articles, with their sharp angles and incisive language, caused quite a stir.

At the height of the conflict, 70% of the qualified print media outlets stood in opposition to Fang Xinghe.

The remaining 30% are not all supportive—20% remain silent, and only 10% persist like a faint candle flame.

However, when Fang Xinghe decisively abandoned the Japanese market and headed to South Korea, the fence-sitters gradually lost their ability to criticize him.

Because in "developed South Korea," the media actually fawned over them like they were welcoming a king.

The Kyrgyz Daily has dedicated a section to documenting Fang Xinghe's trip to South Korea. Kyrgyzstan has a Korean Autonomous Prefecture with a large Korean population, making it incredibly convenient to translate various news in real time every day.

On the first day, when the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and various agencies received Fang Xinghe with high-level protocol, the country suddenly became much quieter.

They discovered: Huh? Fang Xinghe seems to be quite popular in South Korea?
The next day, when the South Korean media collectively sang praises to Fang Xinghe, apart from 13 Ugly still persisting in smearing him, the other media outlets were too exhausted to continue their attacks.

Huh? It seems Fang Xinghe is doing something that will bring glory to the country?
On the third day, the entire press conference, which was not considered sensitive, was approved to be broadcast on Jilin Provincial Television, causing an uproar in the public sphere.

Unlike in Japan, Fang Xinghe truly displayed the demeanor of a top-tier scholar from a great nation in South Korea, displaying reason and restraint, and embodying both outward sagehood and inner kingship.

In the midst of laughter and conversation, Xiao Xi Ba vanished into thin air, earning everyone's respect in a dignified manner.

The interview transcript was repeatedly broadcast on many local TV stations, and the critics remained silent.

As for the square powder... it's almost Chinese New Year.

Previously, they hadn't seen the full interview from the Japanese media, and couldn't feel enough emotion from the fragmented clips. Now it's different; the entire interview was shown without missing a single detail, and the sense of immersion was incredible.

In fact, most people don't understand the deep game between Fang Xinghe and the South Korean media, but after reading through it, they have one feeling: it's awesome!
It has both laughs and depth; Fang Xinghe maintains control throughout, making it seem less like he's being questioned by the Korean media and more like a father spanking a disobedient child.

After that day, good news kept pouring in every day.

Suddenly, the media had a lot more to write about.

Beijing Youth Daily: The Fang Xinghe phenomenon is sweeping South Korea!
China Youth Daily: Fang Xinghe is simultaneously influencing China, Japan, and South Korea.

Xinmin Daily: South Koreans have gone mad because of Fang Xinghe.

……

During this period, the national pride of the Chinese people was too fragile, so Zhang Ziyi became a super star after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was nominated for an Oscar. In fact, not many domestic viewers had seen "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", but they just inexplicably felt that she was awesome.

During this period, Chinese people were far too sensitive. When Fang Xinghe "got into trouble" in Japan, they felt that disaster was imminent. When Fang Xinghe's reputation soared in South Korea, they began to reflect on their own harshness.

Many media outlets that were not so firm in their stance suddenly changed their tune, forgot their previous criticisms, and began to "objectively analyze" Fang Xinghe's influence and cultural value in South Korea.

However, no one would like to read it like that. It would be more surprising to passersby and more exciting to Fang Xinghe's fans to write about how many South Korean teenagers imitate Fang Xinghe's clothes, speech and behavior, or to write about who Fang Xinghe has gotten an endorsement from.

The first confirmed South Korean endorsement was for Nongshim Ramen.

The news of the signing had just been released, and before they even had time to film an advertisement, Nongshim ramen sold out in China.

Actually, this product isn't widely available in China and has never been a mainstream product for local distributors, so no one has used the powder to sell it. People who wanted to try it out just bought up all the stock.

The root cause is just a news story: Fang Xinghe created a legend in mainland China by endorsing Nongshim Ramen, earning tens of millions a year!
Actually, this is pure clickbait. Fang Ge's endorsement fee for Nongshim Ramen was 5 million Korean won for a six-month term, which is less than 370 million RMB.

Koreans are usually quite stingy, and this time they didn't skimp on the price, but they played tricks with the endorsement period—they clearly only wanted to ride on Fang Xinghe's short-term popularity, and didn't have a particularly firm long-term belief in him.

However, as soon as the news broke, Nongshim Ramen saw a significant increase in sales in China, Japan, and South Korea, prompting other South Korean companies to take notice.

Fang Xinghe's team's requirements were all met; they just needed to sign the contract quickly.

Short-term agents don't endorse? OK.

Need to cover the entire area? OK.

Only attending one necessary event a year? OK.

Want to reduce competing endorsement deals? No problem!

Fueled by their enthusiasm and eagerness to spend money, a string of business collaborations were quickly finalized.

Hana Bank Fang Xinghe co-branded credit card, Samsung mobile phone Asia brand ambassador, Shinsegae Department Store promotion ambassador, LG Display China brand ambassador, Sulwhasoo premium Korean herbal essence domestic brand ambassador...

The price is basically 5 million for six months, but Samsung Mobile offered more, 15 billion a year, and signed a two-year contract, which included the entire Asian region title.

Signing 8 endorsement deals instantly brought in 4000 million!
The figure didn't scare Fang Xinghe, but when it reached China, the media exaggerated it, turning it into "the total endorsement fee might exceed 100 million yuan," which terrified the Chinese public. It seems that no matter the era, the media loves to speculate on income.

Actually, this is the time when the public's resentment towards the rich is at its strongest. However, Fang Xinghe earns money from Koreans, so not only are few people envious, but most are also quite proud of him.

When everyone heard that "The Snow of the Night" and "The Young Me" were priced three times higher in South Korea than in China, they were even happier.

Under such circumstances, Lieyanshan and the others had a headache and didn't know what to write.

Keep criticizing; readers might not accept it.

Is he being unfair? Should we praise him?
Don't even think about it!

No one can afford to lose face like that.

What if you don't write it? If everyone else is writing it and you're not, sales will definitely drop.

This triple predicament caused Lieyanshan and his men so much worry that they couldn't eat or sleep, and they were losing clumps of hair. In the end, it was their Japanese father who helped them solve the problem.

……

By the end of August, Japanese companies were starting to get restless.

Three reasons.

First, Nongshim Ramen's market share in Japan has increased by 14 percentage points—it may not seem like much, but the brand has actually been stable in Japan for many years and is considered a second-tier brand in the instant noodle category. Now it is poised to break into the first tier.

And this is just the impact of one piece of news; Fang Xinghe's new packaging hasn't even been released yet.

Secondly, three days ago, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi's co-branded credit card with Xinghe was finally launched. On the first day, 26 people applied for the card, 34 on the second day, and 45 on the third day, breaking one million in three days.

This is another figure that doesn't sound very high, but in fact, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi's total credit card issuance for the entire year didn't even reach 800 million.

With a population of 1.27 million, excluding the elderly, children, and minors, and dozens of banks vying for that small customer base, how much can each bank actually distribute? It's basically a cutthroat competition.

Now, earning a million in three days is practically like cutting flesh off the competition.

Especially now that Japan stipulates that the age of majority is 20, most financial institutions can only provide credit cards to people over 20 years old. For example, 95% of JCB's regular cards have an age requirement of 20.

This is Fang Xinghe's "weakness" at all; most of his fans are teenagers who are not old enough to apply for a credit card.

If its weaknesses are already this formidable, then how terrifying must the spending power of its true fan base be?
The promising financial prospects thoroughly impressed Japanese companies.

They suddenly realized: Huh? Although many people criticize Fang Xinghe and right-wing elements are calling for his execution, he also has quite a few supporters.
Third, South Koreans are shameless and are frantically driving up prices.

When businesses hire celebrities to endorse their products, they are essentially vying for exclusive exposure on the celebrities, and the most effective exposure on any celebrity is very limited.

Therefore, even the most popular celebrities cannot accumulate too many endorsements.

There have been a few top celebrities with 30+ endorsements, but those are exceptions. They use low-price promotions to maximize their exposure, but the actual total price is far less than that of Fei Xian's 15 endorsements, and the effect is incomparable.

Normally, top celebrities have 15 to 20 endorsements of different product categories, covering all categories, which is enough to maximize profits and results, creating a win-win situation for both them and the merchants.

This can be seen as a different kind of advertising space; once it's full, no one else has a chance.

Meanwhile, the advertising space on Fang Xinghe's body is almost completely taken over by the Koreans.

Japanese companies never expected their South Korean counterparts to be so shameless. They hesitated only slightly, and the South Korean businesses, disregarding Fang Xinghe's "humiliation," shamelessly offered various contracts, securing the most valuable endorsement positions with extremely high efficiency.

In terms of apparel, the youth fast fashion brand Jeanswest has secured the top spot in the casual wear category, while the new brand Xtep has taken the lead in the athletic footwear category. Both brands' flagship stores are currently selling well in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.

The remaining outfits—the suit jacket and the leather shoes—don't quite fit Fang Xinghe's image, leaving only the tracksuit and jeans as barely stand-alone options.

In the electronics sector, laptops were also not a good fit for Fang Xinghe, and the crucial mobile phone endorsement was secured by Samsung, leaving him with only a few minor products such as MP3 players, educational machines, and handheld game consoles.

Home appliances, incompatible.

Cosmetics, beauty products, contact lenses, jewelry, and other accessories were at the forefront of the international competition between Korean and Japanese companies. From 95 to 20, Korean and Japanese cosmetics swept across the entire Asian region, defeating national brands from various countries.

Chinese domestic cosmetic brands were no longer mainstream for a long time; Fang Xinghe couldn't remember any top celebrities endorsing domestic brands.

Japan and South Korea are fiercely competing in this area, so when Sulwhasoo secured Fang Xinghe's skincare endorsement, Shiseido and Kose were almost in tears.

Skincare products are Fang Xinghe's most valuable endorsement.

Using his face to advertise skincare products is incredibly convincing.

The same applies to fashion items. Even if you put a piece of burlap on Fang Xinghe, it would look good, and people would definitely be willing to buy it, not to mention jewelry, sunglasses, and small pendants.

Coincidentally, Japanese medical companies are also developing colored contact lenses, and they are determined to acquire Xinghe.

As for fast-moving consumer goods such as snacks and beverages, although they don't have the added benefit of his face, they are precisely the key consumption areas for Fang Xinghe's main fans, making them the most market-determining advertising positions on Fang Xinghe's persona.

With all these reasons combined, apart from some national brands that value reputation, most Japanese companies couldn't sit still. They even sent teams to fawn over Fang Xinghe, who was still in South Korea.

Especially for companies with an urgent need for expansion, they offer generous and prompt compensation, and are even willing to mobilize their resources in China to work on Fang Xinghe.

Under these circumstances, Chinese media received a "plea for help" from local Japanese companies: How is your relationship with Fang Xinghe? Not so good? Then please, keep quiet for now and don't cause trouble, okay?
Nanfang Newspaper Group, headquartered in Guangzhou, received such a request.

The people from Lieyan Mountain no longer have to worry about it.

Fang Xinghe can no longer criticize, but he still needs to capitalize on the hype, so he can only write articles from a very unique angle—arguing and analyzing the superiority of Japanese endorsements over Korean endorsements, and mocking Fang Xinghe's team's judgment.

Look, they don't even dare to laugh at Brother Fang himself!

Lieyan Mountain's new article surprised readers who were not prepared and also greatly broke the defenses of Fang's haters.

"From the perspective of maximizing commercial value, Fang Xinghe's management team is making a terrible move, abandoning Japanese brands for Korean brands. Apart from Samsung phones, which are still worth considering, the other endorsements are undoubtedly a huge waste of his commercial potential... Although I have various personal grievances with Fang Xinghe, out of a sense of shared national pride and shame, I still hope that he can become a world-class player, rather than stopping here..."

Domestic public opinion underwent a ridiculous 360-degree reversal.

The uninformed common people thought that the Difficult Defense System couldn't find any angle to criticize Fang Xinghe, so they were nitpicking. But only Lieyan Mountain and others who broke bones to make soup for Fang Ge understood that from then on, they no longer had the strength to organize a large-scale anti-Fang operation.

With commercial value protecting him, and their noble Japanese fathers already kneeling before him, Fang Xinghe has, in a sense, reached another level.

(End of this chapter)