Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 97 Mobile Phone Endorsement and Cooperation MV
Lin Ze glanced at Gu Jingyi with some concern. He remembered that his artist had a good relationship with Justin and Zhu Zhengting's few-month-old child.

I wonder if he would feel uncomfortable when he heard his boss say that.

Don’t really have any opinions about the company because of this matter...

Although he is indeed Gu Jingyi's agent, Lin Ze has been at CTI for many years and has a strong sense of belonging to the company.

Fortunately, Gu Jingyi's expression was normal, and he didn't seem to have any objection to what Zhao Qinghuan said.

Lin Ze breathed a sigh of relief and started taking notes again.

Zhao Qinghuan also began to announce the most important topic of this meeting.

"Xiao Gu's album is about to be released. This mini album is called "Like the Wind." The title song is "Like the Wind," and the pre-release song is "Heart Gravity." The publicity and post-production teams must be prepared to work overtime. This is the most important thing for us at Huace this week. Everyone, please work hard, and this year's year-end bonus will be tripled."

As soon as Zhao Qinghuan said this, everyone became alert.

After some polite words, the atmosphere in the meeting room eased.

Zhao Qinghuan opened the PPT and projected the records of Gu Jingyi's recent trending searches, which the company had previously compiled, onto the background wall.

It is obvious that after Gu Jingyi's "huge explosion" in the first public performance of "Idol Producer", even if he just went to the canteen to buy water, he would be on the hot search.

Whether it is the topic or popularity, it is amazing.

However, the PPT also included recent negative comments about Gu Jingyi, which Zhao Qinghuan amplified, saying, "Over the past few days, there have been more and more negative comments about Gu Jingyi on Weibo. The company was initially puzzled, but after investigation, we discovered that these negative comments all pointed to established top stars like Lu Han and Chris."

"I can understand Chris, but Lu Han, isn't he semi-retired? Why did he do it?"

Gu Jingyi was speechless. Lu Han had been doing well since his debut. Perhaps his success came too easily, and he didn't cherish it.

In the year when his popularity was at its peak, Lu Han, who had a wide range of fans due to the hit drama “Fighter of the Destiny” and the top variety show “Running Man”, announced his relationship directly on Weibo, “Hello everyone, let me introduce this to you, my girlfriend @小童”

At first, fans thought he was promoting his new drama "Love Announcement", but they didn't expect the company to directly claim it.

In just one day, Weibo lost more than one million followers.

Since then, this top star has almost "semi-retired".

The resources for TV dramas also plummeted. Even when filming "Cross Fire", Lei Zi demanded that they be on equal footing with him.

"What? Money in the domestic entertainment industry is so easy to make, why would he really semi-retire? Jingyi, do you know that you attracted all those Lu Weijie who lost their fans through "Idol Producer"? You stole their fans, how can they not attack you?"

"Chris has no work. The only thing he can brag about is the variety show last year that kicked off the hip-hop era and his status in the fashion world. How long have you been in the industry? Counting the Marie Claire series that hasn't been filmed yet, you've already got six books."

"Chris was 23 when he won the Ten Magazine Grand Slam, and you were only 19. Now, not only has your popularity surpassed his, you've got the work and the looks, but you've even beaten him in his area of ​​expertise. How could anyone not consider you a rival? Especially since your talent show is even more popular than The Rap of China. The benefits he's reaped as a promoter aren't as great as the ones you've reaped as a contestant."

Lin Ze saw Zhao Qinghuan frowning slightly and hurried forward to explain.

Zhao Qinghuan couldn't stand the series of slightly reproachful words.

"Alright, alright, Xiaolin, stop talking. Jingyi has just entered the industry, so it's normal for him to not know all these twists and turns."

She immediately protected him, and then smiled and praised Gu Jingyi a few words: "But these things happened a few days ago. After the release of your song "Starry Sea", it caught the attention of the higher-ups. We had a direct meeting with them, and they have been much more well-behaved recently."

"You are now a role model for young people being nurtured by the higher-ups, and this year will be a year of great success for the aviation industry. Although the golden age of singers in the domestic entertainment industry is no longer, the image of a talented musician is still very popular."

"The real reason you're being attacked is because of your endorsement. Blue Studio has been contacting us, wanting you to be the spokesperson for the X23 series. Green Studio wants you to endorse the R series, and when the news spread, it made established influencers wary. It's not just those people just mentioned, but Wang Junkai, Li Yifeng, and Yang Yang from Green Studio have also taken action."

Gu Jingyi nodded. He was not surprised by this.

As early as after the first public performance, Blue Factory has been in contact with Huace.

However, Gu Jingyi was not very satisfied with the quotation.

In addition, he preferred the appearance of the green factory, so he kept ignoring the blue factory.

After the finals of "Idol Producer", Huace also contacted both Blue Factory and Green Factory at the same time.

After learning of Gu Jingyi's interest, Green Factory offered very attractive conditions.

“Green Factory R Series Ambassador!”

It sounds similar to the "X23 Series Ambassador" of the Blue Factory, but when you compare them carefully, they are completely different.

The Blue Factory is promoting a single new product, and will then use the fan economy card to generate revenue after the X23 goes online.

The green factory gives the entire "R series", in addition to the R15, there will be new products to be released in the next year.

More importantly, the R15 Dream Edition also has a co-branded model with Gu Jingyi.

The "Gu Jingyi Gift Box" is priced 15 yuan higher than the regular R300 Dream Edition. The phone comes in Gu Jingyi's black and gold colors, along with four photos of Gu Jingyi, five printed photo cards, and a power bank.

Those small cards are all unpublished selfies of Gu Jingyi on the set of "A Little Thing Called First Love", as well as the exclusive broadcast of "Selfies on the Way Home from Work" on "Idol Producer".

Each photo has never been published on Weibo, showing the lively and full of vitality of Gu Jingyi.

In addition, a mirrored mobile phone case with Gu Jingyi's electronically engraved signature and a mobile phone holder were also given as gifts.

After adding this gift box, Gu Jingyi felt that the 300 yuan price was not too much of a rip-off.

Fans spent 300 yuan to buy a power bank that supports the Green Factory fast charging protocol, as well as a mirrored mobile phone case full of Gu Jingyi elements and a black and gold color that distinguishes it from the ordinary dream version.

Different from other colors and textures, it is more stable and unique.

Those small cards were selected by the brand from the unreleased footage of Gu Jingyi on the set of "A Little Thing Called First Love" and the unreleased footage of the practice room of "Idol Producer".

Given Gu Jingyi's current status, his fans are still willing to pay this premium for him.

Especially in the domestic entertainment industry, mobile phone endorsements generally only involve top stars.

The spokespersons for the Blue Factory are Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Zhou Dongyu, and Wang Jiaer, while the spokespersons for the Green Factory are Yang Mi, Dilraba Dilmurat, Li Yifeng, Yang Yang, Wang Junkai, etc.

As the domestic entertainment industry enters the era of traffic, the blue and green studios that are best at marketing have also begun to change their strategies. They began to spend a lot of money to sign top stars and take advantage of the fan economy.

Mobile phone endorsements can help artists quickly increase their market visibility, and mobile phone stores across the country will place spokesperson standees to promote their reputation.

This is nothing. When a new product is launched, major mobile phone brands will continue to invest money in advertising and use photos of spokespersons to promote it. Even small cities can keep up with the trend.

This is also the reason why Huace is interested. The signing fee is secondary. The correct answer is to increase Gu Jingyi's popularity along with major advertising!

"Jingyi, this is the first time OPPO has invited an artist to endorse its entire product line. The co-branded peripheral gift boxes are also the first time they've been released. When we contacted them, they hinted that if the collaboration goes well, becoming the R series spokesperson won't be the end of the road for you. The key is to go one step further and become OPPO's global spokesperson!"

Lin Ze sorted out the information and distributed the copies he had made in advance one by one.

"This is information I collected online. OPPO is planning to invite Leonardo, Mbappé, and Neymar to be promotional ambassadors for the Find X series in Europe and the United States. They are expanding globally, showcasing their brand image from Asia to the world."

"We can definitely use this opportunity to establish our global presence. Since you're going to be an international singer in the future, it's a wise choice to build your profile by using fashion weeks and OPPO's advertising to build your brand awareness."

After Lin Ze finished speaking, Zhao Qinghuan added, "Don't be fooled by the fact that OPPO is often teased as a 'factory girl phone' in China. Its overseas pricing is on par with Apple's in China. Jingyi, I really think this endorsement is more suitable for you. OPPO's main focus is photography and sound quality, which naturally attracts female fans."

"Even though Juchang is good, they focus on business phones. Their target audience is different. Can we expect middle-aged men to become your fans just by seeing your standee at Juchang? Oppo is more suitable for your image and future direction."

Seeing that Gu Jingyi was silent for a long time, Zhao Qinghuan thought that he was complaining about Green Factory's poor ecological niche in the domestic digital market.

Gu Jingyi smiled and said, "I didn't say I wasn't going to take it. I also felt that Green Factory was more sincere. I could tell from their willingness to customize a co-branded model for me."

Considering Green Factory's promotion abroad, the added value of this endorsement is irresistible for any artist.

At least, there was no way Gu Jingyi would refuse this piece of fat duck that was delivered to his mouth.

After the business was settled, the agenda of this meeting was completed.

When we left the meeting room, it was almost evening.

Gu Jingyi went to shoot an advertisement for Safeguard, as well as promotional materials and peripheral cards, and then went home to sleep.

The next day, he took a car to the filming location.

Today he was going to shoot the MV for his hit song "Like the Wind". Early in the morning, Lin Ze took Gu Jingyi to the beauty salon to do his makeup and go to the set.

The MV script of "Like the Wind" was already placed on the back seat. In order to better immerse himself in the role and save time during the filming process, Gu Jingyi picked up the script and read it casually in the car.

The song "Like the Wind" is about love that goes with the wind, and love goes with the wind.

The MV carries out this theme, and the story begins with a girl in white.

She got off the bus with a worried look on her face along with many other mountaineering enthusiasts. Everyone else had mountaineering equipment except her.

Instead of going mountain climbing, she walked to a deserted place in a white dress.

She searched everywhere in the thicket of grass taller than a person, but all she found was a vague figure of a boy in black. She tried to see his face clearly but couldn't.

When the storyboard appeared again, it was several years later.

The girl in white returned to real life, and on her computer was just a blurry photo of the boy in black.

She took her trekking pole and returned to the vast grass that was taller than a person.

This time she walked all the way to the center and saw the boy again.

Gu Jingyi appeared in a black windbreaker. She tried to get closer to Gu Jingyi but couldn't speak.

Gu Jingyi vaguely saw her figure and wanted to reach out and touch her, but she disappeared like the wind. He searched everywhere like a madman until he passed out.

When the scene appeared again, he was being carried away on a stretcher by the rescue team.

After waking up in the hospital, his previously sealed memories were revived.

It turned out that he and the girl had known each other for a long time and they had been lovers for several years.

During that expedition, the two met in the vast crowd and fell in love at first sight.

But the good times didn't last long. Something unexpected happened and Gu Jingyi lost his memory and the girl became aphasic.

They no longer remember each other, but they still remember their promise to go to the place where they had pledged their love every year to find each other.

This is exactly the subconscious prediction that they don't want to be forgotten in the crowd.

After reading the script, Gu Jingyi yawned out of boredom.

He directly criticized, "Which third-rate screenwriter wrote this? He must have read too many abusive stories."

Lin Ze, who was still driving, was amused by him. "It wasn't written by a third-rate screenwriter, it was written by Gu Man. She's your fan, don't you know?"

"Gu Man?" Gu Jingyi raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Doesn't she like Yang Yang the most? Every male protagonist in the book is tailor-made based on him. He and I are not the same type, don't tease me."

It is insulting to Gu Jingyi to compare this face that often appears on the domestic entertainment industry's most handsome list with the small-eyed, orthodox handsome guy Yang Yang.

"The past is the past, and the present is the present. If you're used to eating porridge and side dishes, can't you try shark fin and seafood? You're just stereotyping. People just like handsome guys."

"Yang Yang's elegant temperament, she had never seen the original before and thought it was elegance. After seeing you, she has a new standard of beauty."

Lin Ze smiled, then suddenly remembered something and said, "There's another inside scoop. Penguin invited her to write a custom story for Honor of Kings. The male lead is a researcher, and the female lead is a famous star. Maybe it's because she saw the white coat you wore in A Little Thing Called First Love. Aren't researchers and doctors dressed like that?"

"I heard that Penguin's proposed female lead for this project is Dilraba Dilmurat. You and her have a strong CP. And this kind of idol drama is right in your league. So, in order to get you on board for 'You Are My Glory,' it's only natural that they'd try to build your favor in advance."

This was somewhat credible, so Gu Jingyi nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

After chatting about endorsements for a while, Gu Jingyi suddenly asked casually, "Then is the heroine of my MV also Dilraba Dilmurat?"

Lin Ze laughed dumbly, "What are you thinking about? If it was really her, she would have told you long ago without me saying anything, right?"

"Then who is the heroine in my MV this time..."

Lin Ze glanced at the work group message on his phone and revealed the correct answer: "Li Yitong."

(End of this chapter)