America: My Time

Chapter 372 Media Strategy
Chapter 372 Media Strategy
“Understood, we all understand Mr. John’s difficulties, and we won’t let you down. Now that this matter has been resolved, we won’t disturb your conversation with Mr. Morita any longer. We’ll take our leave!” With that, the Japanese officials stood up to take their leave. These men hadn’t been introduced by Akio Morita, and John hadn’t inquired about their identities; everyone maintained a tacit understanding, avoiding any discussion of these sensitive issues.

Does the identities of these guys matter? Not at all to John. What difference does it make whether he knows them or not? They're not of much use to him. What he wants is their financial investment, not to know their identities. As for limited usage rights, John can accept that too. After all, he still has ultimate control, and that's enough.

After watching the guys leave, John smiled calmly and said, "This has really been a troublesome collaboration. To be honest, I really didn't want this kind of collaboration. It's too troublesome, and I don't think they can last long. This kind of project will take a lot of time, and I'm afraid they won't have the patience! I hope there won't be any unexpected problems with this collaboration, otherwise it won't be good for anyone. If there are any unexpected problems, the problem will be huge."

Upon hearing this, Akio Morita smiled calmly and said, "John, don't worry. Since they've decided to participate, they won't lack even this much patience. I just wonder how long it will take for your project to start?"

"I won't keep you waiting too long. After I return to the United States, I will separate this project from Hughes. As for how long the research and development will take, to be honest, I don't know, and I have no idea. Everything will only be known after the communication satellite network is successfully established. Before that, we will only do a lot of research and development and more preparatory work."

"That's right. Such research and development does require caution and care. It won't yield results in a short period of time. In fact, everyone knows this. As long as the communication satellite network is successfully established, it means that Hughes' plan has a chance of success."

“Yes, everything depends on the successful completion of the communication satellite network. Otherwise, we can only make some preparations and dare not start it rashly. Otherwise, the price we pay would be too high, and we would not be able to explain it to the participants.” John sighed and shook his head as he said this.

The more cautious John was, the more Akio Morita believed that everything was fine, it was just a matter of time. After all, Dream World and Bell Labs would be involved, and with such investment, there would naturally be some gains.

"John, when are you going back to the US? Quite a few people want to get involved in the advertising project again. What do you think?" Akio Morita quickly shifted the topic to the previous advertising project.

At this moment, John shook his head and said, "It's too late. It's too late now. There's no chance to give up the advertising plan from Legendary Entertainment. Everything is already set. Even if someone wanted to participate now, it's impossible. Legendary Entertainment doesn't have that many resources to provide. There are only so many opportunities in the entire Olympics. I can't do anything about it!"

Upon hearing this, Akio Morita sighed and said, "It's their own fault. Now that they see the benefits of the advertising plan, they want to get involved. Why didn't they do this sooner? I reminded them repeatedly, but they just wouldn't listen. Now they regret it. To be honest, I can't stand these guys."

"Let them be. They were given opportunities, but they pushed them away themselves. Now those advertising spots have been sold to other companies. No one would be foolish enough to give up their advertising spot at this time. They can only blame themselves for being too ignorant and too trusting of so-called research reports. Their research was only based on superficial issues and did not see the huge market hidden in the Olympics."

“Yes, it’s just that these guys are too arrogant. But John, does Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media have more advertising plans like this? You know Sony’s situation isn’t ideal right now either. We also need to increase our advertising spending in North America, and there are many people who are really looking forward to this kind of cooperation opportunity.”

"It's not that there haven't been any, but the scale is not as large as before. And if we continue to invest now, it will be a slow process, and it's impossible to achieve the same amazing results as before."

Akio Morita placed great importance on the advertising partnership, as Sony reaped enormous benefits from it. Even amidst pressure from its American counterparts, Sony continued its strong performance in the North American market, maintaining impressive growth. However, companies not involved in the advertising program fared much worse, experiencing a continuous decline in market share. As is often said, during an economic crisis, the greater the pressure, the more investment is needed in advertising; otherwise, one can easily be swept away by the crisis. Sony consistently partnered with Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media, never relaxing its advertising investment, and naturally reaped the rewards. But those who didn't prioritize advertising investment, those unwilling to partner with Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media, faced far greater difficulties.

Some Japanese companies did not choose to cooperate with Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media, but instead chose to cooperate with other media outlets. However, these media outlets did not have the same dedication or influence as Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media, and thus they were at a disadvantage in this competition, naturally losing more market share.

You reap what you sow. If you don't want to invest more money in promotion, you won't get effective promotion, and your situation will be predictable. Now, it's not easy to participate in the advertising cooperation plans of Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group, after all, the two groups don't have much resources left.

Neither Legendary Entertainment nor Phoenix Media would do anything as foolish as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. They have very reasonable plans for advertising arrangements and will not disrupt their original plans by adding more ads in order to get more advertising revenue. It is precisely because of John's strict requirements on advertising that the development of Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media is accelerating.

Unfortunately, many TV stations and media outlets haven't recognized this problem. They blindly add more advertisements, which brings them considerable revenue, but also loses many viewers. Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media, on the other hand, don't have this issue. They have strict plans for advertising and won't disrupt their strategies for short-term gains. Most importantly, Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media have already established a strong reputation for advertising, and their advertising fees are the highest. Therefore, their income is no less than, and may even be more than, those media companies that add more advertisements.

Even if many companies were waving their cash to join Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group's advertising plans, they wouldn't have such an opportunity. Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group wouldn't tarnish their reputation for such a small amount of profit. Only by valuing their reputation can they gain more benefits.

Although Paramount Television Network has only been established for a short time, they have strictly adhered to John's advertising schedule and have not frantically piled up advertisements for short-term gains. It is precisely because of John's emphasis on this aspect that Paramount Television Network has been gradually getting on the right track and improving itself step by step.

While several American television networks aspired to emulate the development of Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media, they hesitated due to the enormous advertising costs. It wasn't a lack of determination, but rather an understanding of the significant impact such a plan would have on their own interests. Most importantly, their shareholders would not accept such a plan and were unwilling to bear the associated losses, leaving the networks powerless.

Of course, there is another important reason, which is quality. These TV networks do not have as many high-quality IPs as Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group, so they are far behind in terms of resources and naturally cannot compete with Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group.

As North America's media and entertainment industry continues to improve, Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media have reaped considerable profits. Moreover, their division of labor is very clear, with each developing in a different direction, avoiding internal friction. This kind of development is more powerful than other media groups, as they can complement each other. Therefore, in the peripheral sector, Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media have truly stood at the top, taking away most of the profits and leaving only a small share for other companies to share.

It's not that no one has had the same idea, but they can't do the kind of cooperation that Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group have done, let alone promote the IPs vigorously. Without good IPs, there's naturally no motivation. If it's an IP from another film company, those guys are unwilling to invest heavily because they can't get the maximum benefit for themselves.

However, the biggest difference between them and Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media is that they are merely North American media giants, while Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media are global media and entertainment giants. This gap cannot be bridged overnight. At least in television, they are far behind.

Sony acquired Columbia Pictures, and in principle, they have transformed into a global media giant. However, Sony has not truly achieved this. At the very least, they have failed to leverage Columbia Pictures' strengths. In fact, after acquiring Columbia Pictures, they not only failed to make money but also incurred substantial losses. This outcome is far inferior to Legendary Entertainment and cannot be compared to Phoenix Media. Both companies evolved and expanded in the United States, but Phoenix Media achieved control over Paramount Pictures, while Sony failed to achieve control over Columbia Pictures.
(End of this chapter)