HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 119 [119] Million-Dollar Endorsement, Becoming a Pepsi Superstar with the Princess
Qi Yuan was unaware of what had happened in Thailand.

All he knew was that Pepsi had replied.

Since entering the Chinese market, Pepsi has been willing to spend a lot of money to hire superstars. Zhang Guorong, Andy Lau, and Aaron Kwok, whom they hired before, were all extremely popular stars.

Zhang Guorong and Liu Dehua's endorsement terms have ended, leaving only Guo Fucheng as the brand ambassador.

The deep-pocketed Pepsi wanted to bring Qi Yuan and the princess into the picture.

In 1998, Princess Wang was at the peak of her career. Her song "Meet in 1998" performed at the Spring Festival Gala was a household name, and her record sales were among the highest for female singers.

Pepsi's decision to hire her could create the buzz of having Asia's first female singer as a brand ambassador, which could attract young women.

After the release of Qi Yuan's second album, songs such as "Dong Feng Po" and "Huang Huang" helped him attract a wave of middle-aged and elderly fans.

Many older people think "East Wind Breaks" is good and suits their taste.

Qi Yuan's fan base has expanded to a wider audience, but her largest core group is still young people and students.

Pepsi's Superstar Project was designed from the outset to attract young consumers, with its advertisements focusing on youthfulness, vibrancy, and contemporary themes, aiming to establish an emotional connection with young people.

Qi Yuan is famous enough, has high popularity enough, and has a large number of young fans. He is the best brand ambassador in Pepsi's eyes.

"Pepsi agreed to raise prices. They are really willing to spend a lot of money on hiring celebrities. I thought I would have to negotiate with them for a while."

Unexpectedly, they not only agreed to raise the price, but were also willing to increase your two-year endorsement fee to ten million, which is higher than the princess's endorsement fee.

Zhang Hao's face was filled with joy.

Endorsements worth millions, that's what makes a superstar.

Of the Four Heavenly Kings, only Andy Lau has ever received such a high endorsement fee for a single brand.

Zhang Hao tried to calm his excited emotions and said in a calm tone, "Princess will release a new album in October, and then Princess will hold a national tour. You will also hold a concert in November. Pepsi is willing to sponsor your concerts."

Those who attend concerts are mostly fans with strong spending power.

Pepsi's sponsorship of Qi Yuan and Princess's concert can significantly enhance its influence and brand awareness, attracting more consumers' attention.

It's a win-win situation for both the singer and Pepsi: the singer and record company save money, and Pepsi gains exposure.

Pepsi has always been at the forefront of marketing.

They started doing this in the 1980s, when they spent $5 million to hire Michael Jackson, the hottest American pop music superstar, as their spokesperson, which led to a surge in sales.

They have long been adept at using marketing tactics derived from the superstar strategy, such as television commercials, advertising jingles, sponsoring music events, and sponsoring sporting events.

Their sponsorship of Qi Yuan and the Princess's concert is a classic move, directly replicating a successful experience proven in the American market.

Qi Yuan's eyes brightened slightly: "Let's accept it. I think ten million is a reasonable price."

A multi-million dollar endorsement deal with a single brand can elevate his status and commercial value.

A celebrity's commercial value is determined by the amount of their endorsement fees and the products they endorse.

Capital is smart; it's unlikely to spend a lot of money to hire a mediocre spokesperson who would lower the image of their brand.

Qi Yuan's successful signing of a multi-million dollar Pepsi endorsement deal demonstrates that his commercial value has skyrocketed in the eyes of investors.

Actually, Qi Yuan is a fan of Pepsi, but Pepsi offered him so much that he couldn't refuse.

Afterwards, Qi Yuan informed the princess of the news.

The princess was a little jealous after hearing this: "Why is your endorsement fee ten million, while mine is only eight million?"

The answer is actually quite simple: it's determined by the market.

The vast majority of male celebrity fans are female, with very few male fans. Similarly, the majority of female celebrity fans are also female, but if the female celebrity is attractive, she will also have a considerable number of male fans.

These male fans are too stingy, or rather, too rational; they won't spend money on idol worship.

This has led to a situation where, for two male and female celebrities with similar popularity, the male celebrity's fans have a much greater spending power than the female celebrity's.

Among celebrities of the same level, male stars usually have higher commercial value than female stars; this rule applies worldwide.

……

Two days later.

Newspapers in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were filled with images of Qi Yuan and the Princess.

[Shocking! Pepsi spends a whopping 18 million to make Princess Qi a new Pepsi superstar]

[King of Pop Qi Yuan's endorsement fee exceeds ten million, surpassing that of veteran diva Wang Fei]

The first superstar in mainland China to secure a multi-million yuan endorsement deal has emerged.

The media coverage in mainland China and Taiwan was relatively reasonable, but the situation changed again when it came to Hong Kong.

[After the princess's divorce, Qi Yuan joins hands with her to become a new Pepsi superstar]

This is the charm of journalism: putting two unrelated things together, making it seem to outsiders that the princess's divorce was because Qi Yuan interfered.

The fact that media outlets across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are reporting on it clearly demonstrates just how sensational the news of Qi Yuan becoming Pepsi's brand ambassador has been.

In an effort to attract attention, a mainland media outlet called 'Entertainment Briefing' even dug up Qi Yuan's income over the past year since her debut.

Their analysis concluded that Qi Yuan's first album sold 1.8 million copies, and his second album was expected to sell over 6 million. They then tallied Qi Yuan's endorsements and commercial performance income, ultimately arriving at a startling conclusion: Qi Yuan's income in his first year since debut was between 20 and 30 million.

The majority of the revenue comes from brand endorsements, followed by record sales, and lastly from various commercial performances.

The release of this article in the entertainment news stunned the general public and celebrities in mainland China.

Earning 20 to 30 million a year is something mainland celebrities wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Li Xuejian earned over 400,000 yuan for a role in "Water Margin," placing him among the top tier of television actors.

Even the most popular celebrities in mainland China don't charge more than two or three million yuan for endorsements.

Also this year, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Lai Ming, received HK$5 million for his endorsement of Leji.

1998 was the peak of Andy Lau's endorsement period. Like Qi Yuan, Andy Lau achieved the feat of earning more than 10 million yuan for a single brand endorsement.

That article sparked countless discussions and attracted widespread attention.

Even Fan Xiaopang, who was promoting "Princess Pearl" with Qiong Yao's team in Hong Kong, saw this article.

Fan Xiaopang's beautiful eyes widened slightly as she stared at the words "twenty million" and "thirty million" on the newspaper for a full half minute.

If she had that much money, would she need to stay in the company and put up with the attitudes of Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors like Qiong Yao and Lin Xinru? She could just throw a million dollars in Qiong Yao's face and leave.

But she has no money; even if she were sold, she wouldn't have that much money.

She was too opinionated and had too many ideas of her own. Recently, Qiong Yao had become somewhat dissatisfied with her and was intentionally or unintentionally suppressing her, making her lose hope of continuing.

No, she must change the status quo; her fate is in her own hands, not in the hands of heaven.

She picked up her phone and dialed Qi Yuan's number.

(End of this chapter)