HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 433 [433] Xtep's high-stakes gamble: all in, they ask Qi Yuan to be their spokesperson!

After the book signing event in Shanghai ended, Qi Yuan received a call from Li Xue.

Some brands in mainland China have approached Qi Yuan to be their spokesperson.

At this point in time, there aren't many brands that celebrities can endorse in China, and many domestic brands haven't even taken off yet.

Especially for a global star like Qi Yuan, very few companies can afford to hire him, including foreign brands that have just entered the Chinese market.

Even when Mr. Zhang, the boss of Sohu, hired Qi Yuan as his spokesperson, he had to pay a certain percentage of his shares in exchange for the endorsement fee.

Only deep-pocketed companies like Coca-Cola and Volkswagen can afford to spend cash.

The interesting thing is that the company that invited Qi Yuan to be their spokesperson this time is a domestic manufacturer.

Li Xue asked on the phone, "Do you know Xtep?"

Qi Yuan certainly knew about this brand. It could be traced back to 87 when it started by doing OEM export business. It was only this year that the 'Xtep' brand was officially established.

At present, Xtep's survival space is not ideal. As a newly established company, it is far behind brands such as Anta and Li-Ning in terms of brand awareness and market share.

Xtep's output value this year is around 9000 million yuan, while Li Ning's annual sales have reached 8-9 million yuan, a difference of ten times.

With other competitors around, a single misstep could easily ruin the business.

Anta has now signed a contract with world table tennis champion Kong Linghui and has also spent a lot of money to advertise on CCTV, thus dominating the sports marketing arena.

Li-Ning is a leader among sports brands.

If Xtep wants to overtake its competitors, it must find another way.

Ding Shuibo, the boss of Xtep, is a smart man. He believes that in order to break through the encirclement, a new path must be taken.

The youthful and fashionable route for entertainment idols is a good path.

By hiring a top-tier celebrity as a spokesperson, brands can quickly increase brand awareness by leveraging the celebrity's popularity and influence, and attract a large number of young customers in the process.

This approach is somewhat similar to Pepsi's superstar strategy back then.

Qi Yuan remembered that in her previous life, Xtep chose Nicholas Tse and achieved great commercial success. A year later, its annual output value soared to 2.5 million yuan, nearly tripling.

By 08, this figure had risen to 30 billion yuan.

In this life, with Qi Yuan's sudden emergence, Xtep actually set its sights on him.

This is easy to understand. If you can get him, who would want to hire Xie Feng?

Qi Yuan's popularity, buzz, fame, and prestige are all at a level that is far ahead of the competition.

It's not that Xie Tingfeng is too weak, it's that Qi Yuan is too strong.

As long as you don't compare yourself to Qi Yuan, there aren't many people who can suppress Xie Tingfeng in terms of popularity; even Zhou Jielun can't.

In the Hong Kong and Taiwan idol popularity chart, Qi Yuan has held the number one spot for several consecutive years, Nicholas Tse has consistently ranked second, and Jay Chou sometimes can't even squeeze into third place.

Being handsome is a real advantage.

"We can talk to them."

Qi Yuan really likes Xtep. The brand has a good overall reputation, and in his impression, it doesn't engage in those shady practices that treat customers like high-ranking officers.

In addition, Qi Yuan's own endorsement portfolio is not complete.

The internet has QQ and Sohu.

For transportation, there are Volkswagen cars; for beverages, there's Coca-Cola.

There has always been a lack of consideration in terms of straps and ties.

It's not that no brands have approached him for endorsements, but he's picky and prefers quality over quantity.

By the way, there's another very important reason why he's interested in Xtep.

As a newcomer to the market, Xtep urgently needs a superstar to attract attention and increase brand awareness. Their funds are also relatively tight, so exchanging shares for a top superstar endorsement is their strongest motivation.

These tasks can be handled by the professional negotiators from Starry Sky Company. Li Xue also told Qi Yuan something quite important: "Guangdong Provincial Radio and Television Station wants to invite you and Liu Tao to come back and make a guest appearance in an episode of 'Foreign Drama' to fulfill a wish of the audience."

The latest episode has received a good response, and viewers are able to accept Sachiko's ending.

Guangdong Radio and Television Station is thinking of making a big splash by inviting Qi Yuan back to make an appearance; the ratings are sure to explode!

Their requirements are not high; they just want Qi to appear on camera for a few minutes.

Regarding the filming schedule, they will coordinate with Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan's autograph session will definitely be held in Guangzhou. I can take some time to film it then; it won't take up more than half a day.

Qi Yuan touched his chin, finding this quite interesting.

The current "Foreign Drama" is in a period of soaring ratings, unlike the later, tedious and long-winded series.

From 00 to 06, this sitcom dominated viewership ratings in Guangdong Province, and no other show could shake its position.

Furthermore, Guangdong Radio and Television Station has often praised Qi Yuan, so it's not a problem for Qi Yuan to spend half a day giving back.

Qi Yuan urged Li Xue to agree to this matter.

……

When the news spread that Qi Yuan would make a guest appearance in "Foreign Drama", audiences throughout Guangdong Province were in an uproar.

Even in rural areas of cities in western, eastern, and northern Guangdong, there are many elderly women, aunties, and grandmas discussing this matter.

"Have you heard? Sachiko is bringing that new man she found in Japan back to the Kang family."

"Sachiko has no taste at all. How could she date a Japanese guy? Ayao is so handsome!"

"What neon person? It's Qi Yuan, the one who sang 'A Thousand Miles Away'."

"Oh! That's all right then!"

Outside the province, Qi Yuan's name is synonymous with handsome guy.

On forums like Tianya and Mop, a simple "Brother, I hope you're willing" is a man's affirmation of another man.

However, in Guangdong Province, Qi Yuan is recognized as the most handsome man, a fact acknowledged by men, women, young and old.

Some netizens from other provinces also developed a strong interest in the drama after seeing the online discussions, especially Qi Yuan's fans.

Those who can't watch Pearl River Channel have already started asking if they can watch it online. When the episode featuring Qi Yuan airs, they'll definitely want to watch it.

……

While Qi Yuan was holding autograph sessions and promoting his work in major cities across mainland China, Li Xue brought him more good news.

Ding Shuibo and the executives at Xtep have agreed to spend 28 million yuan to hire Qi Yuan as Xtep's spokesperson for four years.

This price is reasonable. The brand is not wealthy and is not a luxury brand, so the endorsement fee is normally cheaper than that for a car.

Xtep certainly couldn't come up with that much cash; they only had a few million in cash on their books.

After some negotiation, Xtep paid a cash endorsement fee of four million yuan, and another twenty-four million yuan was converted into 20% of the shares.

For Xtep, this is a huge gamble.

They were betting on whether Qi Yuan could turn the tide and allow Xtep to achieve a comeback.

They dared to go all in because they saw Qi Yuan's past record.

When Qi Yuan became the spokesperson for Pepsi, he was able to increase Pepsi's market share in the domestic cola market to over 40%, almost half of the market.

After Qi Yuan became the spokesperson for Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola's domestic market share began to soar rapidly, and it was about to catch up with Pepsi. Pepsi was so scared that it prepared to invite F4, who had become incredibly popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan this year, to join its star-studded spokesperson lineup.

Qi Yuan's ability to single-handedly take on a group of Pepsi's superstars demonstrates just how powerful his influence is.

As it turned out, Xtep made the right bet, and they quickly reaped a high return, which came faster and more generously than they had imagined.

(End of this chapter)