Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 25: Promotion System

Qian Qianjin quickly made arrangements with the other side.

It seems that they sensed the sincerity, or for some other reason, after hearing that Wang Sheng sent people over overnight, they also gave away an additional fifty boxes of original VHS videotapes, a batch of spare batteries and chargers, as well as a number of auxiliary equipment such as tripods.

After making the arrangements, Qian Qianjin, with the approval slip from the factory director, arranged for two technicians and a security officer who was allowed to carry a gun, along with Chen Liang and Chen Liang's cousin, to buy the last train tickets to Guangzhou for the day and rush to Guangzhou overnight.

In addition to the factory's business trip allowance, Wang Sheng received an extra 1,000 yuan as a security officer, and another 1,000 yuan upon his return.

The other two technicians also received extra subsidies, but not as much as the security officer.

We'll discuss rewarding Chen Liang when he returns.

After seeing Chen Liang and the others off at the train station and repeatedly reminding them to be careful, Wang Sheng took the folder containing the matchmaking program proposal and rushed to Wumingju.

……

The private rooms at Wumingju are elegant and well-soundproofed.

Wang Sheng arrived first, poured himself a cup of tea, and slowly sipped it to calm his mind after dealing with a series of important matters that afternoon.

Not long after, Manager Zhao arrived.

After exchanging pleasantries and taking their seats, Wang Sheng handed over the proposal directly.

"Brother Zhao, this is my idea for the Purple House advertisement... well, it's a new idea that's not quite mature yet, could you please give it your feedback?" Wang Sheng said humbly.

"I'll take a look."

At first, Manager Zhao had a relaxed smile on his face, but as he read on, the smile was gradually replaced by focus and surprise.

His reading speed slowed down noticeably; he would sometimes furrow his brow in thought, and sometimes his eyes would flash with a look of sudden realization and excitement.

"Pre-show introduction via video, phased appearances, reversal of power regarding whether to turn off or keep the lights on, on-site commentary from psychological experts or professional matchmakers, and finally, a reversal of power, with male and female guests making their own choices..."

Manager Zhao's eyes lit up as he looked: "This...this isn't an advertisement! This is clearly a complete and unprecedented dating show format!"

He suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Wang Sheng, his tone filled with unbelievable excitement: "Mr. Wang, what's wrong with your brain? This program format is so novel! This is no longer a simple service program; it's full of dramatic conflict. Compared to this, Beijing TV's 'Tonight We Meet' is simply an old relic."

Wang Sheng remained calm, a smile playing on his lips: "Brother Zhao, you flatter me. I just feel that simply shooting a corporate advertisement has limited impact. If we can collaborate with a TV station to create a hit dating show, not only can we deeply integrate the Purple House brand and services into the program, but more importantly, we can turn this program into a huge publicity platform and a guarantee of credibility."

Yes, yes.

Manager Zhao wholeheartedly agreed: "Hey, you made an appointment with that leader from Beijing TV."

"The head of the advertising department is surnamed Liu."

Wang Sheng relayed the information Liu Xuri had given him to Manager Zhao: "The advertising department is responsible for advertising sales, production, and broadcasting across the entire station. It is an important source of revenue for Beijing TV, and the other party has considerable influence within the station."

"Oh, it turns out it's him."

Manager Zhao explained, "He came to us before to solicit sponsorships for 'Tonight We Meet,' when he was the deputy director."

"After the sponsorship, the results were alright in the first few years, but in recent years, they haven't been so good. Although the station keeps saying that the ratings haven't declined, I reckon it won't last many more years. If your program can be made, it will be canceled even faster."

Wang Sheng wasn't surprised that Manager Zhao knew the other party; it was perfectly normal for a local TV dating show to seek sponsorship from the local wedding industry leader.

Wang Sheng said in a flattering tone, "If I had known that Brother Zhao had such a wide network of connections, I wouldn't have made a fool of myself. I thought I had invited a high-ranking leader."

"Hahaha."

Manager Zhao smiled and then asked, "How's the project preparation going?"

"We will definitely be able to start construction on time in June."

"..."

Wang Sheng and Manager Zhao discussed the project and revealed the brand name 'Image Memory'. Of course, if Purple House didn't want to use this brand name, they could simply say it was their own business.

Manager Zhao nodded after a moment's thought.

……

Wang Sheng and Manager Zhao didn't have to wait long before the door to the private room was respectfully pushed open again by the waiter.

Liu Xuri walked in first, followed by a middle-aged man in his early forties, wearing a navy blue jacket, slightly overweight, with a reserved smile. He was Hu Gang, the director of the advertising department of Beijing TV.

"Director Hu, it's an honor to have you here!" Manager Zhao, who was clearly more familiar with Hu Gang, immediately stood up and warmly greeted him with a handshake.

"Old Zhao, do you really need to be so polite between us?"

Hu Gang responded with a smile, his voice loud and clear.

His gaze then turned to Wang Sheng, with a mixture of scrutiny and curiosity: "This must be President Wang, right? You're so young and promising. Director Liu has been praising you to the skies."

"Hello, Director Hu, I'm Wang Sheng, you can just call me Xiao Wang. Director Liu, you flatter me, it's all thanks to the leaders' support." Wang Sheng stepped forward, shook hands with Hu Gang, and said in a steady tone.

Liu Xuri, standing to the side, smiled and said, "Old Hu, although President Wang is young, he's quick-witted, has the right approach, and most importantly, he's reliable. Let's sit inside, eat, and chat."

“Alright, let’s eat and chat.” Hu Gang readily agreed and sat down in the head seat.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

During the meal, Liu Xuri and Manager Zhao were the ones who kept the atmosphere lively, chatting about interesting anecdotes from the station and the industry. Hu Gang would occasionally chime in, appearing profound and enigmatic.

In 1996, the national advertising revenue reached 366.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.2%, with more than 5 advertising agencies and more than 51 employees.

Qinchi Winery won the CCTV advertising bidding with a record-breaking bid of 3.2 million yuan, retaining its title as the "top bidder" and causing a sensation.

During this period, the advertising departments of television stations, which controlled advertising channels, wielded exceptionally high power.

Although Beijing TV is not yet on satellite, it is definitely the most powerful local TV station in China. After all, this is Beijing, a megacity with more than ten million people.

As the director of the advertising department of Beijing TV, Hu Gang would not have come to the appointment at all if it weren't for his old colleague Liu Xuri's sake and his appreciation for Wang Sheng's talent, which might lead to future cooperation.

Wang Sheng spent most of his time listening quietly, discerning which information was useful and which was not. The only advantage of the drinking culture, often considered outdated, was the ability to exchange information across different circles. Especially in this day and age, with various niche markets still developing, a piece of information that one party deems useless could very well be a source of wealth.

After drinking for a while, seeing that the time was about right, Wang Sheng made a hand gesture to Liu Xuri.

Liu Xuri understood, cleared his throat, and steered the conversation back on track: "Old Hu, the reason I invited you here today is twofold: first, to get together, and second, because President Wang and his team have a great idea for a new program and would like to ask for your approval."

Wang Sheng then handed over the proposal for the matchmaking program: "Director Hu, this is a preliminary program plan that we feel might be more effective than a simple advertisement. Please give us your feedback."

Hu Gang wiped his hands with a napkin before slowly taking the proposal and flipping through it.

At first, he looked casual, but as he read on, his brows furrowed slightly, and he slowed down his reading speed.

The only sounds in the private room were the soft clinking of cutlery and the rustling of Hu Gang turning the pages of paper.

a long time.

Hu Gang put down the proposal, picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and pondered, "The idea... is very bold and novel. It subverts the existing model of dating shows, and is highly dramatic and topical. If it can really be made, the ratings should be pretty good."

Wang Sheng and Manager Zhao didn't react, waiting for Hu Gang to continue.

Sure enough, Hu Gang changed the subject: "However, Xiao Wang, this isn't that simple. Every year, the station submits at least eighty or a hundred new program proposals, and only a handful are approved. This isn't something I can decide alone; it needs to be submitted to the editorial board for discussion, involving channel resources, production teams, broadcast times, budgets... it involves many aspects. Especially your program format, it's too new; the station's veteran directors might not accept it, and the censorship process will also be questionable."

He put down his wine glass, looked at Wang Sheng, and his tone became businesslike: "How about this, I'll take the proposal back and take a look, and ask a few reliable people privately for their opinions. Whether it will work or not, I can't guarantee it to you right now."

Wang Sheng tactfully raised his glass: "Thank you so much, Director Hu. Whether it works out or not, I, Wang Sheng, will remember your kindness. If there is any hope for this program, Manager Zhao and I will definitely increase the advertising budget."

He then pulled Manager Zhao along as well.

Manager Zhao nodded quickly: "That's right, Director Hu, if this program really becomes a success, our Purple House will definitely be the title sponsor!"

Hu Gang smiled; this was exactly the attitude and the promise of potential advertising revenue he wanted: "Sure, sure, it's all for the job. I'll do my best."

The meal is over.

The meal cost several hundred yuan, and the two thousand yuan I had in Wumingju was not used up.

……

The next day.

May 1st is International Labor Day.

In 1996, Labor Day was only a one-day holiday with no make-up days.

This is directly related to the two-day weekend system implemented at that time.

Although there was a one-day statutory holiday, the Beijing Film Studio was not much quieter, with frontline workers busy going to work early.

Shengying Media got busy very early on.

Today, Ms. Chen's son and daughter-in-law are on holiday, which is perfect for rehearsing their wedding.

Wang Sheng also needs to bring his team to cooperate and familiarize themselves with the process.

Although the process was familiar and no actual filming was required, Chen Liang was originally the designated chief photographer.

With Chen Liang absent, Wang Sheng had no choice but to ask Zhou Wei, the factory's photography assistant who had previously helped shoot the advertisement, to come and help again.

Zhou Wei studied photography in the certification program of the Photography Department of Beijing Film Academy a couple of years ago.

The Beijing Film Academy's Department of Photography has only been promoting popular education for a few years now.

In previous years, the Beijing Film Academy's Cinematography Department held several certification exam preparation classes, which were similar to training courses. Each class enrolled at least several dozen students, accumulating to several hundred in total. Most of these students were children of unemployed individuals working in cultural institutions in Beijing.

After graduating from the first two certification classes, the students benefited from the decentralization of photography skills and successfully entered the workforce. The students in the later classes also enjoyed the benefits of this decentralization, but they entered the workforce later and had more difficulty. However, they were fortunate to be in the midst of a market economy in dire need of development, so they turned to opening a photography studio or entering an advertising company, and did quite well.

Another group, who came out earlier than Wang Sheng and others but later than their predecessors, couldn't get jobs in companies, and it was difficult to find work. There weren't any companies on the market that needed a lot of photographers, so they could only return to their parents' workplaces and become contract workers. Zhou Wei was one of them.

A few days ago, Zhou Wei took on a job from a travel agency to help film videos for tourists visiting Beijing. This job was outsourced to the Beijing Film Studio by the travel agency. Thanks to the fact that the Beijing Film Studio's photography department has been offering training courses every year to raise additional teaching funds, the studio's photography workshop has no shortage of photography assistants, and even more so of "secondary assistants" like Zhou Wei.

Within the Beijing Film Studio, to be promoted to a proper cinematographer, one had to start as a second assistant cinematographer, also known as a "stagehand" or "second assistant."

They are responsible for most of the miscellaneous tasks in the photography crew, such as setting up the clapperboard, changing film canisters, making photography notes, marking the actors' movement points, and storing and cleaning all the photography equipment. They are the apprentices and cornerstones of the photography crew.

After working for a period of time and passing the exam set by the photography workshop, one can be promoted to the first assistant photographer, commonly known as "first assistant," who is responsible for "focusing."

This is a highly technical and stressful job.

In the era of manual focus, it was necessary to precisely and smoothly rotate the follow focus according to the actors' movements and the camera's movement to ensure that the subject of the image was always in focus, and also to manage all camera shots.

Above that are the photographers, and above the photographers are the chief photographers.

In the past, when there were fewer photographers, the promotion speed was quite fast.

After entering the 1980s, the speed of promotion from second assistant to first assistant began to slow down year by year.

If Zhou Wei were to join a film crew, he could only work as a second assistant. Even if he had the skills of a first assistant, he could only assist the first assistant. The promotion channels for technical positions within the Beijing Film Studio were almost completely blocked. There was only one exam per year, and only a few spots were available. Whoever got on the waiting list the earliest would be promoted. It was no longer related to the level of skill or ability.

Starting from May 1st, Zhou Wei, who had been learning the wedding video shooting process from Wang Sheng for a few days, found that this job was great. Not only was it easy, but the pay was also high, much better than the odd jobs arranged by the photography workshop, and better than being a servant on a film set. After communicating with Wang Sheng, Zhou Wei quit his job at the factory and signed a three-year labor contract with Sheng Ying Media. The penalty for breach of contract was only five thousand yuan, after all, he already had the skills.

Zhou Wei's actions instantly led to the resignation of a group of assistants in the photography workshop who had the ability to be "first assistants" but lacked lofty ideals.

They used to dream of becoming proper photographers, but their ambitions have been worn down by the blocked career advancement paths over the years.

If you had a job that pays well, has little work, is close to home, is easy, and is stable, you'd choose that one even if you didn't know it.

The addition of these twenty-odd people instantly filled the manpower needed for mid-range, mid-to-high-end, and high-end businesses.

The low-end tasks were handed over to the children of Beijing Film Studio graduates who had completed subsequent training.

The future promotion path requires working in low-end sales for at least six months and receiving positive feedback from no fewer than 10 clients before being promoted to mid-level sales as an assistant. After working as an assistant for three months, one can become a mid-level sales photographer, and so on.

(End of this chapter)