The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

The entertainment industry in 2014 seemed to have a stable structure, but it had reached a critical time for renewal and change.

Titles such as "superstar," "king," and "queen" are like dusty crowns in a palace, firmly held by a group of accomplished predecessors.

In terms of the depth of their works, national popularity, and industry experience, the new generation of artists are indeed far behind in the short term.

Shen Mo raised this question at a high-level strategic meeting within InkScar.

"A direct confrontation to challenge their throne and popularity is, in the short term, a waste of effort, or even a futile endeavor."

When the PPT presentation switched, keywords such as "Internet", "Mobile Internet", "Social Media", "Data" and "Traffic" appeared in the center of the screen.

"Times have changed."

He looked around at Yang Tianzhen, Chen Zhixi, and other core members of the entertainment section who were present.

"The PC internet is still going strong, and the mobile internet wave is already upon us."

"The entertainment consumption habits, information acquisition methods, and emotional projection methods of the younger generation are undergoing fundamental shifts."

"The previous generation in the entertainment industry worked hard in the old world of television, newspapers, and records, but a new world that is broader, more immediate, and more passionate is emerging before our eyes."

He paused, his fingertips tapping on the word "data".

"The currency of this new continent is no longer box office, ratings, or record sales, but traffic."

"A collection of attention, discussion, and interaction data."

"Whoever controls the flow of information can define a new discourse system."

"so!"

Shen Mo raised his head, his gaze intense.

"There's no need to be obsessed with taking over their throne."

"We just need to follow or even lead this new trend and open up a completely new track."

"To create a new way of playing, an idol paradigm belonging to the Internet age, with traffic as the highest measure."

"They play their game, we play ours."

On the curtain behind him, two simple phrases were finally displayed.

Top-tier celebrities

Abbreviation: Top tier.

"The top-tier celebrities we want to create are not just artists, but a phenomenon, a symbol, and a brand-new entertainment product based on the internet ecosystem."

"Their influence will be directly reflected in the data."

"This is reflected in the pervasive topics on social media."

"This is reflected in the fans' support activities, which are comparable to military-style operations."

"This is the new gameplay we're about to launch!"

This forward-thinking concept initially made the meeting room somewhat quiet.

But soon, Yang Tianzhen's eyes lit up, and she instantly realized why Shen Mo had suddenly brought this up.

Months earlier, at Shen Mo's suggestion, Yang Tianzhen contacted Lu Han, who was then in South Korea, and secured his management contract.

The method to take it down is also very simple.

We at Mohen have top-tier domestic capital, the most knowledgeable marketing team on the internet, and a top-notch entertainment production team.

We can help you reach the pinnacle of the new era of entertainment.

2014 10 Month 10 Day.

At 10:00 AM sharp, a Weibo post consisting of only four characters instantly ignited the entire entertainment industry.

"I'm home!"

Lu Han announced her official departure from SM Entertainment and the end of her group activities via a Weibo post.

Almost simultaneously, the Mohen Public Relations Department, which had been prepared for some time, was fully launched under the leadership of Yang Tianzhen.

Shocking! He's actually back in China!

Lu Han, the main center of a top boy band, terminates his contract and returns to China, aiming for the pinnacle of the Chinese entertainment industry.

Starting over in China VS. Peak of overseas boy bands: Was Lu Han's choice correct?

Lu Han officially announces his return to China to develop his career, bringing a glimmer of hope to his fans.

……

The press releases announcing Lu Han's official termination of her contract with South Korea's SM Entertainment and her return to China to develop her career swept across all entertainment media and social platforms like a tsunami.

The path to becoming a top-tier traffic generator has officially begun!

In various fan groups.

Group admin: "Sisters, quickly forward this Weibo post from Xiaolu! We need to let everyone know Xiaolu is back!"

Admin: "Keep it up! Use both your main and alternate accounts to share this. It's only been 20 minutes and it's already reached 10!"

Administrator: "It looks like we're about to make history!"

……

Indeed, the data is starting to redefine everyone's understanding at an astonishing pace.

This Weibo post, consisting of just four characters, garnered over 50 reposts in just 58 minutes!

At 3:34 p.m. that day, it broke the 100 million mark, setting a new record for the most reposts on Weibo in a single day.

At the same time, an online building event called "Light up Dongzhimen, welcome Lu Han home" was launched on Lu Han's Baidu Tieba forum.

The rules are simple and straightforward: for every certain number of replies on the forum, a portion of the giant Lu Han figurine located in Dongzhimen will light up, until a million replies are received before it is fully lit.

The event link was precisely distributed by the support group to various fan groups and major platforms, and the news spread rapidly.

Within 15 minutes, the post received over 10 replies, and the doll shoes at the bottom lit up.

In 29 minutes, the number of replies exceeded 20, and the lights spread upwards.

In just 149 minutes, the number of replies abruptly surpassed 100 million!

In front of Dongzhimen, a giant Lu Han doll with antler-shaped LED strips on its head shone brightly.

This scene was photographed and uploaded by countless passersby, once again igniting the internet and creating a stunning spectacle that combined online and offline elements.

And this is just the beginning.

The number of comments under Lu Han's Weibo post skyrocketed like wildfire.

This time, his fans were no longer satisfied with breaking meager records.

On the sixth day after this Weibo post was published, the number of comments below successfully exceeded ten million!

And with the certification of the Guinness World Records official, it successfully obtained a new Guinness World Record - "Most Commented Blog Post on the Internet".

The densely packed messages like "Welcome home" and "May you walk the flower path from now on" are a data wall built by his fans for him.

At the same time, the trending topics lists on major social media platforms were completely dominated by keywords related to "Lu Han".

In just one week, his airport outfits, snippets of his past songs, and even unsubstantiated speculations about his itinerary have all easily garnered millions of reads and discussions.

In-depth reports and industry analysis articles have emerged one after another in major traditional and new media channels.

Data Frenzy: Lu Han's Return to China Ignites the Internet Fan Economy

The Era of Top-Tier Traffic Has Arrived: Decoding the Lu Han Phenomenon

From "Superstar" to "Top Celebrity": The Definition of Entertainment Idols is Being Redefined

"Lu Han: The First Generation of "Top-Level""

……

"Top star? Is this what top celebrities are like now? They seem amazing!"

"It's just another way of saying it. It's basically just another way of saying that popular young male celebrities used to sell their looks."

"There's a difference, okay? Do other ordinary young male celebrities have this kind of popularity and attention?"

—Your private mobile library, accessible anytime.

……

Behind the data frenzy, the public vaguely realized that they seemed to be witnessing the beginning of a brand new entertainment era.

Traditional media and industry insiders were initially taken aback, but were soon shocked by this completely different way of becoming popular.

They vaguely realized that the "rules" of the entertainment industry seemed to have changed.

Something called traffic is rewriting their perceptions.

"Top-tier celebrity" - "top influencer".

This concept, proposed by Shen Mo in an internal meeting, was successfully implemented through this textbook-level marketing campaign for returning to China.

With unprecedented force and clarity, it has penetrated the entire entertainment industry and even the public's perception.

A name, thus, becomes synonymous with an era.

Lu Han is no longer just a former idol group member who returned to China to develop his career; he has become the most vivid embodiment of the term "top influencer."

This heralds a new era of entertainment where data reigns supreme and traffic is paramount, and the curtain has been raised in a grand and spectacular fashion.

Mohen, who is behind the scenes driving all of this, has already grasped the first key to opening this new era.

The market is showing them just how valuable traffic is.

In less than a month, ten endorsement deals were signed and officially announced with Lu Han.

Among them are brands such as Baidu Maps, Puma, OPPO, and Yili.

Brands weren't the only ones who recognized Lu Han's commercial value; countless event organizers also sent out invitations to appear on her platform, all hoping to capitalize on this wave of attention, driving up her appearance fees to exorbitant levels.

Of course, even more phone calls and emails from producers flooded into Lu Han Studio's publicly available business communication channels.

However, when they carefully checked the contact email address, a detail made them realize something instantly, followed by an even deeper shock.

The email address ended with @mohen.

Ink stains!

That's it!

Lu Han actually added ink marks!

No wonder this marketing campaign looks so familiar!

By leveraging the contract termination and return to China to orchestrate phenomenal events, they used fan data marketing to ignite the entire internet, transforming fan emotions into a visual spectacle through online and offline synergy.

Only InkSign could pull off such a dazzling and effective combination of moves at this stage.

This earth-shattering comeback was a meticulously planned, exemplary debut by Mohen, setting a high bar for "top-tier" celebrities!

In an insider group within the entertainment industry, countless people are also paying attention to this fan frenzy.

"No wonder! I was wondering why this marketing tactic felt so familiar; it's the work of Mohen!"

"Boy band idols, who are not even mainstream stars in the Chinese entertainment industry, have been brought into the mainstream by him and are known all over the internet."

"That's what you call top-tier! They want to define their own way of doing things."

"The key is that they've defined it, and the market accepts it. Look at the recent endorsement deals—which one is small?"

"I heard that the price for a business event to invite him to appear has reached 2000 million. Are you crazy?"

……

"Top influencer? Interesting! Mohen has opened a new path for us!"

Huanrui's CEO, Jiang Lei, turned to look at the head of the public relations department with a smile.

"If you make the arrangements now, won't 'Gu Jian Qi Tan' have helped Li Yifeng gain a lot of followers?"

"Learn from Mohen's tactics and pin this second top spot on him."

……

However, just as the hype was building, a barrage of criticism erupted online.

"What a joke! Does your Li Yifeng think he can be a top star just because of one game, 'Gu Jian Qi Tan'?"

"Any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to try and take advantage of our Lu Han. Being a top star isn't that easy."

"We are top-tier influencers, and we speak with market-recognized data and commercial value. Who are you? You haven't even landed many endorsements yet, so don't talk to me about commercial value."

"To be honest, I think Shen Mo should be the top star. In terms of works, he has 'Love is Not Blind,' 'My Love from the Star,' and 'The Journey of Flower.' In terms of awards, he has the Best Actor award at the Hundred Flowers Awards. In terms of popularity, you've probably overlooked his current 40 million Weibo followers."

"You guys don't even deserve to be called top stars!"

"What kind of traffic is Shen Mo? He has almost no commercial value. He doesn't endorse products or appear on variety shows. Apart from acting, he has no connection with the entertainment industry."

"That just means he's not doing it, not that he doesn't want to, okay? If he wanted to, whose traffic could compare?"

"No, no, our Shen Mo is an actor who focuses on acting skills, not a commercial celebrity with no works."

"Please call us the Best Actor!"

……

In the editorial office of Southern Entertainment Weekly.

"Editor-in-chief, this is my manuscript for today. Could you please take a look?"

The battle for the second top spot: Li Yifeng or Shen Mo?

The editor-in-chief glanced at the title of the manuscript and, combined with recent hot topics, instantly understood the viewpoint the person in front of him wanted to express.

"It's not appealing enough; there are too many articles like this online."

"I'll give you a direction, go and make some changes."

"Since Ink Mark has provided a definition, let's set the rules."

"What is a top influencer, and what qualities are needed to become a top influencer?"

"And most importantly, who is the top influencer?"

The girl wearing glasses at the desk asked tentatively.

"Should I just put Lu Han, Li Yifeng, and Shen Mo all up there?"

"That's not enough. Let's put them in order: Shen Mo first, Lu Han second, and Li Yifeng third."

"Let's call him the first generation of top stars."

The girl frowned. "But, won't I get scolded for sorting them like this?"

"Isn't being criticized also a form of traffic? Besides, as a journalist, why should I be afraid of being criticized?"

[Since you're not the one being insulted, of course you're not afraid.]

Even so, she obediently went back to revise it and then sent it out.

Just as she expected, there was a barrage of curses.

Shen Mo's fans refused to participate, Lu Han's fans were unhappy, and Li Yifeng's fans were dissatisfied.

Fortunately, the editor-in-chief of "Southern Entertainment" decided to go all out.

Since no one agrees, let's let the data speak for itself.

The selection process for the new generation of "Four Top Idols" and "Four Little Actresses" has officially begun, lasting for one month.

The criteria published by "Nanyu" are very clear, taking into account a comprehensive evaluation of multiple indicators such as popularity, influence, quality of works, and activity level.

The voting mechanism will be based on 30% online voting and 70% media voting.

The final four "top influencers" of the new generation have been revealed: Shen Mo, Lu Han, Li Yifeng, and Wu Afan.

The new generation of "Four Little Actresses" has been announced: Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, Li Yitong, and Ni Ni.

Although Shen Mo's fans kept saying they wouldn't participate, when the voting results came out, it was no surprise at all.

Shen Mo topped the list with 20% more votes than the other three.

After all, he was the first Best Actor of the new generation, and he has starred in a ton of hit dramas.