Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Fang Jing closed the folder and looked up: "We spent the whole night doing a detailed evaluation. The conclusion is: this project is worth supporting, but we need to design a support framework."

She opened her notebook: "Let's start with the advantages. First, content production capabilities. Qingniao Publishing House has twenty years of experience, including author resources, editing experience, and content sensitivity—qualities that internet companies can't replicate in the short term. Second, data validation. The first-day conversion rate and second-day retention data are phenomenal in the SP (Service Provider) field. Third, team execution. From project initiation to launch, it took less than a month. Although President Han Fei is only twenty-five, he appears to be a clear-thinking, daring, and decisive person."

"What about the risks?" Zhao Guoqiang blurted out, giving Zhang Qiming a fierce look.

"The main issues are content compliance and sustainability," Fang Jing said calmly. "These two points have already been briefly discussed at the conference. Oh, and there's also the risk of competition."

Zhang Qiming said, "That's right, people from NetEase and Xu Cheng from Tencent are already in contact with them."

"Ah!" Wang Hongxin and Sun Weimin were quite surprised.

"So fast?" Fang Jing said, "This news confirms our strategy department's assessment. Previously, we only saw Qingniao's potential in the data, but now, from a competitive perspective, the strategic value of this project has been elevated. I've dealt with Xu Cheng of Tencent before; he never makes pointless visits. The fact that they've taken a liking to it further proves that our internal assessment was accurate. We need to accelerate our support. Tencent has QQ; once they get involved, this little seedling we're supporting might be crushed."

Chen Yuanshan slowly nodded: "President Fang, what is your suggestion?"

Fang Jing looked at Liu Zhenhua. Liu Zhenhua gestured to her, indicating that she should continue.

"My suggestion is to provide tiered support and adjust it dynamically," Fang Jing said. "The first phase of support will mainly involve resource exchange, without any capital investment, so the risk is controllable. After three months, we will decide whether to upgrade the level of support based on the actual performance."

"Be more specific," Liu Zhenhua said.

Fang Jing turned to the next page of her notebook: "First, channel and distribution support. Currently, Qingniao uses the ordinary SP channel of the Shanghai branch, which has a low priority. We can open a green channel for them directly connected to headquarters to ensure SMS delivery rate and stability. At the same time, Shanghai will first open 20% of its local active number pool, about 200 million messages, for Qingniao to test. The price will be based on the SMS channel fee, 3 cents per message. We can also consider opening up some provincial channels, such as Guangdong and Zhejiang, to access Qingniao's SP channel for small-scale pilot testing."

"Hmm," Liu Zhenhua looked at Wang Hongxin and Sun Weimin, "What are your thoughts?"

Wang Hongxin rubbed his hands together and smiled, "President Liu, Guangdong is no problem. We have a large user base, mostly young people, which is perfect for piloting this kind of content-based SP. But Lao Zhang," he looked at Zhang Qiming, "we have to be upfront about this. Our user complaint rate has always been very high. If you mess things up and cause a surge in complaints, I'll hold you accountable."

Zhang Qiming laughed loudly.

"Zhejiang Province is also willing to follow suit and pilot the program," Sun Weimin said. "Moreover, Zhejiang Province has a rich cultural heritage, such as Yue Opera and the water towns. You can also write some stories with our local characteristics."

"That's a good idea," Zhang Qiming said. "I'll go back and have Qingniao prepare it."

Fang Jing turned the page and continued, "Secondly, data support. We'll open up some interfaces to the user profiling system, allowing them to make precise push notifications based on region, age group, and consumption habits. This is a benefit that most SP partners don't currently enjoy."

Zhang Qiming, Liu Zhenhua, and Chen Yuanshan nodded in unison.

"Third, endorsement and support. Including Qingniao in the strategic innovation pilot program can temporarily reduce the revenue share from China Mobile to 12%, helping them to quickly accumulate funds in the early stages. The headquarters and the Shanghai branch will jointly bear the cost of this reduction. Additionally, Qingniao will be certified as a premium partner of China Mobile, receiving official recommendations or featured content labels on the China Mobile homepage and SMS push channels, thus improving conversion rates. This may seem intangible, but its actual impact is significant. Distributors, authors, and users alike will all feel more trust in it because of this label."

Wang Hongxin clicked his tongue in disapproval: "President Fang, that's quite a move. Especially the revenue share being reduced to 12%. We've never lowered the revenue share percentage in Guangdong before."

Fang Jing smiled slightly: "President Wang, it's precisely because we haven't given it before that we have a demonstration effect. Qingniao's data is there for all to see. If we can't even provide some policy support for projects like this, the branch offices in various provinces probably won't think of innovation anymore. Don't you think so?"

Zhao Guoqiang lowered his head and glanced sideways at Fang Jing: "President Fang, isn't this too lenient? What if they run into problems? The reputation of China Mobile will also be damaged."

"Therefore, there must be constraints," Fang Jing said. "The premise of all support is that we must accept the headquarters' random content checks from time to time. Once a violation is found, the cooperation will be terminated immediately, and we will be held liable for breach of contract. At the same time, their technical system must open its audit interface to us, so that we can access the audit logs at any time."

Liu Zhenhua cleared his throat: "Anything else, Fang Jing?"

"Yes, and there's also technical support." Fang Jing looked at the young man who had been silent all along.

The man glanced around at everyone listlessly, then adjusted his glasses. "Technically, there's no problem. We have the existing interface for the green channel; we just need to whitelist Qingniao. The data interface for the user profiling system is also standardized; we can use it after configuring the permissions. It's just that we need to go to Shanghai and coordinate with their programmers."

Liu Zhenhua nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Zhang Qiming: "Qiming, what do you think of what Fang Jing said?"

Zhang Qiming took a breath: "President Liu, everyone. I am very satisfied with the proposal put forward by President Fang. I hope we can strike while the iron is hot and implement these proposals as soon as possible."

"As soon as possible?" Zhao Guoqiang snorted. "Qiming, you know the headquarters' procedures. Just the approval process alone takes..."

"That's why I called you all here," Liu Zhenhua interrupted. "Today's meeting is for special circumstances."

The meeting room was silent.

Zhang Qiming noticed that Zhao Guoqiang had tensed his jaw muscles.

"Alright, let me state my position," Liu Zhenhua said. "Regarding the support plan for Qingniao Reading, we'll proceed as Fang Jing suggested. Chen Yuanshan, as the overall person in charge of the plan, will lead the development of a detailed pilot implementation plan, coordinate resource allocation between headquarters and branches in Shanghai, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, and monitor the progress of each support module. We aim to implement it all within a week."

"Understood, Mr. Liu," Chen Yuanshan said.

"Fang Jing is responsible for strategic oversight and content risk control. As a strategic communication bridge between headquarters and Qingniao, she will regularly evaluate the pilot program's effectiveness and propose adjustments. She also needs to establish a content spot-check mechanism to ensure content compliance. Zhao Guoqiang will assist you with this task."

"Okay," Fang Jing said.

Zhao Guoqiang closed his eyes and nodded.

Liu Zhenhua looked at the young man: "Zhou Ming, take a technical team to Shanghai and help them optimize their system and interfaces. Headquarters will cover the costs."

"it is good."

"And you two," Liu Zhenhua glanced at Wang Hongxin and Sun Weimin, "report the specific plan for the pilot project to Yuanshan later."

"Understood," they both said in unison.

Liu Zhenhua picked up his coffee, took a sip, and stared meaningfully at Zhang Qiming: "Qiming, you need to understand that headquarters' willingness to support you doesn't mean they'll unconditionally bail you out. Within three months, achieve a monthly turnover of over five million. For subsequent upgrades, I'll personally send out documents to each province to promote your model. If you fail to do so, or if problems arise, you'll have to bear the responsibility yourselves."

Zhang Qiming nodded vigorously: "I understand, President Liu."