2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 132 Flash Spokesperson

Who was the most popular in 2005?
Of course, that's the Super Girl competition that's currently all the rage.

The Super Girl competition, which started in 2004, ushered in the era of talent shows in China. This year's second season, along with the Happy Boys competition from 2007, is considered the pinnacle of male and female talent show history.

These days, the preliminary rounds are truly open to the public. The champion of the finals is decided by off-site SMS voting, with each SMS costing 1 yuan and each mobile phone number allowed a maximum of 15 votes.

Not only was the internet underdeveloped, but mobile phones were also considered a luxury in those days. This year's champion received more than 300 million votes. Many students secretly used their parents' phone numbers to vote. When Tan Jincheng was selling boxed lunches, students passing by asked to borrow his phone to vote.

That's really crazy! Several regional champions have already emerged. The champion of Sichuan Prefecture is not the final champion. This is definitely a good opportunity to pick up the scraps.

The Super Girl finals are on August 25th. Today is July 2nd, which is almost two months away. The regional competitions in Sichuan have already ended. At this point, it shouldn't cost much to win over Chun Ge, who is not the regional champion.

However, Tan Jincheng really can't appreciate the current Super Girls' styles, but if he really signs them, then it'll be a real steal!

Maximize market awareness with minimal cost.

Once we get to the finals, the publicity can go on a massive scale. This is definitely something we can do!

"What do you think about signing a Super Girl contestant as a spokesperson?" Tan Jincheng asked Gu Qingqing with a smile.

"Oh? Then we'll have to wait until the champion is decided before signing. If you don't win the championship, there won't be much buzz. Besides, Super Girl is only held once a year. Look at last year's champion, he didn't get much attention."

Super Girl is very popular now, but Gu Qingqing doesn't quite agree with this suggestion. Another thing she doesn't like to mention is that Gu Qingqing doesn't appreciate the stage outfits of Super Girl.

"Why don't you become the spokesperson yourself, Mr. Tan? You can put on makeup and impersonate Louis Koo, that should work," Gu Qingqing said with a light laugh.

When they first met, Gu Qingqing thought Tan Jincheng looked a bit like Louis Koo, but she was too embarrassed to say it. Now that they've both become bolder, they can joke like that too.

"This could lead to a lawsuit; we can't do this."

While Gu Qingqing didn't quite agree with having a Super Girl contestant as a spokesperson, Tan Jincheng was quite impressed. In terms of commercial endorsement value, Super Girl's commercial endorsement value was indeed not high. It was only held once a year, and basically only a few of them could make it big.

Last year's champion was so popular, but this year he's almost forgotten. His popularity will only last for a year or two at most. It can be said that Gu Qingqing is considering this issue very rationally, especially since the champion hasn't even been decided yet.

From the perspective of modern people, unless you sign with a group, it will not have a significant publicity effect.

However, Tan Jincheng knew that this year's Super Girls were destined to be different. The top few would have a place in the music scene for more than 10 years, especially Chun Ge. Although Chun Ge's stage appearance was very exaggerated, her reputation was really good.

Furthermore, she will remain a top-tier singer in the music scene for the next 10 years or so. In the short term, signing her as a spokesperson before Chris Lee wins the championship is a very worthwhile investment, both in terms of cost and other factors.

In the long run, as long as Chris Lee maintains her status in the music industry, the Flash series, which is Chris Lee's first endorsed product, will inevitably be mentioned frequently. This marketing campaign is truly worthwhile.

That’s it!
“I want to sign Chun Ge (Chris Lee), I think she can become famous,” Tan Jincheng said confidently.

Tan Jincheng's absolutely certain tone surprised Gu Qingqing: "Huh? She's not even from a regional competition, how can you be so sure she'll become famous?"

"Hey, Mr. Tan, you don't watch Super Girl too, do you? You shouldn't have the time."

“I watch it occasionally when I’m on a business trip. I think her stage style is sure to be a hit, and she has a lot of fans. She might even win the championship.”

The term "fans" didn't exist back then; "music fans" would have been a more accurate description.

"Are you sure?" Gu Qingqing looked at Tan Jincheng with some suspicion.

It can only be said that Mr. Tan has a very unique taste in celebrities; he likes Jay Chou for men and surprisingly likes someone like Chris Lee for women.

"Don't overthink it. I'm not interested in Super Girl. You're right, their popularity won't last long. But right now we don't have enough resources. Using the hottest topics right now to increase our popularity is the best way."

I would like to sign either Zhao Liying or Liu Liying, both of whom are post-85 actresses, right now. But the problem is that Liu Liying has already been in the industry for two years. Although she is only 18 years old, she has already starred in several very popular TV series.

This year's Legend of Sword and Fairy has propelled her to the status of a national goddess. As a fan of the Legend of Sword and Fairy game, Xiao Liu's Zhao Ling'er truly matches the image in the minds of every game fan.

If we were to use the term "traffic" to describe it, Liu Cixin would definitely be a top star this year, as the Legend of Sword and Fairy series was incredibly popular.

As for Li Xiaoyao, who was also a lead actor, they could sign him, but the problem was that he was in a car accident later on. A celebrity who had been in a car accident was not a good choice for an electric vehicle brand.

As for Xiao Zhao, she hasn't even debuted yet, so we don't know where to find her.

"That makes sense, but isn't signing only one too risky? Winning the championship would be a huge win, but what if we don't win? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"

"It's not a complete waste of time if we don't get the endorsement. As long as we make it into the top ten nationwide, it's worth it. Our goal isn't to have the spokesperson bring in a lot of sales, but to increase product awareness." "That's not quite it, but this way, Boss Tan will have a chance to meet a celebrity," Gu Qingqing said with a smile.

"Hehe, that's true. If we get through this year and establish ourselves in the market, we'll definitely sign more celebrities in the future, and I'll bring you autographs then," Tan Jincheng laughed heartily.

"Then can we sign Mayday? Take me with you when you shoot the commercials," Gu Qingqing joked.

"No way, I definitely want to sign Jay Chou as a male celebrity. You can pick a female one."

"???"

Uh, I was just joking. I didn't expect you to actually answer me so seriously and refuse?
"Is Mr. Tan serious?"

"Of course, as long as we can establish a firm foothold this year, I am confident that we can sign Jay Chou as our spokesperson next year, or at the latest the year after."

I remember that Aima signed Jay Chou in 2009, and the endorsement fee at that time was 3000 million yuan for two years? If it had been signed before 08, it wouldn't have cost that much. Another advantage was that competitors would no longer be able to sign Jay Chou.

Gu Qingqing was shocked by Tan Jincheng's ambition. She didn't know how much it would cost to sign a top-tier celebrity as a spokesperson, but it certainly wouldn't be cheap. It would definitely cost several million, and it could even cost tens of millions.

To set such expectations at the very beginning of starting a business takes immense courage; just moments ago he was worried about whether the company would go bankrupt. What can I say?

Gu Qingqing couldn't see a trace of joking in Tan Jincheng's eyes; what he said was exactly what he thought.

"Okay, then good luck, Mr. Tan. I like Zhao Ling'er from Legend of Sword and Fairy. Let's see if you can sign her." Gu Qingqing encouraged with a light laugh.

"Okay, I'll try my best. You work on the QQ Space marketing plan first, and I'll make a few phone calls. We'll have lunch at the cafeteria, and I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

With the combination of internet and celebrity endorsements to enhance brand awareness, and offline retailers offering discounts, Flash should be able to quickly open up the market, right?
"Brother Sun, come up here to the room next to my office. I'll be waiting for you here."

Next to the general manager's office is a secretary's office, where Sun Yuming's desk is also located. However, he rarely has the opportunity to stay here. In the future, new staff will be added. All major decisions of Flash Automotive are made by Tan Jincheng.

Major decisions cannot be delegated. In the early stages, the company's structure was relatively rough, so it wouldn't be a problem if I worked hard to run around or if Sun Yuming could make the notifications on my behalf. However, as the company grows, it will inevitably need more secretaries.

A short while later, Sun Yuming came running up, panting heavily.

As soon as he entered, Sun Yuming asked, "Boss, what's the matter?"

"I'm planning to find a spokesperson for our Flash series. You need to notify all the suppliers to get us dozens of sets of parts as soon as possible, and then arrange for the workshop to assemble several Flash series samples as quickly as possible, the kind that can be used completely normally."

"Okay, no problem. Some parts have already started to be shipped, using their inventory, and the workshop has also done some trial assembly."

"That's good. We need to see the samples by next Friday, is that alright?"

There shouldn't be any problem. Even if there is a problem, it has to be no problem. If it really doesn't work, I'll drive to the supplier myself and pick it up.

"No problem, boss, don't worry."

"Well, also, you should try to contact Chun Ge's company and tell them that we want to sign her as the spokesperson for our Flash series electric vehicles, and ask them to quote a price."

Regardless of whether it's an open audition or not, contestants who have made it to the finals and gained some fame have definitely already signed with an agency. Hunan TV isn't doing such a big talent show for charity; the initial contestants all signed with their agency.

It's just too shady; quite a few people have tried to terminate their contracts. But that's pretty normal in the entertainment industry. Tan Jincheng can't control that. As long as the price is reasonable and they don't rip me off, that's fine.

Sun Yuming was stunned: "Huh? Flash Motors signed Chun Ge? Boss, are you sure?"

Sun Yuming naturally knows about the currently popular Super Girl contestants, and Chun Ge has also heard of them, though she isn't very familiar with them.

"It's confirmed, she's the one. If you need to contact someone else, you can ask someone higher up for help. It's better for them to handle things than for us to do it ourselves. Spend what needs to be spent, don't be stingy. As long as you get the connections, that's fine. If you need money, just go to the finance department."

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away. Is there anything else?"

"That's all, you can go now."

The boss just needs to say a few words, and the subordinates are running themselves ragged. Sun Yuming hurriedly went out to find a solution. Hmm, let's ask the neighborhood office first. They've been coming over from time to time lately to ask if we have any difficulties that need to be resolved. Well, here comes the difficulty.

As he walked downstairs, Sun Yuming took out his phone and searched for information about Brother Chun.

"The boss has some really unique taste. I heard he also likes Zhou the Stutterer. Tsk tsk."

(End of this chapter)