2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 146 Marketing King of Glory
On the last Friday night of August, a competition captivated hundreds of millions of people across the country, with the final election reportedly expected to draw 200 million viewers to their television sets.

Students are enjoying their last summer vacation, working people are enjoying their weekends, and even retired seniors can relax by watching live streams. The young people singing and dancing are just like they were when they were young.

There are countless other people like Tan Jincheng who chose to watch this final competition because of their own interests.

"Stars shine brightly, spring breezes soar; Flash Electric Vehicles welcomes you to the next program!"

Before the live stream officially started at 8:30, the last advertisement was a promotional video for Flash Electric Vehicles filmed by Chun Ge. As soon as the advertisement was broadcast, it not only stunned the four people who were watching the live stream with Tan Jincheng, but also shocked countless people who knew the inside story.

"Holy crap! When did you get the pre-broadcast ads on Hunan TV?" Zhang Xupeng exclaimed in shock.

If Gu Qingqing's bold attempt to visit Tan Jincheng's room earlier caused everyone to cheer because they felt the relationship between the two had made great progress compared to before, it was somewhat unexpected, but more of a blessing.

However, no sooner had the unexpected incident passed than Boss Tan delivered an even bigger one.

Gu Qingqing was also very surprised. When the contract was being discussed, she was there and heard Boss Tan and Agent Man talk about how if Chun Ge could make it to the finals, they would advertise before the finals aired, which was a kind of alternative vote-getting.

At the same time, Tan Jincheng also arranged for Man Brokerage and Tianyu Brokerage to cooperate in securing advertising slots during this period, with advertising fees being negotiable.

But Gu Qingqing also knew that this type of advertising resource was very rare, and it was not as simple as just paying for the advertising fee. She didn't expect that Boss Tan would actually manage to do it!
"Haha, how about it? I heard that more than 100 million people are watching this game tonight. Is this ad worth it?" Tan Jincheng grinned and laughed heartily.

Actually, this was something Tan Jincheng had been planning from the very beginning of the contract signing. But everyone knew that the day of the final election would be a peak period for viewership. Not to mention the sponsors of Super Girl, other major brands were also eyeing the advertising slots before the live broadcast.

Winning this deal isn't just about money; the competition is incredibly fierce.

Flash Auto only signed Chun Ge and has no cooperation with the Super Girl brand. Therefore, if they want to secure the pre-live broadcast advertising, they need to fully cooperate and provide certain benefits.

"How did you do that?" Zhang Xupeng continued to press.

"In addition to the high advertising costs, we're also sponsoring a fan meeting after the competition," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

As per last year's practice, the period after the competition is also a crucial time for making money. The contestants will be divided into several groups and appear in various places for commercial performances in the form of fan meetings. Most of this money ends up in Tianyu's pocket.

Tan Jincheng persuaded Tian Yu to help Shan Chi in advertising negotiations by sponsoring a fan meeting. With Tian Yu's help and the high advertising fee, the deal was finally secured.

The cost of one advertisement exceeded the cost of recent online promotions, which was quite a price to pay. However, Tan Jincheng felt it was worthwhile. Although the marketing did not reach the province where Hunan TV is located, it at least made hundreds of millions of viewers aware of the Flash brand.

In 2005, the influence of television media was still higher than that of the internet. Viewers had a high level of trust in brands that could be featured on television, especially provincial satellite TV channels and CCTV during prime time.

In terms of publicity alone, Tan Jincheng even felt that this advertisement surpassed all previous publicity efforts, but without the groundwork laid in the early stages, it wouldn't have achieved today's explosive effect.

"Honey, honey, look! FlashChe's ad is on Hunan TV!" Zhao Chuanbing excitedly grabbed and shook his wife's arm.

“I saw it, I saw it! I looked more carefully than you did. This company's boss is really capable,” his wife said with a smile.

After more than a decade of experience with CCTV's prime-time advertising bidding, the general public has gained some understanding of the prices for prime-time advertising. Tonight's broadcast is undoubtedly prime time, and companies that can secure prime-time advertising slots are all powerful companies.

"Haha, great! With this tonight's setup, we're sure to sell even better tomorrow. Let's put up a few more billboards tomorrow," Zhao Chuanbing laughed heartily.

Shop owners like them who have already received their goods are now officially selling the black and white versions of the Flashcar. The Flashcar, with its excellent price-performance ratio, has attracted the attention of electric scooter buyers as soon as it was launched, along with promotions.

Young and quick-witted shop owners like Zhao Chuanbing are working even harder to promote their products. In just over half a month, their shop has already sold more than 20 vehicles. At the normal pace, all 100 vehicles can be sold within a month.

With the boost from tonight's advertisement, Zhao Chuanbing felt that the products should sell out even faster.

"Should we place another order with the manufacturer in advance? I think this advertising will definitely intensify the competition for goods later on."

I heard that Flash has an internal credit system that assesses the credit rating of retail stores based on their payment speed. I received the goods and received payment after the weekend, so I should have a relatively high credit rating, right?
"Let's see how much they sell next week, or you can call their customer service hotline tomorrow to ask."

"Hmm, I'll ask about it tomorrow. This brand isn't hard to sell, and its price is quite competitive in the market. The pressure of sourcing it is also much less than that of Xinri."

Suddenly, Zhao Chuanbing had a thought. It seemed that FlashChe was currently being supplied directly by the manufacturer and didn't have any distributors in various regions. He could forget about becoming the general distributor in Anhui Province; he didn't have the capability. So, what about the tiered distributorship in Yingzhou? Could he give it a try?
Once a person has ambition, they can't suppress it. Zhao Chuanbing lost interest in watching the competition afterward, his mind preoccupied with whether he could secure the general agency rights for Yingzhou. As the most populous city in Anhui Province, Yingzhou had a huge market for electric scooters. His brand, Flash, a cheap and easy-to-use electric scooter, was already established and destined for market success—Zhao Chuanbing was almost certain of this.

"Don't you guys think it's incredibly awkward for a singer to have a plant come on stage to present flowers during a performance?"

"No, I think it's fine. Why is your point of awkwardness so strange? Aren't you embarrassed by the contestants' outfits?"

"Haha, it's awkward, the stage design is awkward, everything is awkward."

Compared to the previous competitions, the final three-way competition on the final night was really lackluster. It was filled with various vote-soliciting segments, but there weren't many actual performances. There were even fans requesting songs by phone, which was ridiculous. The host was also incredibly noisy.

Fortunately, there were five people watching the game today, which made it more lively and less boring. Zhang Xupeng and the other two even thoughtfully moved Gu Qingqing to sit next to Tan Jincheng, so the two and a half hours passed by quite easily.

Gu Qingqing will not go to work tomorrow. She will take advantage of the remaining days of summer vacation to go home. As for her electric scooter, Qin Siyu will ride it for the time being. When Qin Siyu returns to school, it will be parked at Shanchi Auto Shop.

When school starts, Sun Yuming will take her to school.

"I'll leave my luggage at the apartment for now. Could you help me take it to school when Qin Siyu leaves?" Gu Qingqing said softly to Tan Jincheng.

"No problem, I'll take you to the station tomorrow."

"Won't it be too much trouble? You're so busy with work, I don't have much stuff, I can take the bus."

"It's no trouble. I don't need to travel for work recently, so it doesn't matter whether I go to the company earlier or later."

"OK then."

The other three smiled knowingly as they watched the two whispering. Qin Siyu, in particular, felt that she had done a great job. Ever since the two had teased each other that night, Qin Siyu felt that Gu Qingqing had become much bolder than before.

Her performance tonight surprised her greatly; it takes immense courage for a girl to take the initiative to visit a boy's room.

"Hehe, if those two actually get together, will Boss Tan thank me?"

It was 11 o'clock, and the long and boring final night was finally coming to an end. The final vote count for the top three was about to be announced. As usual, there was a commercial break. Hunan TV let the contestants reveal the vote count panel little by little, which showed that they had a firm grasp on the audience's mentality.

The first vote count to be announced was for the contestant surnamed Zhang, with 135 million votes. This would put him in third place. Tan Jincheng couldn't remember whether the contestant surnamed Zhang was second or third, but that's how the script usually goes, with the contestant with the fewest votes being announced first.

"Holy crap, 327 million votes, leading by nearly 200 million! Is this some kind of incredible feat? Does Brother Chun have no chance of winning?"

"Haha, that's not necessarily true. Who knows until the results are announced?"

"That's true, we can't do things like popping champagne at halftime."

If you can't speak properly, then shut up.

Actually, as expected, Hunan TV was going to promote this guy. However, Chun Ge, who hadn't even won the CD region championship, suddenly emerged and showed his advantage in a series of finals, and his popularity reached its peak.

This was something Hunan TV hadn't anticipated, but the contestant's popularity was indeed high; the 327 million votes were simply phenomenal.

Finally, it was time for Brother Chun to announce the final million-digit number. Brother Chun's number in the hundred thousand place was 52.83 votes. If the final million-digit number of votes is greater than or equal to three, then he will win the championship by at least 25 votes.

The host's deliberate attempts to create a lively atmosphere seemed a bit childish to Tan Jincheng, but judging from the behavior of the other four people in the living room, it was clear that audiences in this era still seemed to enjoy this kind of thing.

Unsurprisingly, 352.83 votes! They won!
"Ahhh, we won! Congratulations, Boss Tan!" Gu Qingqing shook Tan Jincheng's arm excitedly.

Zhang Xupeng pursed his lips, realizing that Xiao Tan had gotten away with it again. However, he was also very excited inside. This time, Xiao Tan could be considered a big winner. Although Chun Ge's image was both praised and criticized, it ultimately made Shan Chi one of the focal points off-stage, and Xiao Tan's career also took another step forward.

Zhang Xupeng turned his gaze to Gu Qingqing, who was clinging to Xiao Tan's arm: "Sigh, I'm going to lose the bet. Looks like I'll have to give 8 yuan as a bride price when Xiao Tan gets married. I just don't know who it will be."

(End of this chapter)