2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 177 Taking the "White Laundry" to the End

"Is the leadership worried that President Tan's future development might deviate from the right direction?"

"Yes, I believe the data in his plan is accurate and he is very determined to run a real business. But he is only 20 years old. He will be 30 in 10 years. Will he still be in the mood for it by then?"

"The leader's concerns are indeed reasonable. If one achieves success by the age of 20, there is a high possibility that one will lose interest in their career later on. However, I do have some of my own opinions."

"Oh? What do you say?"

"We don't really know what will happen in ten years, but based on the current plan, as long as Flash can meet next year's sales expectations, it should be fine for five years."

"Another thing I've observed is that although this young man is young, he doesn't seem to be the type to indulge in pleasure. He's currently renting a place on the Gold Coast and has only bought a small house in North Warehouse. As for cars, he's not too extravagant; he only had one BMW 3 Series before."

"His parents are still living their normal lives. His father is still working, and they just bought a new house in their hometown. There are no other changes. The family is still quite frugal."

"He has invested almost all of his money, with the largest investment in FlashDrive. It is said that he is currently developing new products at a rapid pace."

"Of course, these may just be his reactions because he is not yet aware of or used to being worth over 100 million. Whether he will continue to be like this in the future, no one can say for sure."

Zhao Jinsheng simply reported the details he observed; the specific decisions were left to the leaders. In fact, regarding the question the leader had just asked, Zhao Jinsheng felt that Tan Jincheng's behavior was somewhat bizarre.

The young man, suddenly rich, is able to live so "frugally"—his character is incredibly mature!

On the other hand, he was very generous with his money. Whenever he had money, he would invest it in Flash Technology, spending a lot of money to hire celebrities as spokespeople and launch one advertising campaign after another. All of this cost money. In addition, he treated his grassroots employees quite well.

FlashTech's entry-level employees work 12-hour shifts, with day and night shifts and only one day off per week, which is no different from some other factories. However, their average salary is about 15% to 20% higher than that of ordinary factories, and their benefits are also quite good.

The fact that all employees are covered by social security is a real investment. These days, a factory that is willing to pay social security for its employees, and does so voluntarily and mandatorily, is quite unusual.

The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau even presented them with a banner in recognition of their generosity.

If you say he's stingy, he does seem a bit stingy with himself, having never bought a luxury house and prioritizing the company image over his car. But if you say he's generous, he is truly generous, showing no stinginess in investing in the factory.

There are no major flaws in his personal conduct. It is somewhat unreasonable to doubt that such an outstanding young man, who is dedicated to his career, will continue to pursue it simply because of his age. At least for now, this reason is not valid.

The leader's eyes flashed, and he said, "You mean his style is more like that of a self-made millionaire?"

"A self-made man? 'Leader,' that's a pretty apt description. It's true. Although you're not very old, you've built your business from scratch, and your style is more like that of a self-made man."

The leader nodded, as if that were indeed the case.

Judging from this, his temperament should be relatively stable. I dare not say for ten years, but five years should not be a problem. If he is well cultivated, it will be a great achievement. At the same time, it may also establish a typical image of a post-80s entrepreneurial youth.

Since that's the case, there's nothing to hesitate about.

"Submit it and see how they react."

"Ok."

This submission caused a huge stir.

Tan Jincheng was unaware that his boasting had caused quite a stir in the district. At this moment, he was in Hengdian with Gu Qingqing under the guise of visiting the set, and also to discuss a contract with Liu Yifei's team.

“Ms. Liu, our new model is positioned as a light luxury product, and the price will not be too low. In addition, the model is relatively compact. Your daughter’s style matches our product very well, which is the main reason why we strongly invite you to be our spokesperson.”

Liu Xiaoli looked at the young man in front of her who was talking eloquently. She had inquired with Mango before and learned that the owner of Flash, who invited Chun Ge to be the spokesperson, was a young man, but she did not expect him to be so young. It was really unexpected.

"May I ask how old you are, Mr. Tan?" Liu Xiaoli suddenly interrupted.

Tan Jincheng, who was describing the product's features, was taken aback and glanced at Gu Qingqing beside him. Gu Qingqing also looked bewildered; she really had come here to see a celebrity.

"Ms. Liu is 20 years old this year. Is there something wrong with her?"

Liu Xiaoli smiled and said, "No, I had only heard that your company's boss was very young. I didn't expect him to be so young. He's already worth over 100 million at the age of 20. That's really amazing."

"You flatter me. It's all thanks to the good policies of the country. Your daughter is also very outstanding. My girlfriend is a fan of hers. I have a request. Regardless of whether our cooperation can be finalized, would you mind taking a photo with my girlfriend later, Ms. Liu?"

At 18, Liu Yifei's aura was far less imposing than it would be in later years, and she sat quietly to the side.

Tan Jincheng had never met her in his previous life, but from some interviews, he could sense that the girl's personality was generally lively and straightforward; of course, this could also be interpreted as confidence. Her quietness today was somewhat unlike her usual self, but perhaps this was simply her true nature—after all, celebrities always have multiple faces.

To be honest, Tan Jincheng didn't know much about her. Apart from being pretty and often being criticized online but never coming out to refute it, he had only watched the TV series "Chinese Paladin" since he was a fan of the game.

From the first to the fourth installment of the game, many people stayed up all night looking for walkthroughs to complete it, which is a memory for many born in the 1980s.

The reason for choosing her was purely from a business perspective. For a new brand, pairing her with a young celebrity spokesperson, especially one who can remain popular for over a decade, would be very effective in enhancing the brand's influence.

Companies tend to avoid frequently changing celebrity spokespeople. For example, in the past, Yadi couldn't find a good spokesperson. They looked at a lot of different ones and spent a lot of money, but the results were not as good as those of Hermès.

The most classic spokesperson should be Wahaha, who used the same spokesperson until the chairman retired.

Of course, Gu Qingqing being her fan is also a reason. As for Tan Jincheng himself? He doesn't really care much about celebrities. He only likes Zhou Pangzi because he likes his songs.

Perhaps due to the chain reaction caused by Flash, it is said that some companies in the industry are now looking for spokespeople. It seems that Yadi is in contact with SHE, while Xinri has unsurprisingly approached Big Brother Cheng.

Perhaps this is the butterfly effect brought about by Tan Jincheng. The fierce competition in the electric vehicle industry seems to have started earlier than originally planned, which is one of the reasons why Tan Jincheng boasted about building an industrial base.

Those who stand out and become famous will only be abandoned by the tide of the times if their own strength cannot keep up. There are quite a few who have been eliminated by those who dared to be pioneers.

"Oh? And you, Mr. Tan?"

"I was a fan of Ling'er back then, otherwise I wouldn't have approached you to discuss cooperation."

"Haha, interesting. Is that why you offered our Yifei a ten-year endorsement contract?" Liu Xiaoli said with sparkling eyes.

Tan Jincheng smiled and replied, "That's one reason. Of course, I'd much rather see your daughter's future in the entertainment industry."

The Flash series shares the same name with the company. As its popularity grows, it won't really matter whether it needs a spokesperson or not. Besides, no matter how badly the Super Girl competition was run in the following years, there was still a period of popularity every year, so it's still possible to ride that wave of popularity.

If all else fails, we can renew the contract with Chris Lee for a few more years. After the era of competing to be the worst, Chris Lee's status in the mainland music scene is not low, and what's even more remarkable is that his reputation has always been good.

The Fengchi series is different. It takes a light luxury approach and is priced higher. It sells at a premium, and the spokesperson must have a certain commercial appeal and be indispensable.

When the company promotes its brand, consumers will naturally know Flash, but they may not necessarily associate it with Windspeed.

Liu Yifei, who is in her prime at ten years old, is a worthy spokesperson. Otherwise, if you sign a three- to five-year endorsement deal and then change spokespeople, the requirements will be even higher, and you will have to find a spokesperson with a higher profile than her.

"Can I understand that Mr. Tan means he prefers to sign a ten-year endorsement contract?"

“That’s one way to put it, but for a ten-year contract, I need to sign it with Ms. Liu herself,” Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

That's a joke. Signing an endorsement contract with a management company 10 years ago is definitely not allowed, even if you are her mother. Now that Liu Yifei is over 18 years old, she has the right to sign contracts independently.

"In addition, we can pay the endorsement fee in one lump sum, but the penalty for breach of contract must be increased to three times the amount."

In the entertainment industry, endorsement contracts are usually paid in a lump sum. However, for a ten-year endorsement, payments can actually be made in installments. The reason for proposing a lump sum payment is not only to lock in the contract in advance, but also to create a sensational effect.

Receiving a one-time endorsement fee of 2700 million yuan, regardless of the length of the contract, is absolutely explosive news in today's entertainment industry. There were very few female celebrities in 2005 who received endorsement fees in the tens of millions!
Even in later times, this fee would be considered top-tier treatment. Of course, in later times, a top-tier company could only sign a one-year contract for a fee in the tens of millions.

Sure enough, Tan Jincheng's suggestion moved not only Liu Xiaoli, but also Liu Yifei herself. She was clearly thinking about the benefits behind these numbers and how explosive the publicity would be!

Liu Xiaoli's idea was to publicize the deal as 3000 million yuan, or even higher, as long as both parties agreed on the same story. This was a top-tier endorsement fee!

With this endorsement deal, negotiating advertising deals and TV drama scripts will be much easier in the future.

Look, our Yifei is only 18 years old, and they dare to sign her for ten years and give her tens of millions in endorsement fees. Isn't your figure too insincere?
As for the claim that there is a three-fold penalty for breach of contract if you sign a contract with me, Liu Xiaoli, who doesn't have an omniscient perspective, didn't take it seriously. Signing a contract with me makes sense, since it's a long-term contract, and only a fool would voluntarily breach it.

In 2005, there was no concept of trending topics, and Weibo was still in the early days of blogs. However, Baidu had search terms, so the promotional effect was not much worse.

This is especially true for Fengchi, which is not yet listed. Just like signing Chun Ge during the Super Girl competition, Fengchi Technology hardly needed to spend any resources or funds on publicity in the early stages. With such explosive numbers, the other party's management team still had to promote it vigorously.

I can get another bunch of media resources for free, haha!

I deliberately misspelled a word in the title to avoid it failing the review.
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(End of this chapter)