2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 907 "Boss Tan, Chosen by the Times"

The two-hour live stream produced data that shocked the entire internet and made many colleagues in the automotive and automotive industries extremely envious.

A star entrepreneur, a popular female celebrity, a controversial executive, two talkative people, and a seemingly straightforward host—this combination is a guaranteed hit and generates buzz.

Although the second half of the year saw a lot of criticisms of "Princess Agents," and Lin Gengxin's acting was disastrous, it did not affect the show's popularity at all, and he firmly secured his title as the queen of ratings.

With over 5000 million Weibo followers, his posts often garner millions of interactions, he frequently trends on social media, and has a positive public image.

It's a bit pricey, but hiring this spokesperson is definitely worth it.

In the endorsement contract, Tan Jincheng added a clause that his Weibo posts and public appearances must feature the endorsed product and cannot include competing products. He was also required to post ten Weibo posts each month with the Meizu Pro 7 suffix.

Since we can't gamble on the professionalism of every celebrity, we can only address these issues at their source. Tan Jincheng doesn't want a situation like the one where Wolf Warrior takes the endorsement fee, uses an iPhone to post on Weibo, and appears in public.

A lot of money was spent, but there was no actual publicity effect; instead, we were ridiculed.

The two-hour live stream made He Jia, Chen Mingyong, and all the staff of Orange Live, who had been monitoring the backend data, so excited they were practically shaking.

The live stream reached a peak of over 302 million concurrent viewers and garnered nearly 150 million likes. During the live stream, Meizu's official account on the Orange Live platform saw its follower count surge from less than 100,000 to 830,000, and its popularity consistently ranked at the top of the trending charts across the entire network.

Such immense popularity and astonishing dissemination data are a level that other brands might find impossible to reach even with massive spending, but for Tan Jincheng, it seems to be something he can achieve with ease.

Just as He Jia said, the man who claimed to know nothing about live streaming is back.

"I don't have that much influence. I have to thank Miss Zhao for her great help today. Otherwise, Mr. Li and I wouldn't have been able to bring such a large audience."

If we're talking about who's the happiest person today, it's definitely He Jia.

After years of hard work, Orange Live, which focuses on game live streaming and covers various live streaming modes such as sports, variety shows, and entertainment, has become one of the leading companies in the live streaming industry.

Orange has a monopoly in game live streaming due to its copyright holdings of many popular games such as Honor of Kings. However, in the pan-entertainment sector, Orange has consistently failed to make progress, resulting in a very small market share.

Momo, which started by skirting the edges of the market, has a prominent position in the pan-entertainment live streaming sector, and its market share has risen rapidly from 31% last year to 49% this year.

Anyone in the live streaming industry is envious of this traffic. The monetization ability of entertainment live streaming is extremely strong. Just dancing and wiggling your butt can get viewers to give you generous tips. The number of big spenders is not much smaller than in the gaming industry.

Tonight's live stream brought huge exposure to the platform, attracting two major groups: fans of Tan Jincheng and fans of Zhao Liying. The specific conversion rate is still unknown, but in any case, the number of registered users alone is enough to make Orange Live happy for a while.

He Jia didn't know how much Meizu could increase sales, but he had already directly benefited, and he couldn't stop smiling for the past two hours.

Are Meizu satisfied? Of course they are. The exposure tonight is undeniable; it really takes the boss's intervention.

Their concerts over the course of a year weren't as successful as this live stream.

"No, no, it's all thanks to your popularity, Mr. Tan. I'm just a decorative element."

Zhao Liying waved her hands repeatedly. Her persona in the entertainment industry is that of a straightforward person. Tonight, as the host, she also went straight to the point on some issues, which made things a little difficult for Tan Jincheng.

However, in such a complex environment as the entertainment industry, every big star who has slowly made their way up over a decade in the business is a shrewd and calculating individual. Opinions vary on their acting skills in front of the camera, but in real life, their interpersonal skills are undoubtedly at an award-winning level.

That's quite modest of her; quite a few of her fans came tonight.

However, she did admire the performance of this billionaire, who is only one year older than her, in front of the camera tonight.

To be honest, although tonight's live stream was very popular, the audience was also quite diverse, including her fans, Meizu phone fans, Weilai Auto fans, and even Liu Yifei's fans.

But most of them are just bystanders who love to watch the drama unfold and dare to ask any question.

For example, there was a period when the public chat was flooded with comparisons between her and Liu Yifei. Some fans who supported Liu Yifei asked Boss Tan why he didn't continue to choose Liu Yifei as the spokesperson for Meizu Pro 7, but instead chose her instead.

Her fans were equally fierce, flooding social media with responses asking why it couldn't be her.

Since the influx of internet capital into the entertainment industry in 2015, the phenomenon of fandomization in the entertainment industry has become increasingly serious. This problem has appeared on social media in a frenzy, and those who directly influence it cannot avoid it.

"To be honest, your fan base is much stronger than Xiao Liu's. I don't mean it in a derogatory way, it's just a difference in the groups."

After the live stream ended, Tan Jincheng invited everyone to have a late-night snack. She and her acquaintances didn't want to miss such an opportunity, as not everyone has the chance to dine privately with a billionaire.

Even though she is currently in the prime of her career, having a rumored relationship with Tan Jincheng is more of a benefit than a harm to her. However, after the fact, Zhao Liying was somewhat disappointed, but at the same time, she was relieved.

Because Tan Jincheng had also invited his wife!

As the Human Resources Director of Orange Group, Gu Qingqing is also in charge of Orange's business in the pan-entertainment sector, including games, live streaming, and entertainment.

Orange Live's business is within her sphere of interest, and tonight she has been at home monitoring the data changes. It can be said that Gu Qingqing is now one of the figures who can influence the entertainment industry.

"How to say?"

Sitting next to Gu Qingqing, Zhao Liying asked with some curiosity.

Regarding the choice of spokesperson, Tan Jincheng played a trick, using Liu Yifei's status as an employee of Flash Group as an excuse, a shameless answer that left fans of both sides speechless.

In fact, Tan Jincheng wasn't wrong. After the ten-year contract ended, Tan Jincheng gave Liu Yifei a generous endorsement contract. In addition, based on her ten years of contributions and her status as an honorary employee, he awarded her 10 shares of FlashTech stock in the name of the board of directors.

Based on FlashTech's current stock price, these 10 shares are worth 220 million yuan, so Liu Yifei could indeed be considered an employee of FlashTech Group.

This answer was somewhat perfunctory, but it effectively calmed the emotions of both sides' fans, preventing any confrontation from taking place in his live stream.

Liu Yifei's core fan base is driven by nostalgia for the character. Zhao Ling'er from the first Legend of Sword and Fairy series is the "white moonlight" for many. The fan base is predominantly male, mainly born in the 1980s. As these people get older, their spending power increases, but overall they are relatively laid-back.

They're willing to step up when something happens, but they rarely do things like other fan groups' support activities or offline idol-chasing like other groups do.

By retaining these core fans with strong purchasing power, she can maintain her core fanbase and secure endorsement deals. This is why, despite numerous troubles over the years, Liu Yifei's commercial value has steadily increased.

From a business perspective, there's really no difference between Meizu hiring Liu Yifei as its spokesperson and hiring Zhao Liying; both have high commercial value.

However, in these turbulent times, the laid-back nature of Liu Yifei's fan base is not suitable for Meizu at present. Meizu needs a catalyst to ignite its potential.

Zhao Liying's fan base is the best choice.

This female celebrity, who rose from obscurity to the top, has a core fan base that differs from most female celebrities, consisting mainly of young women.

In terms of geographical and age distribution, Zhao Liying's fan base has a very wide coverage in second- and third-tier cities and rural areas, with the age group mainly concentrated between 15 and 35 years old, especially working women and students aged 20 to 30.

Her humble beginnings and the fact that most of her roles in recent years have been leading lady roles make it very easy for her to gain the approval of these groups.

In addition, her fan base has a high family penetration rate, she has acted in family-friendly TV dramas, has a large number of "career fans", and has a good reputation among casual viewers.

These are the reasons why Tan Jincheng decided to ask her to be his spokesperson.

When there's an event, these dedicated fans will genuinely support it by voting and ranking. A large part of the Meizu Pro 7 series' success is thanks to Zhao Liying's fan base; they're truly willing to spend money to buy it.

"Your fan base is younger and more active online, which is something other companies can't match, but you also need to provide some appropriate guidance."

It's hard to say what Tan Jincheng has to say, since this isn't really his business. There are plenty of cases where celebrities have been tricked by their fans.

Zhao Liying nodded thoughtfully. It was the first time the two parties had worked together, and it was also the first time Zhao Liying had met Tan Jincheng. It was already quite rare for him to give her a reminder.

In fact, her management team and fans are quite happy to be able to cooperate with Tan Jincheng's directly affiliated company.

From Li Yuchun and Liu Yifei to Jay Chou and Hu Ge, all the celebrities who have worked with Tan Jincheng's companies have not only had smooth careers but also good reputations.

Apart from a brief period when Liu Yifei had a rumored relationship with Boss Tan, everything else went smoothly, and there were no scandals involving her as a spokesperson.

Superstition has its own explanations, but setting aside these unscientific factors, the other party's choice of spokesperson is definitely based on a very precise and reasonable logic, which is beneficial to the team's publicity.

Even if one were to have some negative accusations, the other party, out of concern for their own reputation, might help to resolve them. "If it's not a particularly serious issue, they can certainly help handle it, but if it involves illegal or disorderly conduct, that's definitely not an option."

As night fell, Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing, who had returned home, were also discussing this issue.

Tax evasion among celebrities is a serious issue. There are very few top stars who dare to say they have never evaded taxes. Once exposed, their careers are basically over. However, if they clean up their affairs and pay back all their taxes beforehand, they are not really in trouble.

Fortunately, the spokespeople he chose all had decent reputations, and his own status and position were enough to keep these agencies from acting recklessly. But if the scandal were to break, he would definitely distance himself from them quickly.

"What about Xiao Liu?"

Gu Qingqing asked somewhat mischievously, "At the end of last year, Meizu was looking for a new spokesperson. Liu Yifei, who didn't have a phone endorsement contract, would definitely have tried to get the job. Just like Tan Jincheng said before, she was quite suitable."

Unlike her previous life, thanks to Tan Jincheng's help and mediation, Liu Yifei had fewer scandals, but her career was still affected just like in her previous life. During the heyday of Huayi Brothers a few years ago, she was indeed in a situation where she had no roles to play for most of the time.

Fortunately, she seems to have a good attitude. You can tell from her Weibo posts from a few years ago that she has a good mindset. Privately, she is already one of Gu Qingqing's good friends, and she keeps in touch with Gu Qingqing quite often when she's not filming.

Incidentally, she could also make some money through investments. According to Gu Qingqing, she had participated in several of Wei Lai's public market rescue efforts and bought some of Wei Lai's stocks. Over the years, the returns have been quite good.

In terms of wealth, she is much richer than in her previous life. If she keeps a calm mindset, she lives a pretty good life. In addition, things have gradually improved over the years, and she has been able to get some film resources and opportunities to act.

She revealed her interest in becoming Meizu's spokesperson through Gu Qingqing, which can be considered as taking the route of becoming the wife of a wealthy man.

"It's the same. Friends are friends, but if it causes a big public opinion incident, we still have to do what we have to do. The environment is not the same as before. You should talk to her and tell her not to let her true nature be expressed on the Internet anymore."

After Weibo became popular, these celebrities were quite interesting, often sharing their private lives and insights on Weibo, which were quite down-to-earth. However, with the development of the times and the fandomization of idols, these behaviors have brought them some unnecessary trouble.

For example, during the Two Sessions in March this year, Liu Yifei shared photos of herself doing yoga at her home in Beijing. At that time, Tan Jincheng happened to be in Beijing for a meeting, and those ambiguous rumors from the past were brought up again and talked about for several days.

Although it's not a serious matter, it can still cause some trouble.

From a business perspective, his immense popularity makes him a perfect candidate to build a super entrepreneur brand, using his personal influence to promote his products. From a broader perspective, the public also needs a new generation of idols.

From selling clothes to building cars, Tan Jincheng's entrepreneurial journey has amassed a huge fan base, making him, like Jack Ma back then, a Tan Jincheng of our time.

Standing at the forefront of the times may seem glamorous, but it is also fraught with danger. Tan Jincheng did not have such intentions, but the times chose him anyway.

This can be seen from the propaganda the authorities have given to him and Wei Lai over the years. Old Ma is becoming more and more arrogant, and the authorities need to cultivate a new idol of the times. Lei Jun, who has a clean background and is also between the Internet and physical manufacturing, was originally a good choice.

But compared to Lei Jun, Tan Jincheng is more popular and has more potential for long-term development. In addition, Weilai is already a leading company in the domestic new energy vehicle industry. As Musk's personal advisor, his performance in Tesla's domestic Gigafactory project has not been able to hide from the higher-ups.

2017年1至11月份，尉来汽车在新能源汽车方面的销量提前一个月完成全年10万辆的销量计划，整体销量更是高达91.58万辆。

With only half a month left in 17, the data released by the market all indicate that Weilai is very likely to achieve the sales milestone of one million vehicles this year!

Weilai is very likely to become the third domestic brand to break through one million units in annual sales this year. Another company, Geely Automobile, is also likely to achieve one million units in sales this year. At the same time, Weilai Automobile is also the domestic brand that has achieved one million units in annual sales in the shortest time.

It took Great Wall Motors and Geely about 19 years to go from zero to sales of one million units, while Weilai Motors took less than ten years. BYD and Chery, which were highly anticipated a few years ago, have not yet achieved this feat.

For the past few years, it has remained relatively unknown, steadily maintaining growth among second-tier car companies. It has never boasted about its sales targets, focusing instead on doing its job well. Finally, in recent years, it has unleashed its vitality.

In the new energy vehicle sector, it became the first automaker to achieve annual sales exceeding 10 units. This achievement occurred before Tesla entered the Chinese market, which can be seen as giving domestic new energy vehicle manufacturers some face.

Over the past few years, the government has invested hundreds of billions of yuan, but apart from hyping up the concept of new energy vehicles, very few companies have actually made substantial investments. Even in this year's era of rapid growth in new energy vehicle sales, most manufacturers are still producing A00-class sedans, purely for the sake of subsidies.

Only Weilai has been seriously conducting research. Even the Aion series, which is designed for high-volume sales, is positioned at over 10 yuan (excluding subsidies). The Weilai brand, on the other hand, has consistently been priced at over 30 yuan.

Compared to A00-class sedans that sell for tens of thousands of yuan after subsidies, Weilai's pricing strategy has actually resulted in a significant loss in sales volume. However, Weilai has consistently adhered to this strategy, which is truly commendable.

Now, driven by Wei Lai, car companies such as Great Wall and Geely have begun to catch up. Under the pressure of Tesla's entry into the market, other car companies no longer dare to slack off as before.

The success of Woolai serves as a great impetus for domestic new energy vehicles. Although Woolai's sales are not as high as Tesla's internationally, it is recognized as Tesla's biggest competitor, especially in Europe.

Its intelligent driving capabilities are on par with Tesla, its car quality is excellent, and its motor, battery, and other configurations are also outstanding. The reason why it can't outsell Tesla is probably due to cultural differences and weaknesses in its models.

The shared cultural roots of Europe and America make Tesla more appealing to Europeans, and its designs are more suited to European tastes. In contrast, Tesla's models are somewhat too large for Europeans and don't quite fit their usage scenarios.

However, Weilai sells quite well in the four Nordic countries, especially Norway.

With strength, technology, popularity, and youth, and working in the currently hottest new energy industry, there is no reason for the higher-ups not to choose the more capable Tan Jincheng over Lei Jun.

The sales cycle for Double Twelve is the same as Double Eleven, starting at midnight. The peak sales period is from 7 pm to 10 pm on the same day. Unlike Double Eleven, Double Twelve is mainly promoted as a way to sell New Year's goods.

During the summer vacation, Singles' Day and the one or two months before and after the Spring Festival are the golden sales periods for mobile phones. Although the two-hour live broadcast did not directly promote Meizu and Meilan series products, Tan Jincheng and Li Nan introduced some advantages of their flagship models and shared some behind-the-scenes stories about the design.

As the host, Zhao Liying also promoted the Meizu Pro 7 series to her fans as part of the program, indirectly boosting Meizu's sales.

Meizu ranked seventh in sales throughout the day, which is already a very good result for Meizu. Neither Meizu nor Tan Jincheng could ask for more.

"Honor is too strong. You guys need to be extra careful next year. Meizu might just steal all of its market share."

It's understandable that Honor topped the sales charts on Double 12, since it's Chinese New Year and people want to buy phones for their elders and younger generations. While sub-brands like Xiaomi and Meizu often have better sales, Honor is simply too competitive!

With precise positioning, technological innovation, and efficient online channels, they have also come up with some creative marketing strategies, including collaborations with popular mobile games like Onmyoji and well-known IPs such as Spider-Man. They also frequently engage in promotions and activities on social media.

With its primary target audience being young users, Honor is going all out and is highly likely to win the title of best-selling single brand this year.

This poses a significant threat to Meizu, which also targets a young demographic. According to IDC statistics, Honor's shipments this year are estimated to be between 5400 million and 5500 million units.

The Meizu Blue series shipped approximately 1600 to 1700 million units, while Meizu's total shipments were around 2000 million units.

"Yes, the threat is too great. Boss, do you have any advice?"

Li Nan, who hasn't returned to Zhuhai yet, feels a greater threat than Tan Jincheng. In the low-end market, Redmi is strong enough, and now Honor is going all out, plus other brands. If they're not careful, they could really wipe out the Meizu series.

After all, the Meizu Blue series' annual sales of over 1600 million units are coveted by both top-tier brands and their pursuers.

"When the eldest and second eldest fight, the youngest always dies. You still have a lot to do next year. In addition to paying more attention to quality and user experience, the most important thing is to be more varied in your marketing methods."

"Just watch and learn from how Honor does things this year. We're not lacking in cooperation either. If necessary, I'll allocate some of my resources to you."

Honor can collaborate with Onmyoji, and Meizu can collaborate with Honor of Kings and the Honkai Impact 3 series. Alternatively, there are PUBG, female-oriented games like Miracle Nikki, and Love and Producer.

There are also resources within the Orange Group, and even Weilai Auto can be linked with car sales to boost sales.

On the online front, Tan Jincheng also has ample resources. He owns Orange Products Club, and now that Huang Zhang has left, the relationship between Meizu and Ali has eased. If all else fails, there's Pinduoduo.

Pinduoduo, which is currently rushing to go public, is probably about to start preparing a subsidy plan worth 10 billion yuan, right?
This wool is worth taking advantage of.

"Really? Then I won't be polite, boss."

Li Nan's eyes lit up. He lingered there hoping to get some resources from the boss. This year had been stabilized, but the situation was still very serious. The entire Meizu management team knew that Tan Jincheng bought Meizu for Flyme.

In order to establish a connection between mobile phones and automobiles, and to drive car upgrades and sales through the synergy between the two and the buzz in the tech industry.

Apart from Li Yan, no one else could be absolutely certain of how important she was to Tan Jincheng.

As for Li Nan, if Meizu's sales cannot stabilize at around 2000 million units and the low-end market is too aggressively captured, the boss will definitely not hesitate to cut the Meilan sub-brand.

There is almost no doubt that Meizu entrusted him with full responsibility, which is important, but even more so, it is a source of pressure and motivation.

"Speak up, what do you want? I knew you were lingering here because you had something on your mind."

(End of this chapter)