Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 479 Erguotou's Challenge
Phone.

Xu Zhiquan paused and said:

“The specific situation of the Red Star Winery advertising project needs to be discussed with my son.

I have mentioned the background of this matter to you before at home. I will tell you again, it is still a bit complicated..."

Xu Zhiquan didn't say much, but he explained the core important information to Xu Chen in a concise and concise manner.

Jiang Huaqin, the controller of Datuo Car Dealership, is currently in urgent need of getting in touch with a connected leader at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the Beijing Municipality.

But this leader is impenetrable and even difficult to communicate with in private.

Jiang Huaqin learned from various sources that the leader has a son-in-law named Meng Huiyang, who was transferred to the Red Star Winery under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and is currently serving as product marketing director.

It just so happened that Jiang Huaqin was able to get to know this son-in-law, Meng Huiyang, through connections, and Meng was also relatively easy to talk to.

Meng Huiyang is going to be promoted to "Vice President" in the Red Star Winery in the future, but he still needs to show solid project performance before the promotion.

The project that Xu Zhiquan asked Xu Chen to contact at present is an advertising promotion project under the charge of Meng Huiyang.

If this project can be completed, it will help Meng Huiyang gain a firm foothold within the Red Star Winery, and the relationship with his "father-in-law" leadership and the favors on Jiang Huaqin's side will also be settled one by one.

Xu Chen had a rough idea in his mind and said:

"Red Star Distillery has only one product brand, which is 'Red Star Erguotou'.

If it is a promotion project for Red Star Erguotou, it really won’t be a big problem.”

In his previous life, Xu Chen worked in an advertising company for a period of time on alcoholic beverage products, and he had indeed done serious desk research on advertisements for various types of liquor.

Among them, the marketing battle between Red Star Erguotou and Niulanshan is also a typical competition case in the liquor industry.

Xu Zhiquan smiled and said, “I feel relieved that I have a son!

In short, don't put too much pressure on yourself. As long as my son can participate in this project, Jiang Huaqin will be able to feel our dedication and sincerity."

Xu Chen: "We still have to try our best to complete the project. Since we have gone through so much trouble, we still have to get results."

Xu Zhiquan: "My son, what you said is very good!"

He paused and said, "I'll let Guo Liang help you with the specific project requirements, and you can communicate directly later."

Xu Chen: "No problem, just let Guo Liang find me."

Xu Zhiquan: "If there is any reporting or meeting at the Red Star Winery, Jiang Huaqin will probably go along.

He also wants to take this opportunity to build a relationship with Meng Huiyang and see if they can have a meal together or something like that."

Xu Chen: "Dad, are you coming?"

Xu Zhiquan: “Of course I have to come.

Jiang Huaqin wanted to have dinner with Meng Huiyang, and I wanted to have dinner with Jiang Huaqin...

These are all great opportunities.”

Xu Chen: "Your business affairs are really complicated."

Xu Zhiquan smiled heartily:
"China is a society based on favors. No matter how big a boss is, there will always be times when you need help from others.

They all go around in circles to get together for dinner to exchange value and talk about friendship, and it’s the same for everyone.”

……

After finishing his meal, Xu Chen returned to the dormitory and soon received a message from Guo Liang.

The matter was urgent and important, so Xu Chen called Guo Liang directly.

The two of them did not exchange small talk and went straight to the point:
"After Red Star Winery learned about Dongchen Advertising, they came to contact us with great interest.

They mainly look at the past cases and clients of Zhongdongchen Advertising, especially Jiaduobao and Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water, which are fast-moving consumer goods beverages that are close to their categories..."

"I just established contact with them at noon, and they want to set up a meeting with Dongchen as soon as possible.

I would like to communicate the project requirements and see if Dongchen Advertising has any suitable ideas.

It seems that they are still very anxious. "

Xu Chen: "A preliminary telephone conference call will do, right? Today or tomorrow is fine for me.

I just need to make it available in advance."

Guo Liang: "Okay, then I'll make an appointment with the other party first."

Xu Chen: "I'll also check on the specific participants on their side, mainly the business lines and positions, so that I can be prepared."

Guo Liang: "I understand!"...

Not long after, he received a message from Guo Liang.

The conference call with Red Star Winery is scheduled for 5 o'clock this afternoon.

The leader involved on the client side is none other than the "son-in-law" Meng Huiyang, who currently serves as the product marketing director of Red Star Winery.

The time is right, and Xu Chen doesn't need to ask for leave again.

He also immediately notified Gu Xinxin and asked her to help arrange a meeting room and prepare meeting documents.

……

After all, this matter is related to the northern market expansion of "Morning Wind Technology" and is not an encouraged advertising project. "Mr. Xu" still takes it very seriously.

During the break between classes in the afternoon, Xu Chen also researched Red Star’s Erguotou products online, as well as its previous advertising promotions.

After all, it is a traditional state-owned winery and its Erguotou products are relatively low-end market. At that time in 07, its advertising and promotion ideas were still very traditional.

Xu Chen naturally sorted out his memories and made some mental preparations for the advertising project that "Red Star Erguotou" was about to undertake in his previous life.

Two possible project directions for this project were quickly identified.

Xu Chen is still very confident. Considering the current market environment and Hongxing’s development stage, the demand for this project will generally not deviate from these two major directions.

In these two major directions, Xu Chen already has "standard answers" in his mind.

As long as there are no natural disasters or man-made calamities, there will be no problem in completing this project.

Mr. Xu had not expected that he would be able to help expand the distribution of "Morning Wind Electric Vehicles" in the northern market in this way.

……

……

Near five in the evening, Dongchen Advertising.

The large conference room was still packed with quite a few people.

In addition to Sun Amy, Gu Xinxin, and Tang Xiaowei, there are three other interns, all of whom are seniors from the same college as Xu Chen.

The early stage of the project requirements meeting involved brainstorming and creative thinking, so we called more people to attend.

When the three interns heard that it was a practical advertising competition project, they instantly became interested and were eager to try it out.

Among them was Zhang Yuchen, a junior advertising student...

Xu Chen hurried over after class, greeted briefly, checked the time, and started the meeting quickly.

Guo Liang was called into the conference call first, and Gu Xinxin talked to his former "master" again, still unable to hide his enthusiasm and happiness.

Guo Liang gave a few brief introduction and then asked Gu Xinxin to connect the call to the client, Red Star Wine Industry.

The meeting was chaired by Guo Liang, who first briefly introduced the "leaders" of both sides.

On the "Dongchen Advertising" side, they mainly introduced Mr. Xu and Sun Amy from the creative department.

On the "Red Star Wine Industry" side, the main leader is the product marketing director, Meng Huiyang, who is also the key figure in this project.

Another person is Meng Huiyang's subordinate, Marketing Manager Xia Mengxiang...

The two sides naturally got to know each other briefly and exchanged greetings first.

The client's marketing manager, Xia Mengxiang, made a brief introduction and communication, and said that she recognized Dongchen Advertising's past cases and was very happy to have this communication. As for the director, Meng Huiyang, at least he was very cold on the phone and only said hello at the beginning.

The son-in-law who can become a "leader" usually has a good family background.

Xu Chen couldn't help but think of Fang Jun. Is it true that for people with good family backgrounds, being "cold" is a common attribute? ...

Xu Chen gave another round of introduction to "Dongchen Advertising", mainly involving core project cases.

Among them, we also catered to their interests and focused on fast-moving consumer goods projects related to alcohol and beverages.

He was brief and to the point, but the core was still to demonstrate the company's strength and professionalism.

On the other end of the phone, Xia Mengxiang asked a few questions, which should have also included some questions from her leader Meng Huiyang, mainly involving the ideas behind some projects and so on.

Xu Chen was naturally able to dismantle the matter with ease. As long as it did not involve confidential information such as the client's brand sales data, he would tell them everything he knew.

Only after Xu Chen finished speaking did the aloof director Meng Huiyang on the other end of the phone say:

"Thank you Mr. Xu for sharing."

Afterwards, Xia Mengxiang synchronized the current project requirements of "Red Star Wine Industry".

In the conference room, Sun Amy, Gu Xinxin and others were also taking notes seriously.

Xu Chen listened silently, and in fact, some of his previous guesses were confirmed.

Currently, the "Erguotou" category market is dominated by two brands in Beijing, "Red Star" and "Niulanshan".

From a historical perspective, the "Red Star Distillery" was founded in 49 and is considered the original brand of "Erguotou" liquor.

The "Niulanshan" winery is a new brand created in the 1960s with the "technical assistance" of the Red Star Winery.

But in the following decades, the "Niulanshan" brand seized several promotion opportunities and rose rapidly. It was also more aggressive in expanding distribution, and it seemed to be in a situation where it shared the world with "Red Star".

In a sense, "Red Star" has cultivated a powerful competitor for itself.

At present, the market competition of "Red Star Erguotou" is mainly against "Niulanshan".

The promotion project led by Meng Huiyang this time is a market campaign focusing on "youth".

According to market research, the users of Baijiu and Erguotou are concentrated in the middle-aged and elderly, and past promotions were mainly targeted at middle-aged and elderly men.

Meng Huiyang led a new market strategy, which was to open up a new generation of young consumers for the "Erguotou" category.

The consensus reached between Meng Huiyang and the management of "Red Star Winery" is that it is no longer meaningful to snatch existing middle-aged and elderly users, and whoever can win the future young users will be able to "win the world."

Therefore, "Red Star Erguotou" hopes to carry out a round of youth-oriented promotion before "Niulanshan" to attract more young users to pay attention to and like Erguotou and try "Red Star".

The strategic goal of this promotion is to target young people, promote the "Erguotou culture", and promote the younger and higher-end nature of the "Red Star" brand.

……

Xu Chen had previously anticipated that this promotion might have two directions.

One is the battle with "Niulanshan" for "authentic Erguotou", and the other is the battle for "younger" brands.

As the newly transferred director, it is only natural for Meng Huiyang to lead the brand's "younger" development...

Xia Mengxiang briefly introduced the background of the project and then said:

"Look, Mr. Xu and colleagues from Dongchen Advertising, do you have any questions about the project requirements?"

No one in the conference room spoke, but looked at Xu Chen.

Unless the boss says anything, others would dare not interrupt the meeting.

Xu Chen thought for a moment:
“I looked at the products of Red Star Erguotou, and currently the main product is still the classic bottle and body.

Will you still promote old products to young users?
Or do you already have a plan for younger products? "

What Xu Chen didn't know was that Meng Huiyang on the other end of the phone suddenly looked stunned.

In fact, Xu Chen's question just hit the nail on the head.

I had contacted several other advertising companies before, but none of them took the initiative to ask this crucial question...

Meng Huiyang paused and said:
"Mr. Xu hit the nail on the head. This is indeed the crux of the problem.

We conducted multiple rounds of market user research and found that new product logic is indeed needed.

The old classic Red Star Erguotou still targets the original users.

Even if you push them to new users, they will find them old-fashioned.

For new products targeting young users, we already have three different product design plans, which will be sent to you later.

When it comes to choosing a solution for a new product, we also need to listen to the opinions of Dongchen Advertising.”

Xu Chen said, "That's no problem. We will combine the product plan and promotion plan to come up with an overall market logic."

Xia Mengxiang:
"After the meeting, I will compile a document and meeting minutes, including the requirements and product plans, and send them to you...

Another thing is the project time, which needs to be confirmed with Mr. Xiao Xu.

Our project is quite urgent. Mr. Xu, when would it be convenient for you to make a proposal?"

Xu Chen looked through the calendar on his phone and after some thought, he decided to set aside a week as a buffer. At the same time, this matter should not be delayed too long.

The two sides discussed online again and finally set the time for submitting the plan as next Friday, March 3th.

One advantage of this time point is that I can find time to visit Cadillac's shooting site in Beijing.

In addition, if the time is right, I will also take a trip to McCann Guangming in Beijing to visit Mr. Mo Kangsun in person.

……

……

After hanging up the conference call, Guo Liang called again alone.

"Boss Xu, we only need one week, isn't that too much time?
We need a complete advertising plan, and we need to produce a creative draft, right?"

Xu Chen smiled and said:
“There’s still time. We’ll hold a brainstorming meeting tomorrow and finalize the creative plan that day.

Teacher Amy and Xiaowei are very quick, and a week is enough for them to finish the manuscript."

After the words were spoken, everyone in the conference room looked at each other, all of them were a little surprised and embarrassed, especially the three interns' seniors.

We will have a meeting tomorrow to discuss it and finalize the creative plan on the same day?

Isn’t it said that creative discussions at advertising companies involve many rounds of brainstorming?

Although Sun Amy, Gu Xinxin, and Tang Xiaowei also felt that time was tight, based on their previous experience of meeting with Mr. Xu, it seemed that finalizing the plan on the same day was also in line with Mr. Xu's work style...

Xu Chen paused, then said to Guo Liang on the phone:

“My dad doesn’t want to put pressure on me, but I know you guys are under a tight timeline for franchise expansion.

The sooner I can finish my project, the sooner you can start your project!"

On the phone, Guo Liang was silent for a moment, then said:

"Boss Xu, I'll drink with you when you get to the capital!"

Xu Chen: “Okay!”

……

After the conference call, Mr. Xu assigned another task on the spot.

Everyone will go back and develop their creative ideas, and then have a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss them.

Xu Chen thought about it again:

"Sorry, let's go to noon. I have classes in the morning."

……

(End of this chapter)