One!
Two!
Three!
In just a few days, the staff of Zhang Ye's Studio had managed to snag three of the biggest endorsement deals in the industry. Their work was progressing very smoothly. While ensuring that I Am a Singer's recording would go on as planned, Zhang Ye put more of his focus into the endorsement projects. In the past few days, he had been in contact with many of the brand representatives and had written up a lot of advertising proposals. He had almost emptied out the essence of his previous world. He had thought that the fifth step of the 'Reach the Summit' plan would be completed smoothly, but there were still a few tough bones to chew.
Fortunately, Zhang Ye had his own methods.
It was one of the largest diamond ring brands in China. Although the sales volume could not be compared with some popular gold jewelry brands, they did not focus on quantity at all. Instead, they focused on high-end luxury, targeting high-end people. A diamond ring could easily cost tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. Even if they wanted to focus on quantity, they could not do so. But this brand image was very good, which was what Zhang Ye's team was most interested in. In addition, the company's endorsement deal had expired a month ago, so they were thinking of getting it no matter what.
At the studio.
Ha Qiqi frowned and said, "Director Zhang, it still doesn't work."
Zhang Ye looked at her. "You can't eat it?"
"Yes." Ha Qiqi said, "They might already have someone else in mind. In this one-month gap, they should have already come into contact with quite a few celebrity teams. It's just that they haven't decided on who to choose yet?"
Wu Yi said, "Are they not planning to invite any celebrities?"
"I don't think so." Ha Qiqi said, "They don't lack money."
Zhang Zuo suggested, "Why don't we lower the price a little?"
Zhang Ye flatly said, "That won't do."
Ha Qiqi also agreed, "We can't give in on that."
In the past, there had been a similar example in the entertainment industry. A male celebrity's annual endorsement fee was around two million, but due to his gambling addiction and lack of money, he kept lowering his price. He accepted all the endorsements that he could get, and for those that he couldn't get, he lowered his offer. In the end, it was even reduced to 800,000 a year. He accepted many endorsements, but the rules were broken. From then on, no brand companies dared to approach him. The male celebrity's popularity plummeted, and some of the companies that had signed him for a high price were now scolding him. You give others eight hundred thousand a year, but give us two million a year? What does that mean? Do you take us for fools?
Bad rules.
Tarnishing his reputation.
That was the risk of lowering the price.
And in the entertainment industry, reputation was the most important thing. With Zhang Ye's current status and popularity, he had not fallen to the point where he had to lower his value to survive, nor could he afford to lose face like this. The number one person below the S-list in the domestic entertainment industry had to rely on lowering his asking price to compete with those A-list and B-list celebrities, and even newcomers? It wouldn't sound good if it got out. There were many things in the entertainment industry that couldn't be measured with money and business thinking.
Ha Qiqi said, "I didn't discuss it with them in detail, nor did I tell them anything. If I did that, it would make it seem like we were rushing them. That would be too degrading. They didn't reveal anything to me either. If it doesn't work, I'll try again to sound them out. If it doesn't work, we'll switch to another brand and not waste any more time with them. Hai, it's just that the endorsement deals for the other jewelry brands are not done yet, so that's a pity."
Tong Fu asked, "What about normal jewelry brands?"
Ha Qiqi shook her head. "That won't do. There's no point in taking on too many small brands. We won't be able to advertise."
Zhang Ye gave it some thought and said, "Let's have a showdown with them."
"Alright." Ha Qiqi said, "How exactly should we do it?"
Zhang Ye only said a few words to her.
In the end, Ha Qiqi was dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Of course."
Ha Qiqi said happily, "Aiyo, you should have said so earlier."
…
Later that afternoon.
At a jewelry brand company.
On the 11th floor, at the front desk.
Ha Qiqi brought Tong Fu with her.
The receptionist stood up. "Hello?"
Ha Qiqi said, "I'm looking for Director Cui."
The receptionist said in a formal manner, "Do you have an appointment?"
"Yes, my name is Ha Qiqi," Ha Qiqi said.
The receptionist looked down and flipped through her book. Then she nodded and said, "Hello, Manager Ha. Your appointment is at 3 PM. Director Cui is in a meeting at the moment, so you'll have to …"
As she was speaking.
Director Cui and two young men walked over side by side. It seemed like they were going to the meeting room next door.
Ha Qiqi went up to them. "Director Cui."
Director Cui was taken aback. "Manager Ha, you're here so early?"
Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "What Manager Ha? I'm just here to run errands for Director Zhang."
The two young men beside him probably recognized Ha Qiqi as well and looked at her warily. Who in the industry wouldn't recognize the person in charge of external relations at Zhang Ye's Studio?
Similarly, Ha Qiqi and Tong Fu also recognized each other. They were not familiar with the short-haired young man, but Ha Qiqi naturally recognized the young man with the pigtails. This person could be considered quite famous. He was the cousin of a certain Heavenly King and was also one of the Heavenly King's agents. Seeing this, Ha Qiqi immediately understood why the jewelry brand's staff had been hesitating. So it turned out that a bigger name had approached them. One of the top seven spots was an S-list celebrity and was much more famous than Zhang Ye.
Snatching the endorsement deal from a Heavenly King?
Ha Qiqi found this a little exciting.
Director Cui was a little embarrassed. "This …"
Every celebrity had their own territory. Many of the good brands in the industry were almost all signed up by celebrities. For example, Chen Guang had endorsed a cell phone that focused on music effects and had been doing so for three years. He was paid a lot of money and had a wide advertising coverage. It was a high-quality endorsement contract and this was Old Chen's territory. If any other celebrities came to snatch his endorsement deal, they would definitely be guilty of something. Many celebrities had gotten into fights over endorsements. A high-quality, fixed endorsement deal was the livelihood of a celebrity and a long-term source of income.
Director Cui understood this and naturally did not wish for the two sides to meet. But he did not expect it to be such a coincidence. In fact, he was already leaning towards the Heavenly King and several A-list celebrities. He would definitely lean towards the Heavenly King's side. Disregarding everything else, just being famous was enough. He had actually considered Zhang Ye before. He was also very popular and had been in the limelight recently. Compared to the exposure of those Heavenly Kings and Queens, he was also quite envious of Zhang Ye's famous advertising plan. However, this Teacher Zhang was a well-known oddity in the industry. His celebrity image fluctuated between high and low, so he was afraid that he would stir up some trouble one day and affect their brand image. That was why he was quite hesitant.
Director Cui said, "Manager Ha, then why don't you all —"
Ha Qiqi immediately smiled and said, "Then let's discuss this together, Director Cui. Since we're already here, we should know each other."
The Heavenly King's cousin shook his head in his mind. We're already here, so what's there to discuss?
Director Cui did not want to offend either side and looked at the Heavenly King's cousin.
The Heavenly King's cousin shrugged. "Anything is fine."
"Alright then, please follow me." Director Cui ushered them into a conference room. Everyone sat down and got his assistant to pour tea for them.
The Heavenly King's cousin had clearly come prepared.
The moment his assistant sat down, he took out a document and started chattering away. He introduced the advantages of their side, the brands that they had worked with in the past, and the results that they had achieved. To put it bluntly, all of this was for the sake of negotiating the price. They would definitely ask for as much as they could.
After a full five minutes, they listened to him talk.
Director Cui nodded from time to time. Actually, he knew all of this very well.
The identity of a Heavenly King.
His reputation was alright.
He was extremely popular.
His asking price was not too ridiculously high either.
Although Zhang Ye's asking price would definitely be much cheaper, their brand was not lacking in money. The difference in a few million yuan a year for an endorsement deal was nothing. Therefore, the Heavenly King's asking price of 14 million RMB a year compared to Zhang Ye's asking price of 8 million RMB a year might seem like a difference of nearly double, but they did not really care about it. What they cared about was the increase in the sales of their products with the celebrity endorsements in mind. Of course, not caring about the endorsement fee did not mean that it was fine. There was still a need to consider the price-performance ratio. No one's money came from nowhere. What one's net worth was what one's worth was. On this point, the net worth of an S-list celebrity and an A-list celebrity was indeed quite different, even if the A-list celebrity was ranked first in the A-list.
Director Cui already had an idea.
The Heavenly King's cousin asked, "Director Cui, if you think it's fine, can we move on to discussing the contract?"
Director Cui smiled and said, "We still have to discuss the price, but it can still be discussed."
The Heavenly King's cousin nodded and looked at Ha Qiqi and Tong Fu. "Then what about the others?" He was asking them to leave. The contract was such a big deal, so there definitely couldn't be any outsiders around.
Director Cui also looked at Ha Qiqi. "Manager Ha, why don't we …"
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell what was going on.
However, Ha Qiqi did not move.
Director Cui blinked several times.
The two people from the Heavenly King's management team also frowned.
But the next moment, Ha Qiqi said something that left everyone in the room dumbfounded. She said calmly, "Teacher Zhang is getting married."
What?
Getting married?
Director Cui was stunned. "When?"
Ha Qiqi said, "Within this year."
Director Cui took a deep breath in excitement. "Th-Are you sure about this?"
"100%," Ha Qiqi said with a smile.
Director Cui's breathing quickened slightly as he said, "Please wait a moment, this is too sudden. I need to make a call first!" He was not the head of the company but only the person in charge of the advertising business, so he needed to consult his superiors first.
The two people from the Heavenly King's team were a little stunned!
In just two minutes, Director Cui returned with about eight other staff members. The moment he came in, Director Cui said anxiously, "Manager Ha, about Teacher Zhang's endorsement deal, can we talk about it?"
Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Of course, that's exactly why I'm here."
Director Cui had received clear instructions from the head of the company!
Sign Zhang Ye!
At all costs!
…
Outside the company.
The Heavenly King's cousin and his assistant went downstairs with their tails between their legs. Having the deal slip away from them, the two of them had the urge to curse and swear. They were also a little angry and didn't know whether to laugh or cry!
Your sister!
You can even fucking do that?
This is the first time I've seen someone snatch an endorsement like that!
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