May 7th, Monday...
Pei Qian and Meng Chang took a car to Otto Technologies in the afternoon.
This time, he went to Otto Technologies not because of the G1 cell phone but because of the smart fitness drying rack.
G1's cell phone received a warm response the moment it was released. Many people were discussing it online. Of course, there was also a group of people who were crazily defaming this cell phone until there was nothing left.
It was logical for G1's cell phone to be defamed.
That was because the digital circle in the country, especially the cell phone circle, was a very deep pool. It was actually very common to hire fake reviewers to attack their friendly competitors, but no one admitted it.
That was normal. The cell phone industry had bright prospects, but competition was fierce.
It was said that it had a bright future because people would become more and more inseparable from cell phones in the foreseeable future. The cell phones would be integrated into various functions such as video play, games, smart residential control, communication, photography, and so on, affecting all aspects of people's lives.
The continuous innovation of cell phone technology would allow cell phones to be updated and replaced very quickly. Most people would change their cell phones in a year if it was fast, or two years if it was slow. The cell phone market was a very vast market.
However, the competition in the cell phone industry was very intense. There was no need to talk about foreign brands like POUIO cell phones. Domestic cell phone brands were also chasing each other and not giving in to each other. It was inevitable that there would be more gunpowder in a life-and-death competition.
Otto Technologies was a newly-established technology company. Until now, it had only released two cell phones. Its market share was also very low. Logically speaking, it should have been living a peaceful life.
However, the problem was that these two cell phones were very popular on the internet, they were naturally hot discussion topics no matter the quantity sold!
What's more, the pricing of these two cell phones was too high. They easily stood in the high-end domain that many cell phone manufacturers had gone through painstaking means to barely stand on or could not stand on. What's more ridiculous was that consumers were quite accepting of these pricings. How could people not be envious?
Thus, Otto's cell phone would definitely be defamed. That was unavoidable.
What's more, those who defamed Otto's cell phone might not be fake reviewers. It could also be fans of other cell phone manufacturers. They could not understand why Otto's phone would sell so well so they also attacked it online.
Pei Qian casually browsed the forum and found that the people who had hacked G1 cell phones were mainly focused on the following points: Some technologies were not mature and lowered the usage experience; they were too expensive and suspected of taxing their IQ; most of the so-called 'new technologies' were not self-developed. In fact, other cell phone manufacturers were also doing similar full screen display proposals. Moreover, a batch of similar models would soon be released.
Pei Qian was very happy to see Otto's cell phone being defamed.
The more they slandered, the less cell phones they would sell and the more he would lose!
However, the problem was that Pei Qian carefully flipped through the discussion about Otto cell phones and found that these views were quickly refuted. What's more, it did not affect the G1 cell phone's popularity...
The technology was not mature enough to affect the usage experience?
Nonsense, we already knew about it. We bought it with the mentality of a lab rat.
Too expensive? Suspected of an IQ tax?
Those who felt that this cell phone was a tax on IQ were probably the ones with real IQ problems. They could tell that this cell phone was really worth it with just a little calculation!
Other cell phone manufacturers were doing the same?
Get the other cell phone manufacturers to sell these cell phones then!
The netizens were exchanging verbal jabs. In the end, the haters could not find any critical slander spots after a long time!
That made Pei Qian feel very regretful.
What a pity!
The battle of public opinion in the cell phone industry was actually very dangerous.
Some fake reviewers would grab on to one of the cell phone brands' shortcomings and attack them crazily. Even if they had no shortcomings, they would forcefully make up shortcomings and attack them. It would form a certain stereotype and subtly influence many consumers as long as similar comments were repeated many times.
For example, hiring fake reviewers to promote a certain cell phone brand's 'poor quality', 'poor signal', 'severe fever', 'cutting corners', and so on. They would label many potential consumers with similar labels as long as they advertised too much and repeated it everywhere. In the future, they would subconsciously avoid this brand's cell phone when they encounter it.
Of course, these criticisms were not baseless. There might be similar problems with a certain cell phone brand, but most people would still retain this stereotype even if the model improved in the future.
Otto cell phone obviously had many flaws as well. There were many points that the haters could catch, but the problem was that these flaws had been repeatedly mentioned and discussed at the news conference...
The haters wanted to discuss a certain flaw. If it was another cell phone, netizens would reply: "There's actually such a problem? Pay attention!"
On the other hand, the netizens would reply below if it was Otto cell phones. "Did you just find that out? Did the internet just reach your village? It was already mentioned at the news conference. Didn't you see it?"
How were they to continue criticizing them!
At first, Pei Qian had thought that if G1's public opinion on the internet was bad, he could still consider paying for fake reviewers from his own pocket to add fuel to the fire. However, he dismissed that thought seeing the current trend.
In this situation, hiring fake reviewers out of his own pocket was no different from spending money on nothing.
If he had the money, he might as well save it to increase his profits.
The System had opened a new mysterious reward during the previous settlement. Pei Qian could spend a certain amount of his Personal Wealth and increase the profit margin of a certain industry. The ratio was 1: 100. The maximum amount of Personal Wealth that can be consumed per cycle was 100,000 yuan.
In other words, Pei Qian would be able to give 10 million yuan to a certain industry and start burning money crazily if he paid 100,000 yuan out of his own pocket.
Wouldn't spending it on this be more worth it than hiring fake reviewers?
Of course, Pei Qian had not thought about which industry to use this limit on.
However, there was no need to rush. After all, there were still more than two months until this cycle's settlement. There was still a lot of time to slowly consider.
Meng Chang was also sitting in the car with a slightly uneasy expression.
His original plan was to continue slacking this week and think about the publicity plan next week. However, Boss Pei had asked him to go to Otto Technologies to see the smart fitness drying rack today.
Meng Chang had no reason to reject him and could only follow him.
He was feeling complicated.
Initially, Meng Chang hated and feared Boss Pei because he had already received a base salary for several months. Obviously, this was all thanks to Boss Pei.
Meng Chang was being played by Boss Pei, but he had no choice and could only rage helplessly.
However, what happened recently changed Meng Chang's impression of Boss Pei. He could not figure out what Boss Pei was thinking.
At first, Meng Chang wanted to do the promotional plan for Otto G1 cell phones, but Boss Pei stopped him. Meng Chang thought that G1 cell phones had poor sales. In the end, he saw that there were obviously good reviews online!
Meng Chang could not help but feel a little afraid. If he had created the publicity plan earlier, he would probably have gotten a zero commission!
Was Boss Pei trying to protect me by not letting me do the publicity for the G1 cell phone?
He could forget about getting a commission this month if he did this publicity plan. If he did not do this publicity plan, he might be able to get a commission of 10,000 yuan if he could advertise the smart drying rack.
Meng Chang thought about it and realized that Boss Pei's plan to stop him from making G1 cell phones was actually beneficial to him. That made him even more confused.
Thus, he had come with Boss Pei today to take a look at the 'smart drying rack' of Otto Technologies.
It seemed to be an indecent product from its name.
No matter how good Otto Technologies' cell phone was, it was still a cell phone. There was still a chance of success. However, the "smart drying rack"? The chances of failure were very high!
Of course, Meng Chang did not dare to let his guard down. He had the Fully-Automated Smart Bickering Machine as an example after all.
He had to look at the specific functions of the "smart drying rack" on the spot to make a judgment.
...
Soon, the two of them arrived at Otto Technologies. Chang You was already there to welcome them.
Jiang Yuan was in charge of the cell phone business and was busy with G1 cell phones. Chang You was in charge of all the smart products in Otto Technologies.
Chapter 1026: Fitness Battle Paying Mode?
"Boss Pei, this way please."
Chang You led Boss Pei and Meng Chang to the entertainment room of Otto Technologies.
Meng Chang saw the special machine in the corner of the entertainment room at a glance.
The design was very unique, but one could tell at a glance that it was some kind of fitness equipment.
Chang You introduced. "This is a sample sent over by the factory a few days ago. To be honest, it's slightly more troublesome to assemble than ordinary fitness equipment. After all, the structure is more complicated, and the parts are very heavy. Therefore, we must include delivery and installation in the package. It would be more difficult for customers to install it themselves."
Pei Qian nodded. "Of course, we have to install it. Isn't that natural?"
In fact, it was not difficult to install the equipment. Many fitness equipment used a similar model: find special distributors to work with across the country and give them a sum of money. Let the workers at the distributors learn how to dismantle the equipment and conduct simple malfunctions and maintenance. Once the goods were delivered, let the workers in the same city install them at the consumers' place.
Of course, it would be even simpler if they were in a city with Upwind Logistics. These things could be handled by the express delivery personnel of Upwind Logistics.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and added, "Not only do we have to install it, but we also have to include delivery for moving. Customers can move it for free once every year after purchasing the 'smart drying rack'. Our after-sales personnel would dismantle the product, install it, and move it to their new home in the same city."
"Of course, the money would have to be calculated differently if they exceed the number or moved to a different city."
Pei Qian's idea was to give as many benefits as possible. Once this promise was made, wouldn't he be able to lose money every time the consumers moved?
Chang You pondered for a moment. "Er... this is not difficult to achieve. However, it will increase our future maintenance costs."
"Our product itself might not be able to make much money. If we were to move it for free, the cost would accumulate. It would be terrifying!"
"However... This is great news for customers. After all, most of the people who buy fitness equipment are young people. They don't have their own houses, and they often have to move. They can't move such a huge piece of equipment by themselves. If they hand it to the movers, they won't dismantle it, and they might have to pay extra. These renters would be very happy if we can solve this problem."
Pei Qian said, "That's great. Making customers happy is our motto."
"As for the cost, that's a small problem. We can always think of ways to make up for it elsewhere."
Chang You nodded. "Yes, Boss Pei makes sense."
Pei Qian was elated that he had managed to spend another sum of money.
Both Meng Chang and him continued to size up this "smart fitness drying rack".
The material of this thing was very different from what Pei Qian had imagined. Obviously, after the product manager of Otto Technologies repeatedly communicated with the factory, the overall safety, practicality, portable packaging, and other factors had been modified many times.
Chang You explained, "This machine can perform nine types of exercises. They are butterfly crossover, straight back crossover, reverse arms, lat pull-down, rowing, pull-up, cable curls, bench press, and weighted squats. The muscles that are trained include the core muscles of the chest, back, waist, arms, legs, and so on. However, you have to adjust the machine when you carry out different movements..."
Chang You explained as he adjusted the machine.
What was worth mentioning was that even though many functions of this machine were exactly the same as some of the equipment in the gym, there was a huge difference in its appearance.
For example, bench press and squat in the gym use a gantry frame with barbell bars, hooks and barbell plates.
But there are two problems with practicing squats like this. The first is to use the shoulders and neck to remove the hard top metal barbell. Unless the trapezius muscles are particularly developed, it will be very uncomfortable. Many people use yoga mats to cushion their necks. Doing squats was very inconvenient; secondly, if you wanted to change the weight, you would need to manually replace the barbell plates, which was still more troublesome.
The smart fitness drying rack optimized this problem on the other hand. First, it added a protective soft cushion in the middle of the barbell. Second, it added a basic weight-binding module on both sides of the barbell to maintain balance. It also shared weight with butterfly crossovers, lat pull-down and other movements. That saved the trouble of changing the barbell pieces. It was enough to directly change the position of the weight.
What's more, this would save them more space.
The only problem was that this meant that all the parts used on the smart fitness drying rack could not be used with other fitness equipment.
However, this was not a big problem. After all, it was the only fitness equipment that customers could use in most scenarios.
Pei Qian's expression turned serious after listening to Chang You's introduction.
It seemed... Quite reliable?
However, the more reliable it was, the more ridiculous it was!
This "smart fitness drying rack" was completely Pei Qian's idea. At that time, he felt that it would definitely be a pile of steel garbage that no one would buy.
However, Pei Qian suddenly felt that it seemed to be attractive to ordinary consumers after looking at the sample!
Dangerous, very dangerous!
Chang You had already finished introducing the basic usage of the machine. He looked at Pei Qian and said, "Boss Pei, the 'Smart Fitness drying rack' game, 'Fitness Battle' has almost been completed. The DEMO has been sent over. Do you want to experience it yourself?"
Pei Qian remained silent for a moment and looked at Meng Chang. "Go!"
Meng Chang was dumbfounded.
Chang You was asking Boss Pei to go alright!
Pei Qian saw Meng Chang's confused expression and coughed lightly. "You're in charge of the publicity plan. How can you not experience it personally? I'll give you a chance to experience it first. Go."
Meng Chang cursed inwardly but had no choice. He still sat down.
Chang You took a tablet computer from the side and pulled down a simple retractable frame from the top of the smart fitness drying rack. It was just right to place the tablet computer there.
Chang You explained, "We designed this frame according to the size of the tablet computer. Of course, the cell phone supports it."
"If it was a particularly rich customer, they would be able to set up a television directly opposite the equipment without using this stand."
"After the Fitness Battle and the smart fitness drying rack are connected through the bluetooth, they will sense the current state of the equipment through the sensors inside the equipment. They would guide the customers to make adjustments to the equipment when they want to do something."
Meng Chang tried it out as Chang You introduced the game.
He decided to do a more basic action, the butterfly crossover.
The chest was obviously one of the parts that was worth training the most for male beginners. That was because the chest muscles were bigger when compared to the back, abdomen, and other parts. It was the fastest to train and could train the arm at the same time.
As long as the muscles in his arms and chest were trained, it would have a very obvious effect of "being able to support his clothes". His entire temperament would also be significantly improved.
What's more, as long as the chest muscles were big enough, the belly would not be so obvious. On the contrary, training the abdominal muscles would not actually reduce the fat on the belly.
Due to the fact that it was DEMO, many of the guidance functions at the beginning were temporarily lacking. Meng Chang clicked on the screen and began training after choosing a character.
He chose a cute little girl. The cute girl first guided him to adjust the state of the smart fitness drying rack. Then, she began to explain the movements of the butterfly crossover and the areas where the strength was exerted. Finally, she did the movements with him.
This cute girl was slightly plump.
For young women, they were considered to be in a relatively good state with 20% body fats. 25% meant that not much excess fats could be seen from their stomachs. They would not be visibly fat if they were clothed at 30% body fats. However, one would be able to see their bellies if they exposed their waists. When they reached 35%, they would be able to clearly see the "spare tires" on their stomachs.
This character's body fat rate had basically reached nearly 35%, and her goal was to train her body fat to below 20%.
During the exercise, the cute girl on the screen would cheer Meng Chang on.
Pei Qian suddenly thought of a problem and asked, "The characters, costumes, props, and scenes inside... these should all be value-added services, right? Do we have to draw them or buy them directly?"
Chang You answered, "I only confirmed the profitability of free games and value-added services previously, but I haven't decided on the exact method."
"We might seem like we have more conscience and our reputation would be better if we purchase directly. We might earn more money if we get them to draw for it, but we might also be scolded."
"Of course, that would unless they were to draw something like Ghost General. However, the investment for 'Fitness Battle' is much higher than Ghost General. Honestly, we would not be able to recover our capital."
"Boss Pei, you decide what to do next."
Pei Qian fell deep in thought.
His first reaction was direct purchase. Everything, be it costumes, props, or scenes, should be clearly priced. The price would be lower. For example, spending one or two hundred yuan to buy all the costumes should make less money than the lucky draw.
However, on further thought, something was amiss.
Wasn't Ghost General popular because of this?
At that time, Pei Qian had wanted to create a krypton gold online game that did not have paywalls. However, he had not expected gamers to think that they were very conscientious and spent more money without thinking. They made a lot of money with small profits but quick turnover.
It was the same for 'Fitness Battle'. What if the price was too good and the gamers expressed that they wanted to buy them all?
He should not make the same mistake again.
If it was a lucky draw, he could lower the probability of producing goods. That way, he would definitely be scolded. However, the problem was that some people would curse while drawing but the more they could not draw what they wanted, the more excited those ballers would be.
In the end, he would be scolded and still earn money. How uncomfortable would that be?
Could he think of another in-app purchase model?
Chapter 1027: Unique Lucky Draw Model
Pei Qian's brain worked quickly. The professional knowledge he had learned about game design came in handy now.
The secret to making money out of games with paywalls was to first use the game to lure gamers in for free so that gamers would become attached to the game. Then, they would slowly use some methods to force players to work hard and paywalls so that the rich could support the funding and the poor could support the individual market. Finally, the game would become a money tree.
Basically, all games with paywalls would not be able to escape this inner core: If players wanted to obtain a complete and best gaming experience, they would either have to spend time, money, or both.
Thus, games with paywalls could not generalize all players to the same type.
Players with paywalls had their own way of playing. Those who did not engage in paywalls had their own way of playing. Those whales who spent tens of thousands of yuan trying to spend money on the game's ceiling had never been in the same gaming group as middle-class players who only spent tens or hundreds of yuan.
Therefore, the game developers had to treat them as three types of people and formulate different strategies.
The secret to making money in games with paywalls was to allow free games to run comfortably, induce mid-tier gamers to spend as much money as possible, and give whales a sense of achievement.
There would be many ways to spend time and effort in the game. To a certain extent, as long as the free players spent enough time, they would be able to obtain some substitute coins. They might even be able to obtain relatively generous returns, allowing them to persevere with their strong liver even if they did not have to spend money.
Of course, free gamers would never be able to enjoy more things than the whales. Otherwise, the game would become the studio's world.
If these free gamers were able to produce results by playing, they would feel that the game had a conscience. Then, they would continue playing the game. Be it being friends with whales in the game or being beaten up by the whales as punching bags, they would all become whales' game experience.
For mid-tier players, the gaming company knew that these people had money on them, but not much. Their consumption was relatively rational. This group of people often combined their liver and paywalls. Some games were more cost-effective, so they would paywalls.
Thus, the game company would offer discounts and promotions regularly. The whales would spend the original prices to buy good items, and then set up gift bags for discounts or lucky draws in order to encourage these mid-tier players to continue spending.
They might be mid-tier gamers but it was still an income that could not be ignored for gaming companies as they spent in multiples of ten or even a hundred yuan per month.
Finally, it was the whales. This group of people might have occupied less than 1% of the gamers but they occupied the majority of the income of the game companies. Serving whales was the mission of most games companies.
The game had to have a deep paywall to satisfy whales. They would lose interest very quickly if the whales only needed to spend tens of thousands of yuan.
The game company would continuously release better characters, weapons, and equipment, constantly upgrading the goods that they spent money to purchase.
The eliminated equipment could be sold to mid-tier players at a discount.
Whales had to continue spending money if they wanted to remain on the top.
However, the good thing was that whales were all very rich. They did not lack money. whales who were willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan on the game would not mind spending tens of thousands yuan more.
Thus, the entire game formed a perfect closed loop. Free games, mid-tier gamers, and whales had their own way of playing and they could obtain their own pleasure from the game.
The game developers could also continue to take money from everyone and everyone would be happy.
Those games with paywalls that earned a lot of money were basically the same.
He had to jump out of this trap if he wanted to earn less money.
Of course, Ghost General had also jumped out of this trap. However, it had gone a little overboard and taken a different path.
Ghost General only had one entry requirement for purchasing games and a permanent membership card. In fact, it was equivalent to turning games with paywalls into a buyout system.
There was nothing strange about the buyout system in itself, but it was very unique among the mobile games that forced people to spend money. That was why it stood out.
The reason was that Ghost General did not actually have a very good area to categorize these three types of gamers. Instead, it proposed a solution that was especially friendly to most gamers. It was really worth it. That was why it achieved the effect of 'small profits but quick turnover'.
Of course, the key was still the restrictions of the system.
Pei Qian could not directly set the game as 'completely free'. Instead, he wanted it to have a theoretical possibility of making profits. Thus, if there was no internal purchase, he had to set a higher threshold for purchase. If he wanted to enter without a threshold and for free, the pitfall of internal purchase had to be deeper.
This undoubtedly increased the difficulty of incurring losses.
Pei Qian felt that he had to pay attention to two things this time in order to prevent the tragedy of Ghost General from happening again.
First of all, he could not set a buyout threshold. If he said that it must really be free. He had to allow ordinary players to play the game without spending a single cent. This way, they would be completely paying for free There would not be "small profits but quick turnover".
Secondly, they had as much as possible to eliminate players' desire to consume while the pit of in-app purchases was relatively deep.
The reason why other games liked to carry out so many lucky draws was actually to use the randomness of the lucky draw to deceive players, making players pay far more than their actual value for rare heroes and rare items.
The lucky draw system was something to make an issue out of it if he wanted to curb the players' desire to spend.
Pei Qian quickly had an idea. He said to Chang You, "Make both shopping mall and lucky draw for the internal purchase of 'Fitness Battle'."
""All products should be marked clearly in the mall. At the same time, the corresponding probability is determined according to the rarity in the lottery system, allowing players to choose freely.""
"The quality-price ratio of the lottery is about 0.8. That means that players can only get about 80 yuan on average if they spend 100 yuan on the lucky draws."
"Of course, this would definitely not meet the expectations for some European emperors."
"The platform in the background will record the amount of each recharge of the player while the player recharges and wins the token lucky draw, the lucky draw result and the total value of these prizes. A new cycle will start every day from midnight to 23:59. If the player interested in the lucky draw in this cycle was not satisfied with the result, they can apply for a refund directly through the refund button. The system will automatically deduct the prize and refund, but the condition is that the player can no longer make any recharge for the next three days.
"In addition, all props in the game are supported to be obtained using game currency."
"The method of obtaining game currency is to exercise daily. The amount of calories expended is the number of game currency obtained. The more calories they expend daily, the more coins you obtain."
"These coins can be exchanged for all the props in the game, but they cannot be used for the lucky draw."
Pei Qian's design was to suppress gamers' desire to spend as much as possible.
The consumption model of the game had to be matched with the investment of the game according to the system's requirements. Simply put, Pei Qian could not make the game completely free. He had to have a moderate amount of in-app purchase. If there was no in-app purchase, he had to set a higher price.
Pei Qian had already tasted the bitterness of games with paywalls with Ghost General.
Thus, Pei Qian wanted to dissuade gamers from purchasing as long as the pool was deep enough!
Comparatively, the shopping mall would definitely be more profitable than the lucky draw.
The reason why many games with paywalls put rare characters and props into the lucky draw was because the lucky draw was a bottomless pit. When the probability of producing goods was low, the value that whales had to pay to obtain a certain character far exceeded its actual value.
Of course, many games companies would make the lucky draw seem worth it. The items that were drawn from the lucky draw would exceed the actual value of the items that were bought directly. However, the problem was that there would be many useless items added to the lucky draw. Therefore, players would still be at a disadvantage.
Pei Qian's plan was to add the lucky draw system and increase the theoretical upper limit of the game so that the game would be free. However, this lucky draw system was completely different from other games. It was definitely not worth it.
The quality-price ratio of this lucky draw system was very low. Moreover, it would give players the props and value that they drew out publicly. The key was that if players were dissatisfied, they could return and obtain a refund. Then, players would be given a period of calm. They could not recharge in three days.
This way, no one would be interested in the lucky draw. The whales would only spend a few hundred yuan to buy items that they were interested in. Even if middle-class players spent money to win prizes, they would only keep them if they were satisfied. If they were not satisfied, they would refund the game at any time. Thus, they would not spend much money. There was no need to talk about the players playing for free. They would definitely work hard to buy items using calories. They would definitely not spend a single cent.
All three types of gamers would not spend much money. How perfect!
Pei Qian was starting to admire himself. What a genius plan!
Chang You nodded repeatedly as he took notes seriously.
He did not know much about games with paywalls, but Boss Pei looked like he had everything under control. Obviously, he had to trust Boss Pei unconditionally.
In any case, no matter how complicated the system Boss Pei designed, it would definitely succeed. He just had to shout 'awesome' at the side!
After deciding on the game's payment mode, Pei Qian looked at Meng Chang, who was still working out. "How's the publicity plan? Any progress?"
Meng Chang got down from the smart fitness drying rack with beads of sweat on his forehead. "There's some progress!"
He did not dare to say that he had no idea. What if Boss Pei asked him to continue training after he said it?
He felt that Boss Pei could do something like 'torture and force a confession'.
"Alright, that's it for today. Let's wrap up!" Pei Qian was satisfied and left with Meng Chang.
Chapter 1028: Smart Fitness Drying Rack Publicity Plan
Meng Chang sat down at his desk and took a sip of water after returning to the office. After resting for a while, he began to consider the publicity plan for the Intelligent Fitness drying rack.
This month, Tengda only had two relatively new products. One was the G1 cell phone, and the other was the smart fitness drying rack. The former's publicity plan had been canceled.
In other words, even if Meng Chang did nothing this month, he would still get a basic salary. In the worst case scenario, he would also get a basic salary if he created the publicity plan for the smart fitness drying rack.
In that case, Meng Chang did not feel any pressure because there was nothing to lose even if he failed.
"However, this product is really something come to think of it. It looks like I have a chance this time!"
After witnessing and personally experiencing the smart fitness drying rack, Meng Chang suddenly felt that there was hope for this publicity plan.
That was because this product was not a proper product.
As an entrepreneur, Meng Chang was obviously well aware of the product manager's work flow. For such a product, he had to first determine the target crowd and determine its unique advantages compared to the competition. Then, he could formulate the corresponding publicity plan based on the characteristics of the product.
Of course, to Meng Chang, he should avoid the merits of the products as much as possible in order to achieve the worst effect of the publicity plan. Instead, he had to hint more about the shortcomings of the products.
Meng Chang created a new document and began to analyze it.
"What is the greatest advantage of this product?"
"First of all, it can be linked to the game. It can nurture the characters in the game through fitness training. What's more, it has an artificial intelligence module inside. It can conduct simple communication."
"These are all advantages compared to traditional fitness equipment. Therefore, I must not mention a single word about it in the publicity."
"Secondly, its training program is more comprehensive. Basically, you can train all the core muscles in your body. What's more, it uses games as a form of teaching. It's very simple to get started. You can get it delivered to your doorstep, assemble it, and even move it. There are also very complete after-sales services."
"Yes, these are also its unique advantages. Therefore, I must not mention a single word in the publicity."
"Lastly, it also has an advantage that cannot be considered as an advantage. It can also dry clothes."
"When this fitness equipment is idle, there are many places where clothes can be hung. This space can still be used to dry clothes."
"The other fitness equipment might also be used to hang clothes and dry the bedsheets, but it's not convenient to use. There are no specially designed places to hang clothes on the equipment."
"Yes, that's why I should start from this point and publicize it in the promotional video!"
Meng Chang quickly found an excellent direction for publicity: ignore the two greatest advantages of the smart fitness drying rack and not mention anything about it in the promotional video. He placed all the emphasis on the most unreasonable and marginalized function of this equipment.
"Next is the style of the publicity video."
"Emphasize on the function of the product 'drying clothes', no matter whether the style is serious or humorous, it would ultimately become a ridiculous comedy style."
"However, as long as everyone smiles and doesn't have the urge to buy it, there won't be a problem."
"We have to find a celebrity for this publicity video."
"Hmm... who should we be looking for?"
Meng Chang fell into deep thought.
If he followed a normal train of thought, he would definitely look for a popular young actor, regardless of gender, with a good figure.
As for fitness equipment, it would only be convincing if he found a spokesperson with a good figure. Just like how no one would look for bald celebrities for shampoo advertisements, right?
However, Meng Chang wasn't going to do positive publicity. He wanted to try his best to make this thing not sell.
Therefore, Meng Chang immediately decided to find a celebrity with a bad figure!
However, on further thought, such celebrities were not easy to find.
That was because most celebrities placed a lot of emphasis on managing their figures. In order to find celebrities with bloated figures, they had to find those bit-role actors' and 'special actors'. However, there were very few such actors.
What's more, those who did not rely on their looks and figures to survive in the film industry were often true actors with great acting skills. It was also dangerous to find endorsements.
It would be best if he could find a bloated supporting actor who was not very popular.
Meng Chang pondered for a long time before his eyes lit up as he thought of a candidate.
Lin Jiaqiang!
This name was very unfamiliar to many people, but everyone knew that he was one of Zhang Zuting's best friends.
As an outdated Best Actor, Zhang Zuting had a few good friends who played supporting roles when he was filming movies. For example, Ah Jian, Ah Xiong, and Jiaqiang were all good friends of Zhang Zuting.
After these people gradually became outdated, other than Zhang Zuting, who could still use his handsome image as a middle-aged uncle to film some movies, the other supporting actors became worse off. Some of them were even reduced to performing at building openings.
Among them, Lin Jiaqiang was the most miserable. He fell into a contractual dispute with his management company because he could not get any job. Thus, his life was difficult. He could only rely on Zhang Zuting and his other friends to support him.
Boss Pei had asked them to shoot a set of advertisements for Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version. "I'm Zha Zhuti, you can come and bite me if you're my brother." It had become a golden phrase on the internet back then. After that, these brothers had also shot advertisements. Netizens had jokingly called them the Five Tigers of Bloody Battle Song.
It was said that Boss Pei had offered quite a high price back then. It should have greatly improved their living conditions.
The more Meng Chang thought about it, the more he felt that this brother was very reliable.
That was because Lin Jiaqiang was a fatty who weighed more than a hundred kilograms. He would pant as he walked. Meng Chang's requirements for him to shoot this fitness equipment advertisement were too high!
At that thought, Meng Chang immediately arranged for his subordinates to contact him.
Tengda did not lack publicity funds. Lin Jiaqiang was very short of money. Coupled with Zhang Zuting's connections, they would definitely be able to invite him.
After deciding on the main actor for the promotional video, Meng Chang suddenly had a flood of thoughts. The general outline of the promotional video surfaced in his mind.
He quickly typed on the keyboard and wrote in the document.
...
At the beginning of the video would be a voice-over.
"Strong chest muscles."
"Strong back muscles."
"Eight distinct abdominal muscles."
"Biceps are filled with strength."
"They symbolize male hormones and are the dreams of every man!"
At the same time, Lin Jiaqiang appeared on camera. He followed the voice-over and showed the fat on his chest, back, abdomen, and arm.
Of course, he would wear a loose sports vest to prevent the advertisement from hurting his eyes.
"However, most people do not have developed muscles. They only have fats that cannot be chased away no matter what."
Lin Jiaqiang would stop after a few poses and pinch the meat on his belly.
"Is there a fitness equipment that allows you to have these cool muscles without walking out from your house that you can't buy no matter how much money you have?"
"Of course!"
The Fully-Automated Fitness drying rack would appear on the screen. Lin Jiaqiang looked at it with a very happy and expectant expression.
"The smart fitness drying rack supports a maximum weight of 350 pounds – that's a weight you'll never be able to use because you might find that you actually hate fitness after trying it once or twice."
The scene changed. Lin Jiaqiang was using the smart fitness drying rack to train, but he quickly lost interest and stood up with his tongue out.
"However, if you think that it will eat dust, you are very wrong."
"This latest set of equipment will not only allow you to train at home, but it will also bring you what you really want—a place where you can hang your clothes!"
The scene changed. Lin Jiaqiang carried a pile of freshly washed clothes and placed them on the seats of the smart fitness drying rack. Then, they picked up the clothes rack and hung them on the horizontal bar above the smart fitness drying rack.
"Smart fitness drying rack. It is made based on the drying requirements of white-collar workers in the city. It can dry more than ten pieces of clothing at the same time. At the same time, it is equipped with an automatic blow dry function to speed up the drying of the clothes!"
The smart fitness drying rack was already filled with clothes. The ribbons at the outlet were floating, and the clothes were all bathed in the breeze. Lin Jiaqiang felt the breeze and smiled in satisfaction.
"What's more, you don't have to worry about it taking up too much space. Its seat is a very humane folding design. As long as you fold it up, you can obtain a unique drying space."
"On top of it, there's a glass rack that can hold beer or red wine. It's a hidden design that allows you to drink a few cups occasionally. Of course, you can also use it to store cups or energy drinks when you resume training, even though I know that that scene would never happen."
Lin Jiaqiang would take a can of beer from the smart fitness drying rack, raised his head and drank a few mouthfuls, and gave a thumbs up.
"We will also give a set of sportswear to every customer who orders it. It is very comfortable and can be worn as pajamas."
"What are you waiting for with such a functional smart fitness drying rack? Hurry order now!"
...
Meng Chang read the general outline of the promotional video again after writing it and nodded in satisfaction.
Yes, very good!
No one would buy it with this advertisement, right?
This advertisement first gave the audience a very bad psychological hint through Lin Jiaqiang's image. Then, it exposed the fact that "even if you buy this home fitness equipment, you will only use it to hang clothes and you will definitely not use it".
All in all, it was completely opposite to the purchasing desire of the target user!
Not only that, this advertisement did not show the game 'Fitness Battle' that was matched with the smart fitness drying rack. It also did not mention the smart system on it. It was even more vague about its fitness function.
The more Meng Chang thought about it, the more perfect he felt.
Customers would definitely laugh it off as long as this publicity video was released since this smart fitness drying rack was a lame product, right?
Of course, there would definitely be people who would buy it out of curiosity. However, this thing was very expensive and it occupied a lot of space. There would definitely not be many people who would buy it.
Wouldn't his commission be stable as long as the publicity did not achieve the desired effect and the smart fitness drying rack did not sell much?
The more Meng Chang thought about it, the more optimistic he became. He suddenly burst out with the passion for work again!
Chapter 1029: The Only Problem Is That He Acted Too Well
May 9th, Wednesday...
Lin Jiaqiang was in a good mood as he stepped onto Jingzhou's land once again.
Perhaps it was because he had a very good working relationship with Tengda previously.
The last time he came to Jingzhou was in September 2010. At that time, Lin Jiaqiang had come to Jingzhou with his three brothers to film the promotional video for Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version.
At that time, Tengda had given them a very generous price. Each person was paid 500,000 yuan. This was an opportunity that they could not ask for, especially for people like them who had long been outdated and had problems even to fill their stomachs.
What's more, the entire filming process was relaxing and pleasant.
Lin Jiaqiang only wore a special COS armor, held a plastic machete, and posed a few times in front of the camera. He did not even say many lines before he finished filming. The actual filming time was less than half an hour.
Other than that, he would spend the rest of his time eating and drinking in Jingzhou, playing with his old friends.
Everything was perfect except for this promotional video that affected his image and was often used as a joke.
However, this was not a big problem. So what if they, as outdated supporting actors, who were about to be forgotten, were mocked as long as they earned money?
Wasn't it common for people to mock actors for acting ugly in movies?
What's more, if this advertisement became popular, it would increase their exposure in front of netizens. It was profitable no matter how they thought about it.
Therefore, Lin Jiaqiang agreed on the spot after he received Tengda's invitation again more than a year later.
He only asked what the promotional video was after he agreed. The other party replied that it was a promotional video for fitness equipment.
Lin Jiaqiang was confused.
You're asking me to shoot an advertisement for fitness equipment with my figure?
Something was amiss, right?
Did something go wrong?
However, on further thought, he realized that the advertisements produced by Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version had been rather indecent when he first heard about it. However, the publicity effect had been quite good.
He could only say that Tengda seemed to prefer this kind of advertisement.
Lin Jiaqiang did not think too much about it. It was enough as long as there was an advertisement. As for the effect of the advertisement, that was something that others had to consider. What did it have to do with him?
Thus, he did not think too much about it. He stopped worrying and waited for the arrangements.
Lin Jiaqiang did not have a schedule now. Thus, he settled his matters and booked a flight to Jingzhou.
It was the same as the last time he came to Jingzhou. There was a special car to pick him up and a five-star hotel for his food and accommodation. All in all, everything was arranged clearly. Lin Jiaqiang rarely experienced such treatment even when he was at his peak.
The staff arranged for Lin Jiaqiang to stay and rest first when they arrived at the hotel. They said that they would inform him immediately once they were done with filming.
...
At the same time, Meng Chang was perfecting the details of the promotional video in the marketing department.
Yu Yao walked quickly to his side and said, "Brother Meng, Lin Jiaqiang is here. I've arranged for him to stay in the hotel. Filming can start anytime in the next two days."
Meng Chang was a little surprised. "So soon?"
"Oh, that's right. He doesn't have a schedule now. There's no need to make an appointment."
As the person-in-charge of the department, Meng Chang naturally would not do everything himself. What's more, he had not planned to do the job well. Therefore, he handed most of the details to Yu Yao to handle, including contacting Lin Jiaqiang and preparing the filming location. He did not ask anything.
He originally thought that Lin Jiaqiang would only arrive in Jingzhou two days later. He had not expected him to arrive so quickly. He had not even finished editing the proposal for the publicity video.
Yu Yao asked, "Then... should we let him stay in the hotel first and arrange for someone to bring him to Jingzhou to play for two days? We can slowly prepare here."
Meng Chang shook his head. "There's no need. Let's start filming in the afternoon!"
Meng Chang did not have to be too bothered with the details since the film was just a casual shot even though the details of the promotional video were not perfect.
"Where's the filming location?" Meng Chang asked.
Yu Yao answered truthfully, "I originally wanted to take it in Sloth Apartments, but after thinking about it carefully, the environment in Sloth Apartments looks too good. It doesn't seem to meet your requirements, Brother Meng."
"Therefore, we found an ordinary rental house and tried our best to recreate the living conditions of young people, especially for the homebodies."
"This is a photo."
Yu Yao handed his cell phone over and Meng Chang reached out to take it. He looked at the picture of the rental apartment and nodded in satisfaction.
"Hmm, not bad, it suits my requirements!"
The entire filming process this time was to be conducted in the room. There were no outdoor scenes, so it was easier to set it up.
If it was a normal publicity video, they would definitely have to find a clean and bright 'DEAM HOUSE' to film it. They would also have to match it with a sweet-looking lady. That would leave a good impression on the audience.
However, Meng Chang had no intention of leaving a good impression on the audience. What's more, the protagonist they had chosen was a "standard fat geek" like Lin Jiaqiang, who weighed more than two hundred kilograms. The room must be messy to match his image.
Of course, he could not go overboard. Otherwise, his identity as a spy would be exposed if he made it too obvious. It would not be easy to clean up the mess.
"In that case, let's film this afternoon!"
"We have the venue and the actors are in place. I'll make the best use of my time to edit the proposal. Let's end this quickly."
Meng Chang began to make the final edits of the document quickly. Then, he printed it out and rushed to the filming location.
Yu Yao quickly went back to work.
They were very efficient and suited Tengda Corporation's style.
...
In the afternoon, at the filming location of the publicity video.
Meng Chang, Yu Yao, Lin Jiaqiang, and the staff who were filming the promotional video were all present.
After exchanging pleasantries, Meng Chang distributed the script of the publicity video to the staff at the scene and briefly explained the scene to Lin Jiaqiang.
"Actually, you don't have to analyze this script. You just have to act according to your first impression. Do you understand?" Meng Chang hinted frantically.
Obviously, Meng Chang did not want Lin Jiaqiang's acting skills to suddenly explode, contribute to a hot topic on the internet and make the smart fitness drying rack popular.
The worse Lin Jiaqiang's acting skills were, the higher chances Meng Chang had of getting a high commission.
Lin Jiaqiang read the script from beginning to end seriously and nodded. "Don't worry, I'm familiar with this role!"
He had acted in many ridiculous comedies before. There were often some ridiculous and bizarre plots in them. He could not help but feel happy when he saw the publicity film, which was a little ridiculous. Wasn't this his strong point? He should act as himself!
Meng Chang nodded. "Alright, let's start filming. Let's take it and see how it goes."
Everyone quickly got into position and began filming.
Lin Jiaqiang had not acted in a movie for a long time, but he was an old actor after all. He still had his foundation. What's more, he did not need to memorize lines in the publicity video. He only needed to make all sorts of exaggerated expressions and movements. Therefore, there was basically no difficulty.
The edited version of the publicity video took about two minutes. The few scenes were not complicated, so it was filmed very quickly.
All the sets and props had been prepared. Lin Jiaqiang entered the scene very quickly. In less than half an hour, he finished filming all the scenes.
"Alright, cut!"
Yu Yao looked at Meng Chang. "Boss Meng, can you give us some instructions?"
Lin Jiaqiang's acting was alright but he could still pick a problem if he really had to. As a director, even if there were no problems, they would usually "save one". It was just like how the client had to find fault with the first version no matter how satisfied he was with it and forcefully produce the second version.
Meng Chang fell silent.
It was not that he had too many opinions or was dissatisfied with Lin Jiaqiang's performance. The situation was exactly the opposite.
Lin Jiaqiang was acting too well!
Whether or not a short comedy like this would produce laughs depended on the actor's acting.
It was just like many domestic comedians. When they acted, it was like they were forcefully scratching the audience's armpits. Many joke segments would not make people feel funny, rather they would make people feel awkward.
However, Lin Jiaqiang was a veteran comedian after all. He might be outdated now, but his skills were still there. His exaggerated actions and expressions, coupled with the voice-over, were quite interesting.
Before Meng Chang could say anything, Lin Jiaqiang volunteered. "Everyone, feel free to voice your opinions. I haven't acted in a long time and I have not recovered my state."
"However, I'm getting better and better. I'll definitely be able to act better if I were to take another shot!"