Chapter 103: Oh, Wuyan... This time, I am placing my entire stake on you.

Wang Mo certainly did not understand advertising, and the system had not provided him with any knowledge in that field. However, the commercials for Mengniu Suansuanru back in the day had been so incredibly successful that those few ad slogans were deeply etched into the depths of his mind.

Nevertheless, when faced with Yuan Xiong’s inquiry, Wang Mo still replied, "I know a little."

Liu Zhengwen: "..."
Yuan Xiong: "..."

"A little" again.
"A little" my foot.

Liu Zhengwen’s expression turned serious. "Wang Mo, are you serious about what you just said? You really want Tang Qinyun to sing this song and become the spokesperson for Gaoniu Yousuanru?"

Wang Mo thought for a moment and said, "If I can actually get Tang Qinyun to be the spokesperson, do I get a commission?"

Liu Zhengwen was stunned. "How could there possibly be—"

Before he could finish, Yuan Xiong cut in decisively: "Of course there is! It would have been impossible for Tang Qinyun to become a spokesperson otherwise. So, if this succeeds, it’s all thanks to your capability. You are effectively the closer of this deal, and in my opinion, you should get at least a 30% commission."

Wang Mo nodded. "Hmm, that’s what I was thinking too."

Liu Zhengwen: "..."
Why are these two so obsessed with money in everything they do?

He snorted inwardly and said, "Old Yuan, I’ll be putting in quite a bit of effort here too. Even if I don’t get a commission, surely there should be a bonus?"

Yuan Xiong replied, "A bonus is a must!"

"Oh, nice!" Liu Zhengwen clenched his fist tightly. "Old Yuan, I’m ready to go through fire and water for this!"

...

At Gaoniu Group, Manager He of the Yousuanru advertising department received the message relayed by Liu Zhengwen and immediately announced it.

The room erupted in an uproar upon hearing what Manager He had to say. Liu Zhengwen had conveyed three points:

First, the performer of the advertising theme song must be designated by Wuyan.
Second, if Gaoniu Group insisted that the theme song be performed by the brand spokesperson, then Yunhai Media expected their designated singer to become that spokesperson.
Third, if Gaoniu Group agreed to the first two points, Wuyan would gift them a few advertising slogans for free.

Everyone was stunned upon hearing these conditions. Some even rubbed their eyes, thinking they had misread them. After a moment, the conference room broke into a massive clamor.

"I actually want to laugh."
"Has Yunhai Media lost its mind? How dare they propose such conditions?"
"They must have forgotten that we are the client."
"With these three conditions, do they think they are the ones calling the shots?"
"I admit the song Wuyan wrote is good, but is it good enough for them, as a vendor, to ride on our heads and boss us around?"
"I could somewhat understand them wanting to designate the singer, but wanting to make the singer the spokesperson? That’s insane!"
"They even had the audacity to say they’d give us slogans for free. As a member of the advertising department, I feel insulted."

Director Luo was also full of astonishment. He asked, "Manager He, is that really what Yunhai Media said?"

Manager He nodded. "It is absolutely true."

But this time, Director Luo did not get angry. After a long period of contemplation, he said, "In that case... let's have a video conference with them first to hear their thoughts, especially Wuyan's, before we make a decision."

Just as Manager He was about to comply, Deputy Director Gao Rong flatly refused: "No!"

Director Luo frowned. "Why?"

Gao Rong said in a deep voice, "The demands from Yunhai Media are simply too outrageous. Who do they think they are? These conditions make them act like the masters while we become the accessories. How can we allow this? Their task was only to write a theme song for us. Now that this task is complete, everything else has nothing to do with them. If they want to designate the singer, we might barely accept it. But for them to designate the spokesperson? That is absurd. This is an internal matter for our company; what does it have to do with them? As for the slogans they mentioned, please, we are the brand marketing department; this is what we do. Do we really need a songwriter to provide us with slogans? If that’s the case, I suggest we all just go hit our heads against a block of tofu and call it a day."

Many people nodded in agreement after hearing her words.

"Director Gao is right."
"Exactly, Yunhai Media is overstepping."
"Maybe we should just let them come and work at Gaoniu."

Director Luo nodded. "Director Gao, I acknowledge your point. But as a giant in the entertainment industry, I don’t think Yunhai Media would act without a reason. The conditions they proposed may seem absurd, but perhaps there is a deeper logic behind them. It wouldn’t hurt to communicate with them first and hear their opinions before deciding."

Gao Rong smiled faintly. "In that case, let’s follow Director Luo’s arrangement. But I still stand by what I said: regardless of Yunhai Media’s reasons, we cannot let them intervene in our internal operations. That is a matter of principle!"

With that, Gao Rong sat down, her expression cold. In the conference room, the others remained silent, knowing that while Director Luo and Deputy Director Gao appeared harmonious on the surface, they had been competing behind the scenes for a long time.

With December here and the year-end approaching, the company would conduct performance appraisals, including those for senior executives. These results would involve personnel changes. If Director Luo’s performance was better, he would remain in his position; if Gao Rong’s surpassed his, she would be promoted to Director the following year.

Usually, Director Luo was flawless in his work, but today, Gao Rong felt she had seen an opening. If Director Luo insisted on letting Yunhai Media meddle in internal affairs, she wouldn't hold back!

Director Luo still had a faint smile on his face, seemingly unaware of Gao Rong’s inner shift. He nodded to Manager He, who immediately took action. Twenty minutes later, Manager He reported, "Director Luo, I have communicated with Yunhai Media; we can start the video conference at any time."

"Start it," Director Luo said.

...

A few minutes later, the video conference was officially connected. The Gaoniu side consisted of the same group of people in the conference room. On the Yunhai Media side, there were only two people: Liu Zhengwen and Wang Mo.

On screen, Wang Mo wore a mask. Although he knew the probability of Gaoniu employees recognizing him was slim, he wore it just in case to hide his peerless face.

"Hello, Director Luo."
"Hello, Director Liu."
"And this is?"
"Wuyan."
"Oh?"
"So young."
"A young talent indeed."

No one expected that the famous Wuyan in the music scene would be such a young man. This surprised everyone greatly. As for the mask, no one thought much of it; many behind-the-scenes workers preferred to stay out of the limelight, which was perfectly normal.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Director Luo got straight to the point: "Director Liu, we have discussed the three conditions your company proposed. We feel they are all a bit excessive, but we would like to hear why your company requested them."

Liu Zhengwen smiled slightly. "Director Luo, you have a keen eye. Since we proposed these, we naturally have our reasons. The first condition: letting Wuyan designate the singer. If you know Wuyan, you know he has a rule: for every song he writes, he must personally designate the singer. This isn't because he is arrogant or cold, but because only Wuyan knows who is best suited for his songs. This ensures the highest synergy between the song and the singer, allowing the song to achieve the best possible effect after release. For example, 'It Doesn't Matter' and 'Invisible Wings' are prime examples..."

Director Luo nodded. "If Wuyan can find a more suitable singer, we can accept that. But the second condition: you say the singer should be the spokesperson? We cannot agree to this. The spokesperson for a brand is a decision made internally by our company; it cannot be determined by outsiders."

Liu Zhengwen didn't respond, looking instead at Wang Mo.

Wang Mo sat up straight and said in a deep voice, "Since Director Luo agrees to the first condition, in my view, having the singer as the spokesperson is the most appropriate choice. It can create a greater effect for the advertisement and strengthen the customer's desire to purchase. Of course, we wouldn't choose just anyone. This is the candidate I have selected—"

As he spoke, he turned on the projector. A photo of a pure and lovely girl appeared on the screen. She had a sunny smile and a youthful aura, with bright, expressive eyes that seemed to pull at one’s soul. She perfectly embodied the image of a "first love" for many.

Wang Mo gestured to the girl. "Her name is Tang Qinyun, 19 years old, a signed singer at Yunhai Media. Although she isn't widely known, she has a very sweet voice, and I believe she is the best performer for 'Sweet and Sour Is Me.' Furthermore, her smile, her age, and her appearance make her the perfect spokesperson for the Gaoniu Yousuanru brand."

On the Gaoniu side, everyone nodded inwardly upon seeing her face. Her image was indeed a perfect fit. However, Gao Rong stood up immediately to oppose it: "Mr. Wuyan, you are joking, aren't you? I don't deny this girl looks great, but she has almost zero fame. Making her a spokesperson is no different from choosing a random person off the street. What is the purpose of hiring a celebrity as a spokesperson? Isn't it to use their fame to bring popularity and sales to the product? This girl can't bring any benefits to the product at all, so why should we hire her? To waste money?"

"Not at all!" Wang Mo shook his head. He said earnestly, "Who says a spokesperson must be a celebrity? Who says celebrities always drive popularity and sales? If the advertisement is good, a product can become a huge hit even without a celebrity."

In his past life, many hit products didn't use celebrity spokespeople. The most classic example was Naobaijin; two little cartoon characters dancing for years created an advertising effect that crushed brands represented by top superstars, becoming a miracle in the advertising world.

As for the average person buying a product, 99% of them don't care who the spokesperson is. Unless it's a fan base with extreme loyalty, most people buy things based on their own whims. Who cares who the face is?

Wang Mo continued, "So my suggestion is: have Tang Qinyun sing the song and serve as the spokesperson. Even though she isn't famous now, her popularity will surely skyrocket once the song is promoted. Combined with her invincible youthful 'first love' image, she will definitely attract a large group of loyal young fans, thereby opening up the youth market. Of course, during the promotional campaign, we can introduce one or two ad slogans that fit Tang Qinyun’s image and the product’s characteristics. As long as the promotion is done right, this three-pronged approach—sweet persona, song, and slogan—will absolutely ignite the market."

"Hmm?" Director Luo’s previously calm expression turned serious, and he began to ponder. They had never used this type of integrated promotional method before. It sounded quite novel.

He asked, "Mr. Wuyan, the promotional method you mentioned is indeed quite novel, but the slogans would likely be critical. If I agree to your conditions, are you certain you can provide us with the most suitable slogans?"

Wang Mo smiled. "Of course. If you aren't satisfied with the slogans I provide, then I will retract everything I just said, and you only need to use the singer I designated."

Director Luo pondered for a moment. "In that case, perhaps we can try to cooperate."

"Director Luo, be careful!" Gao Rong temporarily blocked the video connection and stood up to protest.

Director Luo looked at her. "Director Gao, I think Mr. Wuyan is right. He has integrated the spokesperson, the product, the song, and the advertisement into one. It is a very novel way of promoting a product, and I think we should try it. You know, in the past, when we launched new products, even if we spent a fortune on celebrity spokespeople, the results weren't necessarily good, because young people today are increasingly ignoring the effect of celebrity endorsements."

Gao Rong frowned. "The risk is too high."

"Everything has risks," Director Luo replied.

Gao Rong took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "But this risk is beyond our control. If you insist on doing this, Director Luo, I will not intervene. I will continue to use my own methods to promote the new product."

This was the first time Gao Rong had so bluntly opposed Director Luo’s decision in public. Director Luo stared at her, and after a moment, said, "Are you sure, Director Gao?"

Gao Rong’s expression was resolute. "I am sure."

Director Luo narrowed his eyes slightly. "In that case, please find your own way, Director Gao. The headquarters allocated 10 million in promotional funds for this new product. If you want to pursue your own path, then we will each take 5 million to promote the product, and you can command your own staff. We shall see whose method proves more successful in the end."

With those words, the two were officially at odds. Whoever won this competition would take the Director's position.

Gao Rong did not show any weakness. "Thank you, Director Luo." She then rose and left. Since she was going to use her own methods, there was no need for her to attend the rest of the meeting.

Director Luo watched her leave and sighed inwardly. How could he not know she was coveting his position? His bold decision to adopt Wang Mo’s novel promotional method was, in fact, a gamble for his own future. The traditional methods were already outdated. If he stuck to the old way—hiring celebrities and throwing money at ads—he might be safe, but he would achieve nothing groundbreaking. In the eyes of the top brass, that would be considered mediocre. He feared that under such an appraisal, even without mistakes, he would be rated poorly. And with Gao Rong, who was young, ambitious, and decisive, he might easily be ousted.

So, Director Luo decided to make a big gamble. Fortune favors the bold.

He sighed again. "This time, the stakes are a bit high."

A moment later, he reconnected the video conference. Looking at the young Wuyan on the screen, he thought to himself, "Wuyan, Wuyan, I’ve placed a heavy bet on you. I hope you’re right, otherwise, one wrong step and I’m finished."