William narrowed his eyes and paused momentarily, waiting for viewers to finish cursing him out of frustration over his profits, before continuing,
"You all know that, given my current rate of wealth accumulation, a million or two in advertising fees—even ten or twenty million—is hardly worth my time.
"And while the first company to contact me has sharp instincts and quick reactions, they're clearly trying to lowball me, thinking they can take advantage of being the first to eat the crab."
With a sly grin, he added, "Heh, do they think getting the better of me is that easy?"
At first, viewers were stunned, thinking William was about to turn down millions in ad revenue. But his next words had them cheering in delight.
"Even though I don't care much about that small amount of money, outright rejection wouldn't align with the future commercial goals of the platform. Plus, since the first company to reach out happens to be a computer manufacturer,"
William's expression shifted, growing more serious, "I've decided to make a deal. They'll need to provide $10 million worth of computers as part of a giveaway event on FaceNet.
"The event will run for three days. If the results are promising and they want to do another promotion, the same deal applies: $10 million worth of products for another three days.
"During this promotion, I'm also welcoming other manufacturers of large electronics to advertise. As long as you're willing to give away $10 million worth of products, you'll get three days of exclusive promotion to at least one billion—possibly billions—of viewers.
"This promotional campaign will last for a month. Whether there will be another in the future depends on me—and possibly on how things look once I return to Earth. If there is another, it'll probably be on a much larger scale."
With a sly smirk, he added, "And a word of advice to those companies on the fence: this is a global audience. Just three days of exposure in front of billions of people is a steal at this price.
"But let me be clear—after this campaign, if you want in again, you'll need to pay cash."
Whether companies would have to pay in the future or not, those who heard William's pitch didn't care.
Giving away $10 million worth of products in front of billions of potential consumers was not a difficult decision for them to make.
In fact, some up-and-coming companies—whose products were performing well in their home markets but lacked international recognition—were eager to jump at the opportunity.
For these companies, $10 million, $20 million, or even $30 million was well worth the investment.
Since it was currently prime viewing hours across Europe, the Americas were still in the afternoon, and Asia was in the morning, the audience numbers were at their peak.
William relayed a request to the TV station via Sunday, and a moment later, Wilson made a live phone call to the first computer company that had reached out.
"Hello, hello," a flustered voice answered. "This is Chad Wilson, general manager of [REDACTED] Computer Company. I'm so honored to be speaking with you, Mr. Devonshire and Your Highness, Prince Wilson."
"Likewise," Wilson responded with a wide smile. "But before we continue, Mr. Wilson, why don't you greet the billions of viewers watching this broadcast?"
"Ah, yes! Thank you for the reminder."
Chad nervously but enthusiastically greeted the audience. However, after finishing his greeting, he suddenly exclaimed in confusion,
"Wait, hold on! I'm sorry—did I just hear a busy signal when I mentioned my company's name?"
"Haha," Wilson chuckled, shrugging apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but that's a question you'll have to direct to William. He specifically requested that your company name be muted until we finalize the agreement."
"Let me explain," William's voice cut in, effectively silencing the female host, who could only close her mouth and silently yield the floor to him.
"Here's what the audience wants to know most: is your company participating in FaceNet's first giveaway event or not?"
"Well, uh, um…" Chad stammered nervously. "Mr. Devonshire, shouldn't we discuss the details first?"
"I don't care about details. That's for my team to work out with yours. All I need is a yes or no answer."
William's tone grew more assertive. "And don't think I'm wasting my time on you out of generosity. The only reason I'm even entertaining this conversation is that your products are decent, and you had the foresight to reach out first."
"Alright, alright," Chad replied, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow as he glanced at his team, who had just received unanimous approval from the company's board.
"Mr. Devonshire, our company formally accepts your invitation to participate in FaceNet's promotional event. We're ready to provide $10 million worth of computers at any time."
Hearing Chad's agreement, the FaceNet platform erupted with celebratory comments and cheers. However, William wasn't done.
Smiling at first, his expression quickly turned stern. "If I'm not mistaken, your company's best-selling model this year retails for $899, correct?"
"Yes, that's correct, Mr. Devonshire."
Sensing an opportunity, Chad began introducing the product, but William cut him off mercilessly. Until the deal was finalized, he wasn't about to let the company advertise for free to billions of viewers.
"At $899, let's round it to $800. That means $10 million only gets us 12,500 units. But FaceNet currently has over 110 million users online.
"Are you seriously planning to offer 12,500 units for 110 million people to compete over?"
"Well… uh…" Chad faltered, unable to find the words.
William didn't give him a chance to recover. "Here's my offer: provide 50,000 units instead.
"And in return, I'll personally shout your company's name ten times on this broadcast in front of billions of viewers.
"Think carefully, my friend—this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have billions of people hear your company's name directly from me."
Hearing William emphasize the "billions" of viewers repeatedly, Chad and his board members quickly did the math.
At $800 per unit, 50,000 units would cost less than $40 million.
For the chance to have their name repeated by William Devonshire—one of the most famous and wealthy men in the world—in front of a massive global audience, this was an absolute bargain.
Without hesitation, Chad agreed.
"Deal, Mr. Devonshire! We'll provide 50,000 units of our newest model for 50,000 lucky viewers.
"And to make things easier, we'll cover all shipping costs so the winners don't have to pay a single penny."
Viewers were overjoyed.
Most had expected only 12,500 units, so hearing the giveaway had been expanded to 50,000 was an incredible surprise.
On FaceNet, users flooded the platform with comments praising William, many of them typing "William is the best!" in unison.
"Ha! Excellent," William laughed heartily before turning back to the camera.
"In that case, FaceNet users, if they're being this generous, shouldn't you all show some love by typing their company name ten times on the website?"
The thrilled viewers happily obliged, plastering the company's name across FaceNet in a show of gratitude.
By the end of the broadcast, the company's name was on everyone's lips—and William's earlier deception about the potato bet was all but forgotten.
(End of Chapter)
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