On the evening of the last Friday in August, a competition captivated hundreds of millions of people across the country.
It was said that the final selection tonight was expected to have 200 million viewers in front of their televisions.
Students enjoyed the last days of their summer vacation, working professionals enjoyed the weekend, and retired elderly people could also relax their mood with the live broadcast, watching young people sing and dance just like they did in their youth.
There were also countless people like Tan Jincheng who chose to watch the final selection due to business interests.
"Starry splendor, spring breeze gallops; Shanchi Electric Vehicles welcome you to the next program!"
Before the live broadcast officially began at 8:30 PM, the last commercial was exactly the Shanchi Electric Vehicles advertisement filmed by Brother Chun.
As soon as the commercial aired, it not only stunned the four people who were watching the live broadcast with Tan Jincheng, but also surprised countless people who knew the inside story.
"Holy crap! When did you secure the pre-broadcast ad slot on Mango TV?"
Zhang Xupeng exclaimed in shock.
If Gu Qingqing's bold desire to visit Tan Jincheng's room earlier made everyone feel that the relationship between the two had made great progress compared to before, leading to teasing, it was somewhat unexpected, but more of a blessing.
However, no sooner had that surprise passed than Boss Tan delivered an even bigger one.
Gu Qingqing was also very surprised.
When they were discussing the contract, she was present and heard Boss Tan tell Manager Man that if Brother Chun could reach the finals, an advertisement would be aired before the finals began, as a form of alternative vote-getting.
At the same time, Tan Jincheng also asked Manager Man and Tianyu Entertainment to cooperate in securing this time slot for the advertisement, saying the ad fees were negotiable.
But Gu Qingqing also knew that this kind of advertising resource was extremely rare.
Securing it was not as simple as just paying the advertising fees.
She didn't expect Boss Tan to actually pull it off!
"Haha, how about that? It's said that over 100 million people are watching this competition tonight. Isn't this ad worth it?"
Tan Jincheng grinned broadly and laughed.
In fact, Tan Jincheng had been planning this from the very beginning of the signing.
But everyone knew that the day of the final selection would be a peak viewing period.
Not to mention the Super Girl sponsors, other major brands were also eyeing the ad slots before the live broadcast.
To secure it was indeed not just about money; the competition was exceptionally fierce.
Shanchi Automotive only signed Brother Chun and had no cooperation with the Super Girl brand.
Therefore, to secure the pre-broadcast advertisement, Tianyu Entertainment had to fully cooperate and be given certain benefits.
"How did you do it?"
Zhang Xupeng pressed on.
"In addition to the high advertising fees, we also sponsored a fan meeting after the competition,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
According to last year's practice, after the competition, it was also an important time for making money.
Contestants would be divided into groups to appear in commercial performances across various regions in the form of fan meetings, and most of this money went into Tianyu Entertainment's pockets.
Tan Jincheng, at the cost of sponsoring a fan meeting, convinced Tianyu Entertainment to help Shanchi in the advertising negotiations.
With Tianyu Entertainment's help, coupled with the high advertising fees, they finally secured the spot.
The cost of this single advertisement exceeded the recent online promotion expenses.
The price was undeniably high, but Tan Jincheng felt it was worth it.
Although the market promotion had not yet reached the province where Mango TV is located, it at least gave billions of viewers a certain awareness of the Shanchi brand.
In 2005, the influence of television media was still higher than that of the internet.
Audiences had a high degree of trust in brands that could appear on television, especially on provincial satellite TV and CCTV's prime time slots.
In terms of promotional effect alone, Tan Jincheng even felt that this advertisement would surpass all previous promotions, but without the series of preliminary groundwork, it wouldn't have achieved today's blockbuster effect.
"Wife, wife, look quickly, Shanchi's advertisement is on Mango TV!"
Zhao Chuanbing excitedly pulled and shook his wife's arm.
"I saw it, I saw it, I was watching more closely than you. Speaking of which, the boss of this company really has some tricks up his sleeve,"
His wife said with a smile.
After more than a decade of being influenced by CCTV's "King of Bids" operations, ordinary people also had a certain understanding of prime-time advertising prices.
Tonight's pre-broadcast slot was undoubtedly a prime-time slot, and companies able to secure prime-time advertisements were all powerful companies.
"Haha, great! With this tonight, we'll definitely sell even better tomorrow. Let's put up a few more advertising signs tomorrow,"
Zhao Chuanbing laughed heartily.
Shop owners like them, who had already received the goods, were officially selling both black and white Shanchi models.
The highly cost-effective Shanchi, once launched with promotions, immediately attracted the attention of electric scooter buyers.
Young and flexible-minded shop owners like Zhao Chuanbing pushed sales even harder.
In over half a month, their store had already sold more than 20 units.
At a normal pace, these 100 units could be completely sold out within a month.
With the boost from tonight's advertisement, Zhao Chuanbing felt that the sales speed should be even faster.
"Should we contact the manufacturer to pre-order the next batch of goods? I feel that once this ad airs, competition for stock will definitely become more intense."
He heard that Shanchi has an internal credit system that rates terminal retail stores based on their repayment speed.
He himself paid after receiving the goods and passing the weekend, so his credit rating should be relatively high, right?
"Let's see the sales volume for the next week, or you can call their service hotline tomorrow and ask."
"Okay, I'll ask tomorrow. This brand isn't hard to sell, the price is very competitive in the market, and the pressure to stock up is also much lower than with Xinri."
Suddenly, a thought struck Zhao Chuanbing.
Shanchi currently seemed to be direct from the manufacturer, with no agents in various regions.
He definitely couldn't aim for the general agency in Anhui Province; he didn't have the strength.
But what about a sub-agency in Yingzhou?
Could he try it?
Once a person has ambition, it's hard to suppress.
Zhao Chuanbing no longer had the mind to watch the subsequent competition, his mind filled with thoughts of whether he had a chance to secure the general agency for Yingzhou.
As Anhui Province's largest city by population, the market for electric scooters was huge.
Shanchi, this cheap and easy-to-use electric scooter, with its brand now publicized, was destined to be popular in the market.
Zhao Chuanbing was almost certain of this.
"Don't you guys think it's really awkward when these singers get a 'plant' on stage to present flowers during their performance?"
"No, I think it's fine. Why is your awkwardness point so strange? Aren't you awkward about the contestant's styling?"
"Haha, that's awkward too, the stage design is awkward too, everything's awkward."
Compared to previous competitions, the top three competition on the final night was truly lackluster.
It was interspersed with various vote-gathering segments, with not many actual performance segments.
There were even fans requesting songs by phone, which was ridiculous, and the hosts were exceptionally garrulous.
Fortunately, five people were watching the competition tonight, making it livelier and less boring.
Zhang Xupeng and the other two even thoughtfully nudged Gu Qingqing to sit next to Tan Jincheng, making the two and a half hours not difficult to pass.
Gu Qingqing won't be working tomorrow.
With a few days of summer vacation left, she'll go home.
As for her electric scooter, she'll let Qin Siyu ride it for now, and when Qin Siyu returns to school, it will be temporarily parked at Shanchi Automotive.
When school starts, Sun Yuming will deliver it to her school.
"Can I leave my luggage in the apartment for now? When Qin Siyu leaves, can you help me take it to school?"
Gu Qingqing softly asked Tan Jincheng.
"No problem, I'll take you to the station tomorrow."
"Won't it be too much trouble? You're so busy with work, I can take the bus with my few things."
"It's no trouble. I don't need to travel for work recently, so going to the company a little earlier or later makes no difference."
"Alright then."
The other three looked at the whispering pair and smiled knowingly, especially Qin Siyu, who felt her contribution was immense.
Ever since their playful squabble that night, Qin Siyu felt that Gu Qingqing had become much bolder than before.
Her performance tonight surprised her even more; a girl actively asking to visit a boy's room was already an act of great courage.
"Hehe, if they end up together, will Boss Tan thank me?"
The time came to eleven o'clock, and the long, boring final night was finally coming to an end.
The final votes for the top three were about to be announced.
As usual, there was an advertisement break.
Mango TV had the contestants reveal the vote panel little by little, perfectly manipulating the audience's emotions.
First to be announced were the votes for the contestant surnamed Zhang: 1.35 million votes.
This was probably third place.
Tan Jincheng couldn't quite remember if the contestant surnamed Zhang was second or third, but isn't that how scripts usually go?
Generally, the lowest number of votes is announced first.
"Holy crap, 3.27 million votes, leading by nearly 2 million! Is that insane? Brother Chun has no chance of winning, right?"
"Haha, that's not necessarily true. Who knows before the results are announced?"
"True, can't pop the champagne at halftime."
"If you can't speak properly, then shut up."
Actually, as expected, Mango TV intended to promote this contestant.
However, Brother Chun, who didn't even win the CD division championship, suddenly emerged, showing an advantage in a series of elimination rounds, with popularity soaring to its peak.
This was unexpected by Mango TV, but this contestant's popularity was indeed high; 3.27 million votes could almost be described as insane.
Finally, it was time for Brother Chun's final million-digit vote count to be announced.
Brother Chun's hundred-thousand digit was 528,300 votes.
If the final million-digit vote count announced was greater than or equal to three, then he would win by at least 250,000 votes.
The host deliberately created a dramatic atmosphere, which Tan Jincheng found somewhat childish, but judging by the reactions of the other four people in the living room, it seemed that audiences in this era still fell for this kind of thing.
Without surprise, 3.5283 million votes!
A win!
"Ahhh, you won! Congratulations, Boss Tan!"
Gu Qingqing excitedly shook Tan Jincheng's arm.
Zhang Xupeng pouted, thinking "Little Tan showed off again," but he was equally excited internally.
This time, Little Tan was a big winner.
Although Brother Chun's image was controversial, he ultimately made Shanchi one of the focal points outside the competition, and Little Tan's career also reached a new level.
Zhang Xupeng's gaze fell on Gu Qingqing, who was still holding Little Tan's arm:
"Oh, I'm going to lose the bet. It seems I'll have to pay 80,000 yuan as a betrothal gift when Little Tan gets married. I just don't know who the bride will be?"
(End of chapter)