All the contracts were signed. There were even distributors that take up the unpopular northwest regions. Maybe it was because Feng Yu had given attractive benefits for those provinces. These provinces have no sales target!
Now, in China, the gap between the rich and poor regions was apparent. The coastal areas’ development was much faster, and there were more opportunities and rich people. The in-lands, especially the western provinces, were in poverty. The industrial, agriculture and businesses development were lacking, and many of the people there earned less than 300 RMB a year. There were even some that couldn’t even feed themselves.
In these areas, there were still wealthy people but very few. Luckily, these areas had a severe lack of electricity. The local government offices can’t even install air conditioners. Feng Yu and the distributors felt that this bladeless fans can be sold to the government offices in that area.
It was just like the computers in the future. When some local government offices saw other government agencies purchases some computers, they would also think of some excuses like wanting a paperless office to buy a batch of computers. These local government does not care if their staffs had computer literacy or a computer cost the same as a year’s supply of paper.
If one city starts to buy in bulk, the nearby cities will follow suit, and the districts under the city government would copy. Soon the whole province would be the same.
The computers bought by the government offices were often referred to as antiques by netizens. These computers were about to be obsolete and were overpriced. The government agencies were still willing to spend as the money does not come from their own pocket!
The distributor that took on the northwest province had this thinking. He was confident that he would convince the local government to purchase a batch of fans. It would not be like what Fatty Huang said, the sales of a province could not be compared to even a city in Guangdong.
The new factory in Guangdong had started productions, and everything was proceeding smoothly. There were many workshops, and there were enough facilities and workers. There would be no delays to the humidifiers and bladeless fans productions.
……
A few days later, Fu Guangzheng came to Bing City again. He wanted to talk to Feng Yu about the overseas sales. They need to get a celebrity to star in a commercial for their products. Tai Hua Trading had to agree to invest in this commercial and the celebrity’s endorsement.
“Brother Fu, you had worked hard for this period of time.”
“Hahaha, my family had assigned 2 people to me. I am just leaving everything to them. You are the one who had worked hard. You settled China’s distributions within such a short time.”
The both of them had some pleasantries, and Feng Yu asked: “Brother Fu, you are not here at Bing City just to chat with me, right? Just speak your mind.”
Fu Guangzheng laughed: “This, Manager Feng, our humidifiers and bladeless fans in China have celebrities’ endorsements and commercials. Do you think we should hire some stars to do an ad for the overseas market?”
Feng Yu raised his eyebrows. He knows what Fu Guangzheng was trying to say. The fees for overseas celebrities were much higher than in China. Fu Guangzheng was worried that Feng Yu would not agree. That’s why he came personally to discuss with Feng Yu. If they had chosen the right celebrity to endorse their products, the sales would increase a lot, and they can earn back the endorsement fees. Feng Yu would never reject this idea.
“Brother Fu, I thought it was some important matter. You can just talk to me over the phone. Yes, I totally agree with you.”
Fu Guangzheng brightens up: “That’s great. But the budget would be quite high. I decided to get Hollywood stars this endorsement. The fees might reach 2 million USD a year. But I had calculated. There would be at least 3 million USD of profits!”
Spend 2 million USD for 3 million USD profit? Feng Yu frowned. He felt that even though they still made a profit but the profit was too little. Compared to Zhu Simao and the rest, the profits were too low!
The humidifiers and bladeless fans were all monopoly products. There were no similar products on the market. For 2 million USD endorsement fees, there should be more than 4 million USD in profits.
“Who do you intend to look for? Which geographical area will be covered?” Feng Yu asked.
“We are looking at Lim Basinger or Michael Keaton. Their movie “Batman” last year was the top grossing movie in Europe and the US. They have countless fans in Europe, US, and Asia. I think they can even be the spokesperson for the whole world……”
Fu Guangzheng said a lot but Feng Yu was thinking. Who are these two stars? He had heard of their names before, but he had no impression. These two stars’ future developments should not be that great, or they did not have any blockbusters in future!
These two stars which Fu Guangzheng recommends might be very famous last year but this year, their popularity should be declining. In future, their popularity would continue to drop. It would be like signing a forward who was in his top form. But after signing, the player’s condition became worse every year, and you still have to pay his wages!
If they need to get a celebrity, then they must look for those with potential, at the same time, have a right image and suits the product. They can’t just sign any celebrity without careful selection.
For instance, Yao Ming had signed a deal with Pepsi. But sportsmen were not allowed to drink carbonated drinks. When Yao Ming suffered a fractured, there was an article on the papers, saying that Yao Ming’s fracture had something to do with Pepsi. The article states that Pepsi had an effect on bones and would affect the performance of sportsmen, etc. What the article was trying to say was that Yao Ming drank Pepsi and that’s why he suffered a fracture.
In the end, Yao Ming’s commercial value dropped drastically, and Pepsi’s sales were also affected.
Feng Yu was looking down thinking hard about which movie stars that were not famous yet but would become very popular soon. He saw the scissors on the desk and suddenly remembered someone.
Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands!
A robot with emotions. It represents high-tech innovations. This was in-line with the positioning of the humidifiers and bladeless fans.
Johnny Depp was already a small celebrity in the US, but he was not the very famous type. He was only a second-tier actor. The movie Edward Scissorhands was screened later this year and won several awards. Johnny Depp was also nominated, and his popularity soar.
His popularity lasted for the next few years and quiet down. But after the millennium, his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean lead him to become the world’s highest paid movie star!
Looking at the poster of Baldy Chen sticking his head through the bladeless fan, on the table, Feng Yu suddenly felt that a child would be more suitable.
A child would be more adorable and also send a message to parents that this fan is very safe. Even a kid can put his head through the fan top!
If it was a child that star in this commercial, it will highlight the safety features of the product which suits their product positioning in the US and Europe.
A child actor. Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin!
Feng Yu raised his head, looked at Fu Guanzheng and said excitedly: “Brother Fu, let’s get a kid to endorse our products!”
