Chapter 292: Deals in the Making

At noon in the East Morning Star Advertising Office.

During the phone conference with Director Li…

In the business collaboration, Xie Bingran specified East Morning Star Advertising as the partner, and Director Li clearly expressed his difficulties over the phone.

Xu Chen stayed quiet for now, waiting for Director Li to say everything he needed to.

“This deal—Director An and I have already discussed it with the brand owner. We’ve covered the fees and specific terms thoroughly…”

“Even for the Osaka competition, the car brand owner came to watch in person. When Xie Bingran’s endorsement fee went up, they didn’t complain much and still agreed.”

“It’s mainly because they see Xie Bingran’s commercial value…”

“But now that Xie Bingran is specifying East Morning Star Advertising as the partner, it’s really unreasonable. It’s putting Director An and me in a tough spot.”

“Director An Jin Xiong—you met him in Osaka last time—he’s still a bit angry about it.”

“The biggest issue is that this time we’re dealing with a foreign car brand. They already have a long-term advertising company, so they’re not keen on switching to another one…”

Director Li mixed a lot of emotions into his phone talk, and Xu Chen found it annoying to listen to.

Xu Chen interrupted anyway:

“Director Li, have you talked this over with the brand owner? What’s their feedback?”

Director Li: “Of course we have. At first, they were resistant.”

“But Director An and I communicated with their China region’s top leaders twice more. Now they’re willing to hear East Morning Star Advertising’s proposal.”

“If the proposal isn’t satisfactory, and Xie Bingran still insists on East Morning Star Advertising as the partner, then they’ll drop the whole deal…”

Director Li kept going on, but Xu Chen had already figured out the situation.

Xie Bingran hadn’t discussed this with Xu Chen beforehand, but she was clearly doing it for his benefit.

For Xu Chen’s East Morning Star Advertising, landing a car brand’s ad was a major breakthrough.

In the industry, car company ads were highly sought after.

The big car manufacturers mostly worked with large international 4A ad agencies and stuck with long-term partners.

Securing a car maker’s ad in China was like a stamp of approval for a company’s capabilities.

Beyond business, Xu Chen had a personal stake in Xie Bingran’s ads.

He didn’t trust other ad companies with her work.

The world was a big makeshift operation.

Xu Chen had spent years in the ad industry in his past life and knew even the so-called international 4A giants could mess up if not careful.

This was 2006, and just three years earlier in 2003, Toyota’s ‘霸道’ ad in China almost killed the entire series.

After that, the ‘霸道’ name vanished, replaced with the transliterated ‘Prado’.

Xu Chen didn’t care about the client’s business, but he cared about Xie Bingran’s reputation.

Celebrities often faced backlash from ads and commercial activities, popping up every so often. Collaborations with foreign brands needed extra caution in content.

Xu Chen thought for a moment, then interrupted Director Li’s emotional rant:

“Director Li, what’s your and Director An’s take on this?”

Director Li paused before replying:

“I’m here to discuss it with you.”

“You’re close to Xie Bingran, and she seems to listen to you.”

“Xu Chen, could you talk to her? It doesn’t have to be East Morning Star Advertising…”

“If we handle this car brand deal this way, will other brands start demanding East Morning Star Advertising too?”

“That could block a lot of commercial opportunities for Xie Bingran!”

As soon as he said it, Director Li realized it might come off as rude and added:

“Of course, I’m not saying East Morning Star Advertising isn’t capable. It’s just that many brand owners, especially big foreign ones, have long-term deals with international 4A agencies.”

“They’re not interested in using domestic ad companies…”

“That’s where we’re stuck.”

“Like with this car brand, they want to ensure ad quality and won’t just go along with specifying a domestic agency to sign Xie Bingran…”

Xu Chen understood but didn’t rush to respond.

Director Li paused, then chuckled and said:

“Of course, East Morning Star Advertising can still get involved in this project.”

“Like with Jiaduobao, East Morning Star Advertising helped with the connections…”

“Director An has talked to the car brand, and they’re willing to pull 100,000 yuan from the endorsement fee to pay East Morning Star Advertising for assisting with the signing.”

Xu Chen felt a bit speechless inside.

They thought his East Morning Star Advertising was just trying to cash in on his personal ties to Xie Bingran and wanted to brush it off with 100,000 yuan.

Xu Chen kept his cool and said calmly:

“Director Li, don’t worry yet.”

“Didn’t the brand owner say they’d listen to East Morning Star Advertising’s proposal first?”

Director Li: “That’s what they said, but it’s basically a polite way to reject the deal.”

“Their leader was clear—they have their own 4A agency partner.”

“Saying they’ll listen is just to brush us off after we pushed for it twice.”

“Xu Chen, don’t waste your time on this.”

“In the end, we need to convince Xie Bingran to sign the contract.”

Xu Chen thought it over and said:

“Director Li, help me set up a time with the brand client. I’ll talk to them and prepare a proposal.”

Director Li: “…”

He didn’t speak, but his silence said enough.

Xu Chen smiled:

“Director Li, don’t worry. I won’t let you lose this deal.”

“I’ll put together a proposal. If they like it, we’ll sign Xie Bingran’s endorsement and East Morning Star Advertising’s collaboration together.”

“If they don’t, I’ll convince Xie Bingran to go ahead without us.”

Director Li on the other end seemed surprised, then laughed:

“Xu Chen, I’ll trust you on this!”

Xu Chen laughed: “Didn’t I already deliver on getting Xie Bingran an endorsement like I promised you?”

Director Li: “True… I’ll go with it!”

“I’ll reach out to the brand owner first.”

Xu Chen: “Which brand is it? And what kind of ad are they making?”

Director Li: “It’s the off-road brand Jeep.”

“They’re planning two endorsers, one being Xie Bingran.”

“It’s for their annual brand promotion, one of the biggest pushes in China in recent years.”

Xu Chen was a little surprised, but it made sense on second thought.

A manly off-road brand like Jeep could create something interesting with the cool Xie Bingran…

Xu Chen: “Can I ask about the ad campaign’s budget?”

Director Li: “I’m not sure on that. We’re only handling the endorser side.”

“For ad production, you’d have to discuss it directly with the brand.”

Xu Chen: “Got it.”

Director Li: “I’ll set it up with them and get back today.”

Xu Chen: “Thanks for the effort, Director Li!”

…

After hanging up, Xu Chen opened his computer and looked up Jeep’s recent ads in China.

After reviewing it, he had a solid plan.

As someone reborn in the ad world, he knew the ‘standard answer’ for Jeep’s branding.

“Not all Jeeps are called Jeep…”

That slogan from back then went viral because it echoed a certain milk brand’s style.

Strategically, it perfectly captured Jeep’s brand value.

It came with several ad spots too.

Xu Chen couldn’t recall every detail, but he had a pretty clear picture.

At least, he wouldn’t mess up the strategy or core copy.

So, this project’s proposal was practically a sure win.

…

…

In the afternoon during class, Xu Chen got Director Li’s reply:

[Xu Chen, I’ve sorted it with the Jeep brand team. They’re all in Shanghai.]

[We can have a preliminary chat with East Morning Star Advertising this Friday morning.]

[Great, thanks Director Li! Just send me their contact, and I’ll set the time.]

…

Xu Chen thought it worked out well.

Sun Aimi starts Thursday, so on Friday when he visits the Jeep client, he can bring her along to look more like a proper team.

Right now, East Morning Star Advertising was just him alone, which felt a bit odd.

…

…

At five o’clock, after the boring higher math class, a few guys headed out to eat.

“Come on, Boss Xu!” Hong Xiaoqiang from the dorm called.

Xu Chen smiled: “I have a meeting. You all go ahead!”

Hong Xiaoqiang: “With a guy or a girl?”

Xu Chen: “A girl, but it’s all business!”

…

On Miyun Road, in a tea restaurant.

Xu Chen walked in and spotted Gu Xinxi by the window from afar.

She had a round face with a bit of baby fat, similar to Sun Aimi.

Gu Xinxi stood up with a smile: “Teacher Xu…”

Xu Chen hurried over: “Been waiting long?”

Gu Xinxi smiled: “I just got here!”

Guo Liang had already talked to his apprentice about joining East Morning Star Advertising. Xu Chen invited Gu Xinxi to discuss it face-to-face.

After asking if she had any dietary restrictions, Xu Chen ordered some food.

They exchanged pleasantries, and Gu Xinxi thanked Xu Chen again for the Fuyan Jie project.

The ‘Wash Well for Health’ ad was now in trial runs, getting great results in test cities.

Once the feedback came in, millions in promo budget would follow.

As they ate, Xu Chen got to the point.

Guo Liang had covered the basics with Gu Xinxi, so Xu Chen outlined the current projects, future prospects, and painted a bright picture.

Mainly, the ongoing Jiaduobao, Kunlun Mountain, and Chenfeng Electric Vehicles projects, plus the car brand talks.

Hearing about the car client, Gu Xinxi showed some surprise.

In marketing, she knew car industry ads were tough to land back then.

Especially for mid-to-high-end foreign or joint-venture brands, small ad firms rarely got invites to pitch.

East Morning Star Advertising being ‘in talks’ surprised her.

But the young woman stayed composed and didn’t overreact.

…

After the meal, Xu Chen took Gu Xinxi to the office in Tonghai Business Tower.

“Besides me, we have two colleagues now.”

“One designer starts tomorrow…”

“Plus, Guo Liang mentioned our parent company in Tiancheng. For now, we’ll use their resources for finance, admin, and HR.”

Gu Xinxi nodded.

She glanced at the desk nameplate and looked puzzled:

“Sun Aimi? Isn’t that Aimi from Black Duke Marketing?”

Xu Chen smiled: “That’s her!”

Gu Xinxi finally let her surprise show:

“You actually poached her? Teacher Xu, you’re amazing!”

Xu Chen smiled: “You know Sun Aimi?”

Gu Xinxi: “Our company’s first two projects collaborated with Black Duke Marketing.”

“Sun Aimi handled my end—she’s one of the strongest designers I know!”

She thought for a moment:

“She must have worked on Fuyan Jie, so that’s how you got her?”

Xu Chen: “Yeah, through the Fuyan Jie project.”

“She saw the potential in Jiaduobao, Kunlun Mountain, Chenfeng Electric Vehicles, and East Morning Star Advertising’s future, so she came on board.”

Xu Chen smiled:

“Of course, I gave Aimi a 30% raise.”

“If you join, it’ll be the same…”

Gu Xinxi laughed:

“My master told me about the electric vehicle tech company in Tiancheng and its promising future.”

“Even though East Morning Star Advertising is small with just two or three people, I won’t treat it like a minor outfit.”

“Besides…”

“After working on Fuyan Jie, I know your skills, Teacher Xu. Future projects will keep growing and getting bigger.”

Xu Chen chuckled, feeling confident now.

Gu Xinxi noticed the nameplate on Fang Jun’s desk and asked:

“Fang Jun—is that the sister who came with you during the last proposal?”

Xu Chen: “Yeah, Teacher Fang Jun is mainly at Chenfeng Technology right now.”

He thought for a second and said:

“Sun Aimi and I are heading back to Tiancheng during National Day.”

“Chenfeng Technology’s first product prototype is almost ready. We’ll check it, do some market research, and shoot ad materials.”

“If you’re free and interested, come along.”

“You can meet your master Guo Liang too!”

Gu Xinxi lit up with excitement: “Really?”