Chapter 443: Networking and Creative Breakthroughs

Noon.

In Lujiazui, at a certain Shanghai-style restaurant.

Cadillac’s brand director, Hua Shao Jie, carefully arranged a reception to host Xu Chen and his team—it was like a banquet in their honor.

Accompanying him was the charming market manager, Sun Tang, also known as Candy.

Xu Chen acted flattered and politely expressed his thanks.

Hua Shao Jie:

“Getting to know you through this project, Young Xu, has been my good fortune.”

“You’re incredibly sharp and must have seen right through some issues in our team…”

“Honestly, when we first reached out to East Morning Star Advertising, I was hoping for a lucky break.”

“I never imagined you’d solve the problem that’s plagued our brand department for over half a year.”

He raised his glass:

“Thank you, Young Xu. For future projects I handle, please lend your support to me and East Morning Star Advertising!”

This was his promise of upcoming advertising opportunities.

Xu Chen: “You’re too kind, Jack.”

“If you need projects, we’ll fully cooperate.”

As someone from the branding world, Hua Shao Jie was still pondering today’s specific plan:

“The decline of masculinity is a tragedy of our times…”

“I have to admit, this concept is truly remarkable!”

“It could become the ‘advertising gold line’ in the automotive industry this year.”

“Or even the most memorable ad theme for Cadillac in recent years!”

Xu Chen smiled and said:

“This ad theme would work even better with some PR buzz to hype it up—doubling the impact with half the effort.”

“Oh?”

Hua Shao Jie paused, suddenly intrigued.

Xu Chen calmly outlined the PR topic strategy.

The core was to tie into current social trends of ‘feminization’, build buzz from the outside, and weave Cadillac’s brand image into it.

This approach came from future online strategies, introduced in 2007 like a game-changer.

Xu Chen included it in the plan for Hua Shao Jie to maximize promotion.

It was good for East Morning Star Advertising too, as completing this project would add a key case to their portfolio.

……

Hua Shao Jie listened intently and finally said:

“Meeting you now, Young Xu, is a huge regret—I wish it had happened sooner!”

He paused briefly:

“I’ll have our internal PR team handle this and tie it into the ad campaign.”

……

The project was secured, and the next steps involved routine coordination and progress.

Xu Chen and Hua Shao Jie made arrangements; handling the project would be Sun Tang from Cadillac and Gu Xinxi from East Morning Star Advertising.

Securing the Cadillac project today was relatively easy compared to the pitch, but the production ahead was complex—it was one of East Morning Star Advertising’s biggest recent jobs.

Auto ads demand high production quality, especially for a luxury brand like Cadillac.

The current shooting plan involved large animals like rhinos and elk, adding to the difficulty and cost.

Of course, there were easier, cheaper ways, like buying existing video footage and editing it together.

But that limited custom shots and editing freedom.

Overall, the production method needed input from directors and teams before deciding.

Hua Shao Jie was eager, hoping to finalize the production and release plan before the Lunar New Year.

Xu Chen thought it over and said:

“It should be doable.”

“We’ll refine the scripts and shooting requirements for print and video ads within a week.”

“Then we’ll confirm the directors and production teams so we can set the shooting schedule, timelines, and production cycles before the year ends.”

“But actual shooting will have to wait until after the New Year…”

Hua Shao Jie:

“That’ll be tough on you and your East Morning Star Advertising team.”

“March is Cadillac’s annual brand refresh, so we need to hit that deadline.”

Xu Chen considered it:

“We’ll make it.”

……

……

On the way back to the company.

Xu Chen drove while outlining details for the project’s next steps.

Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi sat in the back, listening carefully.

It mostly covered tweaks to print and script ideas, plus key points for future execution.

From his past experience with big projects, Xu Chen shared lessons from pitfalls he’d encountered, guiding the two ‘younger’ colleagues.

Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi listened intently, occasionally asking questions.

They were used to Xu Chen’s near ‘all-around’ project expertise by now.

Though they couldn’t figure out how someone so young handled complex projects with such ease.

When they discussed production companies, Xu Chen said:

“I forgot to check with them over lunch.”

“Normally, big brands like Cadillac and groups like General Motors have approved supplier lists.”

“They likely have past production teams…”

“Gu, ask Candy first—if they don’t have specifics, we’ll recommend directors and teams.”

Gu Xinxi: “Got it.”

“Aimi and I were just talking—we both have some external director and production resources.”

“That includes Bao Jun Sen’s side, and Aimi knows those two girls at BBDO well, so we could tap their director resources…”

Xu Chen joked:

“You’re making Aimi sound like a corporate spy.”

Sun Aimi smiled sweetly, adjusted her round glasses, and said:

“Boss, you were awesome today!”

“You shut down that sales director Judy in a few sentences—it was satisfying!”

Aimi frowned a bit, thinking, then added:

“I still don’t fully get what happened…”

“I presented the plan, and we barely discussed the ideas.”

“Then you jumped into sales and branding with them.”

“And it felt like they chose our plan not because of the creativity, but because you put Judy in her place.”

Xu Chen smiled and explained:

“Of course they picked us because our ideas are strong—that’s the foundation.”

“But today’s pitch was special; even with great creativity, there was an extra hurdle…”

“I talked about sales and branding to clear that hurdle, and that’s how we landed the project.”

Xu Chen paused:

“I suspect other agencies ran into the same issue.”

“They might have had solid ideas, but that hurdle blocked them.”

Gu Xinxi said:

“That hurdle was the department feud between Jack and Judy, right?”

Xu Chen: “Not exactly a feud—more like a resource grab.”

“It all stems from the top leader, Lian Shang En; he hadn’t sorted out resource allocation.”

“Today, we basically made the decision for him.”

Gu Xinxi:

“You’re brilliant, Boss—solving their internal problems in a few words.”

Xu Chen:

“It’s just perspective…”

“Plus, we got lucky.”

“Lian Shang En probably had it figured out; we just gave the final push.”

Sun Aimi looked puzzled:

“I always thought winning a project meant having the best plan and ideas…”

“I’m too naive—pitches involve so many factors, even the client’s internal stuff.”

Xu Chen: “That’s agency life.”

“The ad world is for the savvy; you have to weigh everything.”

He paused briefly, then joked:

“I should critique you a bit, Gu.”

“In situations like today, as the initial client contact, you need to gather background info.”

“If we’d known who was at the meeting or about the sales and branding tug-of-war, we could’ve prepared better.”

“Today we winged it and got lucky, but it won’t always work out…”

“We might end up like those other agencies and lose the project for no reason.”

Gu Xinxi looked embarrassed:

“I understand, Boss…”

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

Xu Chen smiled: “Don’t stress too much.”

“But since we invest time and effort into pitches, let’s aim to win them.”

“Otherwise, all that upfront work goes to waste.”

……

……

……

Afternoon, the ‘Computer Graphic Design’ class.

This course had no final exam—just a submitted evaluation project.

Tonghai University’s advertising department wasn’t a design major, so design courses weren’t too intensive.

The final evaluation focused on basic design skills, creativity, and thinking.

Xu Chen submitted a design scheme for ‘Ran Bing X’.

He wasn’t a professional designer, so it was amateur level, just to meet the requirements.

Still, working on it helped explore and verify some ideas in his mind.

Later, when discussing ‘Ran Bing X’ with Chen Youjian Studio, it might come in handy.

Su Rong had solid design skills, as seen in the cartoon badge she made for Bing Ge.

After submitting, Xu Chen curiously sneaked a peek at Su Rong’s computer from behind.

Su Rong reacted alertly, quickly closing Illustrator on her screen and glancing back with narrowed eyes.

Seeing it was Xu Chen, she smiled happily.

She waved her hand, inviting him to look closer.

Xu Chen leaned in.

Su Rong opened Illustrator and showed him her completed evaluation project.

Xu Chen glanced at it and immediately looked surprised:

“Are you selling this scheme?”

Su Rong: “Huh?”

“Sell it to me…”

On the screen were several jacket designs.

Xu Chen knew at once these were for Bing Ge.

They could go straight into production with the ‘Ran Bing Sports IceOnFire’ logo.

One jacket featured Bing Ge’s cool and cute cartoon image.

Another drew from ‘Ran Bing 001’ designs, with blue porcelain and flame elements…

Xu Chen looked at Su Rong:

“I’m serious!”

“Though we’re only doing shoes now, we’ll expand to clothing eventually.”

“These are ready for prototyping!”

Su Rong blinked her round eyes:

“Really? Then I want one when you make them!”

Xu Chen smiled happily:

“Deal! I won’t take them for free—I’ll pay for the design.”

Su Rong smiled sweetly and happily:

“For Bing Ge’s stuff, I don’t want money.”

Xu Chen: “Business is business; you should get paid!”

Su Rong thought for a moment and joked:

“Okay!”

“But my rates are high!”

Xu Chen: “How much?”

Su Rong seemed to think seriously, narrowing her eyes:

“Five thousand?”

“……”

Seeing no response from Xu Chen, Su Rong pouted:

“Three thousand then?”

Xu Chen laughed, not wanting to mislead the kind, talented Su Rong:

“That’s too low—at least add a zero.”

“Or even two zeros wouldn’t be wrong…”

Su Rong paused, calculated, and looked shocked:

“Fifty… thousand?”

“For a professional design firm, that’s the going rate.”

“Yours is top-notch!”

Su Rong shook her head:

“I couldn’t take fifty thousand—I’m scared the tax people might check me…”

“Besides, I don’t need the money.”

Xu Chen blinked, wondering if tax was handled by the police, but dismissed it.

……

……

A few minutes later.

Xu Chen sat back at his computer, having received the design files from Su Rong.

Unexpectedly, ‘Ran Bing Sports’ clothing line hadn’t even started, yet they had designs ready.

He felt thrilled.

Xu Chen forwarded the files to Nie Fei.

Fei Jie replied:

[Huh? You’ve secretly launched it already?]

Xu Chen: [No, it’s Su Rong’s final project.]

Nie Fei: [This is actually pretty good!]

Xu Chen: [Yeah, it’s solid—tweak the specs and it’s production-ready.]

Nie Fei: [We have a spot for Su Rong at the company. Should I just label her ‘Design Director’…]

[But with her background, she probably wouldn’t care about our salary…]

……

As Xu Chen joked with Fei Jie, Su Rong messaged:

[Are you heading back tomorrow?]

Xu Chen: [Back where?]

[To Tiancheng… Aren’t you going to see Bing Ge?]

Xu Chen: [How do you know everything?]

[Bing Ge told me!]

Xu Chen: [She tells you everything?]

[()ゞ]

Xu Chen: [Bing Ge’s in the provincial capital today; she’ll reach Tiancheng tomorrow afternoon.]

[I’m flying to Beijing tonight for a project, then heading back to Tiancheng tomorrow afternoon.]

Su Rong: [Can I come along? Bing Ge wants to see me!]

[……]

[Huh??!]