Chapter 140: The Slogan Strategy

Nie Fei took a sip from her small teacup, glanced at Xu Chen, and spoke up.

“Honestly, we didn’t think much of the slogan ‘Afraid of getting overheated’ at first.”

Now that the survey data was in, it was actually quite surprising.

Xu Chen said nothing, just sipped his tea and waited for her to continue.

Nie Fei added, “Even though the survey results are clear, using this slogan in the campaign means we’ll still need to convince several leaders inside the company.”

Xu Chen smiled inwardly; what she implied was that despite the survey favoring his slogan, that one million yuan prize might not be his yet.

Nie Fei went on,

“So on our way back, we decided to stop by and visit, wanting to hear your creative process, Xu Chen.”

These insights could help us persuade the team internally.”

As her words faded, her colleagues turned their attention to Xu Chen.

From the moment they entered and saw Xu Chen looking like a high school student, they felt a twinge of disdain, even a vague annoyance.

Wang Laoshun’s slogan had been workshopped extensively within Jiaduobao.

Everyone here had brainstormed at least twenty slogans, and without exception, all were rejected.

Yet now, a high school senior’s slogan topped the survey?

And if it got approved, they’d have to pay out a one million yuan bounty.

That was a million yuan…

These mid-level employees might not save that much in ten years.

In their eyes, this high school kid probably just got lucky with ‘Afraid of getting overheated’ without understanding the deeper strategy.

They secretly hoped he’d stumble, showing signs of nervousness and awkwardness…

But Xu Chen felt no awkwardness or nerves.

He set down his teacup and even crossed his legs.

Without overdoing it, he cut straight to the point with a concise explanation:

“Your company’s solicitation clearly stated you want to promote Wang Laoshun Herbal Tea to a national market, even rivaling something like Coca-Cola.”

That ambition is huge, but it faces two massive, hard-to-overcome challenges…”

“First, herbal tea as a category is only known in Guangdong Province and surrounding areas; people elsewhere have never heard of it…”

“Second, in the South, herbal tea is seen as a remedy for ‘dampness,’ but that concept is very regionally limited.”

Only the South deals with ‘dampness’; places like the North or Northwest don’t even have that term…

“And herbal tea doesn’t taste great, so no one’s buying it just for flavor.”

So for Wang Laoshun to expand, it has to lean on functional benefits…

“That’s the core starting point for creating the slogan—or the ad strategy…”

“So we need to find a problem that people everywhere recognize and face, something herbal tea can fix…”

“Overheated…”

People get it; they understand being overheated, and they blame everything on it.”

From the North to the South, East to Central—everyone’s overheated!

“Though no one can really explain what it is…”

“This widespread issue is a thousand times better than ‘dampness’…”

Plus, I looked into Guangdong herbal tea’s benefits and user perceptions; besides ‘dampness,’ it also clears heat.”

“If you’re overheated, why not grab a can of Wang Laoshun to cool off? Doesn’t that drive sales?”

…

Xu Chen finished up, and seeing no reaction, he picked up his teacup and sipped.

Meanwhile, Nie Fei and her team looked serious.

Especially those waiting to see Xu Chen fumble; they exchanged odd glances.

Because what he said made perfect sense.

Their nationwide research trip confirmed that ‘Afraid of getting overheated’ got the most votes…

And from user discussions, they figured out why it worked so well.

The findings matched almost exactly what Xu Chen described.

So this high schooler wasn’t just guessing.

He’d genuinely thought it through strategically to create the slogan.

But it was bizarre; he looked so young…

And in a northern county town like Tiancheng, he might not have even left the province—how could he grasp national consumer needs?

…

The vice president, Fei Jie, pondered for a moment, nodded slightly, and smiled as she said:

“Listening to you, Xu Chen, is truly eye-opening!”

Xu Chen kept a straight face, but inside he chuckled; good thing he’d prepped his thoughts last night.

After all, when he submitted it, he hadn’t laid out the full strategy.

Today’s spiel was just something he reverse-engineered in ten minutes last night.

Nie Fei parted her red lips and continued:

“One more question: why ‘Afraid of getting overheated’ specifically, instead of ‘Cures overheating’ or ‘Clears heat’?”

Xu Chen replied, “Actually, you at the company should know this better than I do.”

“Beverages aren’t medicine; we can’t promise health effects to consumers.”

“Besides, you probably don’t want Wang Laoshun linked to drugs—that could cap sales potential…”

“‘Afraid of getting overheated’ highlights the issue without claiming a cure.”

“It just says when you’re worried about it, have a can.”

“That way, even critics can’t find fault.”

Nie Fei thought it over and nodded seriously:

“I didn’t realize you thought this through so thoroughly—more than we do at the brand side.”

Her colleagues chimed in:

“Yeah, Xu, your analysis matches our survey results exactly.”

“After touring the national market, ‘overheated’ is something everyone relates to.”

“We tried pushing ‘dampness’ or ‘balancing’ before, and competitors complained…”

As they discussed, Fang Jun glanced at Xu Chen, full of surprise.

She had no idea that besides his pitch in Shanghai a couple days ago, he was also handling the Jiaduobao project.

Clearly, she’d underestimated East Morning Star Advertising and Xu Chen.

…

Xu Chen smiled and listened quietly, feeling a bit relieved.

From Fei Jie and the others’ reactions, he pretty much had it in the bag.

That one million yuan bonus was secure, and more importantly, he’d established his expertise with them.

But he wasn’t done; this chat had another key goal.

He needed to lay groundwork for Kunlunshan Mineral Water and Xie Bingran’s endorsement.

Based on his past memories, Jiaduobao wasn’t into high-end mineral water yet…

Xu Chen thought for a moment and said:

“When I submitted my entry, I did some research on your company and Wang Laoshun product.”

“The trademark and ‘red can herbal tea’ are under Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, right? Jiaduobao only has usage rights…”

“Promoting it big-time like this— isn’t there a big risk?”

Nie Fei paused, then laughed lightly:

“I didn’t expect you to know that already, Xu.”

She was genuinely surprised; he’d clearly done his homework.

Xu Chen hadn’t researched it; he just remembered the big trademark battle from his past life that made headlines and even sent some execs to jail, with Jiaduobao’s boss fleeing…

Nie Fei continued:

“Don’t worry about it; we’ve extended the Wang Laoshun red can herbal tea license to 2020.”

“We can renew it later, so our investments are fine…”

Xu Chen frowned but didn’t push further.

As someone reborn, he knew the massive pitfalls hidden in that ‘license’.

Jiaduobao hadn’t gotten it through clean channels, which led to future conflicts.

But he wasn’t about to spill that now.

He just wanted to use this to set up for Kunlunshan and Xie Bingran’s endorsement…

Xu Chen thought again and said:

“Not owning the trademark is a huge risk.”

Nie Fei replied, “It’s complicated; we’ve debated it internally for ages.”

“It involves company operations; right now, Wang Laoshun is our only profitable star product…”

Xu Chen said, “That’s the core issue.”

Nie Fei leaned forward slightly:

“Do you have any ideas or advice, Xu?”

Xu Chen smiled:

“I’m not offering advice.”

“I just think having only one product, and not owning its trademark, is a big vulnerability.”

“To play it safe, you should develop other product lines and brands.”

“If Wang Laoshun hits trouble, at least you’d have backups.”

Nie Fei grew serious again and said:

“Coming here today was definitely the right call…”

“We’ve been debating new products and brands internally but haven’t decided yet.”

“Any suggestions, Xu?”

Xu Chen frowned, not rushing to answer.

Nie Fei smiled and added:

“Plus, we’re looking for ad agencies for future promotions.”

“We could discuss a long-term partnership with East Morning Star Advertising too.”

“And just in time, we can talk about that now.”

“”