Chapter 441: Corporate Alliances and Ad Strategies

Xu Chen asked about the Head & Shoulders ad shoot arrangements, and Gu Xinxi began,

“It’s set for the first week of February, probably February 1st.”

“The brand owner is still finalizing Bing Ge’s schedule with the National Team, so the exact date isn’t locked in yet.”

“But we’re moving forward with preparations based on February 1st.”

Xu Chen: “Is it shooting in Shanghai?”

Gu Xinxi nodded:

“Yes, with a local production company in Shanghai—it’s the director and camera team that Procter & Gamble always works with.”

She paused, then added:

“And about what we discussed before, shooting an ad for Chenfeng Ice Power on the side—I’ve already talked it over.”

“The studio is all set.”

“We can wrap Head & Shoulders in a day and rent the space for the evening or the next full day.”

Xu Chen: “Renting the evening should be enough.”

“Our electric car ad doesn’t need anything fancy—just green screen and post-production effects.”

“The main thing is, Bing Ge might have competitions coming up, so we should avoid disrupting her training.”

Gu Xinxi: “Got it, I’ll coordinate with the studio first.”

“And about the director team…”

“Aimi and I discussed it, and we want to use the Bao Jun Sen team from the previous Jeep collaboration.”

Xu Chen smiled:

“No problem, Paul might not be great with Mandarin, but he’s reliable on set.”

“Plus, his team has worked with Xie Bingran before, so they’re already familiar with each other.”

Sun Aimi: “Exactly, Gu Xinxi and I have both dealt with Paul’s team, so communication flows smoothly.”

Xu Chen: “Have you contacted them?”

Gu Xinxi: “We have; the Bao Jun Sen team has an opening in February.”

“Paul was thrilled to take on our project, especially since it’s with Xie Bingran.”

Xu Chen nodded: “I’ll give him a call later to touch base.”

Gu Xinxi: “Though the quote isn’t out yet—it depends on our shooting script.”

“Once they finalize the storyboard, they’ll give us a precise bid…”

“But Bao Jun Sen mentioned that since it’s for Young Xu Chen and Xie Bingran, they’ll go with cost price.”

Xu Chen: “That works out great.”

He turned to Sun Aimi:

“When I get back next week, let’s have a meeting to review the Chenfeng Ice Power shooting script.”

Sun Aimi: “No problem, Xiao Wei and I are already on it.”

“It won’t be too complicated, just like you wanted, Boss.”

Xu Chen nodded and looked at Gu Xinxi:

“Have we arranged the electric car for the shoot?”

Gu Xinxi: “All sorted; we’re shipping a new one from Tiancheng.”

“Guo Liang is handling the logistics; it should arrive in Shanghai next week and we’ll keep it at the company.”

The ‘Master’ Gu Xinxi referred to was naturally Guo Liang.

Xu Chen nodded:

“Perfect, once the shoot’s done, we can set that car up in the office as a small display.”

“Sun Aimi, could you help design it?”

Sun Aimi smiled sweetly: “Sure!”

Gu Xinxi remembered something else:

“The safe we ordered has arrived; it should be installed this weekend.”

“It’s fireproof and explosion-proof.”

“Plus, it has temperature control, drying functions, and even display shelves inside…”

This safe was meant for the 8th floor to store Xie Bingran’s gold medals.

Xu Chen had seen Bing Ge casually tossing her gold medals on a bookshelf and thought it was too haphazard.

“Great, I’ll come back from Tiancheng with Bing Ge this weekend and grab the medals on the way to her training base.”

Thursday morning.

Xu Chen drove Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi to Lujiazui for the Cadillac project pitch.

The brand had approached them directly, so their interest was strong, making the pitch relatively low-pressure.

Still, from his past and present experiences, Xu Chen knew projects could have surprises, so he treated it seriously.

Cadillac and Jeep are both American car brands but under different groups.

Jeep falls under Chrysler, while Cadillac is with General Motors.

In a way, they compete, as they both target mature male audiences with overlapping traits.

Cadillac’s Shanghai headquarters was unassuming, on the 46th floor of a Lujiazui CBD building.

A young woman with a sweet face and professional vibe greeted them.

Cadillac’s market manager, Sun Tang, or Candy.

“Hello, President Xu, just call me Candy!”

“I’ll take you straight to the meeting room so we can start the pitch right away.”

Candy skipped the small talk, quickly introducing herself before leading Xu Chen and his team to a large conference room.

Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi set up their laptops, while Xu Chen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the Huangpu River and the Bund across the way.

At that time, the tallest building on the Bund was still the Jinmao Tower.

The Shanghai World Financial Center next to it was under construction and wouldn’t finish until 2008.

The future tallest, Shanghai Tower, had just started construction that year as well.

Thinking about it, 2008 was a pivotal year.

And there was Bing Ge’s home Olympics.

With her current status as Asia’s top athlete, she had already secured her spot for the 2008 Olympics.

Xu Chen was certain she’d represent China in the finals, making history in women’s hurdles for Asians.

Xu Chen watched the Huangpu River flow onward.

He thought to himself that time passes like a river, and 2008 might arrive in the blink of an eye.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and a group bustled in.

There were seven or eight of them, quite the crowd.

Xu Chen, Sun Aimi, and Gu Xinxi stood politely.

The newcomers wore dark suits and professional outfits.

Cadillac’s environment seemed more formal than Jeep’s.

But the leaders were easy to spot.

Market manager Sun Tang introduced:

“This is our market VP, Lian Shang En, or Shane.”

“This is our brand director, Hua Shao Jie, or Jack.”

“And this is our sales director, Sun Jing, or Judy…”

Xu Chen, with Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi, exchanged business cards with the three leaders.

Market VP Lian Shang En was a tall, sturdy middle-aged man with yellowish skin and black hair, his features hinting at mixed European heritage.

Brand director Hua Shao Jie was a fit thirty-something man who clearly hit the gym, yet his smile was warm and easygoing.

Sales director Sun Jing, or Judy, was a sharp, poised woman with subtle makeup and neatly pinned hair.

These three were the key people for the pitch.

Theoretically, Hua Shao Jie organized it, and Lian Shang En made the final call.

Sun Jing was there to listen and offer input from sales.

The others looked young, probably junior staff from marketing or sales.

They quietly followed and sat in the back rows to observe.

The leaders from the client’s side were surprised by ‘Young Xu Chen’s’ age.

Especially the big boss Lian Shang En, who kept saying ‘amazing’ and ‘incredible’.

Xu Chen was used to it and brushed it off with a light self-deprecating joke.

Brand director Hua Shao Jie kept things smooth with his warm, engaging style.

He quickly recapped the project’s background…

As Xu Chen knew, they reached out after seeing East Morning Star Advertising’s work for Jeep.

“Not all Jeeps are Jeeps—that ad was really impactful…”

“It’s impressed not just us, but the whole auto industry.”

Hua Shao Jie said.

Beside him, Lian Shang En smiled and added:

“Jack recommended you, and after watching the Jeep ad, I found it remarkable!”

Xu Chen exchanged pleasantries without being overly modest.

Sales director Sun Jing smiled and said:

“Jeep’s ad went live and their sales skyrocketed.”

“We’re hoping East Morning Star Advertising can do the same for Cadillac—drive a sales boom…”

Xu Chen didn’t respond but furrowed his brow slightly.

Sun Jing’s comment seemed fine on the surface, but Xu Chen sensed a subtle difference given the context.

The plan East Morning Star Advertising proposed for Cadillac wasn’t about boosting sales directly; it didn’t align with the initial brief.

Typically, ‘pure brand’ ads for car clients don’t tie straight to sales.

Xu Chen glanced at brand director Hua Shao Jie.

He noticed Hua Shao Jie frowning too, seemingly displeased with Sun Jing’s remark.

There was clearly some tension between them…

Xu Chen stayed neutral, keeping a polite smile.

In many companies, brand and sales teams often have underlying conflicts.

In market strategy, they’re two sides of the same coin.

But sometimes, they clash.

For instance, brand campaigns are long-term and don’t always deliver immediate sales, which frustrates sales teams.

Like, ‘We poured money into ads, but where’s the sales jump?’

Or sales might use price cuts that hurt the brand image, upsetting the brand side.

Like, ‘Those cheap promotions are dragging down our prestige…’

Xu Chen observed the dynamics.

He picked up on the subtle friction between Hua Shao Jie and Sun Jing.

He said nothing, just smiled courteously.

He picked up his water bottle and took a sip.

The pitch began.

Xu Chen set the stage briefly then handed it over to Sun Aimi.

She had nailed the Head & Shoulders pitch last time, proving her skills.

Plus, as ‘Young Xu Chen,’ he needed to develop his team to free up his own time.

Sun Aimi wore a neutral black-gray outfit today to match the proposal’s vibe.

As she dove into the ad strategy and user insights, her usual sweet demeanor shifted to a confident presence.

Xu Chen listened from the side, nodding inwardly.

He recalled meeting Sun Aimi in his past life around 2010, when she was already leading a team at Black Duke Marketing—a sharp and talented leader.

Back then, as a newbie, he had respectfully called her ‘Aimi sis’.

Now, she was evolving from ‘Aimi sister’ to that very ‘Aimi sis’.

Sun Aimi paused briefly:

“Here’s the core concept we’re pitching today…”

On the big screen appeared the main tagline:

[The decline of masculinity is this era’s tragedy, but thankfully, there’s Cadillac.]

The brand team’s eyes lingered on it.

Sun Aimi glanced at Xu Chen, as if asking whether to continue or wait for feedback.

Xu Chen smiled and nodded at her.

That meant keep going.

In pitching, you don’t stop here; you strike while the iron’s hot and lay out the whole idea to keep them engaged.

Sun Aimi cleared her throat and jumped back in.

What followed was a series of creative visuals.

Animal horns, cold weapon edges, beastly muscle lines—all mirrored against Cadillac’s body design.

After the stills came the ad video concepts.

Rhino battles.

Saber charges.

Muscles in the mud…

Each frame perfectly captured Cadillac’s rugged lines.

Masculinity, hormones.

Death and power, fight and passion.

“And that’s the full proposal for today.”

Sun Aimi finished and adjusted her round glasses.

In that moment, her sweet, gentle side peeked through again.

She looked at her boss, and Xu Chen gave her an approving smile.

Gu Xinxi sneaked a thumbs-up to Sun Aimi from the side.

The room fell quiet for a beat.

Brand director Hua Shao Jie beamed with enthusiasm.

He glanced at Xu Chen and gave a subtle nod of approval.

That was high praise for the proposal.

Big boss Lian Shang En stroked his defined chin, still mulling it over.

Sales director Sun Jing stayed silent, her expression unreadable.

Xu Chen grabbed the mouse and rewound the screen to the core concept.

[The decline of masculinity is this era’s tragedy, but thankfully, there’s Cadillac.]

Hua Shao Jie broke the silence:

“Absolutely brilliant! I love it!”

“The decline of masculinity is this era’s tragedy, but thankfully, there’s Cadillac…”

“This line instantly establishes Cadillac’s masculine identity.”

“…”