Chapter 490: Advertising Ventures and Team Growth

After ending his call with Director Li Yue, Xu Chen left the teaching building and headed straight to the company.

Today, a few new colleagues were starting, and Nie Fei had organized a welcome dinner for them that evening.

Plus, the matters he’d just discussed with Director Li Yue needed some quiet time to think through.

“Little Xu” wasn’t keen on the dinner but figured he should go say hello to the new hires and get to know them properly.

As soon as he stepped into the office, he saw a group of people chatting and laughing together.

It was nearly quitting time, so they were probably gearing up for dinner out.

Spotting Xu Chen, they all stood and greeted him politely as “boss” and “Little Xu.”

He’d interviewed the new colleagues before, so he remembered their names and smiled as he went over to say hi.

A petite young woman stood with Gu Xinxi—she was Gu Xinxi’s subordinate, a new employee in East Morning Star Advertising’s client department named Pan Mengting.

Pan Mengting looked delicate and quiet, but she had high emotional intelligence, clear logic, and great communication skills.

People like her were better suited for client work than those who were flashy and overly charming; she had a natural, disarming warmth that built trust easily.

The other two new colleagues were from Ran Bing Sports.

One was Jiang Yuze’s subordinate, a new Marketing Department member named Liu Wei.

The other was Sun Lingfeng’s subordinate, a fresh face in the Operations Department named Luo Hui.

Both were tall, sturdy guys over six feet, looking like a pair of brothers as they came over to greet “Little Xu.”

Nie Fei joked,

“Now we’ve got people for the dirty work and heavy lifting. I was thinking of hiring a guy for the Administrative Department, but with these two, we might skip that.”

Liu Wei quickly stepped up and said gruffly,

“Leave the tough jobs to us!”

Xu Chen couldn’t help thinking this guy’s style reminded him a bit of Fang Tao.

With today’s three new employees joining the earlier hires Tang Mo and Ruan Zihau, that made five full-time staff now—the team was visibly growing stronger.

Recruitment pressures would continue, though, with Sun Lingfeng’s Operations Department being the most urgent.

Ran Bing Sports’ online store operations demanded huge effort, even with external service providers helping; they still needed internal hands-on management.

Sun Lingfeng was handling it with two interns, always swamped, and Jiang Yuze pitched in when not working overtime.

Now that HR Director Tang Mo was on board, recruitment should speed up.

Tang Mo had also delivered a plan for team management and culture building, which she’d already shared with Xu Chen and Nie Fei.

No surprise from an ex-multinational HR pro—she was systematic and professional.

“Little Xu” had picked up a task from Tang Mo: to outline the company’s vision, mission, and values.

It might seem abstract, but it was crucial.

As the team expanded, these elements would keep the company’s direction steady and boost team cohesion.

Xu Chen treated it as a serious internal project—he’d set aside time to think it through and involve the core team in brainstorming.

That evening.

Xu Chen was alone in his eighth-floor personal studio.

He poured a glass of red wine, added some nuts, and settled in comfortably.

Opening his email, he flipped through a document Gu Xinxi had sent a few days ago—it covered companies and projects reaching out to East Morning Star Advertising since the new year.

Xu Chen glanced at the list first; the projects weren’t many, as Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi had already filtered them.

Digging deeper, he spotted the brand and project he was after.

[“Xi Zhi Lang” instant drink new product launch and advertising needs…]

This project had been on Xu Chen’s mind for a while—it was meant for Xie Bingran.

It started last year-end after winning the Great Wall Award; the Xi Zhi Lang client reached out initially.

But it was just preliminary—no specific demands yet.

As someone reborn, Xu Chen pieced together from their communication docs that the new product was this year’s “Youlemei” milk tea.

He knew the standard playbook for this project.

In late 2006, Xiangpiaopiao went from zero to market dominance, sinking over 30 million into ads on Hunan TV—a bold gamble for a startup.

The result shocked the industry: Xiangpiaopiao single-handedly created the “instant milk tea” category, raking in over 400 million in sales last year.

The key was the high profit margins in instant drinks—if you grabbed market share, it was like printing money.

As a giant in snacks, Xi Zhi Lang naturally eyed that pie and quickly launched “Youlemei,” pouring massive funds into ads.

In Xu Chen’s past life, they roped in the young king Zhou Jielun for endorsement, filming a romantic youth ad called “Held in the Palm” and blasting it on Hunan TV to target young viewers.

That sparked a full-on market war with Xiangpiaopiao over price, channels, and ads.

The slogan “You’re my Youlemei” brainwashed a generation of students and became a classic in cheesy pickup lines.

Xu Chen knew the formula, so landing this project would be straightforward.

The only hitch was checking the other invited companies to avoid overlapping ideas.

More importantly, he was considering swapping Zhou Jielun for Xie Bingran as the endorser.

The idea hit him during that trip back to Tiancheng with Bing Ge and Su Rong.

Their sweet, affectionate vibe stuck with him.

Wandering the town in the cold, they grabbed hot milk tea together.

The sight of Bing Ge and Su Rong sharing a cup still gave Xu Chen a weird feeling…

But it fit perfectly with Youlemei’s cheesy romance ad style.

Bing Ge had that universal appeal, charming everyone.

Though in the ad, they’d need to soften the romance edge—after all, Bing Ge was a woman.

Xu Chen paused, struck by another thought.

Maybe no explanations were needed.

Like how Ye Tong played Xu Xian and Lin Qingxia played Dongfang Bubai without much fuss…

This project tied into Director Li Yue’s side too.

Chenfeng Technology wanted to ride the 2008 Olympics wave, and Li Yue’s help was key.

Getting Xie Bingran a big endorsement would be a solid gift for Li Yue, ticking off his half-year goals.

So, they had to snag the Youlemei project no matter what.

Xu Chen hadn’t discussed specifics yet, and Gu Xinxi’s document didn’t mention it was milk tea or use “Youlemei” at all.

But he figured Youlemei was likely locked in for Zhou Jielun internally.

Convincing them to switch to Xie Bingran would need a solid pitch.

Xu Chen thought it over and messaged Gu Xinxi to respond to Xi Zhi Lang’s project inquiry and check the specific needs.

Gu Xinxi was probably still at the team dinner, but she replied quickly:

[Okay, boss. I’ll reach out to their marketing team tomorrow morning.]

Xu Chen: [Also, get the scoop on external details like other companies in the pitch, decision-makers, and so on…]

Gu Xinxi: [Got it, boss. I’ll compile that.]

Over the weekend, Xu Chen stayed home in Tonghai New Village.

Then, on Sunday morning, he got a message from Gu Xinxi:

[The Xi Zhi Lang client wants a phone chat with us on Monday.]

Xu Chen was surprised—were they working weekends, or was the project that urgent?

Or perhaps it was just rushing.

[No problem. You handle the meeting setup. Bring in Aimi, Tang Xiaowei, Pan Mengting, and the two interns.]

[Got it, boss!]

In the afternoon, Su Rong suddenly contacted Xu Chen, saying she had something to give him, all mysterious about it.

Xu Chen was hungry anyway, so he suggested they grab dinner together.

At the tea restaurant on Miyun Road, Su Rong pulled out her surprise from her bag.

Xu Chen saw it was a few iPhone cases.

They featured cute cartoon versions of Bing Ge—clearly Su Rong’s own design and production.

“I noticed you switched to an iPhone, so I designed these cases and had my dad’s factory make them.”

Xu Chen: “Then I’ll pick one for Bing Ge too.”

Su Rong smiled sweetly:

“I made plenty—you can take a few!”

So adorable.

Xu Chen examined the cases closely—they were all pretty appealing:

“Sell me the rights; we could turn this into Ran Bing Sports merchandise.”

Su Rong: “No need to sell them—I’ll give them to you for free. Just save me a pair of new shoes when they’re out!”

Xu Chen: “Miss Su, you’re so talented!

Last time, your baseball jacket design is set for production later this year.

We’ve got all resources on shoes for now, but Zhou Junjun’s already talking to clothing manufacturers.”

“Awesome! Save me a couple when they’re ready!”

Monday morning.

During class, Xu Chen slouched in the back row, quietly checking his phone.

Not for fun—he was researching project details.

He reviewed Xi Zhi Lang Group’s products and ads, getting a feel for their style.

Xi Zhi Lang was a Guangdong Province brand, but their ad strategies followed patterns like those from Taiwan food companies—similar to旺旺 or康师傅.

Xu Chen guessed it was imitation and learning, especially since the 90s when Xi Zhi Lang rose coincided with those influences.

That explained their choice of Taiwan’s Zhou Jielun for endorsement.

He also studied Xiangpiaopiao’s promotions—it was all about heavy ad spending.

They hadn’t rolled out the “Around the World” ad yet.

They used mainland actress Chen Hao as endorser and hammered Hunan TV’s prime time for months to build recognition.

The ad content had that straightforward mainland vibe—pure sales pitch…

Gu Xinxi sent the meeting invite and shared the info she’d gathered with Xu Chen.

Xi Zhi Lang’s marketing director was Kuang Lili, handling this project.

Kuang Lili had been with Xi Zhi Lang for years, a key player for founder Li Yongjun.

She’d managed the fruit jelly product’s marketing all along.

She seemed to be the decision-maker here.

But in many mainland private firms, the boss calls the shots—so Li Yongjun might have the final say.

Gu Xinxi sent some details on Li Yongjun; Xu Chen skimmed them—he was basically a marketing whiz.

Xi Zhi Lang’s success was almost entirely from bold, massive marketing investments.

In the 90s, they poured nearly all their money into CCTV ads—that took guts.

The payoff? Xi Zhi Lang grabbed over half the domestic fruit jelly market and became the world’s largest producer…

This was good news for Xu Chen.

With the client’s big boss understanding marketing, Xu Chen could skip some persuasion and push for a bigger budget.

Plus, if they landed Xie Bingran as endorser, the heavy ad spend would skyrocket her fame.

At 4:30 p.m. in the company’s main conference room.

Xu Chen walked in to find the table full; everyone stood to welcome “Little Xu.”

With the team growing, they seemed even more polite and formal toward their boss.

Back when it was just Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi, things were more relaxed.

Xu Chen thought about it—this stiff atmosphere wasn’t his style; he’d need to find a way to loosen it up.

For a creative company, too much hierarchy could stifle innovation.

Better if everyone was more casual and free.

The call connected on time, with Gu Xinxi hosting as East Morning Star Advertising’s point person.

They introduced the team; on their side, mainly General Manager Xu Chen and Creative Director Sun Aimi.

From Xi Zhi Lang’s marketing department, the contact was Marketing Manager Zheng Wan—her voice suggested a calm, attractive woman.

And their Marketing Director, Kuang Lili.