Chapter 497: Clever Maneuvers in Marketing

Xu Chen didn’t need to say another word.

Suggesting Li Lizi as the ‘female lead’ to act alongside Bing Ge was Xu Chen’s brilliant move—the moment that sealed the deal.

Li Lizi was clinging to her dad’s arm, pulling out all the stops with pouts, charm, and a bit of blackmail, all to push one demand:

“Dad! I want it, I want it, I want it so bad!!”

Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi stayed quiet but couldn’t help smirking behind their hands.

Su Rong was stunned, thinking Xu Chen was incredibly quick-witted for coming up with such a clever tactic.

Kuang Lili from the client side had her mouth slightly open, still trying to wrap her head around the sudden turn.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a proposal meeting?

How did things twist into this plot out of nowhere?

Li Yongjun gave in to his daughter’s antics, tugging at his arm with her sweet pleas, and ended up with that typical dad grin.

A few minutes later, Li Lizi’s excitement finally settled as her dad calmed her down.

The meeting had to go on, and they still needed to discuss the real business.

But the key decision seemed to have been made in that odd, unexpected way.

Kuang Lili sorted through her thoughts and felt a wave of relief.

The ‘You Le Mei’ ad project, which had dragged on for months, was finally making big strides.

The path had been strange, but at least it was breaking through the fog.

After enduring dozens of revisions from Zhou Jielun’s team, they could now ignore that input entirely—Kuang Lili felt truly unburdened.

She ran through the next steps in her mind and said:

“We need to reach out to Xie Bingran right away to check her schedule and see if she’s on board with our collaboration.”

That was the next hurdle—what if Xie Bingran turned down the endorsement?

As a national team athlete, she was known to be selective with commercial deals.

Xu Chen smiled and replied:

“There’s no need to worry too much about that.

Our company, East Morning Star Advertising, has a long-term partnership with Xie Bingran, so we can smooth things over.

Plus, I have personal connections at the Sports Administration who can help with introductions and pave the way.”

As Xu Chen finished, Li Yongjun and Kuang Lili exchanged glances, both lighting up with surprise.

Kuang Lili recalled the projects East Morning Star Advertising had done with Xie Bingran and said with a smile:

“No wonder your team handled the Jeep and Kunlun Mountain projects—it’s because you have that solid relationship with Xie Bingran.”

Xu Chen just smiled without diving into details.

Sometimes, leaving things mysterious made East Morning Star Advertising seem even more capable and valuable.

Xu Chen continued:

“Xie Bingran’s endorsement will be a lot more cost-effective than Zhou Jielun’s—we’ll save on the business fees.

But we should move fast to sign her, or her fees will climb even higher.

She’s got an international competition in April, and with the Olympics coming up, her market value will skyrocket over the next year.

If her costs exceed Zhou Jielun’s, it won’t be worth it anymore.”

Kuang Lili nodded and glanced at her boss, Li Yongjun:

“So, Li, should we push ahead with Xie Bingran?”

Before Li Yongjun could answer, his daughter Li Lizi was already fixing him with that intense stare, like she was ready to twist his arm again.

Li Yongjun pinched her cheek and turned to Kuang Lili:

“Go ahead and move forward with it.”

He looked up at Xu Chen and added:

“And I’ll need you to reach out to the Sports Administration on our behalf, Xu.”

Xu Chen: “No problem, I’ll contact them today and set up the connections for Kuang here.”

Li Yongjun stood up and said to Kuang Lili:

“Let’s lock in the partnership with East Morning Star Advertising as soon as possible.

Even though the endorser isn’t finalized yet, Xu’s creative proposal is the best we’ve seen in months.

“Held in the Palm” is a fantastic idea—it would stand strong even without any celebrity backing!”

Kuang Lili was taken aback, not expecting such high praise from her boss.

Earlier in the meeting, Li Yongjun had been focused on feedback from Zhou Jielun’s team and hadn’t really dug into the “Held in the Palm” concept.

Now, thinking it over, the idea itself was compelling enough.

Kuang Lili realized, just as Li Yongjun said, the worst case was not landing an endorser.

But even solo, the “Held in the Palm” campaign could deliver solid results.

Of course, they still needed an endorser—You Le Mei was set for a major push and had to succeed.

The meeting wrapped up successfully.

Kuang Lili pulled Zheng Wan aside to talk with Xu Chen about pushing the project forward.

Chairman Li Yongjun was about to leave with his daughter, but Li Lizi lingered, running back to whisper with Su Rong.

Li Yongjun chuckled helplessly and headed out with his secretary.

Li Lizi and Su Rong, the two young girls, huddled together, chattering excitedly about who knows what.

Xu Chen worked with Sun Aimi and Gu Xinxi to handle the follow-up arrangements with Kuang Lili.

For Xie Bingran’s collaboration, Xu Chen would first reach out to the Sports Administration—that meant Director Li Yue—and then connect Kuang Lili for the rest.

As for the specific business talks between You Le Mei and Director Li Yue, East Morning Star Advertising would stay out of it, especially the negotiations.

The partnership between You Le Mei and East Morning Star Advertising was already set, as Li Yongjun had confirmed.

Next, Gu Xinxi would coordinate with Zheng Wan to finalize the contracts and confirm services.

Once the endorser was locked in, Sun Aimi would take the lead on the ad script and filming.

After wrapping up, Kuang Lili glanced at Li Yongjun’s daughter, Li Lizi, and quietly told Xu Chen:

“Suggesting Li Lizi for this project was a stroke of genius!”

Xu Chen smiled: “Li Lizi has great looks and charm—sweet and adorable.

She fits perfectly with this ad’s concept.”

Kuang Lili laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.

Her admiration was genuine.

From the creative pitch to recommending the endorser and involving the chairman’s daughter, East Morning Star Advertising had earned this win.

Kuang Lili had seen nearly twenty ad firms get rejected and now respected Xu Chen’s sharp mind and skills.

No wonder a newcomer like East Morning Star Advertising landed deals with Jeep, Vanke, and Jiaduobao.

This young Xu Chen was more than just talented.

And Kuang Lili’s gratitude toward him was real.

The project had been stuck for too long, and thanks to Xu Chen and East Morning Star Advertising, it was finally moving forward.

Kuang Lili introduced Xu Chen to Li Lizi properly.

Li Lizi and Su Rong were holding hands, already thick as thieves.

Xu Chen, being close in age to Li Lizi, chatted with her in a friendly, down-to-earth way.

Li Lizi looked at Xu Chen seriously and said:

“Xu, you have to make sure you get Xie Bingran’s endorsement!”

Before Xu Chen could respond, Su Rong jumped in:

“Don’t worry, he can handle it!”

Then Li Lizi suddenly looked a bit down:

“I really want to go with you all to Europe for Bing Ge’s competition, but I’ve got exams coming up…”

Clearly, Su Rong had already talked about the late April event with her.

Su Rong smiled and said:

“Once your exams are done, Bing Ge will have more competitions. We’ll all go together then!”

Li Lizi beamed: “Yeah!”

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Chen and his team were on their way to the airport.

Kuang Lili had wanted to treat them to dinner, but their return flights were booked, so they’d have to catch up another time.

Yesterday at the airport, Xu Chen had wondered about reaching out to Vanke to maintain ties, even if it meant meeting Wang Shi, Yu Liang, or Zhou Kai.

But the afternoon meeting had run too long, leaving no time.

There was another thing weighing on Xu Chen’s mind.

He’d been thinking about enrolling his father, Xu Zhiquan, in an executive program like an EMBA, and Nie Fei had helped look into it before.

The goal wasn’t so much the business knowledge as expanding his father’s network.

Nie Fei said the most prestigious one in China was Yangtze Business School.

But it required recommendations, along with strict company criteria.

And Wang Shi, Vanke’s founder, was an alumnus.

So Nie Fei suggested getting Wang Shi to recommend.

That meant Xu Chen needed to keep building that relationship and bring it up when the time was right.

Luckily, East Morning Star Advertising had ongoing work with Vanke, so there’d be more chances to connect.

Plus, Xu Zhiquan’s company, Chenfeng Technology, wasn’t quite at the required level yet—they’d have to wait for national expansion.

So, no rush for now.

Xu Chen figured once the new Ran Bing X shoes launched, he’d send a pair to Wang Shi and Yu Liang to keep things friendly.

In the taxi.

Xu Chen sat in the front, while the three young women in the back chattered away, still buzzing with excitement.

With Xu Chen landing another project, Gu Xinxi had already shared the news in the group chat, sparking a wave of cheers and praise.

Nie Fei chimed in:

[Every project Xu Chen touches turns into a win—that’s unheard of in the ad world!]

Amid the hype, Xu Chen posted about treating everyone to a big meal, and the chat exploded with enthusiasm.

Xu Chen turned to Su Rong in the back and said with a grin:

“This project is half your doing, Su Rong.”

Su Rong smiled sweetly:

“I’m thrilled we landed it for Bing Ge!

And I hit it off with Li Lizi—making a new friend is awesome!”

Xu Chen: “You seem over your social anxiety now.”

Su Rong thought for a moment: “Well… maybe a little still.”

Shenzhen’s Bao’an Airport was ultra-modern, especially the B terminal that had just opened.

Xu Chen picked a top-notch Cantonese tea restaurant and treated the three young women to a proper dinner.

Airport prices were steep, so with the table loaded up, it looked like Xu Chen was going all out.

Fresh off a new win, Xu Chen was in high spirits, especially since this project had major ripple effects.

It involved a new endorsement for Xie Bingran and would help secure ties with Director Li Yue for linking Chenfeng Technology to Olympic opportunities.

By bringing Xie Bingran a new deal, Director Li Yue would be more motivated to assist.

Chenfeng Technology was on the cusp of going national, and riding the 2008 Olympics wave was crucial.

Xu Chen refined his pitch and messaged Director Li Yue directly.

Besides updating him on the You Le Mei project, he needed to subtly check on the Olympic connections.

Xu Chen was pushing hard on You Le Mei to use it as leverage for Director Li Yue’s support on the Olympics.

[Director Li, about the commercial opportunity for Xie Bingran we discussed last time, I’ve connected with a new client and pitched her endorsement.

They’ve accepted our proposal from East Morning Star Advertising and are really keen on Bing Ge…]

He kept client details vague in the message for confidentiality—it was better to discuss over the phone.

Minutes later, Director Li Yue called back, his voice full of warmth and excitement.

“Xu, you’re incredible!

I can’t believe you’ve already lined up another project so quickly!”

Director Li Yue poured out his gratitude, barely letting Xu Chen get a word in.

Xu Chen found it amusing.

He remembered their first meeting last year, when Director Li Yue came across as the typical bureaucrat—all vague and guarded.

He never showed his feelings outright, always keeping distance.

But after a few projects together, Xu Chen saw that Director Li Yue was straightforward at heart.

Maybe working in the system forced him to hold back, but with someone like Xu Chen outside it, he opened up more.

Perhaps that’s how it was…