Chapter 176 Struggling
On the morning of the 3rd, in a corner of the Huairou Film and Television Base in Beijing, the crew of "A Little Thing Called First Love" was making intensive preparations and was about to start today's filming.
In the dressing room, Liu Shishi was wearing a high school uniform, exuding youthfulness. The makeup artist was carefully applying makeup on her little face.
However, when it came to putting on makeup, Miss Liu looked very resistant and reluctant.
Because she had to play an ugly role in the first half of the movie, her makeup was designed to be dark and earthy. She could already foresee that this makeup would definitely become her "black history" in the future.
"Shishi, how were the ratings for the premiere of Hello, Old Times yesterday?"
On the dressing table in front of Liu Shishi, there was a cell phone with the hands-free function turned on, and Cai Yinong's concerned and expectant voice came from it.
“1.73%!”
Although Liu Shishi tried hard to control her facial expression because she was wearing makeup, the joy and excitement in her tone was difficult to conceal.
God knows how happy director Ma Xin was when he told her the premiere ratings of "Hello, Old Times" early in the morning.
"Good, good, good! That's great!" On the other end of the phone, Cai Yinong, who had already returned to Xiaobailou in Hengdian, was so excited that he was incoherent. It was a great start, and Tangren's number one star was about to take off.
After calming down a little, Cai Yinong said seriously, "Shishi, the company will fully cooperate with the promotion of the TV series and build momentum for you."
"Thank you, Miss K."
"By the way, will you attend the wrap party for The Legend of the Condor Heroes on January 19th?"
Liu Shishi thought about it and realized that going to Hengdian and back would take two days, and the crew's time was precious, so she could only decline.
"Sister K, I won't be attending the wrap party. I'm busy filming here and can't leave. I just went to a TV station for an interview yesterday. It's not good to always ask for leave."
Cai Yinong expressed his understanding: "Okay, work is important. Don't hang up in a hurry. Hu Ge has something to tell you."
After saying that, he handed the phone to Tangren Yige in front of him. After a moment, a gentle and familiar male voice came from the receiver.
"Shishi, is your filming on the set of "First Love" going smoothly?"
"It went smoothly!" Liu Shishi replied briefly and forcefully.
Everyone in the crew is her own family, and Director Teng takes extra care of her, wanting to treat her like a idol. How could things not go smoothly?
"I need your help with something." Hu Ge said hesitantly.
Liu Shishi was full of pride and said straightforwardly: "Old Hu, why are you so polite? Just say it if you have something to say!"
"I'm going to release my first album after the new year, and I'd like you to be the female lead in the music video for the title song."
"It's no big deal to me. I'll have time after the filming of "First Love" is finished after the new year." Liu Shishi was very loyal and agreed to Hu Ge's request without any hesitation.
Hu Ge was delighted to hear this: "Okay, I'll wait until you finish filming and see you in March."
"See you in March!"
After hanging up the phone, Hu Ge returned the phone to Sister K, "Shishi agreed."
Cai Yinong nodded: "I knew that Shishi's character would not reject you. The filming of The Legend of the Condor Heroes has been completed. You should prepare your album well during this time."
Hu Ge responded solemnly: "I will prepare seriously."
Although he, the top star of Tangren, has recovered and made a comeback, his career has been interrupted for a year after all, so he needs to find a way to maintain his popularity and status again.
There were no suitable film and television resources at the time, so he had to find another way and become a singer, preparing to release songs and albums.
However, the competition in the music industry is equally fierce. The singing style and quality of the lyrics are fraught with difficulties, and even the female lead in the MV is the key to the competition.
That's why he invited Liu Shishi to play the female lead in the MV, hoping to leverage the popularity of Tangren's top singer to boost the album's popularity.
Considering Liu Shishi's current status as a shareholder of Tangren, and the popularity of her new drama, it was already a condescension for her to be willing to play the female lead in an MV, so Hu Ge was a little embarrassed to say it just now.
"Shishi's new drama is on TV. You and Yuan Hong should help her promote it. The Weibo post she recommended the day before yesterday is pretty good. It's a great promotional platform."
Hu Ge agreed: "Weibo is indeed good. It can easily share updates and enhance the interaction and communication between fans. I think the company can focus on entering the Weibo platform."
"That's what I meant."
Cai Yinong nodded slightly. Yi Ge's idea coincided with hers. Weibo could expand Tangren's marketing advantage on the Internet.
Just as the two core figures of Tangren Film and Television were discussing the development of online marketing on Weibo, the office of the chairman of Sina Corporation was filled with smoke.
Chairman and CEO Cao Guowei's eyes were full of anxiety. He took a deep puff of the cigarette holder in his hand, and the spicy smoke instantly filled his lungs.
Cao Guowei narrowed his eyes slightly, as if seeking a bit of relaxation in this brief stimulation. Every breath he took was accompanied by a heavy sigh, and the rising smoke rings seemed to be the embodiment of his inner pressure.
With another deep sigh, the top leader of Sina Corporation shook his head with a wry smile. He usually did not smoke, and only when he was under great pressure would he occasionally smoke one or two cigarettes to relieve his anxiety.
After checking the time, Cao Guowei put out his cigarette in the ashtray, grabbed the documents on the table, and strode towards the meeting room.
Sina executives were already gathered in the conference room, but when they saw the chairman arrive, they immediately fell silent.
After sitting down at the main seat, Cao Guowei did not exchange pleasantries or greetings, but went straight to the point:
"We have no choice but to invite you all back from your New Year's Day holiday to attend this meeting because the company has reached a critical juncture of life and death."
COO Du Hong hurriedly asked: "Boss Cao, is there anything wrong with the company?"
Cao Guowei looked back and forth at the executives with a cold gaze, and said in a heavy tone: "Has anyone noticed that there is a new product suddenly appearing on the Internet these two days?"
A director smiled and said, "Mr. Cao, you might as well be frank. There are so many products being born or dying on the Internet every day. How do we know which one you are talking about?"
After waiting for a long time, no one answered. Cao Guowei shook his head in disappointment and asked again: "Is it true that no one knows which product I am talking about?"
The marketing manager hesitated and said, "Mr. Cao, are you referring to the new Weibo launched by Tengda Group?"
Cao Guowei nodded and asked sternly, "Yes, it is Weibo! Our biggest competitor, Tengda Group, is promoting this new product everywhere!
All of Tenda's products and channels are diverting traffic to Weibo. Don't you have any awareness at all? You are still here all day in a daze, living a life of drunkenness and debauchery! "
Seeing the chairman getting angry, Du Hong quickly persuaded him: "Boss Cao, calm down, in fact, someone below has reported it to Weibo.
But our research and comparison found that there is no significant difference between Tengda’s Weibo and blogs in the world.”
Cao Guowei looked at Coo sharply and said, "Then what do you think is the point of Tengda making such a big fuss, wasting time and energy, and inviting so many celebrities to develop and promote this new product? Is it because Song has nothing better to do after eating his fill?"
Du Hong was speechless for a moment, secretly complaining in his heart that Cao Guowei was making a fuss out of nothing. After all, Tenda Weibo had only been online for three days, and the success or failure of the product was still unknown. Why would he make such a fuss and get so angry at the meeting?
Cao Guowei took a deep breath and tried to calm down his anger: "I have decided that the company will set up a special project team to fully develop our own Weibo."
An executive cautiously suggested, "Mr. Cao, the cost of developing and promoting a new product is not small. Should we wait and see how the Weibo effect is before taking any action?"
"All you do is wait and see! Wait until the company goes bankrupt?" Cao Guowei was furious and scolded all the senior executives of Sina.
A director sneered and retorted: "Mr. Cao, such a major matter as developing new products should be voted on by the board of directors."
Although Cao Guowei is the chairman and CEO of Sina, he does not hold many shares in Sina and is faced with many internal constraints. He cannot make decisions on major company matters on his own.
Facing the directors’ questions, Cao Guowei was furious: “You only know how to vote and delay. All the actions of the company are slower than others, wasting great opportunities again and again!
In the past, I wanted to develop a video network, games, and social voice, but you all rejected me. You didn’t seek change, and just waited for death by guarding a broken portal!
Open your eyes and take a good look. This is the company's financial report for the fourth quarter of last year. It showed negative growth for the first time!"
After saying that, Cao Guowei threw the stack of materials in his hand in front of several directors.
Several directors were shocked when they heard this, all with unbelievable expressions on their faces, and hurriedly picked up the financial report to carefully examine it. You know, the number of domestic netizens is increasing rapidly every month, and the development of the Internet industry is in full swing.
In such a good environment, it is unimaginable that Sina has negative growth. This shows that, as Cao Guowei said, Sina has reached a turning point of life and death.
Seeing the shocked expressions of several directors, Cao Guowei sneered in his heart, now he knew he was in a hurry!
As the top leader of Sina, he was not at all surprised that the company experienced negative growth.
Since the emergence of Toutiao.com, a new force, it has been constantly eroding the market share of traditional portals with its novel and unique content and open and inclusive cooperation model, and now it almost dominates the market.
Not to mention the pioneering and innovative efforts of Tenda Group, with a new crop of products emerging every year, among the three major old portals, except Sina, they are all undergoing transformation.
Sohu developed Sohu Video and also took into account the field of online games. NetEase was determined to develop its own games and successfully opened up a second battlefield.
Only Sina is still sticking to the old ways, standing still and waiting for death.
Cao Guowei also wanted to lead Sina to transformation and breakthrough, but the company's situation was very complicated and there were many internal conflicts. Unlike Ding Sanshi and Zhang Zhaoyang, he did not hold a large number of shares and had absolute power within NetEase and Sohu and had the final say.
The power struggle within Sina has almost never stopped. Ever since Shanda's boss Chen wanted to acquire Sina, the company has been plagued by internal and external troubles.
The turmoil has never stopped, and a stable and strong core leadership has never been formed, resulting in the loss of too many valuable development opportunities.
"How could this happen? Once this financial report is released, the company's stock price will definitely collapse." A director muttered to himself, his eyes wide open and his hands shaking.
Another director sighed and finally compromised: “Boss Cao, whatever you want to do, I support you.
The company can’t stand the turmoil! You are right, we have been completely defeated by Tengda Group in the portal network, and we must develop new products. "
"Yes, Mr. Cao, please make the decision!" "Please give your orders."
At this critical moment, Sina's senior executives finally realized the seriousness of the matter and expressed their willingness to follow Cao Guowei's command.
Cao Guowei took a deep breath and felt a little emotional. The military's morale was still there, and the company's top management was at least not hopeless. Sina could still be saved.
"Technology department, how long will it take to develop a product similar to Tenda Weibo?"
The technical director sitting in the back row quickly replied: "Mr. Cao, it will take at least a month to make a website that looks just like Weibo."
coo Du Hong was puzzled: "What do you mean by the same on the surface?"
The technical director explained with a bitter face: "Leaders, we have recently disassembled and studied Tenda's products. There is a complex computing logic behind their website, and there is a unique set of algorithm standards to screen users."
Cao Guowei's expression was solemn, and he sat up straight: "What exactly does it mean?"
The supervisor thought for a moment, organized his words, and described it in as simple and understandable language as possible:
"On other websites, users can search for whatever they want to see, which is a passive service. But Toutiao will actively push content based on users' preferences and needs.
For example, if a user likes to watch basketball games, when he visits Toutiao.com, the website will actively promote news and products related to basketball, so the efficiency of Tenda's advertising is far higher than ours, NetEase, and Sohu."
Sina's top executives immediately started talking among themselves, saying, "No wonder Sina.com can't beat Tenda. It turns out that this is the gap."
Cao Guowei, who was always calm and composed, finally changed color at this moment: "How could this happen! Can't the company's technical department do it?"
The technical director shook his head and said, "Mr. Cao, this involves massive and complex data calculations and advanced algorithm technology. This is one of the core technologies of Tengda Group."
Cao Guowei was frowning, and couldn't think of a solution for a while. After pondering for a moment, he arranged: "You develop the Weibo framework first, and we can talk about other things later."
Du Hong also worriedly said: "Boss Cao, even if we develop Weibo, we may not be able to compete with Tengda.
The other party has the technology and first-mover advantage. Sometimes a step slow means all steps slow. In a month, Tenda Weibo may have tens of millions of users. "
Cao Guowei nodded slightly. It was just as Du Hong said. Conventional business means might not be able to compete with Tenda. It seemed that he had to find a way to use some tricks to delay the growth of Tenda Weibo users.
The marketing manager suggested: "We can contact Sohu and NetEase. Now Tengda Group is our common rival. We can work together to deal with Tengda. I think Zhang Zhaoyang and Ding Sanshi will not refuse."
A director said fiercely with a stern face, "We can't solve Tengda, but we can try to deal with the person who founded Tengda. Send someone to investigate the man named Song.
What kind of noble son of the human world? Where did he get all that money? I don't believe he has no problems at all. Even if he has no problems, it would be good to distract them from their efforts."
Cao Guowei nodded slowly. The ideas of several people were indeed feasible, but some things were not convenient to talk about at the meeting and needed to be considered carefully.
(End of this chapter)
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