Chapter 405
While Zhou Xiao was busy filming, "The Unparalleled General" also reached a fascinating plot twist. The most direct manifestation of this was that the popularity of the drama's topic surpassed Ji Shao's personal topic for the first time.
As someone who has consistently dominated the charts since his debut, fans have been particularly positive about this result. For Ji Shao, this popularity is like icing on the cake. Furthermore, the enthusiastic promotion of Ju Chao by his fans has significantly fueled his popularity.
Nowadays, a sensation called "The Unparalleled General" has swept across major platforms. It's so exaggerated that even a random new gag from the show can top the short video trending list the next day.
As for some web dramas that saw the broader market's popularity pick up and tried to capitalize on the surge, the splash they made during their broadcasts was only slightly larger than the splash made by Olympic champions diving into the water. And even that small splash was largely negative.
Mao Sifeng watched helplessly as a highly anticipated S-rated drama, chosen to capitalize on the popularity of Ji Shao's "idol-turned-actor" success, aired, only to find himself practically losing everything. The show's lead actor was not only one of Hazelnut Video's top artists, but also one the company's top brass considered a threat to their own artists.
While Hazelnut Video's rating is somewhat inflated, the resources invested in S-rated productions are significantly higher than those of Blueberry Video's A-rated dramas. To be classified as S-rated, the director, script, and promotional budget are all significantly higher.
You know, when Mao Sifeng first learned that "The Legend of the Phoenix" would be released to compete with "The Unparalleled General," she was quite nervous. This can be considered her greatest achievement in film and television since she took over NINE STAR.
Compared to the political intrigue of "The Unparalleled General," "The Legend of the Phoenix" seems to have a wider audience. Especially with both of the former's lead actors already filming, the latter's two lead actors are both big spenders on marketing.
It was obvious that Hazelnut Video also wanted to step on Blueberry Video. Mao Sifeng didn't know the actual number of views of the other drama, but the data that exceeded 10,000 in less than half an hour after it was broadcast was obviously aimed at "The Unparalleled General".
If marketing could manipulate data, there wouldn't be a film and television winter. That evening, while Hazelnut Video was posting about its hourly popularity, the real-time online viewership of the second episode of "Ancient Mirror Phoenix Record" gave it a lesson.
This also forced the platform to temporarily remove the "number of online viewers", but under the relentless ridicule of netizens, the platform quietly restored this function in the early morning of the next day.
"How good is it to give us that marketing money?" Mao Sifeng looked at the other party's summary of the week's trending searches and lamented to the assistant beside her. Although she spoke of regret, she was deeply happy.
Anyone hoping to capitalize on the hype surrounding "The Unparalleled General," which is just over ten days away from its finale, should carefully consider their own capabilities. For example, within Blueberry Video, many production teams have rushed to headquarters to stage live-action, offline battles to secure slots in order to capitalize on the popularity of "The Unparalleled General."
Although Huayao wasn't in a position to take over the big show, because of Ji Shao, Blueberry Video had promised to have more of its artists appear on the platform's own variety shows. There wasn't much else, but this alone was a huge exposure.
"Sister Mao, do you want to clarify the gossip about Brother Ji's Baifei watch?" The assistant was holding a tablet in her hand, and on her communication page was a series of Huayao connections.
Because Mao Sifeng is a big agent, these daily coordination matters are handled by the members' assistants and colleagues in the publicity and promotion department. Only when they are undecided about major matters will they report directly to her.
The Bai Fei that the assistant mentioned is the endorsement melon that was just exposed a few days ago. It originated from the watch brand that was exposed by the same blogger when Ji Shao was going to and from work a few days ago.
As one of the world's top watches, Bai Fei, in addition to exquisite craftsmanship, also has a profound cultural heritage and a long historical heritage to match it. This is one of the reasons why it has been able to continue its reputation from centuries ago to the present day.
Because of the popularity of "The Unparalleled General," the online response to this melon was also very enthusiastic. Even though Baifei is far ahead in the international market, due to the aggressive marketing of other brands in China, it has also caused a lot of jokes.
For example, when some drama fans heard the name Bai Fei, which they had never heard of before, they were very enthusiastic and tagged the watch brands they were familiar with under the blogger's instructions, asking them to sign Ji Shao.
While this joke seems amusing, it also indirectly suggests that Baifei still needs a certain level of visibility to enter the Chinese market. So what if it's a top international watch brand? If Chinese consumers and the general public aren't aware of it, it won't be able to compete with other first- and second-tier watch brands marketing in China.
The assistant's clarification was because she hadn't received any relevant information from Mao Sifeng. With the rumors spreading like wildfire, even if fans wanted to clarify Bai Fei's situation, they were worried about being accused of lip service to the brand. And if they weren't the brand's spokesperson, why would they be doing someone else's bidding?
Mao Sifeng shook her head, indicating that the matter should be handled calmly. Even though she was laughing at the artists of Hazelnut Video a second ago, her expression was not very good at this moment.
Bai Fei certainly did approach them, but the timing was extremely awkward. With NINE STAR's disbandment just around the corner, which brand wouldn't want a stable spokesperson?
"Just don't reply," Mao Sifeng said. She didn't know what netizens would be interested in in the next few days. She hadn't heard from Bai Fei staff in the past two days, so it was obvious they had gone to Xin Cheng.
Her achievements!
Mao Sifeng, seemingly unconcerned, was actually bleeding inside. But when she thought about how Wang Fu's SHINE STAR hadn't even had this opportunity, her mood immediately brightened. Not everyone could be like NINE STAR, so she had certainly gotten this opportunity.
Besides, what's the point of extending the group's contract to five years? Besides upsetting their fans, what's the point of having a group contract that's longer than Nine Star's?
…
Inside the photography studio, Zhou Xiao was showing the original footage she'd taken of four artists to their respective agents. Before her now was a woman with a round face, a particularly festive look, and a strong sense of friendliness.
In order to meet the requirements of Shengyao Entertainment, Zhou Xiao did not pick and choose among the finished films. He just asked his agent to come and see them after the shooting ended that day.
On the big screen, a pretty young man with bright eyes and white teeth appeared particularly clever and intelligent. Zhou Xiao propped his chin up with one hand and slowed down when he saw Agent Zhong holding up his phone to film.
Noticing Zhou Xiao's slowdown, Zhong Pingtong subconsciously looked up at him with a thankful expression. Even though she'd have been guaranteed the original photos if she'd just asked, she couldn't resist. Even though they were raw, their beauty was instantly enhanced on the big screen!
The four female artists Shengyao Entertainment had sent to Zhou Xiao weren't simply assigned to their roles. Wu Guyue, the youngest of the four, was the last in line for the photoshoot, but her ability to secure this spot was a testament to the company's high regard for her.
"Teacher Zhou, what do you think of this set of photos of ours?" Zhong Pingtong asked, veiled in thought, "How do they compare to the previous artists and teachers?"
They're here! Xue Xi, who was serving tea and water nearby, immediately became excited. Wow, this was the first time she'd seen such a thoughtful team! And these people were even from the same company!
After accepting Sheng Yao's order and discussing the schedules with the agents of several artists, Zhou Xiao began filming everyone at a rate of one person every other day until he finished filming them all.
Xue Xi was initially curious. The preparations for the shoot, including the location, conception, and makeup, were completed incredibly quickly. And since the boss was so prolific with his photoshoots, he could finish them in a single morning. Why wait another day for the next shoot?
But when she saw Jiang Xinyuan's agent holding a thick envelope, trying to get information from Zhou Xiao about Ding Congrong's filming, she was shocked! No, this is clearly the same company, how could it be exactly the same as the rival company?
Well, after Xue Xi went back to check, she found that although the two were from the same company, they were actually rivals. Even when she was searching, she could still see the verbal battle between the two fans in the square.
Because the same company wouldn't send a lawyer's letter, the fans obviously didn't have much concern and were just trying to stab each other in the heart. However, in Xue Xi's view, this was just like children playing house, and it didn't mean much.
Zhou Xiao only raised an eyebrow when she heard Zhong Pingtong's words, and then didn't do much else. The Shengyao Entertainment staff who handled her situation had already warned her. She could simply remain neutral in the face of these attempts. Of course, if she didn't want to remain neutral, that was fine.
"Teacher Zhong, what do you think of the photos?" Zhou Xiao changed the subject directly and asked the other party with a raised eyebrow.
The reason why she maintains a shooting rhythm of one person every two days is, on the one hand, to protect the privacy of each guest to the greatest extent, and on the other hand, to allow the studio members to have time to rest.
But Zhong Pingtong's question about this matter still surprised her a little. You know, among the four people, Wu Guyue, the youngest, should be the one with the least competition with the other three.
When Zhou Xiao took on this big order from Shengyao Entertainment, he understood why their company could still thrive in the industry even though it did not have enough artists.
Internal competition is ingrained in her bones. The four actresses she photographed all had different styles and weren't too competitive. They must have gone through a round of internal screening within Shengyao Entertainment to achieve their current lineup.
"Oh, Teacher Zhou, please don't call me teacher anymore," Zhong Pingtong's face flushed. "You took the photo, so how could it be bad? I just hope we can have the opportunity to work together again in the future!"
As a child star with excellent acting skills and a well-behaved personality, Wugu Yue holds a special place within Shengyao Entertainment. Despite constant complaints about the film and television industry's slump, talented child stars remain a rare commodity. This explains why they were allocated a portion of the marketing for the upcoming month-end event.
Before working with Zhou Xiao, Zhong Pingtong had never imagined her young artist would be able to collaborate with him so quickly. But once she arrived at the shoot and saw the scenery inside the studio, she felt relieved.
What satisfied Zhong Pingtong most was that Zhou Xiao carefully explained the filming process and requirements to Wu Guyue before the shoot. He didn't try to fool her because she was a child, but instead patiently guided her.
Looking at the young people on the screen, who were young, confident and full of vitality, Zhong Pingtong felt that this struggle was absolutely right!
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