Generation Z Artists

Chapter 338 Making a fortune, causing a sensation across Asia

The aftermath of the bidding event completely shook the entire Asia.

An unprecedented advertising model centered on TV series, coupled with a record-breaking winning bid, instantly made headlines in global business the following day.

$9814!
8.11 million RMB!

108 billion yen!
1226 billion Korean won!
Six major Hollywood studios were stunned, and various pay-TV channels were eager to follow suit.

Shares related to Fang Xinghe surged in response, much to the delight of Wall Street.

Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, LG Display, Nike, Intel... even Japan Airlines and SK Telecom, which are completely unrelated, also saw a surge in prices.

In reality, what is $1 million to the US market? It's nothing, but related stocks still attract attention and generate sentiment.

Wall Street has started issuing press releases yet again.

"The new drama set a record in Japan alone, once again officially recognizing the commercial value of SR..."

Of course, apart from the financial markets, American society as a whole isn't particularly interested in this.

"Xiangyang" has sold over $8000 million in the United States, a very good result, which has delighted Warner Bros.

They didn't spend much on advertising, and it looks like they can slowly sell up to 1.5 million. What a great business!
But Fang Xinghe was very dissatisfied.

The high sales volume is due to the high unit price, but the actual number of customers is not large.

Currently, only die-hard fans of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and "Heroes" are buying into it, which is a pure cash grab. The "Return of the Condor Heroes" series has not made much of a splash in Europe and America.

No matter how many business headlines you get, if ordinary people aren't interested, you won't be able to build a core audience.

Trying to use martial arts dramas to counterattack Europe and America remains extremely difficult.

……

South Korean media presented a different picture: singing and dancing to celebrate victory.

Moreover, they didn't just win a little bit, but won big, winning multiple times.

The first victory was naturally achieved by South Korean companies defeating Japanese companies, a resounding triumph.

Asahi completely ignored Shiseido, writing: "Our company, despite the obstruction of Japanese domestic forces, decisively seized all advertising space, announcing victories in multiple fields with overwhelming force, signifying that the advance of Korean companies is unstoppable, blah blah blah..."

Actually, this climax was quite inexplicable. Anyone with a little business sense knows that Japanese companies didn't take it seriously at all, and they even dug a huge pit for Korean companies, making them spend at least 50% more on advertising.

But the South Korean public doesn't care about any of that; they just want to be happy.

The Seoul Daily has won big from another perspective.

"Director Fang Xinghe, who has Chinese ancestry, has completely conquered Japan with his new work, achieving unprecedented commercial success..."

Because Fang Xinghe hasn't paid much attention to this matter in the past two years, some South Korean newspapers have gone from being vague and ambiguous to being open and aboveboard.

Anyway, the internet isn't very developed these days, so the rumors spread by print media can't get out. They can spout nonsense without any consequences, so most tabloids have already confirmed that Fang Xinghe has one-quarter Korean ancestry.

Fang Xinghe was too lazy to settle this mess with them.

As a Gen Z who has spent a lot of time on the international internet, Fang Ge knows all too well the effect of debunking rumors with Koreans—it's practically useless, or even a side effect.

Go ahead and sue them in South Korea, you won't win.

Don't sue them, just issue a statement; they'll pretend they don't see it.

A stern warning in public would hurt Han Fei's feelings.

Fang Xinghe really values ​​his Korean fans—though they're not loyal, they're incredibly devoted, with each Korean fan spending the equivalent of 50 Chinese fans' worth of money.

Fang Xinghe eventually brought all that money back to China and invested it in sending children to school in mountainous areas. What could he do but endure it?

At most, we can just stop watching Korean news.

The Korean manager, Kim Jae-hee, is a smart man. He knows what the boss doesn't like, so he never reports any unpleasant things about it, only the good news.

"Boss, when are you coming to South Korea to hold the bidding meeting? Public expectations are extremely high, so we shouldn't need to wait for the results to be broadcast in Japan."

Wang Charlie's eyes lit up: "How high is the excitement?"

"Expectations are much higher than those for Japan."

Kim Jae-hee's attitude was particularly firm, and she wasn't blindly confident; she had real data to support her stance.

"Back when 'Princess Pearl' was released, its viewership ratings in my country were higher than those in Japan and South Korea, reflecting the high level of acceptance of Chinese period dramas among South Korean audiences."

Furthermore, although both Koreans and Japanese address the boss as "God-sama," their attitudes toward the boss's appearance differ greatly.

Koreans are even willing to stay up until the early hours of the morning just to see the boss's face on TV...

Wang Charlie couldn't help but complain: "You guys don't sleep much anyway."

Haha!

Fang Xinghe couldn't help but chuckle.

South Korean youths are truly outrageous in this respect. I don't know where they get so much energy. Even when they're home alone, they can't possibly go to bed early. The internet is twice as lively at night as it is during the day.

Kim Jae-hee slapped his forehead: "That's not what I meant. By the way, this is a Gallup poll, boss, please take a look."

In preparation for the release of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", she specifically asked Gallup to conduct a standard 5000-sample survey.

10-20代、20-30代、30-40代、40-50代、50代以后，五组年龄范围，男女分开调查，总计十组目标，每组各500人。

When selecting targets, try to cover as much diversity as possible in terms of urban and rural areas, wealth, education level, and occupation, so as to achieve accurate conclusions.

There was a very interesting question in this special investigation.

What are your reasons for anticipating or opposing this show?

74% of respondents chose the same reason—Fang Xinghe.

4% of respondents indicated they neither expected nor were hostile towards it.

2% of respondents indicated whether they liked or disliked Chinese martial arts dramas.

In addition, about 20% of the respondents did not know Fang Xinghe and checked the box indicating they were not familiar with him.

Very nice data. It's clear that Koreans will watch "The Return of the Condor Heroes" because of Fang Xinghe's face; there's no need to create any additional motivation for them.

Seriously, South Korea is the largest market that Fang Ge conquered most easily.

There's no need to make them feel your toughness like you would when confronting the Japanese, nor is there any need to leverage your influence like you would in the US. There's really nothing to work hard for; all you need to do is show your face often.

He has only been to South Korea a few times, but in terms of popularity, Brother Fang has already covered more than 70% of the South Korean population. Those under 10 years old and those over 50 years old are largely unfamiliar to him.

This figure is similar to that of Japan, around 70%, which is a top-tier level.

Even if the awareness rate is higher than 70%, it is meaningless. Children under 10 years old and the elderly over 50 years old have never been the target audience for entertainment works and endorsed products, so we don't need to pay attention to them.

From this perspective, "The Condor Heroes" has an astonishingly large fan base in South Korea, making it a guaranteed hit upon its release.

No wonder South Korea and Taiwan are in such a hurry.

……

Compared to South Korea, the Japanese media actually reacted more strongly.

The figure of 108 billion yen hurt them a bit.

The Red and White Song Festival has a viewership rating of over 40% every year, but its total advertising revenue is only one-fifth of that of "The Return of the Condor Heroes". Who wouldn't be upset?

Moreover, is it appropriate for a Chinese drama like The Return of the Condor Heroes to be bundled with a bunch of Korean endorsements and to be scheduled to air on a Japanese TV channel during prime time on Monday 8?

As a result, the Japanese media was extremely divided.

Some criticized the Japanese companies for failing to defend their territory, claiming that the Japanese company representatives present should apologize to the public.

Some people criticize Fang Xinghe for lacking martial ethics and disrupting the Japanese advertising industry.

Some are reflecting on why our dramas don't achieve such good commercial success. What's wrong with our country? This is a fundamental question.

Some cynically mocked South Korean companies for not understanding the Japanese context and predicting they would suffer huge losses. But the reality proved them wrong.

Sales surged even before the list of endorsements was released and the advertisements from each brand ambassador were ready.

Throughout December, GEO contact lenses saw a 7% increase in market share for mid-range products, rising from 49.5% to 56.6%—again, the drama hasn't aired, and no new ads have been released!
As for the low-end product line, GEO doesn't produce it; it only licenses its patents.

Judging from the current effect alone, it is certainly not worth $3000 million, but GEO is full of confidence and is just waiting for Fang Daddy to appear on Japanese television.

……

The reactions to the news from within China were the most genuine and also the most outrageous.

The public happily gossiped and discussed the details of Fang Ge's latest antics.

The stars were overjoyed, kicking the lame, beating the blind, playing with the fool, knocking on the widow's door... and taking turns tidying up all the fans.

The haters were so angry they could hardly hold their pee, but they held back their temper and didn't dare to confront the starry sky.

The 13th Ugly continued to wave the banner of the opposition, finding angles to ramble on and on.

The various television stations fell into an eerie silence.

It just so happens that there are many meetings in December for the State Administration of Radio and Television. It's the end of the year, and the directors of various stations have to go to Beijing. Then, at various small drinking parties, a lot of strange things happened.

Station Director A: "What are your thoughts? Have you made any preparations?"

Station Director B: "Over 8 million! What am I supposed to think about? Our station isn't even qualified to think about it!"

Station Director C: "There's a lot of money involved, but this trend... I don't think it's right."

Station Director D: "Let me take another look, let me take another look..."

Station Chief E: "Damn it! The money doesn't end up in my pocket, but the power is mine!"

Station Manager F: "You're unwilling to budge, but some people are just too short-sighted! 8 million!"

A representative from the Broadcasting Corporation said, "Well, it's not necessarily true. If the show wants to be released, we'll eventually have to talk to you guys about it."

Station Manager G: "Are you regretting issuing the approval so early?"

"No, no, it's everyone's responsibility to contribute to the country's cultural development!"

In short, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has left many TV stations feeling both frustrated and conflicted.

You asked them if they wanted to broadcast on their own station?
Of course I want it, I want it to death.

Ask them again if they are willing to release advertising revenue sharing.
You wretched creature! I can tell you're not human at first glance!

Meanwhile, at the other end of the TV drama industry chain, the production companies became exceptionally excited.

"Holy crap! Director Fang is really something! He actually managed to pull this off?"

"That's fucking awesome!"

"Brothers, I've admired Director Fang for a long time. Do you know what he likes?"

"Director Fang is a man of great things. I think we shouldn't bother him with trivial matters. How about this—we nominate him as the president of the Television Drama Association?"

"Damn it! Support them, we must support them!"

"No problem, the next leader must be Chairman Fang. I won't submit to anyone else but him!"

Good heavens, an advertising tender almost turned into a coronation...

It's outrageous, yet true; isn't this always been the case in China?

……

In Hong Kong and Taiwan, the situation is not one of division, chaos, or entanglement, but rather one of madness.

Jin Yong and his Ming Pao newspaper will definitely publicize this extensively, so blocking the information is impossible.

But if you ask them to fawn over you and praise you, they just can't get it.

Hong Kong's arrogance towards the mainland and Taiwan's hostility towards the mainland are deep-seated problems that have not yet changed by 2025.

I admire you?
Why should I submit to you?
Even if many people in front of and behind the scenes who want to make a living in mainland China are convinced, the media is not convinced, and the islanders are even less convinced.

Even if conquering Japan was a "great" achievement for them, well... oh well, I don't care anymore!
As a result, Hong Kong media actually began to ridicule Japan on a large scale for "never having eaten well," while Taiwanese media completely ignored Fang Xinghe's efforts and started to say that "Japanese people value fairness, kindness and friendliness the most, and are willing to give opportunities to mainland bumpkins."

On a variety show in Taiwan, the host was exaggerated and obsequious.

"Let me tell you, the atmosphere in Japan is great. They really respect different cultures. If your product is decent, we'll give you a chance. So selling in Japan isn't a big deal. Even just watching something new can easily get you a 15% viewership rating..."

"So you mean that selling 1 million US dollars worth of advertising for 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' is nothing?"

"Of course! Japan's economy is so developed, it's nothing! Only a bumpkin would treat this as a huge sum of money to speculate on..."

"That's right! And while they claim 1 million, nobody really knows how much it is, right?"

"No doubt about it, there's a lot of exaggeration involved. Japanese companies weren't even involved much; it was all foreign companies talking big to make it sound good!"

The spectators on the sidelines applauded and cheered.

Actually, what's crazy isn't the various demonic and supernatural claims, but that so many people on the island actually believe them!

But this was none of Fang Xinghe's business. He had no time to deal with these idiots; time was extremely precious to him.

……

After finishing the bidding in Japan, Fang Xinghe immediately went to South Korea and repeated the operation.

The three major broadcasters in South Korea are all quite proactive, but none of them can provide a good timeframe.

The ban on Chinese content is still in effect, and the best time to broadcast it is only 11 p.m. on Saturday.

However, in South Korea, the impact of late-night hours is not actually that significant.

With everyone staying up all night to cultivate immortality, and a cup of iced dessert lasting the whole day, Koreans are practically unbelievable when it comes to this.

Therefore, Fang Xinghe decided on a broadcast schedule of one episode each on Fridays at 11:00 AM and Saturdays at 11:00 AM, for a total of two episodes per week.

The advertising slots were also slightly adjusted as a result—a 30-second title sponsorship ad at the beginning of the episode, three 60-second ads during the intermission, for a total of 3 and a half minutes, consisting of 7 30-second ads.

Ultimately, KBS acquired the broadcasting rights for $600 million plus a 55% revenue share.

The South Korean market is smaller than the Japanese market, so prices are naturally lower.

Then, when the advertising bidding conference was held, Japanese companies were eager to compete and taught the Koreans a good lesson.

The title sponsorship, valued at $1950 million, was secured by Issey Miyake perfume, a subsidiary of Shiseido.

The average price of the six advertising slots was $8 million. Four of them were Japanese companies, plus Jeanswest and Asiana Airlines' Divine Condor Credit Card. Only one slot was reserved for a Korean company.

That's just how it is; when the premium is significantly too high, it all comes down to who has the greater determination.

The attacking side is definitely more willing to make a single breakthrough than the defending side.

However, the South Korean company refused to lose face and afterwards boasted: "We called this 'closing the door to beat the dog,' we're not afraid of you at all! Don't be so smug, let's see who's the real deal when it's released in mainland China!"

"Hehe, then let's wait and see!"

Both sides are eager to engage in a fierce struggle, focusing their attention on China.

That's actually correct. The Chinese market is already larger than the sum of the two. Except for the high-end products which are still not selling well, the market size for mid-to-low-end products is growing exponentially every year, and there is no upper limit in sight for the time being.

however……

Until the broadcast dates in Japan and South Korea were finalized, there was no word whatsoever about the release of The Return of the Condor Heroes in mainland China.

So everyone was asking, "When will Fang Xinghe come back? Why isn't Fang Xinghe back yet? What is Fang Xinghe thinking?"

Brother Fang planned to let the eagle fly a little longer...

(End of this chapter)