This director is vindictive.

Chapter 312 A Storm of Family Affection: A Million Possibilities for a Family Portrait

If some people were skeptical when Chen Mo's super-generous live stream first started last year, then after last year's live stream, which was a global live streaming extravaganza, countless companies are now looking forward to this year's live stream.

Unfortunately, this year's live stream was so popular that everyone was scrambling to book it.

Who wouldn't be envious of a live stream broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers?

However, the number of slots for this live stream is limited. Even if they are given away for free, Chen Mo can't just do whatever he wants. After all, if there are too many brands, the promotion will be greatly reduced.

This is definitely not what Chen Mo wanted to see.

The reason this live stream was so successful, even becoming a golden brand, is because Chen Mo achieved a win-win balance for all parties involved.

If brands become overused, the promotional effect will be greatly reduced. Brands aren't stupid; once they see that the results are not as expected, they naturally won't be as enthusiastic anymore.

Therefore, Chen Mo definitely needs to remain restrained.

However, it would be a great pity to let this wave of traffic and so many brands eager to give away money go to waste.

That's why Chen Mo thought of doing some pre-event promotion, but how exactly to do it? The problem became how to make the most of this wave of attention, leverage the sponsorships from these brands, and also achieve some positive social impact.

Yang Mi's suggestion to have Chen Mo combine all the previous activities and launch them together will definitely have an effect, but apart from creating another nationwide carnival, it won't have any other significance!
Chen Mo is rather greedy; you could say he wants both.

Chen Mo was inspired after seeing the trending topic #I taught my grandma how to use Douyin#.

Playing the "family" card is arguably an incredibly effective idea.

At the same time, in addition to "benefits," "freebies," "freebies," and a successful business model, you can also gain some humanistic care and the effect of a family bonding agent. Why not do it?

However, we still need to think about the specifics of how to play it.

After glancing at Yang Mi, Chen Mo thought for a moment and then started a group video call.

He brought all his women over.

"Tsk tsk, how strange, is the master planning a harem convention?" Zhang Yuqi, the tigress, leaned lazily against the sofa, her loose loungewear revealing glimpses of her fair skin that made Chen Mo's eyes dazzle. However, the tigress's words were tinged with sarcasm.

"Hey? Yuqi, you look like you've grown another size? Has the old man been visiting you more often lately?" Fan Binbin teased.

But then Zhang Yuqi said resentfully, "He hasn't come to my place in ages. I'm just doing it myself, that's how you make a living!"

"Tsk tsk, I can feel the resentment even through the screen. It seems the master hasn't been treating everyone fairly lately!" Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but tease.

Then several women started talking, one after another, their words carrying a barrage of barbs and veiled barbs.

Even Jing Tian would occasionally chime in with a comment or two.

Chen Mo was speechless. They say three women make a drama, and he had really made a stupid move by dragging them all into it.

"Ahem, alright, we have serious business to discuss, so all of you should quiet down," Chen Mo said after coughing twice.

Upon hearing Chen Mo say that he had important business to attend to, everyone stopped.

Chen Mo explained his thoughts and then said, "You all help me think of a suitable way to do this?"

"That's easy! Just have everyone take a family photo together, then post it on WeChat Moments and get likes!" Zhang Yuqi said.

"As expected, Xiong Da is brainless. Chen Mo said that there are many sponsors this time, and it is open to the whole country. How will the likes collected on WeChat Moments be counted? Are they going to take screenshots one by one? And this is too easy to cheat, isn't it?" Zhao Liying had just been mocked by Zhang Yuqi, and now she took the opportunity to retort.

"I think we should organize an activity that's easy to track, ideally on a single platform, using the platform's technology to do the statistics and distribute prizes," Zhao Liying said after assassinating Zhang Yuqi.

“Xiao Zhao is right, Douyin or Weibo are both fine, but I personally suggest Douyin is more suitable! You can have everyone take family photos or short videos of family photos!” Fan Binbin said.

“Since we’re going to focus on family relationships, I think we can also use Weibo, which is a great platform to generate buzz!” Gao Yuanyuan chimed in.

"How about we organize an event where people can give their parents a gift? We can let everyone make a wish, and then based on the number of views, clicks, or likes, we can set requirements according to the value of the wish," Yang Mi suggested.

"Making a wish isn't really appropriate. After all, with so many people involved, everyone's wishes will be all sorts of strange and wonderful, which would be too troublesome and unrealistic!" Gao Yuanyuan shook her head and said.

“I think we could do this event on both platforms. It depends on how much of a benefit you want to give out, Chen Mo. If there are enough, you could give one benefit to each family. We don’t need to give out the wish. But we can distribute benefits of different values ​​based on the number of views and the sincerity of the participants. But this can be a hidden condition,” Jing Tian also said.

"Yes, yes, that's not all. We can also have everyone write a story, or say something to their parents."

As expected, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. After a brainstorming session with several women, Chen Mo had a general idea in mind.

"To summarize, firstly, the platform selection is Weibo and Douyin. Secondly, the theme of the event is 'family portrait,' which can be a video or a photo, but it must be taken on the spot. There are many topics you can use, such as a sentence you want to say to your parents, or sharing a family story, etc. We will conduct comprehensive statistics based on the number of views, click-through rates, etc., and then distribute benefits of different values."

Fan Binbin immediately added, "That's great. To increase interactivity and fairness, we can set up multiple reward tiers."

For example, families who participate in the activity and meet the basic requirements will receive a basic welfare package, which includes some practical small gifts sponsored by brands.

Outstanding content—such as high-quality works with many likes and shares—can receive additional prizes of higher value, and may even be selected for the live stream segment where you can personally present a 'Super Family Gift Pack'.

Yang Mi's eyes lit up, and she chimed in, "We could also collaborate with brands to launch 'family-themed customized' products, such as smart photo frames with family portraits printed on them, or customized family scrapbooks. This would satisfy users' emotional needs and also provide differentiated advertising for the brand—a win-win situation."

"That's a good idea!"

Fan Binbin clapped his hands in agreement: "We can also make some vouchers or exclusive redemption codes and distribute them so that users can redeem what they want."

Zhang Yuqi suddenly interjected: "Don't forget to set up anti-cheating mechanisms! For example, restrict the same IP address from voting multiple times, and require that uploaded group photos must include a time watermark. Otherwise, some people might use photoshopped old photos to fill in the prizes."

Zhao Liying, unusually, did not refute, and nodded in agreement: "Yes, the technical team needs to prepare the review tools in advance."

Jing Tian summarized with a smile: "In short, the event should be both heartwarming and fun, so that users feel that the process of participating is a kind of 'family interaction' rather than simply a way to get freebies. For example, we can design sub-topics such as 'the cutest grandparents and grandchildren in the same frame' and 'the most touching family story' to stimulate everyone's creative desire."

“However, there’s another problem: how can this event help the brands get publicity?” Yang Mi suddenly asked.

Everyone was stunned, because this really was a problem. After all, Chen Mo's super-generous live stream would showcase and promote the brands that partnered with him for the prizes.

However, according to the current plan, this event doesn't seem to be promoting the sponsors very much!

“That’s easy!” Chen Mo suddenly laughed.

“We can ask Douyin and Weibo to create a ‘team’ system, so that each user can select or be assigned a brand to join the brand team before participating in the event, and let their videos and photos endorse the brand.”

"After the brand is assigned, you can include the brand sponsorship prefix or suffix in your Douyin videos or Weibo posts!" Chen Mo added.

"It's settled then! I'll have the team refine the details and try to finalize them as soon as possible."

He paused, then joked, "This 'harem gathering' today wasn't a waste; there's strength in numbers, after all." The women laughed and teased him, and the group video chat erupted in playful banter. Chen Mo rubbed his temples, but he already felt confident.

The saying goes, "The leader just needs to say something, and the subordinates have to run themselves ragged."

At Chen Mo's command, the company's team immediately got to work.

At the same time, after Chen Mo communicated with Weibo and Douyin, both sides immediately expressed their willingness to provide the greatest support.

As for the sponsors, they immediately expressed their willingness to join upon receiving notification of the event details.

They all thought they would miss out on this massive online traffic event, but Chen Mo surprised them with this unexpected surprise.

Moreover, if done well, this might actually be just as effective as a super-benefit live stream.

Because it lasts longer! Crucially, this event will definitely attract a large number of participants.

In addition, the inherent element of "family affection" naturally enhances the brand's promotion in a unique way.

Therefore, everyone naturally wanted to join immediately, and they all increased the value of their sponsorship bonus packages!
Three days later, Chen Mo and the official Weibo account of the 814 Welfare Festival officially released the event announcement:
#A Million Possibilities for Family Portraits#
#NationalFamilyWelfareWeek#
The announcement will be launched immediately and will be presented in a nine-square grid format.

First panel: The main visual poster for the event.

Against a warm yellow background, a line of handwritten text reads, "How long has it been since you took a photo with your family?" Below it is a note that reads, "From now until the live stream, upload a freshly taken family photo with the hashtag to share brand benefits worth 50 billion yuan."

Second section: Platform integration instructions. Participation is available through both Douyin and Weibo. Users need to choose to join a brand team (such as #HaierHappinessTeam#, #MengniuReunionTeam#), and their posts will automatically include brand-customized widgets and hashtags.

The third to fifth sections showcase the three ways to participate.

Capture the Moment: Upload three family photos from different eras to tell the story of your family's changes.

Dynamic Memory: Shoot a short video of family interaction of 15 seconds or more, which must include creative usage scenarios of the brand-sponsored products.
Time Capsule: Write down the words you most want to say to your family but have never said aloud, and the platform's AI will generate a voice message.
Sixth section: Prize matrix diagram. The pyramid structure shows the upgrade path from basic gift packs (branded small appliances, snack gift boxes, daily necessities gift boxes, etc.) to the ultimate prizes (branded mobile phones, branded cars, smart home kits, real estate, etc.). Everyone who participates is rewarded!
Section 7: Technical Safeguards. Blockchain timestamps are used to verify the authenticity of the footage, and AI facial similarity recognition prevents Photoshop manipulation. Only one main account is allowed per family unit.

Eighth section: Celebrity examples. Zhao Liying posted a photo of herself in her rural parents' kitchen, with a rice cooker in the background tagged #MideaWarmStove#; Fan Binbin posted a video of himself teaching his grandfather how to use a massage chair, with the product logo cleverly placed on the armrest.

Ninth panel: Suspense teaser. A blurred silhouette image is captioned "The mysterious witness of family affection is about to be revealed," and the comments section quickly speculates that it is a national-level veteran artist.

Ten minutes after the announcement was issued:

#A Million Possibilities for Family Portraits#
#814 Welfare Festival, Double the Benefits!#
#814 Welfare Festival, Family Welfare Week#
The related terms immediately went viral and became a trending topic.

As soon as the event started, the entire internet went wild!

@SoyMilkWithoutSugar: "50 billion?! Goodness, that's incredible! Chen Mo is just daydreaming. I'm speechless. #HaierHappinessTeam# Charge! We've already taken a three-generation family photo for comparison. Grandpa was secretly wiping away tears while flipping through the old photo album. [crying emoji]"

@WoolPartyCaptain: "Tech expert's reminder! Blockchain + AI anti-cheating is too ruthless. I just tried using last year's photos and it got rejected [kneeling]. I suggest putting the sponsor's rice cooker in the center when shooting videos. Our #MengniuReunionTeam# got 3 times more views than pure photos!"

@WorkingMomLilian: "I cried while filling out the time capsule. I'm usually so busy that I even hang up quickly on video calls. This time, I recorded a video while making a cake for my daughter using the Midea microwave. Brand dads, look here! [Video screenshot] #MideaWarmStove#"

@DigitalOtakuXiaofei: "The grand prize is real estate?! [Shocked] But what really touched me was the customized voice message, which transcribed my message to my dad into his hometown dialect [Thumbs up] Can I exchange it with my team? The prizes for the #HuaweiFamilyDigitalGroup# are even better!"

@EatingGossipKid: "Hilarious! The product placement of Zhao Liying's rice cooker and Fan Bingbing's massage chair is so realistic! I suggest adding a hashtag #MostHardcoreFamilyPhoto#, I just saw someone use a Haier refrigerator as a backdrop for their wedding photos [doge emoji]"

@MostBeautifulSunsetGlow: "My husband's video of his grandchildren surrounding him on Douyin went viral! It's the #FeiheMilkPowderEnjoyFamilyLife# team name. Our grandson is already in college! [laughing emoji] But it's good that the prize milk powder was given to an orphanage!"

"I suggest a thorough investigation into data manipulation! All three households in our building chose #AntaSportsHome#, and we found that five out of the top ten on the city's rankings were using the same treadmill for staged photos [angry] @814WelfareFestivalOfficialPlease do something about this!"

"Hidden Easter egg! I wrote 'I want to take my parents to see the sea' in the Time Mailbox and the system pushed out a #SanyaFamilyTrip# sponsorship coupon. I'm impressed by this AI mind-reading ability [tears]. Chen Mo's team really knows how to hit the nail on the head!"

The popularity of this event has exceeded expectations.

However, due to insufficient preparation this time, a series of problems still arose.

For example, as the #FamilyPhotosABillionPossibilities# campaign swept across the internet, an unprecedented wave of "family leave requests" broke out nationwide.

Corporate HR professionals are collectively on the verge of collapse—on Weibo's trending topics list, hashtags such as #BossIsAlsoWantToTakeAFamilyPhoto# and #CanLeaveRequestsWithThreeGenerationsApproved# are skyrocketing.

Because of this event, strange workplace phenomena are unfolding all over the country.

At a morning meeting of an advertising company in Beijing's CBD, a new intern held up a trembling phone: "The director's rules for the family photo event say we have to take a picture right now. My grandma is having cataract surgery tomorrow, and this might be our last chance for a clear photo together."

As the entire crew nodded with tears in their eyes, the director was speechless: "Stop acting! All of you, especially that one, actually said your mother is going to have a third child. Your mother is already fifty, okay? How could you even think of that!"

"And Zhou Ming, I remember your grandfather passed away a long time ago. You actually said your grandfather is critically ill. What, do you want your grandfather to die again?"

"Come on, who else? Tell me your bizarre reasons. We never see you guys with such creative ideas for advertising planning, but how come your reasons for taking leave are all so incredibly creative!"

However, this event has indeed drawn complaints from many netizens: "My parents and grandparents have been calling me nonstop for this family photo event, but the problem is, I live in Beijing and my hometown is in Fujian! What can I do?"

"While the intention behind this activity is good, it's somewhat unrealistic! Everyone's traveling, so it's impractical to take time off work, buy tickets, and go home to take photos just for a perk worth a few tens or hundreds of yuan, right?"

"I strongly suggest changing the event rules! Requiring a family photo to be taken on-site is unrealistic!"

The rules haven't changed yet, but data from 12306 shows that within 48 hours of the event going live, searches for train tickets related to "visiting relatives" surged by 743%.

A high-speed train attendant captured a fantastic scene: passengers throughout the entire carriage simultaneously held up sponsor products, from #GoldenDragonFishGrainAndOilFamily# blended oil to #JoyoungLoveKitchen# blender, creating a veritable mobile brand exhibition hall.

Many netizens also commented: "Whether the benefits are good or not is no longer important. What's important is going home to visit your family!"

"That's right. We might not be able to have a family reunion all year round, even during the Spring Festival, because we're too busy with work. This family photo event just gave us a reason to go home! Whether it's a perk or not really doesn't matter!"

"I took leave from work, bought tickets to go home, and spent a lot of money. I was initially complaining that this event was inhumane, but seeing how happy my parents were at home, I suddenly felt that it was all worth it!"

Chen Mo naturally saw this situation as well, something he hadn't anticipated.

Therefore, the rules were supplemented immediately.

It now includes the ability to take remote "cloud group photos"!
This new rule quickly garnered a huge number of likes.

The event's popularity has not decreased but increased.

A working-class person shared a video conferencing demonstration on Weibo, showing how they used video conferencing software to connect their son, who is studying abroad, and their parents, who are farmers back home, virtually. In the background, a tablet computer with the hashtag #LenovoSmartHome# was playing a video of the family's New Year's Eve dinner from last year.

This Weibo post, featuring the new hashtag #TechnologyEmpowersFamily#, has once again topped the trending search list.
In a short time, "cloud family photos" became the mainstream.

Douyin launched a tutorial video on how to shoot a "virtual family photo," and many livestreamers followed suit and started teaching netizens how to shoot "virtual family photos"!
(End of this chapter)