Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 159 The "Battle Emperor" is Here!
Fans are speculating wildly about who this person is, and Gu Jingyi is the KPI code for these marketing accounts.

In just one hour, the number of comments exceeded tens of thousands.

On a morning like any other, Liu Haojian was scrolling through Weibo while eating breakfast.

#Dior Announces Asian Brand Ambassador# (boom), Liu Haojian quickly clicked on this entry to check it out.

[@Dior]: Dior has announced that it has appointed internationally renowned idol @顾璟奕 as its Asia-Pacific brand ambassador. He is a singer, songwriter, and actor, among other roles. His modern and contemporary style perfectly embodies Dior's contemporary spirit.

The attached image shows Gu Jingyi on the cover of Esquire's September issue. In this fashion photo, Gu Jingyi wears a simple dark gray shirt, turning his head to the side and looking forward, his deep-set eyes conveying a sense of story.

Dior's official Weibo account posted the message, and the number of comments had already exceeded 10,000 in a short time.

Liu Haojian uncontrollably clicked to save the image and then started looking at the comments section.

[@Gu Jingyi's non-celebrity girlfriend: I guessed it a long time ago. As soon as Esquire magazine went live, Dior immediately reposted it, pointing out that Gu Jingyi's accessories subtly flaunted their style.]
[@Xiaojingyouyouxiaoxiaogao: Let me explain to everyone, Gu Jingyi's title of Asian Brand Ambassador is Dior's highest title in Asia. Before Gu Jingyi, even established actresses like Yang Ying and Zhao Liying, both born in the 85s, only received the title of "Specific Spokesperson for China" from Dior, which those two companies touted as Dior brand ambassadors. From the moment Gu Jingyi debuted, the top-tier luxury brand Dior made no secret of its favoritism towards him. When Gu Jingyi was still on "Idol Producer," Dior secured a double cover for him in the leading women's magazine "Harper's Bazaar." After waiting for Gu Jingyi for over three months, they rushed to give him the title as soon as he finished "Idol Producer." And it wasn't a mass-produced title; it was the title of "Friend of the Asian Brand." At such a young age, Gu Jingyi has already surpassed two actresses born in the 85s.]
[@Gu Jingyi's runaway girlfriend: Nothing more to say, Gu Jingyi is awesome. Gu Jingyi is currently the highest-ranking male celebrity in the Chinese entertainment industry to hold a top-tier luxury brand title, and the undisputed leader in commercial value.]
Of course, not all the comments section is positive.

There are also other fan groups, but Gu Jingyi's fans have been invincible in tearing each other apart since his debut.

Some of these are small, playful squabbles organized by fans to maintain their fandom and keep things in check.

Some of the provocations came from other fans, who knew perfectly well that they were using Gu Jingyi as a "training ground." The fans, unable to contain their anger, launched a crushing defeat.

In comments like these, besides the envious Cai Xukun fans, there are other fan groups "cross-dressing" in the comments section.

There are a lot of people secretly targeting Gu Jingyi right now, and every day there are fake fans deliberately stirring up trouble in the comment sections of various brands.

Comments such as "Why not invite Gu Jingyi to be the spokesperson? Is it because they can't afford the appearance fee?" were posted on the official Weibo account, which had already announced other celebrity endorsements.

Or you could leave a message on the official accounts of major high-end luxury brands, saying, "Take a look at Gu Jingyi, have you considered having him as your spokesperson?"

Whether it's arrogance or begging.

All these actions have only one purpose: to lower Gu Jingyi's public image.

After all, anyone can see how much potential Gu Jingyi has in developing her career in film, television, and music, and how strong her momentum is.

If his ecosystem becomes so comfortable, the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry is about to change again.

In the eyes of the new generation, he is equivalent to a handsome version of Zhou Jielun + Deng Chao, an artist who has both good looks and acting skills. If he is allowed to continue to grow like this...

It's hard to say whether the entertainment industry, including film, television, and music, will all be dominated by the Gu family in the next few years.

This is terrifying. Gu Jingyi doesn't participate in anything except variety shows. He's everywhere, with no weaknesses whatsoever.

HuaCe processes numerous anti-hacking cases daily and is thoroughly familiar with the entire anti-hacking process.

Extract all these KY (discriminatory) comments, create links on the homepage, and post them on anti-blacklisting sites, blocking them one by one.

A fan shared a post from an anti-blacklisting website on their homepage, adding the caption, "Remember to check in today too!"

After going through the whole process, those troll comments disappeared within ten minutes.

This time was no exception. Liu Haojian frowned and clicked into the comments section to see what kind of people these were.

The other party's homepage immediately showed an error message: "The other party has been banned for violating Weibo community rules within the past 31 days."

Very good, that's the standard answer!
Liu Haojian, satisfied, switched to Weibo and sent a message to Gu Jingyi.

Gu Jingyi didn't reply to the first few messages, probably because he was filming or taking a break.

She sent him a selfie, and Gu Jingyi replied instantly.

"nice"

Just those two simple words made Liu Haojian burst into a silly, sheepish grin, cupping his face in his hands.

"Have you finished filming your movie?"

Liu Haojian smiled and replied instantly, "Filming is finished, and it's currently in the production stage, waiting for release."

"When?"

"What I mean is, how long until we can see the finished product as soon as possible?"

Before Liu Haojian could reply, Gu Jingyi sent message after message.

Liu Haojian wasn't quite sure about this either; she only remembered that Lao Mouzi had said he would first go abroad to try his luck at winning awards.

Only after the film is submitted for review will we consider its domestic release.

It's an art film, after all; Zhang Yimou doesn't make movies for the box office.

I went there purely for the award.

"It'll probably be next year, but I reckon the subject matter of this film means its box office performance is doomed to be low..."

[Um…]
Just as Liu Haojian thought Gu Jingyi wasn't interested in the question and was about to change the subject,

New information has arrived: [Debuting under the title of "Eye Girl" is pretty good too; a perfect start with a ton of good looks.]
[Don't worry about the box office for now. Instead, focus on making me happy.]
[Maybe one day when I'm in a good mood, we can team up.]
[However, it should be the year after next; they're still building popularity this year.]
Gu Jingyi was telling the truth; 2019 would be a fruitful year for him.

With the movie "Take My Brother Away," he successfully transformed his image, and with the TV series "Ashes of Love" and "Go Go Squid!", he became an even bigger hit.

Not to mention his contemporaries, his popularity is unmatched even in the entire entertainment industry.

Wouldn't it be easy to create a "Gu Girl" and arrange a drama for each member of the harem?
Actors often like to recommend resources to their friends, just like Yang Zi recommended the drama "Go Go Squid!" which was starring the current boyfriend.

Especially when an actor's popularity and status reach a certain level, they really have a lot of say in the production crew.

Just like a certain teacher who can bring their own team of screenwriters to the set and drastically alter a female-centric drama to an unrecognizable degree.

Gu Jingyi has always respected the script and the opportunity.

He was just doing his girlfriends a favor, and he was even happier about using public funds to date.

Like Xiaotian's "Qingqing Daily Life", Yanzi's "Hiddenly Unable to Hide", Yezi's "You of My Youth", and Dilraba's "You Are My Glory".

All of this is part of Gu Jingyi's future plans. After all, once he has enough popularity, it doesn't matter who he films a TV series with.

Why not get a girlfriend? At least that would be more convenient and less troublesome.

After chatting with Jianzi, Gu Jingyi glanced at today's trending topics again.

As expected, he dominated the headlines again.

Fans created numerous captions featuring Gu Jingyi holding the endorsement he was promoting, all under trending topics related to him.

Looking at myself holding 17 endorsements, including 3 high-end brands.

Gu Jingyi also felt that he was very outstanding, and he had become a top star in just half a year since his debut.

The Chinese entertainment industry treated him like he was on easy mode, a true winner in life.

Just then, Lin Ze sent one picture after another via WeChat.

Dior's official announcement was posted on multiple overseas platforms, including Instagram and Twitter, a stark contrast to those in the domestic entertainment industry who use mere titles to fraudulently claim endorsements.

Following Gu Jingyi's official announcement, Dior posted three tweets, three Instagram posts, and three InStory posts.

Lin Ze directly took a screenshot of a nine-square grid and teased, "Jingyi, it's obvious that Dior really loves you."

In the future, only BTS's Park Jimin, who was officially announced as Dior's global brand ambassador, will receive this treatment. Dior's decision to give Gu Jingyi this treatment now is undoubtedly to show its appreciation for him.

However, Gu Jingyi didn't care much for these superficial things. If Dior had the ability, he could shorten the probationary period for him.

The thought of not receiving the highest level of treatment for a year is unbearable, even though Dior is already giving the respect that only the highest level of treatment can enjoy.

Gu Jingyi remained expressionless, showing little emotional fluctuation.

If these were just about going to work, then the real benefits of Gu Jingyi's upgrade to Dior's Asian brand ambassador are about to begin.

Pacific Place on Hong Kong Island is now occupied by a huge poster that Gu Jingyi photographed for Dior.

The large-scale cherry blossom version of the Umeda-style express department store features Gu Jingyi's dynamic advertisement projected repeatedly on the store's signboard wall.

In Bangkok, Thailand, Gu Jingyi's Dior advertisements were repeatedly placed in the CBD business district.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. More importantly, Gu Jingyi's posters and elements are found throughout Dior stores across Asia.

The 2018 BOF500 list has been released, and Gu Jingyi has been successfully selected.

This list, known as the "fashion bible," is an important basis for many luxury brands in the fashion industry to select their employees.

Gu Jingyi's selection means that his name has now entered the field of vision of many top luxury, high luxury and accessible luxury brands.

Three luxury items a year is just the beginning.

Dior is also planning offline promotional events for Gu Jingyi, which will soon appear in major Asian countries.

The benefits of endorsements from top luxury brands go far beyond generous signing fees; they include promotion, higher fashion status, and better fashion resources for the artists.

These factors all contribute to commercial value. Gu Jingyi, the spokesperson for the "three luxury brands," has seen her endorsement fee increase compared to the previous 1100 million yuan per year.

The current asking price fluctuates around 13 million yuan per year, and even so, many brands are still willing to sign her. In August and September, Gu Jingyi added Lux, Hsu Fu Chi, Glico, Want Want, and Sprite as brand ambassadors.

Some are six-month contracts, and some are one-year contracts.

There's no way around it; even though Gu Jingyi's endorsement fee has increased, manufacturers still see him as extremely cost-effective. His endorsement announcements alone can cause major brands to sell out their stock.

The revenue from just the first day was enough for the brand to easily break even.

This time, Dior's announcement of its Asian brand ambassador was no exception, with Dior products selling out immediately on online platforms such as Tmall and JD.com.

The same items featured in Gu Jingyi's offline advertisements sold out instantly, with some wealthy female fans even traveling thousands of miles by plane to purchase them.

Dior's stock price soared, which made LVMH Group's big brother, LV, feel a sense of crisis.

I should have chosen Gu Jingyi; this is truly a cause for regret.

The good news for fans doesn't stop there. Also, at 12 noon on the same day?
Just as countless students finished class and office workers were enjoying a short break after get off work, as usual, I opened the music app to relax, only to suddenly notice that the Douyin (TikTok) page had changed.

Upon opening, Gu Jingyi's image appeared in the splash screen.

This is truly astonishing. Previously, the official announcement only stated that Yang Ying was the "Chief Trend Officer," Guan Xiaotong was the "Experience Officer," and Wang Jiaer was the "Music Officer."

Passersby exclaimed that they were willing to spend a lot of money to attract so many celebrities.

When Gu Jingyi's face, which embodies the unified Eastern aesthetic, appeared, passersby felt it was surreal.

That's insane! They actually dragged Gu Jingyi into this mess.

The outcome of this great battle is already decided.

Gu Jingyi's fans, however, were all smiles. "Great! Jingyi has officially announced his role as Chief Operating Officer. This time, I will wholeheartedly support Yin Fu."

"It's Gu Jingyi. I don't think anyone doesn't know him. He's the all-around center of Idol Producer and the ultimate campus heartthrob, Jiang Chen."

"You may not know Gu Jingyi, but you must have heard these songs: 'The Sea of ​​Stars,' 'Slowly Falling in Love with You,' 'Like the Wind'..."

"Of course I know Gu Jingyi. His songs have been played so many times."

"It's not just a hit, it's a phenomenal hit. Almost all the popular online songs you're using right now are by Gu Jingyi."

"That's right, that man is here. He is the uncrowned king of the musical note people, the man known as the Battle Emperor."

As soon as Gu Jingyi's name came out, many music lovers began to dig into his past.

As one song after another appeared, even the most oblivious aunts and uncles in the village knew who Gu Jingyi was.

The reaction to his official announcement was greater than that of Yang Ying, Wang Jiaer, and others who had made similar announcements before.

It's probably thanks to the big data algorithm of Yin Fu that everyone who has ever listened to Gu Jingyi's songs on Yin Fu can access this information.

While browsing music tracks all day, I inexplicably came across this video of him joining the music track platform.

Although the video Gu Jingyi used for the official announcement seemed very ordinary, simply showing him sitting there smiling and greeting the audience.

He was even wearing casual clothes, but that didn't diminish the impact of the official announcement video.

Only five minutes had passed when Gu Jingyi's number of fans surpassed one million.

The video garnered a staggering 137 million likes, and the number of comments was so high that it was impossible to click through.

This isn't just about being popular; it's about going viral.

Some passersby who had only heard of Gu Jingyi never expected that this man, who had spearheaded the "fan economy," would cause such a sensation.

Even if we know that some of his data is inflated.

The data after dehydration alone is impressive.

A day later, Gu Jingyi's music account gained over 840 million followers.

Fans flooded the comments section under Gu Jingyi's post about joining the music channel, creating a series of comments within comments.

That's terrifying, those are musical notes!

Some netizens who were simply appreciating the handsome guy also gained a detailed understanding of Gu Jingyi after clicking on the comments.

"A celebrity who has been in the industry for one year and is already associated with three luxury brands," "The man who broke the sales record on QQ Music," "A dominant force among C-list artists."

One label after another was attached to Gu Jingyi.

This resume was so impressive that it made everyone's eyes light up.

Fans of Gu Jingyi, including those who admired his strength and those who were popular online, flocked to him and followed him.

On the day Gu Jingyi joined Yin Fu, her story was also shared by various marketing accounts and Douban.

[Breaking news! Gu Jingyi has joined Yin Fu.]
[A review of the follower growth of various artists on the platform: who won and who lost?]
[Musical note downloads surpass 10 million, reaching a peak]
[Gu Jingyi, the only rising star in the Chinese entertainment industry]
One after another, alarming headlines appeared.

Gu Jingyi's fans are too lazy to control the comments; the general public has already distinguished between the loyal and the treacherous.

"I really don't have time to argue with you marketing accounts. All you do all day is repost Gu Jingyi's data. Okay, okay, we know Gu Jingyi is awesome."

"The Battle Emperor has returned!"

"I heard that all members of Milk Foam Forest have signed with Yin Fu, but Gu Jingyi's individual signing was something Yin Fu negotiated for a long time before it was finalized."

"Gu Jingyi is worth it."

Sitting in the van, Gu Jingyi saw these contents on his tablet.

Sometimes, the comments from fans are really quite cheesy.

He blushed a little from all the flattery, feeling like he was reliving his teenage years.

"Jingyi, how do you feel about being crowned a Dou Di in just one day?"

Lin Ze, who surfs the internet via 5G, has a fast connection and is very happy.

"It doesn't matter. Since it was given to me by my fans, I accept this praise. It's a form of recognition."

Gu Jingyi remained calm and continued scrolling through other videos.

Interestingly, out of the ten videos recommended to him, eight were about him.

A new event has been launched on the platform: #Gu Jingyi Joins the Platform#
All the major creators are jumping on the bandwagon.

With official promotion, Gu Jingyi's popularity and trending topics are guaranteed to be at the top.

Seeing a bunch of bloggers either mentioning him with cute pets or by mentioning him with adorable kids, Gu Jingyi really felt a little strange.

Shocking! It's like I've stumbled into some kind of chaotic battle between Gu Jingyi's dimensions.

However, when Gu Jingyi came across a video, he suddenly smiled.

"Hello Gu Jingyi, I'm Li Xueqin. I've come to Tsinghua University today. Look how white the gate of Tsinghua University is!"

He opened the homepage, and it was the same almost every day.

It's like clocking in; it's become a habit.

The videos always begin with a greeting to him. There have been many episodes, such as those about hiking.

However, none of them were as popular as this video from Tsinghua University, which went viral online at an extremely fast pace.

Gu Jingyi looked at the ordinary-looking woman in the video, feeling somewhat conflicted.

Shouldn't this be Chris's treatment? Why did the boomerang hit him instead?

Could he be following in Chris's footsteps?

Seeing that Gu Jingyi didn't speak, Lin Ze turned to look at him.

With a somewhat strange expression, he said, "Jingyi, you've got rather unusual tastes lately."

"roll!"

Lin Ze is a perfect example of someone who can kill a conversation with just one sentence.

Gu Jingyi closed his phone and rested with his eyes shut.

It's not that he doesn't care about his fans, it's just that Chris's fate was too terrible.

Gu Jingyi didn't want to get involved, so he could only handle it by ignoring the issue.

Smith Marseille, Li Xueqin.

This time, there shouldn't be any experience of becoming a "lucky star" and gaining three million followers overnight just because the celebrity responded.

Gu Jingyi was so focused on cutting the ribbon for Dior's new flagship store in Guangzhou that he didn't have time to respond to anything else.

(End of this chapter)